Zambian 400 meters-hurdles legend Samuel Matete was born on July 27, 1968 in Chingola in Zambia. Samuel Matete is notably one of the world’s foremost 400 meters hurdlers of all time. For young Matete, legendary Uganda hurdler John Akii-Bua was his foremost sports idol. Matete still holds the African record of 47.10 seconds in the 400mh event, one he set in the German city of Zurich on August 7, 1991. At this Weltklasse Zurich (World Class Zurich), an annual athletics meeting in Switzerland which is part of the IAAF Golden League, and is sometimes referred to as the One-Day Olympics, Matete undeniably made his most memorable athletics mark. In his home country, Matete originally trained under rudimentary conditions, including setting up handcrafted wooden hurdles. Only three other people, all from the USA, have officially ever ran faster personal bests than Samuel Matete. These are: Bryan Bronson in 47.03 seconds (set in New Orleans in Louisiana on June 21, 1998), Edwin Moses in 47.02 seconds (set in Koblenz in Germany on August 31, 1983), and Kevin Young in an astounding world record and so far the only official time below 47 seconds, of 46.78 seconds (on August 6, 1992 in Barcelona, at the Olympic Games, in the finals).

The only other Africa runners with faster personal bests than Akii-Bua are El Hadj Amadou Dia Ba of Senegal. He ran the intermediate hurdles in 47.23 seconds at the Olympics of 1988 that were held in Seoul in South Korea. Here, aged 29, Dia Ba was in the finals beaten to second place by 29 year-old American Andre Phillips (47.19s, an Olympic record), and aging 33 year-old world record holder Edwin Corley Moses settled for the bronze in a time of 47.56 seconds. The performance in this Olympic final was astounding: Andre Phillips established an Olympic record and Edwin Moses (despite his bronze medal placing) had ran faster than he had at two previous Olympics at which he had won gold! Courtesy of Dia Ba, this final evidenced the breaking of Akii-Bua’s intermediate hurdles’ African record. In addition to Samuel Matete, the only other Africa runner with a personal-best timing faster than Akii-Bua’s is Llewellyn George Herbert of South Africa with a timing of 47.81s in a third place bronze-medal finish in the Finals at the Olympics of 2000 that were held in Sydney.

In 1964 John Akii-Bua, a 15 year-old with an elementary academic education, left school. For the next two years Akii settled on helping shepherd his big family’s 120-herd of cattle. Akii had long learned how to milk and how to employ the cattle to plow. Akii tells Kenny Moore in implying that as a youth he grew up to be a tough and athletic herdsboy: “I milked them [cattle], I plowed with them, everything. In 1956, when I was very young, lions took sheep and goats from our farm, even cattle. But none came when I tended them. I did have a close look at some very big pythons. And we have wild monkeys. They can tease you and throw things. They make you run away” (Sports Illustrated”: ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972).

Akii’s devotion to family labor duties became even the more significant because his father–county Chief Bua, a prominent county administrator, died in 1965. Akii was only 16 years old then, and he estimated that at the time of his father’s demise, he was one among forty-four siblings (16 sisters and 27 brothers). Akii’s father had five wives, but had earlier on divorced three. The family, which dwelled in the same compound, was semi-nomadic in sociodemographic character, occasionally moving from county to county. Akii-Bua is listed as born on December 3, 1949 (to mother Imat Solome Bua) in Abako sub-county village in Moroto County in Lango District in Uganda. Among the other areas the family settled in and out of were Dokolo, Kwania, and Oyam. The common listing of Akii-Bua’s birth seems to be fairly accurate, but some of his family implies that he was born earlier than 1949. In the Uganda newspaper “Observer,” the article “John Akii-Bua is A Forgotten Hero” dated March 28 2010, Denis H.Obua implies that Akii-Bua was born three or four years earlier than 1949. Suffice it to say. not many decades ago, dates of birth of many African children were not recorded or remembered.

Soon after Akii’s father died, one of Akii’s older brothers picked himself to be a cashier in his bar. He was the cashier until he joined the police in 1966. Akii passed his basic police training in 1967. Before joining the Uganda police, Akii’s only memory of athletic competition was domestic: his father would set up basic group-age sibling competitions over various distances for trophies of candy (sweets). Akii tells Kenny Moore, “I don’t think I ever won. I had to beg sweets from my brothers” (“Sports Illustrated”: ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972).

Along with being introduced to active competition, Akii became inspired by Uganda athletes Ogwang, Etolu, and Opaka. Lawrence Ogwang (born in November 1932) is recognized as Uganda’s first major competitive athlete; he represented Uganda at the Olympics of 1956 that were held in Melbourne in Australia and took 20th place in the triple jump (14.72m), and eliminated in the earlier rounds in the long jump after being 27th with a jump of 6.62m. Lawrence Ogwang is a relative of Akii-Bua and he is sometimes listed as his brother.

High-jumper Patrick Etolu, born in Soroti District on March 17, 1935 is notable for finishing second at the 1954 British Empire Commonwealth Games, fourth in the same event and Games in 1958, and ninth in the same event and Games in 1962. In the summer Olympic Games of 1956 held in Melbourne, Patrick Etolu emerged 12th with a jumping height of 1.96 meters. Tito Opaka was a high-hurdler.

Akii started running competitively when he joined the police. The window into his athletic potential was initially shaped by the police drill which routinely started at 5:30am with physical training and three miles of cross-country running. Akii’s stretching flexibility was notable, the cause for his selection into high-hurdling. Uganda’s Jerom (Jerome, Jorem?) Ochana, a superior policeman and Africa’s 440 yard-hurdles record holder, was conveniently there to train Akii. One of the coaching ordeals involved Ochana placing a high-jump bar a couple of feet above the hurdle to shape Akii into learning to keep his head and body low. Akii recounts the ordeal to Kenny Moore: “Can you see this scar on my forehead? Ochana…made me listen. I used to bleed a lot in our exercises, knocking the hurdles with my knees and ankles, keeping my head down” (“Sports Illustrated”: ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972).

In the first week of November 1962, at a track meet in Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), a tune-up for the forthcoming British Empire Commonwealth Games to soon be held in Perth in Australia, Ochana secured the 440 yard-hurdles victory in 52.3 seconds. Ochana went on to win in the same event at the East and Central African Championships that were held in the city of Kisumu in Kenya. Ochana was in Tokyo in 1964 for the Olympics. In the third of five first round heats that allowed the three top finishers and next one fastest to advance to the semi-final round, 29 year-old Ochana was eliminated when he finished 4th in 52.4 seconds, on October 14th. In the end, Ochana achieved a 19th overall ranking.

John Akii-Bua, soon after winning in four police championship events in 1967, became significantly recognized and was thereafter placed under Briton Malcolm Arnold the new national coach. Akii still holds Uganda’s decathlon record of 6933 points set in 1971 in Kampala. Starting from the mid-1970’s, less and less attention, and fewer and fewer resources were allotted to the development of field events in Uganda. The presence of Ugandan decathlon athletes waned.

Akii won in the 110 meters-hurdles finals at the East and Central African Championships (an annual event originally primarily involving track and field stars from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia) held in Kampala in 1969. With the influence of the coach Malcolm Arnold, Akii-Bua became convinced that he would reap more rewards as a 400 meters-hurdler. In the finals of the 400mh at the Commonwealth Games (Edinburgh, Scotland, 16th to 25th July 1970) Akii-Bua struggled with a back strain and hernia injury, was trailing last at the final 100 meters, but still raced in fast to come in fourth in 51.14 seconds. John Sherwood (England) was the gold medalist (50.03s), Bill Koskei of Uganda (but soon to return to and compete for his native Kenya) second (50.15s), and Kipkemboi Charles Yego of Kenya third (50.19s).

Akii-Bua was not in the top-10 All-Time World Rankings of 1970. But in just the following year, he became ranked third behind Ralph Mann and Jean-Claude Nallet. In 1972 and 1973, his leading world performances placed Akii comfortably at no.1. Akii was less active and prominent in 1974 whereby he became ranked no.8. But Akii resurged to no. 2 in 1975, behind Alan Pascoe of Great Britain and ahead of Jim Bolding (USA) and Ralph Mann.

In 1972 the performance of Commonwealth Games’ silver medalist William Koskei (who had formerly ran for Uganda), at the summer Olympics held in Munich in West Germany from August 26, 1972 to September 11, 1972, was very much looked forward to. Although not ranked among the World’s top ten 400m hurdlers in 1971 or even 1972, Koskei was still regarded as an Olympic medal hope. Koskei, together with Akii-Bua of Uganda reigned as Africa’s top hurdlers. The August 28, 1972 issue of “Sports Illustrated” issue of 28th August 1972 predictably listed Ralph Mann, William Koskei, and Akii-Bua as the premier medal prospects.

At the Olympic Games Koskei, though running in advantageous lane 4, was eliminated in the first round. His 4th place finishing in Heat 2, in 50.58s would not allow him to move on to the next round. At the Olympics in 1972, Uganda’s John Akii-Bua would win in a world record of 47.82 seconds, becoming the first man to ever officially run the 400m hurdles in less than 48 seconds. Ralph Mann won silver by several yards behind Akii, Hemery racing in a very close third. Even after 40 years, Uganda seems to indefinitely celebrate Akii-Bua’s Olympic medal triumph, the only Olympic gold that the country has ever garnered. President Idi Amin, Uganda’s dictator from 1971 to 1979, would soon reward policeman Akii by promoting him to Assistant Inspector of Police (Police Lieutenant), giving him a house (from the many dispossessed from east Asians expelled from or who had fled Uganda), naming a prominent lengthy road in Kampala (Stanley Road–that had been named after American explorer Henry Morton Stanley) “Akii-Bua Road.” Since then, many sports establishments have ben named in Akii’s name.

It is intriguing to more thoroughly follow both the road to Akii’s greatest sports triumphs and the thereafter.

Akii-Bua fascinated his international competition by his unique hurdling and training methods. In the Los Angeles article “Akii-Bua Has Method for Hurdles” in “The Spokesman Review” (June 18, 1972 on page 29): “John Akii-Bua approaches the intermediate hurdles race with abandon and for that reason he’s being picked by many as the next Olympic champion in the 400 meter event.” Akii was known to run unconventionally, not confined to the conventional method of planning to interchange 13 to 15 strides between each hurdle. For example, Ralph Mann, the American champion, had an established plan of running 13 strides between the first five hurdles, change gears to 14 strides over the next two, and then switch to 15 steps over the next three hurdles. In the “Spokesman Review” piece, Akii-Bua is quoted as saying:

“I like to run 14 steps between the hurdles but when I run and get to the hurdle in 13 steps, I say ‘okay’ and I jump it… I just run hard between the hurdles and go over them when I get there… [at the forthcoming Olympics] I will try to run 13 steps between the hurdles but I will still jump them when they come up to me.”

Some years later, legendary American Edwin Moses, the greatest intermediate hurdler of all time would fascinate the world with his long flowing strides that would allow him to stride 13 steps in between all the hurdles. Akii was also touted for being advantaged with his ambidextrous ability to hurdle easily with either his right or left leg.

Previously, at the U.S.-Russian-World All-Star track meet held in July of 1971 in Berkeley at the University of California Edwards Stadium, Akii-Bua won in the intermediate hurdles in an impressive 50.1 seconds, on July 3. Ralph Mann was not among the competitors. Jim Seymour (USA), now at the University of Washington and a would-be USA hurdler in the 1972 forthcoming Olympics, came in second in 50.5 seconds. In July 1971 in Durham in North Carolina, Akii-Bua had won in the 400 meters-hurdles at the Africa vs. USA meet. Akii-Bua proved he was not a fluke by clearly beating African rival Koskei, alongside the rest of the contingent of Africans and Americans, and winning in an impressive personal best of 49.05 seconds. American and number one ranked champion Ralph Mann did not show up. He was competing in Europe.

In July 1972, closer to the Olympics, Akii-Bua won the event at the Compton Invitational in Los Angeles in a good time of 49.6 seconds. After the time was announced, Akii-Bua remarked in astonishment that the time was too fast, given that he had hardly done any hurdling training in the past three months. He had not wanted to run that fast that early in the season and make himself vulnerable to injury and burnout. It is to be taken into consideration that prior to 1980, men’s 400 meters-hurdles timings below 50 seconds were considered very good or excellent. And at this time, Akii’s official best time was 49 seconds. A few months before the Olympics, Akii felt that his 169 pounds on a 6’2″ frame was too light and he wished to build up strength and weight to 180 pounds in time for the Olympics.

Sports enthusiasts in Uganda were generally of the opinion that though Akii-Bua was capable of winning an Olympic medal, he did not train hard enough and was not dedicated and focused enough. He often came across as carefree. Some of his times, especially at home were not satisfactory. He was also beaten into second place by European hurdlers, such as Greek Cypriot Stavros Tziortzis and Soviet Union’s Yevgeny Gavrilenko, in a couple of occasions in European meets. There was during that era also the prevailing universal attitude that hurdling was too technical and scientific an event for black Africans, this worsened by Africans’ mediocre training facilities.

Further, despite Akii-Bua’s impressive performances, he had ascended to international recognition rather quickly. He started running the intermediate hurdles late in 1969. His fourth place finishing in the 400 meters-hurdles finals at the Commonwealth Games in 1970, was followed by his establishment of an African record, including wins in several international meets in the United States and Europe in 1971 and early 1972. In a way, Akii-Bua was still relatively unknown on the world athletics scene. Though not by his choice, he had not competed against some of the premier world intermediate hurdlers such as Ralph Mann and David Hemery. In sum, Akii was not regarded by many as a major medal prospect at the forthcoming Olympics that would take place in Germany in 1972. And even if he did eventually win, this would likely be considered a fluke!

Contradicting the prevailing opinion on Akii-Bua prior to the Olympics was the revelation that in fact Akii-Bua had eyed the Olympic gold medal and breaking the 400m hurdles world record quite seriously! He aimed to win in a big way! It turns out that Akii’s regimen of training included a lot of cross-country and hill running in Uganda rainy conditions because a dry track was not always readily available to him. His hurdling training was grueling, involving him strapping a jacket weighted with 25-35 pounds of lead to his back and running the hurdles (heightened to 42 inches high as compared to the conventional 36 inches) for 1500 meters at least six times a week. This is mentioned by legendary Jesse Owens in the “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette” of September 4, 1972 in the article: “Akii-Bua’s Win Impressive.” The 400mh world record, held by David Hemery, was 48.1 seconds. Akii had never officially ran the intermediate hurdles distance in less than 49 seconds. Yet, weeks prior to the Olympics, he was very confident of running the distance in 47 seconds if the weather would be ideal (“John Akii-Bua, an Athlete Who’s Just too Good to Lose” by Doug Gilbert in “The Montreal Gazette-May 18, 1977).

It was at the end of August of 1972 that the Olympics 1972 400mh round one heats (five sets) were held. The rule was for the first leading three athlete in each heat (altogether 15 athletes), together with the next one fastest athlete to make it the 16 semi-finalists. Feelings about Akii-Bua’s performance were mixed, some skeptical. Akii won in heat 4, but his winning time of 50.35 seconds was the slowest winning time among the five heats. Akii-Bua probably simply relaxed himself during the run, being confident that he was through to the semi-finals. Winners in the other heats were Dieter Buttner (West Germany) in Heat One in 49.78 seconds; Dave Hemery (Great Britain) in Heat Two in 49.72 seconds; Christian Rudolph (East Germany) in Heat Three in 50 seconds; and Yevgeny Gavrilenko (Soviet Union) in Heat Five in 49.73 seconds.

In the first of two semi-finals, Akii-Bua not only ran significantly faster than he had done in the first round but proved that he was a top contender for the gold medal. Media communications in Uganda and the rest of the world were far less developed in the 1970’s than those of this Internet and mobile phone age. Most Ugandans, relying on radio and piecemeal newspaper and television networks were in the dark about the impressive progress of Akii. Importantly, Semi-Final Round One witnessed Akii-Bua win in 49.25 seconds (his next best personal performance in comparison with his African record of 49.00 seconds), and decisively trouncing gold-medal hopes Ralph Mann (49.53 seconds) the American national champion and record holder and Dave Hemery (49.66 seconds) the Olympic champion and world-record holder. It was the first time that Akii had faced this quality of competition; until then he had not achieved the chance to race with those two big names that would likely be his biggest nemeses at the Olympics. Was Semi-Finals Heat One a preview of what the finals would be? Both Ralph Mann and Akii-Bua had in this semi-final been assigned to unfavorable Lanes One and Two respectively; while Hemery was assigned to advantageous Lane 5 (which same lane he was assigned to in all three rounds–the Heats, the Semi-Final, and the Final)!

It is significant that while Akii’s heat in Round One had been the slowest among the five, Akii had not only clocked the best time in the semi-finals, but had also been the only one that had won in both qualifying heats. The fourth placed in this semi-final was Rainer Schubert of West Germany (49.80 seconds). The first four in each semi-final heat would advance to the final. Competitors in Semi-Finals Heat Two were quite fast, but not as impressive as the first one. Two First-Round winners, Christian Rudolph and Dieter Buttner, did not finish. The winners, to advance to the finals, were Jim Seymour (USA, 49.33 seconds), Gavrilenko (Soviet Union, 49.34 seconds), Yury Zorin (Soviet Union, 49.60 seconds), and Tziortzis (Greece, 50.06 seconds).

The finals of the Olympic intermediate hurdles were set for September 2, 1972 a date only days before what would become known as the Munich Massacre executed on the Israeli team by “Black September” militants on September 5, 1972. Akii-Bua, a 6′ 2″, 175 pound, athletically built, dark and smooth complexioned youth sporting a bright red Uganda uniform with the inscription number “911” beamed and singularly stood out amongst his European-descended competition. Also, whether by design or shear bad luck of drawing, Akii was in all three rounds assigned to either inner-Lanes One or Two—the sharpest and most difficult lanes to navigate around. For the finals (after being assigned Lane Two in both the preliminary round and the semi-finals), Akii was assigned Lane One, of all lanes! Maybe his previous inner-lane assignments gave Akii the short-term experience and practice of knowing how to navigate through to a gold medal win, albeit being placed in unfavorable Lane One. Nowadays, it is customary to allow the winners in the preliminary rounds to decide to which lanes they will be assigned in the forthcoming rounds. Logically, the winners in each round choose the middle lanes, while the runners-up and ones who ran slower end up having to chose from the “disadvantageous” outermost and inner lanes!

The prelude to the 400mh finals is one of the most colorful in Olympic history, as fourth-positioned USA marathoning finalist at the same Olympics Kenny Moore (in “Sports Illustrated”: ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972) reminds us: “…Akii-Bua was amazing. As…other finalists in the…hurdles stared blankly…at Munich’s dried-blood-red track, grimly adjusting their blocks and minds for the coming ordeal, Akii danced in his lane, waving and grinning at friends in the crowd.”

Nevertheless, Akii-Bua was not totally unnerved. He was sleepless, the night before the finals, “…haunted by visions of Hemery winning” (David Corn in “Notes on a Scandal: John Akii-Bua and his Journey from Munich Gold to tragedy” in “The Guardian,” August 6, 2008).

The day arrived! The finals witnessed Hemery, a perfectionist at timing and jumping the hurdles take the lead at a faster pace in the first 200 meters than had been the case when he won gold in world-record time in the previous Olympics held in Mexico City. Most of the cameras were concentrated on Hemery. But long-legged Akii was steadily catching up and overtaking the competition that he could clearly see in front of him. It became apparent that Akii was in the lead soon after the final turn and that Hemery was slowing down. Hemery looked helplessly to his left as Akii, three lanes down powered through. Akii still felt strong and, the finishing line was close, and Akii was confident that the gold would be his! Even after hitting the last hurdle, Akii closed onto the finishing line in what was then regarded as an astonishing new world record 47.82 seconds!

Not until American Angelo Taylor, 24 years later in the Olympics of 1996 held in Atlanta (Georgia) would a 400 meter-hurdler running in the innermost lane win gold. While Taylor won in 47.50 seconds, a displacement of Akii’s world best of 47.82s gold medal win in the inner lane, his photo finish race required many minutes to pass before the ultimate winner between he and Saudi Arabian Hadj Soua’an Al-Somaily (47.53s) in lane 4 was decided. This happened on 27th September, 2000.

“Akii-Bua fascinated the fans by show-boating after his victory. He leaped over imaginary hurdles, went into dances, and waved and grinned at admirers” (William Grimsley-“In Pole Vaulting, Rowing U.S. Handed Big Olympics Setback” Tuscaloosa News, September 3, 1972). Akii-Bua’s victory, let alone attendance at the Olympics in Munchen may not have happened. Many African nations, had threatened to massively walk out of the games in protest of the admission of white-ruled Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Rhodesia became disqualified.

The outcome of the finals is further dramatically illustrated by Kenny Moore (“Sports Illustrated”: ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972):

“…after he had won the race in world-record time…kept on going past the finish, barely slowing while his victims slumped and dry-heaved…. The organizing committee had not allowed time for victory laps but the crowd was on its feet, calling, and Akii heard….bounding over a hurdle and then he floated down the backstretch, clearing each hurdle again, a crimson and black impala leaping joyfully over imaginary barriers where there were no real ones, creating one of the few moments of exultation in the Olympics. And after the Games had ended, on notes of violence and regret and disgust, it seemed that Akii-Bua most symbolized what they might have been. He seemed a man eminently worth knowing.”

Sam Wollaston in another “Guardian” article (August 11, 2008) “The Weekend’s TV,” writes that Akii “…on the night before his Olympic victory…drank a whole bottle of champagne, provided by his [British] coach [Malcolm Arnold]. To help him sleep.”

Malcolm Arnold, a secondary school teacher and part-time athletics coach left Bristol for Uganda in 1968 where he would head coach the Uganda track-and-field team for five years. After Akii’s successes, Arnold became a national coach in the United Kingdom and is credited with successes of such athletes as hurdler Colin Jackson. Partly because Akii’s background of deprivation and meager training facilities, Arnold now in his 70’s still considers Akii as his foremost trainee. Just before the race, Arnold had advised Akii to concentrate on running his race and going for the gold instead of worrying about the pace of the other competitors and the pace of first 200 meters.

Kenny Moore (in “Sports Illustrated”: ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972), from an exchange while riding leisurely with Akii in Kampala the Uganda capital, describes him neatly:

“…he gave an impression of greater bulk than when seen running. His features are fine, almost delicate, and his complexion very smooth. His eyes are small, allowing his face to be dominated by perfect white teeth.”

The 400mh is considered to be the most trying track event: it involves combining skill, timing, strength, and stamina. Because during that and preceding eras native African hurdlers were not expected to perform so astonishingly well, many are still (erroneously) transfixed into thinking that Akii-Bua was the first African Olympic gold medalist.

College football season is winding to an end, and in each week we have taken a look back at the Pac-10’s previous happenings. Now is the time to look forward a little bit and see if we’ve got a crystal ball for the big individual end-of-season prize – the Heisman Trophy.

With conference championship games and bowl games, it’s been a tough award to give out in early December. Heck, back in 1974, many of the ballots had been received prior to USC’s Anthony Davis running roughshod over Notre Dame; as such, the spectacular Archie Griffin won his first of two Heismans. Two Heismans would have paled in comparison to the four that Beano Cook predicted for Irish QB Ron Powlus, but that is beside the point.

It’s 2005 now, and with the advent of instant communication, Heisman voters have the chance to watch players until the last possible moment before they send their ballots in. Last season, USC’s Matt Leinart won the award, beating out a solid cadre of runners-up, and was one of the favorites for the award going into the season.

While Leinart will still get a trip to New York and a chance to show off the latest in men’s fashion, he’s not going to leave with the hardware. Right now, it’s a two-horse race between Vince Young of Texas and incomparable RB Reggie Bush. Before Bush single-handedly demolished Fresno State, I would have cast a ballot for Young. Now, it’s hard to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the one they call VY is the best in the country.

Going into this weekend’s games, I’d say that Bush has the best opportunity to make hay while the sun shines. He plays for the reigning national champs, in a rivalry game that has made Heisman winners before. Back in 1968, O.J. Simpson ran a play called Red-23 Blast for 64 yards and the game-deciding touchdown over the Bruins. Bush has the same opportunity now, although back in ’68 the Juice ran for the #2 team in the country (the Bruins were, at the time, ranked first overall). Look for the speedy Bush to have a huge game over the Bruins and cement some votes on national television.

Young plays against a Colorado team that has been rotten down the stretch and was hammered by a marginal Nebraska team. The Buffaloes should be embarrassed at the turkey they put on the field the Friday after Thanksgiving, as Nebraska beat the stuffing out of it. I don’t see Gary Barnett finding a way to scheme against this multifaceted Texas offense.

In a perfect college football world, we’d have Texas and the Trojans meeting on January 4 in a winner-take-all battle for the BCS National Championship and Heisman Trophy. Actually, a perfect world would have a playoff system, but I digress. In a perfect 2005 college football world, that’s what we would have. Until then, my vote is for the one they call the President: Reggie Bush.

Have you ever ran out of gas and had to push your car? Come on, we were all teenagers once, trying to eke one more mile from the tank of fuel, or just experimenting to see how far under E you could get the needle to go. That’s one of my favorite episodes of SEINFEILD, when Kramer gets the car salesman to “KEEP ON GOING!” just to see how far they could get.

Actually, that could be a really good mantra for your REI career. KEEP ON GOING. That’s the secret to reaching Critical Mass. But let’s define it before we get there.

When your car ran out of gas, you had to push it. Its simple physics, which I’m awful at, but the principle is the same. A body at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Which means the car won’t move until you push it. So you sit there and shove and heave, and ho, until the wheels inch forward. Then what happens? As the car gains momentum, it begins to move faster and easier, and once it reaches a certain speed, you just have to keep the pressure constant and it will almost roll on its on. Almost automatically.

And if you ease off the pressure? The car slows back down, eventually coming to a complete stop. Then you have to spend even more energy just to get back to where you were. What if someone helps you push the car? Then you can reach your maximum momentum (critical mass) even faster.

So your REI career right now may be like the stalled car. You need an outside force to act upon you to get you up off your lazy bottom and out in the field. If you don’t think right now is the best time to employ a buy and hold strategy, and put cash in your pocket every month, then you need to go sell life insurance. If you think you can’t flip for profit, then it’s time to hit the job search sites and find a less successful, less easy career.

Still here? Good, because now I’m going to let you in on a little secret. If you want to reach critical mass in your REI career quickly, you just have to follow a map. The market today is just like the market in 1989-90 (same President, with the same last name, and the same contender going for his title). What that means for you as an REI is that while the media is screaming about how bad things are, they will go up again. In some pockets soon.

Other, more experienced REI’s have been through this before, and they have written books (maps) about it, and created courses about it. Now is the time to educate yourself about the strategies you can use in REI. When is the best time to flip? How do you assign a contract? What’s the best way to buy and hold?

How do you define critical mass? Like most areas of success, the definition is almost always up to you. Do you want sellers to call you and beg you to buy their properties at fifty cents on the dollar? Do you want to earn an extra $10K per month by signing a piece of paper and then assigning it to another investor? Do you want to get 10 properties under your belt in 4 weeks, and cash flow $4000 per month?

Critical Mass is when you expend the same amount of effort (follow a systematic approach to success) and reap greater results from that effort. It might go something like this. Wake up Monday morning, check your e-mail for the 10 deals sellers sent you overnight. Mail out 25 postcards. Drive to view 4 property appointments. Draw up 2 contract offers. Call your realtor buddy to tell him what to send you next. Take the afternoon off to go fishing. Wake up Tuesday morning. Check your e-mail, respond to deal offers. Mail out 25 letters. Go by the properties you’re flipping to check the progress of the work. Accept the phone numbers from your contractor of FSBO’s he’s seen while riding around. (he gets a bird dog fee if you close a deal). Visit the title company to sign on a property you flipped. Drop by the bank to deposit the check. (they call you sir now).

You get the idea. REI will give you the freedom to live the life you want, but that life must include a love of finding the deal. Finding the deal means asking people the Why questions. Why are you selling? Why won’t you give me the low low price? Why don’t you want to flip this yourself?

Your critical mass will come once you’ve pushed past the initial efforts and it becomes second nature, to make the calls, to send the postcards, to visit the neighborhoods you want to buy in, to go to the REI meetings in your city, to do the one thing extra today, that will turn into another $10K next month, that you can plow back into Real Estate and generate an extra $100K per year with no effort at all.

Momentum begins with a push. What effort did you make today to start your momentum?

Google is at the foremost amongst all search engines, that a large volume of internet users are using to look for relevant websites that Google returns for a particular keyword or keyphrase being used. So if you have to really make your website highly popular, that attracts a large volume of potential customers, then its important you have to follow certain established SEO techniques.

Keywords are the Key to Success of Your Website

You have to find those keywords that are relevant to the kind of theme or topic that you choose for to promote products and services from your website. You have to find keywords that finds a good many inquiry through the Google search box but not many websites are there that actually deals with that keyword.

Now if you scan through those websites that are displayed on the first page of a Google Search for that keyword, you might find that there is not enough content that throws light on the keyword or phrase used. Here you can exploit, by making inroads.

Highly Informative Content Rich Websites

Start writing rich content that are highly informative and useful to the kind of visitors who are clicking their way into your website. Moreover keep your website fresh by writing more contents, twice a week. Google loves content that are fresh, hot and crispy. Not stale ones, churning in articles that most websites have already dealt with over and over again, and regular visitors have learnt them by heart and does not need it anymore.

In fact Google is worried, that a good many quality visitors are getting diverted from Google and instead preferring other search engines over Google such as Bing, to look for websites that has rich content and very different from the beaten path. Naturally the loss of quality visitors will mean less of revenue earning for Google. That is why Google is hungry for fresh contents from relevant websites, catering to a particular market segment or group.

Satisfy Google’s Hunger For Fresh Content

That is why it is important that just by catering to the requirements of a particular market segment or target group won’t suffice., You also got to look from Google’s point of view too. So write or outsource fresh articles, that are rich in relevant information and also in context to the keyword, based on which you want to gain foothold as an established web site to reckon with.

The Importance of Back Links for Your Website for High Google Ranking

Now you need back links too for your website. as per the PageRank (Page stands for the name of Google co founder Larry Page) algorithm, backlinks are very important if a website wants to climb the greasy pole to Google search result page. More backlinks a website have the better it is. However quality backlinks too count. In other words if a highly established website has a link in one of its pages that points to your website then, the website, as per Google, has the merits to occupy the first few slots of the first page for a given search keyword/phrase.

Article Writing

Article writing is one way of making your website popular, as writing in established article directories, help you to garner more links that point to your website. The other places are of course niche forum sites, where you can contribute regularly with your helpful ideas in the discussion threads concerning your field of expertise and niche. That way you can send more back links to your website, and thereby send more quality targeted traffic from the forum too.

Blogs

For more back links you can maintain blogs that too are content rich and has a back link to your websites. This way you can increase the number of back links. Of course these are all hard work since you have to see that the blog is regularly updated with rich keyword based relevant content.

Stop Using Flash and Graphics in Your Website

Refrain from wasting your precious time and money in sprucing up your website with flash and graphics since the codes are not at all crawled by Google Spiders. So no point in adding those codes that Google hardly pays attention to.

Stop Your Website from Being Slow and Sluggish

Google does not like those websites that are slow and irritating to open fast. So do not use too many videos and graphics that weighs down your website, and makes it open swiftly.

The Importance of HTML / XML Site Map before Submitting to Google and other Search Engines

Another thing I wish to draw your attention is about the importance of a site map preferably XML site map. It is preferable however to have both HTML and XML in the website root folder. The reason is obvious since different search engines have their own preference. It is therefore very important that you have a site map for each websites before you submit to Google.

You can create a site map for free such as http://www.auditmypc.com/free-sitemap-generator.asp. After you have created your site map you may then submit it to Google. You will have a fair idea if you visit the site map of EzineArticles, which is ezinearticles.com/sitemap.html

Stop Plagiarism by Duplicating Content from other Websites

Plagiarism is unlawful and is an offence for violation of copyright and intellectual property laws. Google too hates websites that thrives on duplicate content. So ensure that your website has content which is written in original and no other website has the same content word to word and sentence after sentence.

Content must be of at least 250 words

Make sure your article is at least 250 words in each webpage of your site. Also your keywords need to be put in the first 250 words, since Google crawler scans only the first 250 words and on that basis it checks the relevancy of the webpage for search result.

Keyword Density – Limit it to 2% – 3% of total content. Use Only 2 to 3 keywords only

Do not use too much of the same keywords over and over again. It would be considered offensive by most search engines. The best is to limit it to 3% of the overall content. However it is prudent that you keep it to simply 2 to 3 different keywords alone.

Niche Websites That has very Little Competition but has a Good Demand from Genuine Visitors

Do not turn your website into some kind of a super mall, that sells from mouse to elephant all under one roof. Find your niche that caters to a fine segment of the market, lets say Domain flipping. See that your niche is not already crowded with too many players in the market. Try those that has not too many players and you can be one of them, to fight you way to the top in the Google Search Engine rankings, by catering to only a selected clientele.

Hope the information provided to you here in this article will help you to get started for a successful career in internet marketing and success from websites that you make them profitable using SEO techniques. This is how you can improve the ranking of your website by Google Search Engines.

It’s the latest fitness fad – running barefoot. Or wearing the oxymoronically-named “barefoot shoes.”

Is barefoot running a passing fad or a lasting trend?

Some runners have become true believers in going barefoot, while others are convinced the benefits are all hype. To help you sort out fact from fiction, here’s a summary of what we know about barefoot running.

Humans ran long distances for millions of years before shoes were invented.

Running was an essential part of survival. Early humans used a hunting technique of chasing other animals to exhaustion. The secret to our success? Humans excel at shedding the excess body heat that develops when running. Our lack of body hair, large brains, and ability to mouth-breathe are three adaptations that allow us to shed heat efficiently. Sooner or later, other animals would have to stop to avoid fainting from heat. So early hunters could eventually catch up to almost any target, even speedy sprinters like zebras or wildebeest.

Barefoot runners are invariably fore-foot landers.

With each forward step, you have a choice of two basic gait patterns:

• plant the heel of your foot, or

• slightly point your foot and land on the front part of the foot.

If you run without shoes, you’re going to naturally, almost automatically, adopt a barefoot running technique to protect your heel by landing on the forefoot. As compared to landing on the heel, landing on the front of the foot creates a smoother cycle of impact without an initial spike of pressure. Runners who use a pattern of forefoot planting – with its moderate impact forces – have a reduced incidence of certain running-related injuries, such as sprained ankles, plantar fasciitis, and shin splints.

Wearing shoes can muffle the incoming sensory signals from your foot.

If you’re not getting feedback from the muscles and joints of your foot, your brain becomes less adept at fine-tuned control of foot alignment. Your muscles could become weak and you’d be oblivious to the early-warning signs of injury.

Barefoot running uses 4% less energy than running with shoes.

We don’t know if the energy savings of barefoot running is due to increased biomechanical efficiency of the forefoot-striking pattern of gait, or whether wearing shoes just uses up more energy because of the weight of the shoe itself.

Barefoot runners have been winners in international competitions.

Remember Zola Budd? She was one of the favorites to win the 5,000 meter race in the 1984 Olympics until a collision with Mary Decker sidetracked her (and Decker too.) Budd ran barefoot. Before her, the winner of the marathon in the 1960 Rome Olympics was the barefoot Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia.

Barefoot running involves a different pattern of use of the muscles and joints.

Expect a period of adaptation before it becomes totally comfortable for you.

My experiments with forefoot running.

First, some background. I’m in my mid-fifties and my running is pretty casual. I run five to seven miles a week at the most, and often less than that. My longest runs are a once or twice annual 5K. (And my best time is 28:40.) So far I haven’t had significant injury issues from running. I wear running shoes with straight lasts, a moderate amount of arch support, and a moderate amount of heel cushioning. As long as they meet my minimum level of comfort and fit, I shop for shoes by price.

I got intrigued with the concept of barefoot running and wanted to find out more about it. The best way was to try it out for myself. To begin with, I thought I’d keep my shoes on and learn a forefoot-strike pattern of running. After all, many of the touted benefits of barefoot running have to do with the gait pattern of forefoot planting, not with lack of footwear per se.

So the next time I went for a 2-3 mile run, I practiced landing on the front part of the foot. That went smoothly enough – it’s not hard to do. It seemed to work more smoothly when I ran a little faster (sprinters are more likely to be forefoot-strikers than long distance runners are). It definitely engaged my muscles differently – my calves were working much harder.

Toward the end of the run I began to feel a twinge in the back of the calf. From self-protection I reverted to my more habitual heel-strike pattern. The next day my calf was fine. I’m not giving up with forefoot striking – I plan to continue with it and see how far I can go with it, though for now, given my level of commitment to running, I see no reason to invest in a new pair of shoes for the purpose.

Think you’ll try barefoot running yourself?

You could start just by practicing a forefoot strike like I did while wearing your normal running shoes. I recommend you prepare yourself with extra calf stretching. And start with shorter-than normal distances until your muscles rebalance to accommodate the different pattern.

See how it goes. Maybe in six months we’ll both be out there with those funny shoes with the five separate toes.

In this day and age, it is hard to deny the influence of technology in our lives. We live in an era where pretty much is automated and computerized. And amidst all the technological advancement that humankind has achieved, one important device has been created that will only sure to become more relevant to our lives as technology progresses, the computer. No one can deny that computers are now an essential part of our lives, the same way a cell phone and television does. It is safe to say that in this day and age, having no computer would be an inconvenience. Which is why it is important that we know the how our computer works so that we would be aware of the things that we should do in case it stops working. The hardware of the computer is considered to be the most important because without it, it will simply not work.

Simply put if you know how to handle the hardware of a computer and know each of their function for the unit, then you can easily determine what the problem is in case the unit stops functioning. In order to be familiar with basic computer troubleshooting, then you also need to be familiar with computer hardware. A good example of this is the memory of the computer (RAM). All programs and applications that are ran in a computer needs memory. Without RAM it simply won’t function. Aside from that, even if you have a RAM but it does have the specifications to keep up with the programs that are being ran, then the operation would be slowed down to a crawl. So when it comes to computer hardware, you have to make sure that it is not obsolete, so you need to upgrade depending on what sort of program that you are usually using.

When handling computer hardware, you have to keep in mind some safety measures so you can manipulate the unit safely. Before opening any computer cases, you have to make sure that the unit is unplugged or you might risk electrocution or shocks. While checking your hardware components, always check for damaged parts because that is most likely the one that is causing problems. When inserting components and parts, you have to remember that if it doesn’t fit, then most likely you are inserting it on the wrong slot. If it does not fit, then do not force it or you will risk breaking the component. Before touching any parts inside the unit, make sure that you discharge yourself first by through a grounded metal object or you can use an anti-static wrist strap or mat which is sold in stores for cheap.

By knowing and analyzing every computer hardware part you will know about its importance and if it ever breaks down then you can perform the proper troubleshooting steps. Every hardware component is important for the computer’s operation. The performance of your computer largely depends on how good your hardware is, so be sure that they are always in good working condition.

WARNING: This article will cause some people to get defensive, to get their hackles up, while others will find hope in it. Proceed with caution.

If I were to tell you about a runner in his twenties who sometimes runs 20 miles in the morning and then 20 miles that same afternoon, you’d be impressed. Correct? How about if I said he was actually 41! That would be even more impressive because we all know that athletes in their forties are well past their prime. Right? Then what would you say if this runner turned out to be twice as old, or 82-years-old!? That’s right! According to Runner’s World magazine’s Gail Kislevitz, Evaro, Montana’s Bob Hayes, 82, from time to time takes two 20-mile runs in a single day! But that’s not all.

Bob runs nearly every day and likes to “race every weekend” he can. This ruggedly fit octogenarian races in everything from 5Ks to marathons to ultra-marathons (anything longer than 26.2 miles). Since, with the encouragement of his son, Thomas, he ran his first 5K at age 60 and found out he liked it, he’s run six marathons (two just this last year), 36 ultras (including 8 or 9 100Ks/62 milers), and countless shorter races.

Last month Bob, now 83, completed his 12th LeGrizz 50-Miler (his first was at age 70); his time of 10 hours 47 minutes, or a little less than 13 minutes per mile, was 17 minutes faster than he ran it three years earlier when he was just a youngster of 80. This last LeGrizz was no easy race, because the temperature at the start was record low, for early October — zero degrees, FARENHEIT! Brrrrr. One might assume that at his age Bob would come in a distant last in such an ultra-long footrace, but actually he came in 63rd out of 91 competitors; that means that Bob had the stamina and endurance to outperform 28 much younger runners.

Some readers at this point are asking themselves: “Why would anyone, especially someone in his eighties, put himself through the pain and exhaustive effort that must be a requisite component of running 50 miles?” Here are some of the reasons this octogenarian ultrarunner willingly competes in these races, knowing full well the struggle and suffering he’s about to endure each and every time:

• The Social Aspect — Hanging out and conversing with fellow runners of all ages and abilities before, during and after a race is much more fun than spending time at the senior center
• The Feeling of Accomplishment after a race — the high — the feeling of satisfaction in having completed a very difficult task sticks with Bob for “days and days and days.”
• Being in Great Shape — Because of this vigorous activity of choice, running and ultrarunning, Bob Hayes in his 80s is in better shape than he was at 60, before he started running. This former logger, who was always in excellent shape due to his physically challenging job, at age 80 is quoted as saying, “I’m in the best shape of my life.” How many individuals in their 80s or 60s or even their 40s can say that?

At this point there are those who are feeling threatened by Bob’s accomplishments, who are feeling like he is showing them up by virtue of his being so outstandingly fit at such an advanced age. These people are busy mentally making excuses (reasons, if you will) why Bob can do all this running… and they can’t. I trust that this is not you, because this account of Bob Hayes, runner extraordinaire, is meant to give the rest of us hope — not to make the rest of us look bad. It’s written with the single purpose of proving, or at least helping us to believe, that by making some adjustments to our lifestyles or continuing to take good care of ourselves we, too, can stay or get in great shape no matter our age. It’s to show that we don’t have to deteriorate at the same accelerated rate that seems to be the norm for so many in today’s society. Bob Hayes shows us by his example that we can be vibrantly alive no matter how many years have come and gone.

We can feel that Bob is showing us up, that his good health is just a lucky genetic freak of nature, and make excuses for our own failings, or we can use his story to give us hope — use it as the impetus to make some changes for the better. The choice, as always, is up to us!

Two separate events recently showed once again how incredibly impressive our young women in American can be-one an instance of pure sportsmanship at its best, and the other an instance of pure desire, determination and substance.

The first event happened at the Washington Class 4A State Girls Track & Field Championship Meet at Pasco, and the running of the 3,200-meter race with Nicole Cochran, Bellarmine Prep’s outstanding middle distance runner.

Cochran won the event in 10:36, beating Shadle Park’s Andrea Nelson by 3 seconds. Thirty minutes later, race officials disqualified Cochran, ruling that the Harvard-bound runner ran 3 consecutive steps inside the lane adjacent to hers. Bellarmine Prep Coach Matt Ellis appealed the infraction, but his appeal was denied.

The infraction happened on the first day of the meet, and Cochran was visibly upset because she knew she did not commit the infraction. In addition, Cochran was the defending state champion, having won both the 1,600 and 3,200 titles as a junior.

She never seemed herself after the crushing news, and the pure injustice of it all. On the second day of competition, Cochran led the 1,600 and was gunned down in the final lap when Oak Harbor’s Mietra Smollack out-kicked her on the final turn to win in 4:56.44. Cochran finished 4th.

Later in the afternoon, Cochran ran the 800 meters and finished dead last in 2:24.40. “I just didn’t hang with them, and kind of gave up after 450 meters,” said a dejected Cochran.

Despite losing Cochran’s points, her teammates were rightfully incensed and rose to the occasion by winning the team title with 76.5 points to second-place Gig Harbor’s 65.

“I gave a lot of effort in the 3,200,” said Cochran, “and then there was the emotional toll afterward, sitting here for a whole hour while they got the 3,200 figured out, which was unfortunate because I know I wasn’t in the wrong and I got penalized for it.”

In a show of pure sportsmanship, when the official 3,200 race winner Andrea Nelson was awarded her first place metal at the podium, she moments later gave her first place medal to Cochran. Redmond’s Sarah Lord followed by giving Nelson her second-place medal, and the other medal winners followed suit.

“It gave me the chills,” Cochran said. “It shows how much respect distance runners have for each other.”

And now the story after the story: Ten days after that eventful afternoon, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association reinstated Cochran as the rightful winner, reversing a rules infraction charge made by race officials.

Mike Colbrese, executive director of the WIAA, reviewed video of the race that showed it was Cochran’s teammate who ran out of the lane, and that the officials’ report also incorrectly identified the lap in question as Lap 7 when the infraction actually occurred on Lap 6. So much for that bungled officiating effort.

The officials were dead wrong on race day, but they also were absolutely sure they were right and also in charge on race day. The cat will mew and the dog will have its day (from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Act 5, Scene 1, meaning “any given person’s moment of glory is inevitable), or, as I like to say: “right will out”.

The second event happened at the Texas 1A Girls State Track & Field Championship Meet in Austin, where Rochelle High School won the team title. So what is so unusual, you ask? Just this: Rochelle qualified exactly one athlete for the state meet, and she won the state title for her team by herself.

Meet Bonnie Richardson, a study in desire, determination and substance like no other girl track and field athlete in Texas high school history.

Richardson, whose middle name just might be talent, spent Friday winning the high jump at 5 foot 5 inches, placed 2nd in the long jump at 18-7, and third in the discus at 121-0.

On Saturday, Richardson ambled over to the track in the sweltering high-90-degree Texas heat and promptly won the 200-meter dash in 25.03 and followed up the effort by nearly pulling off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing 2nd in 12.19 to defending champion Kendra Coleman of Santa Ana.

“Kendra and I have been battling all year,” said Richardson. “I was amazed I stayed with her. I didn’t think I was that fast.” Yes, Bonnie Richardson, you ARE apparently THAT fast.

So did Richardson steal the show in Texas? Nah, she just earned her team the state title by herself. University Interscholastic League officials could not remember a girl ever winning a state team title by herself.

It did happen before in the state boys championship meet when former Balyor Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler Frank Pollard did it for Meridian Highs School in the 1970s, said UIL Athletics Director Charles Breithaupt.

Many outstanding girl athletes have dominated state meets, but few ever cross over from the sprints to the field events with Richardson’s success, said Beithaupt. “The way she did it is really impressive.” That is, of course, what everyone thought who was there to see it happen.

And the kicker? It turns out that Rochelle High School does not even have a track to practice on. When Richardson was asked how does she train, she jokingly replied, “Watch out for potholes,” adding, “We have a track about 10 miles down the road and train there usually.”

Richardson’s coach, Jym Dennis, suspected she could do something special at the state meet, but wisely stayed quiet, not wanting to put any pressure on his prize athlete.

Last year, Richardson won the state long jump title, but did not medal in the high jump and discus.

And the additional great fortune for Rochelle High School? Bonnie Richardson is a junior.

Richardson also competes on Rochelle’s tennis team, and led Rochelle’s basketball team to the state semifinals last season.

“I’d play football if my parents would let me,” said Richarson, adding “Not quarterback. Defense.” Sounds like my kind of girl-spunky, competitive and willing to settle all issues on the field of battle.

Lou Holtz, one of college football’s legendary coaches, was famous for many quotes, including this one: “When all is said and done, more is said than done.” Somehow, I think Lou Holtz would have been a tremendous admirer of Bonnie Richardson, and her extraordinary effort on that hot Texas afternoon when she single-handedly delivered a state title to Rochelle High School.

And there you have it: Nicole Cochran, every girl on the medal stand for the 3,200-meter ceremony, Cochran’s teammates, and Bonnie Richardson, all ordinary young women who did extraordinary things because they could and would.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Have you ever had something happen in your life that, at first glance, looked like a terrible misfortune but looking back you see that it was actually a valuable experience, which taught you something you needed to learn? Sometimes, events that look or feel so terrible at the moment turn out to give us a inspiration or new direction and focus.

A fable that I read many years ago sums up my point perfectly:

A farmer had a horse but one day, the horse ran away and so the farmer and his son had to plow their fields themselves. Their neighbors said, “Oh, what bad luck that your horse ran away!” But the farmer replied, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?”

The next week, the horse returned to the farm, bringing a herd of wild horses with him. “What wonderful luck!” cried the neighbors, but the farmer responded, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?”

Then, the farmer’s son was thrown as he tried to ride one of the wild horses, and he broke his leg. “Ah, such bad luck,” sympathized the neighbors. Once again, the farmer responded, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?”

A short time later, the ruler of the country recruited all young men to join his army for battle. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home. “What good luck that your son was not forced into battle!” celebrated the neighbors. And the farmer remarked, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?”

In my own life, as a teenager and into my early twenties, I got involved with drugs and alcohol and ended up broke, literally homeless, and in trouble with the law. I had no hopes, dreams or sense of direction in my life. I was completely lost , at a real crossroads, and in tremendous pain. I felt that there had to be something better than this. So I decided to choose something better for myself.

(Notice that I did not know what to choose, but I knew what I did not want, which was my first step.)

First thing I did was to stop drinking and drugging, get a job, and start looking for a way out, which was not easy for a 22-year old. Boy, did I feel sorry for myself. Looking back nearly 30 years later, what seemed like the end of the world was actually the beginning of a whole new life, which I might never have found had I not crashed and burned at such a young age. I am now living a life I never could have even imagined when I was 22.

Finding Opportunities within Challenges

This morning, I was talking with a dear friend who has just been diagnosed with cancer for the third time. She shared with me that both previous times she underwent diagnosis and treatment for cancer, she learned incredible lessons along the way. While she would not wish this on herself or for anyone, she can recognize the gifts her journey has brought to her.

She went on to say that after the shock of the news that the cancer had reoccurred, she had a realization. While she doesn’t know if this third episode will be ‘her time” or not, realized that, either way, she needs to address some unfinished business with two of her children. While she would ordinarily prefer to avoid this issue, she now feels she must deal with it. Through her terrible news, once again, comes the urgency and courage to face her toughest issues head on. She has decided to be honest with her children and share what she knows in her heart needs to be said.

Successful people share with me, over and over, similar stories about some perceived terrible events like a divorce or illness or loss that changed the entire course of their lives dramatically. Yet that change may also have brought them to a place that is indescribably better than they could ever have imagined. Had those supposedly terrible experiences not happened, they might not have found the resolve to make other changes happen along the way.

I am not suggesting that there are no such things as tragedies or losses. What I am saying is that loss and pain can be just one aspect of a difficult experience; positives can result from making meaningful experiences out of our challenges. For example, one mother who lost her child to a drunk driver formed Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), an organization that has saved many lives. Helen Keller used a lack of sight or hearing to teach the rest of us important lessons about living. Nelson Mandela spent half his life in prison trying to bring peace to South Africa yet emerged from his prison cell to lead his country as its first post-apartheid president.

The next time you perceive something as really bad, try and remember it could also be just another gift in disguise. It’s all in the way you look at it.

“There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“Every adversity contains an equal or greater benefit.” -Napoleon Hill

We continue our tour through notable milestones in advertising history.

In 1916 James Walter Thompson retires and a group of colleagues buy him out for $500,000

In the year 1917 American Association of Advertising Agencies founded with 111 members.

In 1919 Barton, Durstine and Osborn (BDO) open in New York.

In 1919 James Webb Young became famous for his Odorono ad. This was the first attempt ever at advertising women’s deodorant. At the time, there was up-roar. Many women perceived his ad as offensive. His headline ran: “Within the Curve of a Woman’s Arm.” But he was proved right as sales of the product soared 112% in the first year.

In 1921 Baygul and Jacobs open in Omaha

It was in the 1920s that Emmanuel Haldeman Julius sold over 200 million copies of his Little Blue Books .

And he never wrote a single one of them. All he ever did was market them, and if a title didn’t work for him he changed it. In his own words: “A good title is a work of genius.”

He reckoned that just changing the title of a book increased sales. Who can argue?

His book, not surprisingly titled: “The First Hundred Million” shows how he advertised his little books in newspapers and magazine ads.

Here’s what copy-writing legend Gary Halbert had to say: “Go read a copy of “The First Hundred Million.” It is where I learned my magic words…the ones that make copy SIZZLE and my headlines impossible to ignore.”

E. Haldeman-Julius had a system. If a title didn’t sell over 10,000 copies in a year, it was sent to a place in his office called “The Hospital” and here it would be given a new title. And if the new title bombed, then it went into “The Morgue.”

As an example, he had a book titled: “Art of Controversy” which didn’t exceed his 10,000 copy yardstick. The title was changed to: “How to Argue Logically” and sales soared to 30,000 copies. Why? He changed nothing about the book – just the title.

By doing this, Haldeman-Julius discovered that certain words, when used in the title, could increase sales of almost any book.

For example, a book by Dr. Arthur Cramp in 1925 called: “Patent Medicine” sold a measly 3,000 copies. Haldeman-Julius changed the title to: “The Truth About Patent Medicine” and sales rose to a respectable 10,000 copies. Haldeman-Julius found that the words: “The Truth About” had some sort of magic.

Haldeman-Julius found that old chestnut: “How To” in a title was far and away the best. For example, the title: “How to Psycho-analyze Yourself” out-sold “Psycho-analysis Explained” and “How I Psycho-analyzed Myself” by almost four times.

He found that the words: Life; Love; Sex; Romance; self-improvement; and entertainment also worked well in titles.

He discovered how small changes in his titles resulted in massive differences in sales.

If you have a product that is not doing as well as you would like. Take a look at the title. Does it contain the main benefit to your customers? Does it offer some curiosity?

Or has it got a title that has got within some cute expression that your customer has to guess what your product or service is? If so, get rid of it.

Try changing the title of your sales copy. But before you do, make sure it’s a change for the better.

We are now in an “Information Age” and people want information – desperately. The internet is a perfect example.

People want facts. Well, guess what Haldeman-Julius found? “The Facts You Should Know .” proved to be a massive hit. Nothing’s changed since his days. These words still work today.

You can use Haldeman-Julius’ wisdom in your business today, no matter what line you’re in. Use his ideas in your reports, titles and in your headlines for your copy. Whenever you’re stuck for a headline idea, try playing with the words:

“How to” or “The Truth About” or “The Art of” or “Facts That You Should Know” or “The Key to..” or “The Story of” or “A Little Secret That.” And plenty more you can dream up for yourself.

Haldeman-Julius was quite unique in what he did. He didn’t write any books. He took what others had written. All he ever did was market them. And he did this by title only. There was no body copy – just the titles.

Another master of copywriting, David Ogilvy, used to write out his headlines and practice them on his friends and family.

He is remembered for one stunning headline. But before he found it he had written 104 different headlines.

That headline was, of course, his famous Rolls Royce copy: “At 60 Miles An Hour, the Loudest Noise in the New Rolls Royce comes from the Electric Clock.”

Take heart, if a pro like David Ogilvy had to write all those headlines and test them out on friends, that surely tells you something.

David Ogilvy will also be remembered for his: “The Man in The Hathaway Shirt” which ran for 25 years.

Also his Schweppes advertising campaign, where he persuaded the client, Commander Whitehead, to appear in his own advertisement and this ran for 18 years.

His Ad for Rolls Royce remains as the most famous automobile advertisement of all time.

He wrote two books: “Confessions of an Advertising Man” and “Ogilvy on Advertising.”

Some advertisers run without any headline at all because their creators think it’s trendy or clever. Seldom will such an ad succeed.

If advertisers were to test, they would know what works and what doesn’t.

Here’s another point. A long headline that really says something is much, much better than a short headline that says nothing.

And, arguably, the most famous headline of all time was written by John Caples: “They Laughed When I Sat Down at The Piano – but When I Started to Play….” This ad was written for the U.S.School of Music and people are still copying it today.

And shortly afterwards, Caples wrote another famous headline: “They Grinned When The Waiter Spoke To Me In French…But When They Heard My Reply..” Which was also written for an educational establishment.

These headline ideas are still used to good effect now.

Caples disliked humor in his ads and once said: Only half the people in this country have a sense of humor, and clever ads seldom sell anything.

Before we leave the subject of headlines, the topic would not be complete without some reference to Maxwell Sackheim’s classic: “Do You Make These Mistakes in English?”

You’ve probably read this headline somewhere but did you know it was originally titled: “Are You Afraid of Making Mistakes in English?”

Obviously, the first headline out-pulled the second one. But do you know why? And do you know which single word made all the difference?

Hint: a headline that appeals to your reader’s self-interest is the best type of headline. And if the headline also appeals to the reader’s wants, it almost can’t fail.

These two appeals will make your reader want to read the copy.

The word “these” is the single word that makes all the difference.

That first headline aroused the reader’s self-interest and curiosity. It suggests reading the copy to find out what “these” mistakes are and to avoid them.

The second headline just suggests it is a stuffy old book on English grammar. And nobody wants to read any such type of book.

Sackheim’s winning ad ran for 40 years, without interruption. A record that still hasn’t been broken.

Great headlines sell. Period!