A few years ago, I returned to my impoverished village in Haiti. Many in the village came to see methe tiny and diseased child they didn’t expect to make it. Some of them used to call me Souyen and kokobaywords that mean “crippled.” A man from the village, Alfred, reminded the people how they treated me. “Today” He said, “He returns as our village hero.”

I am sure you, too, may already be a village hero in your own way. In my case, it was the final result of personal responsibility, and a combination of strategies that prompted Alfred to call me a “Village Hero.” Let me share five of those strategies with you:

1. Practice Self-Discipline. Do you ever wonder why some have too much and others are barely surviving? The answer - discipline and self-sacrifice. Success, however you define it, is easy. But you gotta be consistent. My guess is there are a few things you could do to achieve more results in your life. Although you know what they are, you still neglect them. But listen: to be successful, you must do the uncomfortable now in order to be comfortable later.

2. Lift Up Others. Think of yourself as a pebble, and those you know as ponds. Give a little encouragement and you become a pebble in the pond. The ripples are endless. Someone you know is silently struggling and needs some uplifting words. It may be a minor detail to you, but to them, it’s a big boost. You

Don’t sell it yourself! Sometimes a “FSBO,” or house “for sale by owner” can sell as fast, and for as much as it would have if listed with a real estate agent. Sometimes. Before you decide to give it a try though, consider the following ten points.

1. Most buyers work with agents, and look through MLS listings. If you don’t list with an agent, most buyers will never see or hear about your home. It’s hard to find that “right” buyer or get top dollar when your invisible to most of the market.

2. FSBOs get lower offers. It’s only logical. The buyer thinks you’ll take less because you’re saving the commission! Save $10,000, get $10,000 less - where’s the advantage in that?

3. You pay advertising. All the costs the real estate office normally pays are yours if you sell it yourself. How much will you spend on ads if it takes a a year to sell?

4. You don’t have the resources. The agent has books of sold properties to look at, for example, to determine the best price for your home. You can get that information by digging through county records, but you do have to value your time too, right?

5. You may not know the market. What’s the target market for your house? Young couples, retirees? What features are they looking for? You should know these things before you write your ads. An experienced real estate salesperson will know.

6. You may not know the laws. What about written disclosures,

So you’ve done some investigating into mail order and haven’t found something you’d like to sell. Here are some tips that should point you in the right direction.

First, you must have a specific category of goods you’d like to sell.. You must enjoy what you’re doing or it won’t be worth your trouble, so you should pick some category of goods that falls within an area of interest to you.

Don’t be afraid that the market might already be saturated; if a lot of people are already selling that class of goods, it’s because the market calls for that much product.

If you’re a hot dancer, you might be able to put together a dance course of dancercise program, or sell dancewear. If you’re into tennis, the number of gadgets for tennis players,, or in fact, any sport or hobby is staggering, and marketed correctly, most of them will make money. If knowledge in a certain field is your stock-in-trade, by all means, become a writer!

Books are probably the safest and hottest commodities you can sell by mail. There are trade magazines for virtually every kind of business and private venture and every private interest group or hobby in existence. Check your library for the name of these magazines, get copies of them by hook or crook, and find out what’s being offered to people in the industry.

Trade magazines are where new products are first introduced, and you can often get exclusive rights to a marvellous idea just because you were brave