eBay users are accustomed to only two “standard” formats for
sales on eBay: either the ‘regular’ auction which involves
bidding and waiting; and the Buy It Now, which is an instant
purchase.

But there are three other formats that are less well known.

1. Live Auctions

Before eBay, the traditional auction included live bodies in
chairs and an auctioneer up front (talking so fast he was
frequently unintelligible). Any buyer can still participate
in these live auctions via eBay. Live auctions are a hybrid
- a buyer is ’sort of’ present in a live setting yet is at
home using an Internet connection.

The products for sale are usually expensive and unusual.
There are such items as expensive and unique coins, Asian
art, native American artifacts, incredible jewelry, costly
furniture, memorabilia from major sports stars and even
history. Today, for instance, there are documents signed by
John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Madison and Ulysses
Grant (he confides that he was strenuously opposed to the
“wicked” war with Mexico).

If you choose to participate in a live auction, be certain
that you register first because you can’t just drop in on a
whim.

You can find all the details here:
http://www.ebayliveauctions.com

2. Private Auctions

Private auctions are similar to the typical auction that
we’re all familiar with except for one detail - the
identities of the bidders are kept secret. Only the seller
has access to the names.

Why would anyone create a private auction? It’s usually for
one of three reasons:

* The item is quite expensive and buyers might be
uncomfortable having others know they can afford such
merchandise. Their concern about their financial status is
most likely misplaced because it is quite

How many of us are not confident about how we handle life’s situations? Truth is you may be confident in some area of your life but not others.

I grew up a very shy person and was not comfortable going out of my comfort zone. I always stayed in the background and tried to make myself less noticeable. It was especially painful in-group activities that involved boys. But as luck would have it, it was at a school dance that I had a breakthrough.

I was sitting in the background hoping a boy would ask me to dance but also terrified that I would get asked. It finally happened. There was a boy approaching me and I was shaking. But I noticed something odd, that he was shaking too. He stuttered when he asked me and it suddenly occurred to me, he was as scared as I was. It was a huge revelation to me. That moment changed me and in later dances I became the one who would ask the boys to dance and I felt very confident. I stepped out of my comfort zone and it became easy. This was a major step for a young girl.

This is true in all areas of your life. Confront what you don’t want to, get it done and you realize it’s not so bad.

Oddly enough it was my daughter who really inspired me and her friends. At 12 & 13 years old she signed up for a modeling course. It was something she

1. “The greatest gift I ever had Came from God, and I call him Dad! “
   – Anonymous

2. “Our earth is degenerate in these latter days; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”
   – Assyrian clay tablet 2800 B.C.

3. “The joys of parents are secret, and so are their griefs and fears.”
   – Francis Bacon, Sr.

4. “A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again. “
   – Enid Bagnold

5. “We never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents.”
   – Henry Ward Beecher

6. “I have always looked at life as a voyage, mostly wonderful, sometimes frightening. In my family and friends I have discovered treasure more valuable than gold.”
   – Jimmy Buffet

7. “The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them. “
   – Confucius

8. “Fatherhood is pretending the present you love the most is soap-on-a-rope.”
   – Bill Cosby

9. “You know, fathers just have a way of putting everything together. “
   – Erika Cosby

10. “Be kind to thy father, for when thou were young, who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, and joined in thy innocent glee. “
    – Margaret Courtney

11. “Role modeling is the most basic responsibility of parents. Parents are handing life’s scripts to their children, scripts that in all likelihood will be acted out for the rest of the children’s lives.”
    – Stephen R. Covey

12. “What a dreadful thing it