This article is coming from the heart, when I say learn to let go of your ego. It was my ego that actually hindered my success for years. If I can help just one other budding entrepreneur to let go of their ego and move forward, then I will be happy. So what about the ego? It was three particular areas that caused me grief. One - I believed that I had to do everything in the business - in order to "claim the fame". Two - that I had to be the wisest and most brilliant person and come up with all the ideas. Three - That I had to know everything... crazy I know!

What were the thoughts going through my mind? That if I was wrong, it meant I couldn't be successful. I mean - how far from the truth is that! You look at all successful entrepreneurs - each have made many mistakes along their journey, and that is what makes them who they are today. Thomas Edison made over 1000 mistakes before he came across the right way to create a light bulb, and look how successful he was!

So, I wanted to give permission to all you budding entrepreneurs to let go of the ego - because as soon as you do, success soon follows and it is the most freeing thing you can do. Here are 3 things to think about:

1. I can do it all - With much enthusiasm and innocence of a beginner, I believed that it was best that I did everything. The accounts, the marketing, the ideas, the networking, the sales, etc. You name it, that was my title. I believed that to be the best you had to be a one man band! Thankfully I soon figured out, the successful entrepreneurs found the right people for certain jobs so they could focus on the growth and direction of their business or ideas.

LESSON ONE: Delegate duties and positions so you can focus on the evolution and growth of your business. You don't see Oprah sitting on MYOB doing her accounts, she has the experts doing it for her - find your experts.

2. If I can't think up the idea, then it won't mean I am successful - Such a silly thing to think, but to be completely honest, I believed it. I felt that if someone had an idea or suggestion that bettered mine, then I mustn't be successful enough. After I got over myself, what I realised was it was the successful entrepreneurs that took on other peoples suggestions and criticisms to improve on what they had, make it bigger and better.

LESSON TWO: Be open to new ideas, suggestions and criticism. Ask yourself, how could I use this information to improve on what I already have?

3. Right first off, otherwise therefore I am a failure - Something to be very aware of is giving up after your first attempt doesn't work. This mindset is the mindset of someone who will actually never make it - yes, they may try something new over and over, but what they don't do is commit, persist and determine to be successful. That is what is key - and after all be open to what your failures bring. A lot of successful inventions began as a completely different intention. If you look up the Slinky or Popsicle or even Silly Putty, they all were "failures" for another idea, but became successes in their own right.

LESSON THREE: Trial and error are paramount, never give up - just evolve along with your idea. Ask - how can I make this failure into a success, you may be surprised with what develops.

Don't worry about how you are going to get there, just be determined to reach your goal of success, whatever that means to you. I was able to let go of the way I was going to get to my destination, and it was amazing what opportunities turned up. When you let go of the resistance of the ego, there will be a flood of ideas, suggestions and money making vehicles that will take you to where you want to go. Just know where it is you want to head, research your 'vehicles' that will take you there and enjoy the scenery on the way!

Drywall/ Plaster Repair In the city where I do most of my rehabilitation work, all the houses are 90 to 100 years old. Cracks and holes in the plaster are common. Often, holes in ceiling plaster are the result of water infiltrating either from the roof, or from a split plumbing line. Holes in walls are often the result of vandalism, but could be the sign of more serious foundation issues. Once the root cause is fixed I normally patch the area with inch drywall. Perform this task by placing a piece of inch drywall over the hole (lathe must be present behind the drywall). Secure the drywall to the hole with at least 2 drywall screws. Insert your rotozip near the edge of your hole and cut the drywall by pressing the rotozip blade against the remaining plaster. Once your piece is cut, secure it with multiple drywall screws, mud the gaps, tape, re-mud then sand to a smooth finish.

Basic Water Pipe Repair Many of the foreclosed homes that I encounter have sat over the winter and the cold weather has burst water pipes in the basement and walls. Usually the hardest part of the repair is finding all the leaks. You do this by turning on the water, listening for falling water, then visually inspecting where the water is coming from. Once you find the leak, cut out the old section of pipe and cut a section of new pipe to replace it. Rough up the end of the old and new sections of pipe with your sandpaper. Apply flux to each section of pipe and to a coupler that will be used to join the pieces. Put the new section in place. Heat the coupler with your butane torch and apply solder around the edges of the coupler. The flux will melt creating a vacuum inside the coupler and drawing the solder inside. Once it is sealed all the way around, allow the solder to dry and move on to the next leak. If you are worried about using a butane torch on this project, ask your hardware professional about Shark-Bite fixtures.

Drain Repair Drains work by using the force of gravity to expel wastewater down and out of the house. Improperly working drains can be the result of improper pitch in the drain line or a clog. Clogged drains are a very common problem. When a working drain gets clogged, Draino or a quick snake will often do the trick. If that doesn't work, unscrew the drainpipe and inspected for clogs. If a clog is found in there, simply remove the clog, replace the drain and test the drain. In a vacant house, a clog can become impenetrable. If you encounter such a clog, you need to cut it out and replace that section of drain. Using a saw or grinder cut out the clogged section of pipe. Once the clog is cut out, cut a similar length of PVC pipe to replace it. Either connect the new pipe to the old with PVC connectors or with a fernco connector. If you use the PVC connectors make sure that you clean the old pipe thoroughly and apply PVC cement to ensure a proper seal.

Replacing Light Fixtures Be sure the power is off to the fixture by checking the wires with a voltage meter. Remove the old fixture. Strip off a section of the wire casing and attach your new fixture with wire nuts and electrical tape. Insure that no unexposed wire remains. Since each fixture will come with its own set of instructions, be sure to read those instructions thoroughly to insure proper installation. Electricity can cause severe injury if you do not follow instruction implicitly.

Window Installation Carefully remove the old window. Be sure not to damage the old wood frame and the window sill. Once the window is removed place wood shims on the exterior of the sill and level the shims. Secure the shims. Place the new window in the opening. Place more wood shims along the sides at the top, middle and the bottom. Once the sides are secure, make sure you can easily open and close the window. Fill the gaps around the window with expanding foam insulation or fiberglass insulation.

Refinishing Wood Floors First remove the old carpet. Then remove all of the tack strips, staples, nails and quarter round molding. Once the floor is clean, run your drum sander with the grain of the wood. It is very important that you keep the drum sander moving at all times though. If you leave it sit it will quickly eat into the floor, leaving the finished floor wavy looking. Start with 36-grit sandpaper, then 80-grit, and then 100-grit. Once the main body of the floor is sanded, do the edges with an edge sander using the same grits of sandpaper that you used on the main floor. When all the sanding is complete, sweep the floor, and then vacuum the floor. Apply your choice of stain or apply polyurethane directly to the wood. Finish with 2-3 coats of polyurethane. Replace the trim molding along the floor.

Laying Tile The key to a good tile project is a good foundation. Whether you are tiling a wall or floor, the foundation must be plumb or level and the surface must be flat. Start by removing the old coverings whenever possible. Once the old covering has been removed put down a cement backerboard over the entire area to be tiled. Be sure to secure the backerboard with screws designed for this application. Fill in the joints of the backerboard with mortar. Begin tile installation by troweling on a thin application of mastic over a three to four foot area. Set the tile in place and push gently to secure the position. Place a spacer next to the tile and position the next piece. Continue in this fashion until the tiles are all in place. Allow the mastic to dry for 24-hours before grouting. If you are laying a natural stone tile (travertine, slate, marble) be sure to seal the tile prior to grouting. If you don't, the tile will appear hazy. Remove all tile spacers. Mix the grout and push the grout into the seams using a rubber float. Immediately wipe up excess grout with a damp sponge. After an hour or so, wipe down the tile with a paper towel or piece of cheesecloth to get rid of the haze on the surface.

Texturing a Ceiling To get a perfectly textured ceiling, dip a paint roller with a long (4 foot) handle into a bucket of top-coating mud. Roll the mud onto the ceiling. Push your texturing brush into the mud and pull back quickly to create a random dimple pattern all across your ceiling. After it dries finish by painting with a white ceiling paint or a color to complement your walls.

Painting a Room Prior to painting any room, always inspect the surface of the walls. Take the time to fix any small pinholes or cracks with spackling paste and sand to s smooth finish. Once the walls are smooth, look for gaps between the walls and the trim. Fill the gaps with caulk and smooth the caulk with a wet finger. Paint the trim first with a white semi-gloss paint. Next, apply one coat of latex primer to the surface of the walls using a roller. After the primer dries apply your paint. A flat latex paint is the best choice for hiding small imperfection in your walls surface. Two coats of paint will generally provide complete coverage. To edge the walls, apply painter's tape to the trim, and brush the paint onto the edges. After you have painted the edges, remove the painter's tape and you're done.

Landscaping The exterior is the first impression people will get of your house. Take time to remove all the overgrown 1950's era plants and replace them with smaller more modern looking plants. After removing the old shrubs, cultivate the bed and mix in organic materials like manure, compost or peat moss. Arrange your new plants on top of the beds. Once you are happy with the arrangement, remove any burlap or plastic and plant them. Be sure not to bury the root balls of shrubs. You want to plant the shrub with just a little of the ball showing above the ground surface. Follow spacing instruction on the containers so that your new landscape doesn't look like overgrown in two years. After planting the large landscape in this fashion, take time to plant flowers around your new plants and enjoy your new look.

Hey brand new Second Life fans! Tired of looking new and boring? Want a sexy custom look that will make the other residents fall head over heels in love? Then you need to find several things to make yourself look uniquely you! Follow these steps and you will be on your way to a new impressive look.

Stuff you need for this adventure: Custom Skin Figure Hairstyle Windows to the soul Fasion Accessorys Clothes Footwear Time Money

First you need a really good skin & shape! I put these two together because they go hand in hand. A good shape and skin are essential to both men and women who want to look good in Second Life. It is important especially if you plan to run a business.

But it is also important because how you look impacts how people react to you. Few people take a basic "Ruth" seriously. Ruth is the term used for new players who have the basic and somewhat ugly basic skin and shape.

Doing this will not be hard. All you do is use the searches reinforced into the SL client and do a search for skins & shapes. Most of these cost between $L500 and $L3000 lindens.

There are cheaper deals out there, but be on guard if they do not allow you to see a monstrance of the skin or shape. Just like in the real world the people in Second Life are not always very kind to others.

Choose another race if you want to! If you wish to you can search for "Furry" or "Neko" and become an animal like character with your avatar. There is a large number of residents who have chosen to become a Neko or Furry Digital Avie.

Next thing you will need is good hair! The basic hair is very plain and will not help you set up your individual personality very well. So go shopping around to see which hair creators are best for both price and quality.

There is no need to settle on just one store, but if you like most of the styles there, you will have a lot of hair that exactly matches color wise too! Again to find hair you simply do searches in the built in search feature of Second Life.

After skin, hair, and shape, you will need an animation over-ride, also referred to as an "AO". By now you have noticed that you are walking around like you're stuck to a rigid board and have a limp. Not very flattering

Until now an AO will fix that and add your personal style! Searching for AO or Animation Override can bring good results. There are hundreds of animation over-ride models out there for you to choose from, and each normally has a theme like "bad boy" or "sweet girl".

Now you are totally hot and you are no longer walking around SL like a pirate with a peg-leg. The final items you will want to acquire are things to wear and shoes.

Shopping for the perfect items can take you a while, but it can be extremely fun! Nice clothing from good designers will run you from $L100 to $L3000 per outfit.

The average outfit tends to cost about $L400. There are some free items out there that are not too badness if you?re on a bitty budget as well. I hope that this has helped and you will enjoy your time in Second Life!

Advice for you:

Prices can range greatly, but you can find quality on a budget. Search the last few pages of the classified, prices are usually lower. If a price seems to outrageous.. Watch your wallet! If a photo seems unrealistic, avoid the product If a photograph looks photo shopped, watch out!