Steve Jobs: 7 Lessons from a Marketing Genius
Today's guest writer is Carmine Gallo, author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience Apple CEO Steve Jobs is considered one of the greatest marketers in corporate history. For more than three decades, he has delivered legendary keynote presentations, raised product launches to an art form and successfully communicated the benefits of Apple products to millions of customers. Whether you're in sales, marketing, advertising or public relations, Steve Jobs has something to teach you about telling your brand story. Plan in analog. Steve Jobs may have made a name for himsel

Yesterday the New...
Yesterday the New Oxford American Dictionary named “unfriend” as the top new word of 2009. Unfriend: to boot someone out of your life, either virtually, in real life, or both. The fact that we need a common word for this act may underscore a growing problem we’re having with loyalty these days. How loyal are you? To your friends, family, employer, customers, colleagues? If you’re like most people who answer that question,

The Birthday Project
Having books in my life has meant everything to me. They've been my friends, my guides, my entertainment, and my soulmates. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 49th birthday today than to share my love of reading with 49 youngsters on their birthday. So e-mail your child's name, birthday, and the title and ISBN of any book (up to $12.99) from my online bookstore. I'll try to make sure your selection arrives by your child's birthday. My offer stands for the first 49 names I receive. I'll gladly accept the names of all siblings within a single family. Please add "Birthday Giveaway" to your subject line. Send e-mail to:

A kind word of thanks to those who commented
As I posted to Leading Reads yesterday, I noticed a few comments made this month by readers. Unfortunately, I hadn't yet established my settings to notify me of those remarks, so it was my first awareness of your comments. Since most people had profiles that didn't permit me to communicate with them, I'm sending this blanket thanks to everyone who took the time to write a few lines. How nice of you! Many thanks for your kindnesses. It really gladdened my heart!____________________ Thanks for following the Leading Reads blog! Please share this article with anyone who might enjoy or benefit from the information. Best, Crystal Hammon

Five things to love about yoga
It’s amazing how your view of things can change over time. When I was first introduced to yoga in 1996, all I could see was a pud form of exercise. I was attracted to it and  enjoyed it, but I didn’t really appreciate its potential, probably because I  wasn’t completely ready for it. I wish I had been. Life could have been better a lot sooner. This realization has made me feel obligated to share what little I know about yoga with others, in hopes they’ll discover its potential, too. Here’s what I’ve come to love about the yoga practice I’ve developed over the past few years. 1)Yoga makes you taller. I feel a good two inches taller after prac