Fill in ten of your fifteen dollars. I know, you could probably fill more and will in future. But ten is a good start.

At least twice a day, thumb through your Gratitude Dollars. If you're alone, say something like ‛Thanks for' and read out loud word you've written. It will take only about 30 seconds. Far less time than visiting Empire State Building.

When you think of something new to be thankful for, fill out a blank Gratitude Dollar and add it to your pile. If your pile gets too big, take some of dollars out. You can always rotate them back in from time to time.

THAT'S IT!

Simple. Effective. It works because my mother said it would. I also read it in Bible and every self-help book on my shelf.

When you live in a state of thanksgiving, doors of prosperity will open for you. Maybe not right away. Particularly if you've been a chronic hand-wringer. But open they will. It might be next week, next month or maybe not for a year. However, you'll be wonderfully surprised at many doors that your new attitude of gratitude will open.

SO START!

It costs nothing. Obligates you to nothing. And can open a new world of prosperity for you.

The only thing required is consistency and that becomes easy once you've established habit of counting your Gratitude Dollars at least twice a day. More is better.

Carry your dollars with you and use them to fill empty moments. For example, when sitting at a red light, waiting on telephone or even just walking down street. Every time you use them, your gratitude attitude grows.

Remember, big difference between lack and prosperity is often gratitude failure. Invest some Gratitude Dollars into your life and turn that failure into profit. ___________________________ ______________

Get more facts, techniques and information about living healthier, happier and being more productive. Subscribe Free to Doug C. Grant's bi-monthly e-zine, THE EMPOWERED MATURITY PAGE. It's directed toward over 50 Crowd but good reading for anyone wanting to boost their life up a notch or two. Subscribe at: mailto:empoweredpage@smartautoresponder.com

However, there's more to pricing than setting your basic prices. If you have years of experience, offer fast turnaround, and are prepared to handle jobs on weekends, and overnight, you can charge more.

What if you up your rates, and your clients won't pay your increased prices? I promise you, if you up price to what you're honestly worth (and you know this, you must, if you've been at your trade for any time at all) and you lose clients, you would have lost them anyway.

Who knows why clients bail? Paradoxically, I've lost clients when I lowered my fees, never when I upped them. Go figure. Maybe they thought my services were worth less because I charged less. The reason I lowered my fees was always because I liked that particular client, and wanted to do them a good turn. Which proves adage that no good deed goes unpunished.

Nowadays I'm tempted to up my rates if I like working for a particular client.

==> Value adding--- your secret weapon, proposal

A diamond is worth more than a lump of coal: you can charge more if you deliver more.

Proposals are my favorite value-adding tool. If you can see an area where client needs some input, why not create a proposal?

Proposals cost little: maybe a couple of hours of research, and an hour to write. They're a supreme goodwill gesture. They show client that you've been thinking about his business.

The worst that can happen is that client says no.

If you're unsure about how to write a proposal, type "writing a proposal" into any search engine for loads of resources.

So, are you a price taker, or a price maker? If you're unhappy with what you're being paid, it will show in your work. For that reason, you must work out a pricing strategy you're happy with. And stick with it.

==> Additional Resource

If you're a newly independent creative, or want to brush up on your pricing skills, check out :

http://www.digital-e.biz/articles.html

This is Elena Fawkner's excellent piece called: "Pricing Yourself to Get and Stay In Business".

***Resource box: if using, please include***

When your words sound good, you sound good. Author and copywriter Angela Booth crafts words for your business --- words to sell, educate or persuade. Mailto:ab@digital-e.biz

Web: http://www.digital-e.biz/

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