What's Inside

What's Inside
Microtronic Components

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Welcome to the Fearless Women Revolution!

Hello to All my wonderful, Family, Friends and Colleagues. . . . I have been selected to be in the below referenced book . . .which is amazing!! And terrifying!! Please read the Press Release context and my comments and picture at the bottom and let me know if you have any ideas.



Welcome to the Fearless Women Revolution!

In her extraordinary photography book, Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom, internationally acclaimed author and photographer Mary Ann Halpin has brought together 40 female entrepreneurs from across the country to celebrate their courage and strength in having worked through their fears to achieve great personal and professional success. With the release date of June 22, 2010 the launch of Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom will be celebrated throughout summer to culminate in a national event in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Chicago, Calgary, Toronto and many more.

After the publication of her book, Fearless Women, Midlife Portraits, Mary Ann was inundated with letters from women all over the country who wanted to experience the empowerment of their own personal portraits. This desire prompted the idea of Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom. This fine-art coffee table book of 40 women each holding a sword of courage, reveals the stories of how they have transformed their challenges into triumphs. The book represents women who have overcome childhood trauma, physical and emotional illness, and near financial devastation. These courageous women are mirrors and examples for us all. Their stories show us that in order to create conscious change within, we must face our fears and walk through them.

Following each story is a Fearless Wisdom quote that imparts a heartfelt belief and a soul-inspiring gift. The back of the book holds a dedication page for a fearless friend, sister or mother to place their picture and share their own fearless experience.

The women adorned on the pages of this book will use its promotion as a vehicle to raise awareness and support for their most impassioned cause and beloved charity. An annual “Fearless Women Day” is being created in honor of the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment being ratified, which gave women the right to vote. On this day, August 26th, 2010, selected women from all over the country and Canada, will be given a Fearless Women - Susan B. Anthony Award to celebrate her fearless contribution to the world. The ultimate goal of the award is not only to honor the selected fearless woman, but also to support her dream and help her gain closer access to her goals.

About Mary Ann Halpin
Mary Ann passionately focuses her lens on women's issues. Her first book, Pregnant Goddesshood: A Celebration of Life, has garnered national attention for its powerful images. However, controversial at the time, Mary Ann portrayed pregnant women as radiant and beautiful beings and encouraged them to embrace and celebrate their pregnant bodies with a commemorative portrait. Her photography book blazed the trail and inspired photographers to create maternity portraits that are continuously popular with expectant moms today. Images from Pregnant Goddesshood have been featured in LIFE magazine. Mary Ann has appeared on television shows such as The View, Inside Edition, Extra, and A Baby Story where the book sparked heated national discussion. As a leader in her field, she has been featured on the hit reality show “Starting Over” where she can be seen generously mentoring a young photographer who tragically lost her mother on 9/11.

Her second publication, Fearless Women: Midlife Portraits, contains compelling black and white portraits of women holding swords who have dared to approach aging with passion and fearlessness. This book features celebrities such as Joni Mitchell, Cybill Shepherd, Erin Brockovich, and many other extraordinary women.

Continuing with the “Fearless” theme, Mary Ann has served as a speaker on the “Fearless Women Panel” at eWomenNetwork International Business Convention in Dallas 2008-2009. After photographing over 130 women at the conference, she was inspired to create Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom.

With 25,000 members strong, the groundswell of the revolution has already begun and is taking America by storm. The women featured in the book hail from cities such as: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, High Point, Austin, Nashville, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Kansas City, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boulder, Calgary and Toronto. They are all eager to share their stories.

We invite you to be a part of the revolution!

. . .I am the only woman in North Carolina and we are all looking for ideas to promote the book and I, for the “Fearless Women Day” in North Carolina. If any of you have ideas or media contacts throughout North Carolina (as well as the United States and/or Canada), I/we would be greatly appreciative. We have a few great ideas and have approached ABC’s Good Morning America, who is very interested, but this revolution needs to also be in every major (and minor) city throughout, to celebrate women (mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, friends, etc.). We need ideas for the nominees for the “Fearless Women Day” in each city that wants to be involved - and especially in North Carolina! We are obviously trying to raise funds for our individual charity through book sales. I will have 75 books with my picture on the cover for $30 each, but have unlimited access of books with Pam, our “cover girl” above. I am still trying to connect with my chosen charity to see if they are interested in being involved, but if there are any suggestions, I am somewhat open. I welcome all feedback and information. Please feel free to share this email if you have contacts that may be interested in a project such as this. I am also looking for Bookstore(s) that may want to participate in our promotion(with Pam on the cover). Please also contact me to find out if your city is planning to be involved. Thank you for your time and attention!

Fearlessly yours,


Preorder your autographed copy by Mary Ann Halpin

Terri Starnes-Bryant
President


1-800-879-3586
www.MicrotronicUS.com

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Full Benefits of TRUE Cashless Vending

Microtronic has many features in Cashless/Prepaid Vending that other systems do not currently offer. Typically operators, as well as some members of NAMA, view “Cashless” as Credit Card acceptance only. We must strongly disagree, as Cashless has many more aspects than simply Credit Card acceptance.

Microtronic Cashless Systems offers a “Cashless” Smart Chip technology that is virtually contactless with no moving parts and is MDB Level 3 compatible. Our system integrates the capability of loading value at the Vending Machine or at our dedicated Loading Station. We also offer the options of Payroll Deduction and Credit Card Loading. With our Credit Card Loading feature, the operator decides how much the “swipe” is going to be. If the charge is $10.00 from the Credit Card, loaded to our media, the percentage rate drops to 2.5% and the operator has that money before any vend has been made. Bonus loading is another feature that many operators are using. To increase the preloading of money to the media, for example, an operator can give a 10% bonus for $5, $10 or $20 loads.

Microtronic offers “Electronic Tokens” which can be used as traditional Tokens that are given out by an operator today. Tokens can be given on a daily basis to purchase isotonic drinks only. Tokens can be “earned” for purchases, such as “Healthy Choice” items, where they build until reaching a level to purchase a “free” Token available item. The Tokens can also be “Virtual Money”, in the scenario of giving a set amount to each employee, on a weekly or monthly basis, as an employee bonus, with any leftover balance disappearing at the end of the period or continuing to build.

Cash money or Virtual Money can be added directly at the Vending Machine on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or set date automatically using the Microtronic system. We also have 4 different price categories available within any given environment. One group can pay full price, while another group gets a 10% discount or penny increment discount, etc. We also have operators that offer a discount when using the Microtronic media versus cash to increase loading.

Microtronic offers a “Bonus” feature that some operators are using today. For instance, a Bonus point can be given on all selections in a Food machine, while there can be one or two rows of prepackaged condiment kits in a Snack machine that can “free” vend with the Bonus point. This drastically cuts down on condiments walking out of the break room or being used for meals brought in.

These are just a few of the features of the Microtronic Cashless System. Contact us for many additional options.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Microtronic Press Release

Microtronic Press Release in Vending Market Watch yesterday. We have partnered with C-Secure for machine monitoring and vehicle and asset tracking. We have also partnered with Fountain Bob for cashless fountain vending to cut down on the losses with self serve applications.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom

Photographer Mary Ann Halpin gathered 40 extraordinary women entrepreneurs to create the book, "Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom" to be released in June, 2010. I am very honored to be one of those women. The portraits and stories of these courageous women have transformed their life-challenges into life-triumphs. Visit: www.maryannhalpin.com for more information.

Mary Ann’s vision is global: she shares: "Dedicated to contribution in the world, each woman in this book will use the opportunity as a vehicle to raise awareness and fundraiser for each of their causes and charities." We will also begin a "Fearless Women Day" that will be held on August 26, 2010 in honor of Susan B. Anthony. This date will be the 90th anniversary of the ratification to give women the right to vote. Many women will be honored around the country on that day.

My story:
I want to help educate people about Drug Addiction and the affects on the individuals and especially their families. As a person who has been affected by Drug Addiction within my family, my “cause” is to become a spokeswoman for Mother's Against Addiction, to help people understand the affects on the family members and where they can go for help. It is very hurtful to watch someone you love go through their battle, as others in the family turn against the addict. The misunderstanding of "why" and the blame game causes deep emotional damage. Support organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are there for the addict. I will be fundraising and giving proceeds from my book sales to start a foundation to help educate the affected families. My website is under construction, but will be up soon: www.mothersagainstaddiction.org.

I am honored to still have my family members who have been tortured by their addiction. The fact that we will be able to share this fearless movement that Mary Ann Halpin has created in the Fearless Women book and through others, help thousands more. Thank you Mary Ann, for beginning this project and being our guide and voice. Blessings often present themselves in mysterious ways and this book, "Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom" is a blessing.

I would appreciate any advice or help that can be given to us...media, contacts, ideas..! Thank you.

Programming Yourself for Success

Your mission statement is always written in the present tense, as though you have already become the person that you have described. It is always positive rather than negative. And it is always personal.

Program Yourself Correctly

Your subconscious mind can only accept your mission statement as a set of commands when you phrase it in the present, positive and personal tenses. "I am an exceptional salesperson," is a perfect example. After every sales call, you should quickly reread your mission statement and ask yourself if your recent behavior was more like the person you want to be, or less? As a top sales performer, you are always comparing your sales activities against a high standard and adjusting your activities upward. You're continually striving to be better. Every day in every way, you are deliberately working to become more like the ideal person you have envisioned.

Determine Your Mission Statement

Your goal is that, a year from today, when one of your customers has lunch with one of your prospects, and your prospect asks your customer to describe you in detail as a salesperson, your customer will recite your business mission statement voluntarily. The way you have treated your customer will have been so exemplary that your customer will describe you in the most glowing of terms.


Compare Yourself Against Yourself

Once you have developed a mission statement like this, you can read it, review it, edit it, and upgrade it regularly. You can add additional qualities to it and more clearly define the qualities you've already listed. It becomes your personal credo, your philosophy of life, your statement of beliefs and a guide to your behavior in all your interactions with others. Each day, you can evaluate your behaviors and compare them against the standard that you have set in this statement.

Shape Your Own Personality

Over time, a remarkable thing will happen. As you read and review your personal mission statement, you will find yourself, almost unconsciously, shaping your words and conforming your behaviors so that you are more and more like the ideal person you have defined. People will notice the change in you almost immediately. Over time, you will find that you are actually creating within yourself the kind of character and personality that you most admire in others. You will have become the molder and the shaper of your own personal destiny. After you have applied the ABC Method to your list, you will now be completely organized and ready to get more important things done faster.

Action Exercises

First, imagine that one of your customers was going to meet with one of your prospects. What would you want him to say about you? How could you behave with your customer to assure that he says these things?

Second, talk to yourself positively all the time. Feed your mind with positive messages that describe your goals and the person you want to be.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Do the Opposite of Before

Sometimes doing exactly the opposite of what you have been doing up till now can turn out to be the perfect solution. The natural tendency for a person, when they find themselves in a hole, is to dig deeper. In many cases, the solution is to go and dig somewhere else. Remember, the first law of holes is, "When you find yourself in one, stop digging."

Friday, April 16, 2010

The Four P's of Persuasion

Perception Is Everything
There are four "Ps" that will enhance your ability to persuade others in both your work and personal life. They are power, positioning, performance, and politeness. And they are all based on perception.

Develop Personal Power
The first "P" is power. The more power and influence that a person perceives that you have, whether real or not, the more likely it is that that person will be persuaded by you to do the things you want them to do. For example, if you appear to be a senior executive, or a wealthy person, people will be much more likely to help you and serve you than they would be if you were perceived to be a lower level employee.

Shape Their Thinking About You

The second "P" is positioning. This refers to the way that other people think about you and talk about you when you are not there. Your positioning in the mind and heart of other people largely determines how open they are to being influenced by you.

In everything you do involving other people, you are shaping and influencing their perceptions of you and your positioning in their minds. Think about how you could change the things you say and do so that people think about you in such a way that they are more open to your requests and to helping you achieve your goals.


Be Good At What You Do
The third "P" is performance. This refers to your level of competence and expertise in your area. A person who is highly respected for his or her ability to get results is far more persuasive and influential than a person who only does an average job.

Commit to Excellence

The perception that people have of your performance capabilities exerts an inordinate influence on how they think and feel about you. You should commit yourself to being the very best in your field. Sometimes, a reputation for being excellent at what you do can be so powerful that it alone can make you an extremely persuasive individual in all of your interactions with the people around you. They will accept your advice, be open to your influence and agree with your requests.

Treat People Politely
The fourth "P" of persuasion power is politeness. People do things for two reasons, because they want to and because they have to. When you treat people with kindness, courtesy and respect, you make them want to do things for you. They are motivated to go out of their way to help you solve your problems and accomplish your goals.

Being nice to other people satisfies one of the deepest of all subconscious needs, the need to feel important and respected. Whenever you convey this to another person in your conversation, your attitude and your treatment of that person, he or she will be wide open to being persuaded and influenced by you in almost anything you need.

Perception Is Reality

Again, perception is everything. The perception of an individual is his or her reality. People act on the basis of their perceptions of you. If you change their perceptions, you change the way they think and feel about you, and you change the things that they will do for you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, think continually about the impression you want to make on others and then make sure that everything you do or say is consistent with that perception.

Second, be nice to people. Practice the Golden Rule in your interactions with others. Always be polite and make others feel important.

The more people like you, the more open they are to being influenced by you.