Five Housing Mistakes You Should Not Make If You Were A Sports Celebrity

Sports celebrities swim in three things, cash, fame and private pools. Because of the former two, they tend to have very expensive lifestyles and sometimes can spend thousands of dollars in a day in order to keep up with their status. But one of the biggest money gambles all sports celebrities make is when purchasing a home. You will find that while many of them can barely afford to, they will go to great lengths to purchase very expensive homes without regard to the intricacies involved in the transaction. So if you are a budding sports celebrity contemplating a big housing move, here are five mistakes you should not make.

Use all Your Earnings on the Purchase Price

Well, you just signed a new contract worth $50 million over five years and the first thing you do is go look for a house upwards of $20 million. Big mistake. Out of all the earnings you will make, the government will take up to 30% of it in taxes and then you have to contend with a high cost of celebrity living, which will wipe out another 20% over five years. This leaves you with a hypothetical $25 million. That house with a listing price of $20 million may seem affordable but the property rates, taxes and other additional costs will set you back up to $250K per year to maintain the property. This will drain you faster than you can throw that curve ball or shoot that hoop.

Buy a House in a Far Away Country

Sure, you have various movie and music celebrities living in their posh residences in France, Italy and Spain, the playgrounds for the rich. But this could also turn out to be a big blunder. Actors and musicians can afford to live non-geographically, as it were, because when they are recording or acting, they can be pretty much anywhere in the world. In addition, they tend to have pretty extended hiatuses between movies or albums so they can live anywhere at this time. As a sports celebrity, you ply your trade in a very limited geographical area and when you are not playing you are training and when you are not playing, well, you are training. This would make it very difficult to keep flying off to the south of France to take some rest.

Leave all the purchasing decisions to your lawyers

Lawyers are a necessary evil in our society, where the operative term here is evil. Knowing that they can get very high retention fees from you as a celebrity sports star, they will play any tune you request without caring too much to inform you dully of the risks involved. For instance, some lawyers may advise you to invest your fortune in real estate and “flip” houses. This makes sense and is usually a good idea, but not when you are trying to flip million dollar houses. These ones take time to sell and they do not always offer a good return on investment. Moreover, when you do get into hard times, guess who will be the first to ditch you for the next big thing? Yes, those lawyers that promised you heaven. Take time to understand your trade, whether it will be flipping house or running a fast food chain, then work with family and close associates to realize this incrementally.

Decide to divorce your wife of ten years

Well, this is perhaps the hardest to implement because most people do not enter marriage with the intention of divorce. But just ask Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, divorces hit you where it hurts the most, your bank account and in the settlements guess who ends up with the house, your estranged wife. So treat her nice and be faithful to her, if you have made a big home investment, it will go a long way in ensuring it stays in the family, literally. If you decide it’s time to pack your bags and go live a little, be prepared to leave a sizable chunk of your earning s behind.

Guest post by Scott Ryan, who is not a celebrity sports personality but who thinks he is a celebrity writer for Call Mum, a real estate upgrading firm.

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5 Inspiring People Who Changed the World Despite Life-Threatening Obstacles

Imagine having to go to work each day in a wheelchair because your muscles have become paralyzed, or constantly having to struggle with suicidal thoughts along with the weight of a nation’s future on your shoulders. It’s difficult enough for one person to change the world as it is, but imagine how monumental such a task becomes when you are also suffering from a life-threatening condition.

Amazingly, history is filled with figures who have managed to make their marks on the world all while struggling with a serious disability. Some had to battle with the ravages of an incurable disease, while others were born with conditions that haunted them for their entire lives. Regardless of the burden, these people are a testimony to the strength of the human will and the perseverance of the body.

Perhaps you have witnessed people suffering from life-threatening obstacles and want to do something to help them by pursuing a career in health care. No matter which form of education you choose, from medical assisting training to a MD program, schooling alone will not prepare you to face the emotional turmoil that comes from treating patients with chronic illnesses.

There is always hope, however, even for those with untreatable conditions, and though they may not enter the pages of history like the following individuals, they are still capable of astonishing achievements.

Stephen Hawking

This year, famous physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking celebrated his 70th birthday in spite of a lifelong struggle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), a degenerative neurological condition that results in paralysis and death, usually due to asphyxiation. Patients diagnosed with this disease usually die within a few years, yet Hawking continues to beat the odds since his initial diagnosis at the age of 21. Although he has been almost completely paralyzed for most of his adult life, Hawking remains one of the brightest scientific minds of today, especially when it comes to improving the world’s understanding of black holes and the origins of the universe.

Abraham Lincoln

There has been much speculation regarding the medical history of one of the United States’ most beloved presidents, but most historians agree that he suffered from chronic and sometimes debilitating fits of depression throughout his life. While clinical depression and other related mood disorders are not fatal by themselves, they can severely undermine a patient’s ability to function as well as drive them to commit suicide. Lincoln, however, managed to push through these moods with the firm belief that it was his destiny to perform great things in life; a worthy conviction considering that he led the nation through one of its darkest periods.

Frida Kahlo

Mexican surrealist/symbolist painter Frida Kahlo, known for her iconic self-portraits, has become a heroine for both feminists and Chicana culture due to her ability to infuse her work with the suffering she endured both physically and mentally. Her struggle began as a child when she contracted polio and lost the use of her leg. At the age of 18, she was severely injured by a tram and afterward was forced to undergo a series of painful operations. Her personal life was also marked with suffering due to her marriage to famous muralist Diego Rivera, who was constantly unfaithful to her. She continued to paint in spite of these ills, and though her work was relatively unknown while alive, she has become highly influential today.

Steve Jobs

In 2011, business and technology news sources around the world paid tribute to the life of Steve Jobs by recognizing the numerous innovations he has made in the computing industry. As one of the greatest business leaders of this century, he is responsible for revolutionizing the way people think about computers. His influence began with the founding of Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976, which grew to become the most valuable company in the world by 2011, largely due to his keen business instincts. Even while suffering from the debilitating effects of pancreatic cancer he introduced the iPhone and iPad, which popularized portable computing just as the iPod did with MP3 players.

Flannery O’Connor

Most students of 20th century American literature have read at least one short story by Flannery O’Connor, one of the most important writers of the Southern gothic tradition. Known for her grotesque but deeply moral fiction, O’Connor used dark humor to subtly convey her Orthodox Catholic beliefs in a manner that few (if any) other religious writers have managed to repeat. Her resulting body of work, while small, still carries an enormous influence on the lives of other artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Tommy Lee Jones. Her lifelong struggle with lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue, caused her a great deal of suffering and ultimately led to her death at the age of 39 from kidney failure.

Ryan Chapman is a writer from Phoenix, Arizona. He has written articles on medical assistant schools in Phoenix, as well as other education programs related to the medical field.

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5 Most Famous TV Doctors Of All Time

Medical dramas have been a part of the television landscape for more than five decades. Who knows how many young television viewers have been inspired to pursue a career in medicine thanks to the inspiration provided by Robert Young's "Dr. Marcus Welby", Deforest Kelley's "Dr. Leonard McCoy" on "Star Trek" and Chad Everett's "Dr. Joe Gannon" in "Medical Center." Here are 5 of the most famous TV doctors of all time who continue to keep audiences interested thanks to reruns and syndication:

The Too Cute Dr. Kildare

The intense young resident Dr. James Kildare was suavely portrayed by actor Richard Chamberlain who made patients in the series as well as female viewers swoon as he strived to save the sick and the dying at Blair General Hospital every week. The crusty and much older and wiser Dr. Gillespie, portrayed by veteran actor Raymond Massey, was Kildare's mentor and tutor in the series which enjoyed a long run during the early 1960s.

Calling Dr. Casey

Ben Casey, a highly skilled but always dour-faced neurosurgeon portrayed by actor Vince Edwards, is another of the most famous TV doctors of all times. Viewers often tuned in just to see if that would be the week that the infamously serious Dr. Casey might crack a smile. Like Dr. Gillespie on the Kildare series, Ben Casey also had its own much older physician to help guide the young doctor, portrayed in this series by Sam "Dr. David Zorba" Jaffe. Both Casey and Kildare ran during the early 1960s and a rivalry developed between those who favored the sweeter and blonder Dr. Kildare and the camp that were die-hard fans of the dark and swarthy Dr. Casey. In any event, sales of bubble gum cards featuring both series were fast and furious.

Female Frontier Doctor

Jane Seymour has the privilege of being the only female to be cast in her own medical drama, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Although there have been numerous female doctors who have been part of an ensemble cast in such medical dramas as "Grey's Anatomy", "St. Elsewhere" and "The Practice", "Dr. Quinn" revolved solely around the gentle and forthright Dr. Michaela Quinn who although born and trained in Boston, travelled west to the wilderness of Colorado Springs to establish a medical practice and start a new life.

Operating in a MASH Unit

M*A*S*H enjoyed an 11 year run and made a household name of Alan Alda, who played the fun-loving, womanizing Army surgeon Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce, nicknamed "Hawk Eye." The subject matter was mostly comedic, dealing with medical situations at an Army hospital during the Korean War and Alda was supported by a brilliant cast of other acting veterans who also portrayed doctors at the MASH unit, including Harry Morgan, Mike Farrell and David Ogden Stiers.

TV's First Black Doctor

Two years before comedian Bill Cosby portrayed an OB-GYN on his comedy series "The Cosby Show", actor Denzel Washington in 1982 became the first African-American to portray a doctor. He did so in the award winning network television drama "St. Elsewhere", as Dr. Philip Chandler who would leave the drama before its long run ended to pursue film opportunities, specialized in Internal Medicine at the fictitious St. Elegius Hospital in Boston.

Brendan McGuane has recently completed his medical studies and has a passion for good television. He is currently looking for medical doctor jobs through Healthtaff Recruitment and says that although there have been many influential TV doctors, these particular doctors have stood the test of time to prove themselves as the most famous.

Image Credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Kim Kardashian Wedding VS. Average Weddings

If you’re about to get married you’re probably going through a lot of stress. There are a gazillion things to consider when planning a wedding. You have to find the perfect location for the wedding ceremony and the reception, figure out which catering service to employ and what kind of food to serve, choose the motif and find someone who can make the dresses, and more!

Like anyone who works hard and is dedicated to succeed, you need a breather. Read through this infographic provided by Brilliance which lists down a comparison of how much the wedding of Kim Kardashian to Chris Humpries really cost as compared to how much is spent for a regular wedding. Reading about this will certainly remind you that even though they spent millions of dollars, their marriage only lasted a mere 72 days. A very costly, shortlived married life for the ex-partners in life. You can then think about how much you love the person you are getting married to and smile because you’re certain that even if you won’t spend as much as Kardashian did, your marriage will be real and will last longer.

Source: Brilliance.com

Musicians And Sunglasses With Style

Since the early days of rock and roll, musicians have been sporting sunglasses. Most of them not only wear sunglasses, at that, but have a special style that they usually wear. This style becomes part of their image. Can you imagine John Lennon without his serious round frames? His oval regular specs were complemented by glossy black sunglasses that made him look enigmatic and unapproachably hip. These sunglasses fed into his counterculture artist image, and people still wear similar glasses and sunglasses today. If you identify with the counterculture or a kind of remote, cool creativity or just like the Beatles, you might be more likely to adopt those dark, round sunglasses.

John Lennon is of course far from the only artist who incorporated sunglasses into a personal image, and far from the only artist who made a certain kind of sunglasses iconic. You have Elvis Presley with his amber-lensed aviator sunglasses, now favorites of Elvis impersonators everywhere. Michael Jackson also wore aviator sunglasses, usually with opaque dark lenses. There’s just something about aviator sunglasses. They cover more of the face than most glasses, although Elvis’s were hardly concealing, his eyes usually easily visible past the pale lens. It might be that the size of the glasses makes it look all the cooler when you lower them to glance over the frames. Elvis sure knew how to glance.

Elton John’s sunglasses are almost more distinctive for their color than . . . no, okay, never mind. The rose and purple lenses are certainly memorable and unique, but Elton John’s youthful progression of crazy frames were madly unique as well. He sported star-shaped frames and filigreed gold frames and frames that were essentially undefinable. Elton John’s frames tend a little more subdued now, but not always. His eccentric and unpredictable eyewear reflects his irrepressible pop style. If his exact sunglasses are harder to mimic, an Elton John fan might still go for an off-beat set of frames with brightly colored glass.

Lady Gaga also goes for the weird, sporting massive sunglasses that almost span half her face, often using bizarre, thick frames as well.

Stevie Wonder occasionally wears wild glasses, but tends to sport broad, squarish sunglasses with dark lenses and frames. His sunglasses look both unpretentious and fun. They’re a solid pair of frames for a pianist and rock star with a lot of energy, and accentuate Stevie Wonder’s playful approach to song writing and performing. Like Ray Charles, who also sported cool, dark, squarish frames, Stevie Wonder uses sunglasses as a statement, past their functional use for his blindness.

Those are just a few of the musicians who have made sunglasses part of their icon. We admire their look and sometimes lift it wholesale to demonstrate our admiration for their ability to wear their career identities on their sleeve (or their face, as the case may be). Maybe the range of square and round frame styles and of dark and light tints can inspire you to put together a sunglasses style of your own.

Author Bio: Simon is a Blog owner and regular contributor for various Blogs from Europe and likes to write in various topics and prides himself in being a versatile professional writer.

This post was written by Simon from higherclick.com on behalf of their client Macys.com

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5 Celebrities Who Have Beaten Cancer

Many people think that celebrities are untouchable. They seem to have such perfect lives and there’s never a problem that they can’t buy their way out of. We see celebrities get in trouble with the law but not spend time in jail. We’ve watched celebrities struggle with drug problems and go to rehab only to come back to an even more thriving career. One thing that celebrities can’t control is cancer. Many of the world’s biggest and brightest stars have battled - and beaten - the horrible disease.

1. Michael C. Hall

Michael C. Hall, currently of “Dexter” fame & previously from the series “Six Feet Under,” was treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma and beat it to lead a healthy life. In January of 2010, Hall was diagnosed with the cancer, which attacks the lymph nodes. The cancer did go into remission and Hall was treated at a facility near to Los Angeles. Hall has been fully recovered from cancer since the end of April 2010.

2. Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong was one of the most public cancer survivors and has been an activist for cancer ever since. In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which he has since beaten. In ‘97, the athlete started the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which is a network of support for cancer patients and families of cancer patients.

3. Christina Applegate

The adorable Christina Applegate had a double mastectomy when doctors found several cancerous lumps in one of her breasts. Applegate’s mother had survived breast cancer more than once and encouraged her daughter to have the operation. The actress has been cancer-free since.

4. Sharon Osbourne

In 2002, Osbourne found out that she had colorectal cancer. Thanks to early detection, the reality TV star was able to beat the cancer. Chemotherapy and minor surgery helped Osbourne to beat the disease for good. Since then, Osbourne has founded the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program. The program helps to provide at-home help and transportation to patients with the same disease.

5. Suzanne Somers

When Suzanne Somers had a routine mammogram in April of 2000, a malignant tumor was found by radiologists in one of her breasts. This was a huge shock to her because she'd always led such a healthy life. It wasn’t until one year later that she released her secret to the world. While Somers beat the disease, her methods of doing so were controversial. Instead of undergoing chemotherapy, the star opted for conventional radiation treatments as well as Iscador, a homeopathic therapy.

The best thing to come out of celebrity stories of their brush with cancer is the inspiration they’ve given to others. From simple motivation and inspiration to full-blown programs to help people in need, it’s undoubtable that celebrities have influence over the public. In many ways, this influence can be a wonderful thing. For regular people who are dealing with cancer, knowing that the people they’ve looked up to were once in the same place is comforting.

About the author: Educated and practicing as a registered nurse, Susan Brown has researched the Top Nursing Programs for people interested in becoming nurses.

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10 Impressive Celebrity Engagement Rings

Engagement rings symbolize the great love between a man and a woman. It shows that the person has already found someone whom he or she intends to marry and spend forever with. It is for this very special reason that engagement rings need to be beautifully designed.

High-caliber celebrities have the means of buying expensive engagement rings to profess their intentions of marrying their partners. To give you an idea on how much they are willing to spend and what their designs are, Brilliance provides this infographic about the top ten most expensive celebrity engagement rings. It has details of which celebrities received these rings and their cost and there are even some bits of trivia about the equivalent of each ring if their value were to be spent for more common things. And if you want to buy a ring that is similar to any of these celebrities, Brilliance offers them at a lower price.

Source: Brilliance.com

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Top Earning Dead Celebrities of 2012

Some dead celebrities continue to cash in on their fame post-mortem. Despite passing away, their business portfolios and past accolades collect revenue at impressive rates – deceased benefactors to their heirs and business partners. Rich in life and in death, these are the celebs that have raked in the most royalties this year.

Forbes List of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities

1. Elizabeth Taylor: Taylor tops this year’s list of top-earning dead celebrities with $210 million dollars in cold hard cash. The actress, who passed away at 79 years of age in 2011 due to heart failure, has Christie’s to thank for her number one spot on the Forbes list. The jeweller is responsible for the record-breaking sale of the late movie star’s jewellery and art; an event which brought in $184 million dollars of the total sum recorded above. Her estate, which has set up her remaining relatives financially for life, will now turn its attention to exploiting her iconic image for more money – an activity that holds a lot of potential for profit thanks to Taylor’s embodiment of old-Hollywood glamour.  
2. Michael Jackson: His rumoured financial troubles prior to his death have certainly been waylaid as the king of pop earns himself a new title: music’s post-mortem cash king. Bringing in the equivalent of $145 dollars in 2012, the deceased Jackson has managed to earn more money in single year than any living artist can claim.
3. Elvis Presley: Rock n Roll Royalty Elvis Presley’s royalties remain staggering at $55 million dollars this year. Presley celebrates his 35th anniversary since his death in 1977 with what some have called ‘flat earnings’ due to the closure of his Viva Elvis show in Las Vegas and the auctioning of his Graceland mansion to billionaire Leon Black.
4. Charles Schulz: Famous cartoonist Charles Schulz holds his own amongst this posse of top-earning dead celebrities with an impressive haul of $37 million dollars in the past 12 months alone. The creative genius behind the Peanuts comic strip died in 2000 from aggressive colon cancer at the ripe old age of 77, an end which hasn’t slowed down the earnings of Charlie Brown in any way, shape or form. The Peanuts protagonist and his gang are as hot as ever 67 years since their first comic debut, with Fox even announcing that a Peanuts movie is in the works from the makers of Ice Age.
5. Bob Marley: He didn’t manage to beat the popularity of the late pop icon Michael Jackson, but the king of reggae certainly made the list of top-earning dead celebrities by earning $17 million dollars this past year. Not considered a pioneer of commercial ventures in life, Bob Marley has managed to become one of the most diversified businessmen from beyond the grave.  Despite his tragic death at the young age of 36 in 1981, Marley’s albums have continued to sell at a rapid rate, recently hitting the 75 million mark. Besides albums, Bob Marley’s business portfolio consists of a variety of other acquisitions, most recent additions including a beverage company and a production house of eco-friendly audio and lifestyle products.

Perhaps most impressive is the fact that death has had no hold on the finances of these celebrities, each earning more in the past 12 months than their living counterparst. Whether they’re truly resting in peace or busy as ever in a heavenly boardroom could be debated. One thing is clear; the above named dead celebrities are the richest they’ve ever been – perhaps one of the only positive outcomes that can be derived from their passing. 

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Bella Gray is a corporate blogger based in office space in Miami. A maestro of tips and strategies for navigating the workplace, Gray is the perfect go-to-gal for all your business solutions.

Secrets Which Define The Beauty Of Hollywood Stars

It is often said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Perception about what is beautiful differs in each one of us. While that is true, there are some common factors that make a person or place or thing look beautiful to most people. When talking about beautiful people, most of us immediately think of Hollywood stars. What is it that makes them look beautiful to such a large number of people? The secret behind the beauty of Hollywood stars is that they play up their best accents and allow them to overshadow the flaws. But there are a few things that most of them have in common.

A Winning Smile:

You will never find a beautiful person with a yellow smile. Their teeth are always sparkling white. Like the rest of your body, your teeth also bear the brunt of aging and discoloration. However, a simple thing like bleaching your teeth can bring the shine and sparkle back into them. The best part is that you can now do it yourself at home with any of the various cosmetic teeth whitening kits available at most drug stores.

Gleaming Skin:

It makes news when a star is spotted with a zit. Gleaming skin is as essential in looking beautiful as white teeth. Face scrubs, masks, peels – there is a solution to every skin problem that you may face. Applying these on a regular basis helps in keeping your skin blemish free and looking young. There are many lotions available, which give your skin that ethereal sheen which glows. 

The Bronzed Look:

There is something about that tanned bronze look that just makes you look stunning. Sun tanning and tanning beds can age your skin faster. The answer is using a sunless tan lotion or going in for a custom airbrush at your salon. There are good quality lotions available that you can apply at home, although care must be taken to follow the instructions given with them. You also need to follow the guidelines for sunless tanning to retain the tan for a longer period of time.

Hands and feet:

A look at the stars will show you well groomed hands and feet. A manicure and pedicure is a must and it can either be availed at the salon or can be done at home. Make sure that all the dead skin is scrubbed off with a good pumice stone. Nails should be well groomed. Make sure to apply a cuticle lotion on your hands and feet. If you use nail polish, be sure to use a topcoat daily. Apply lotion to the hands and feet every night to prevent them from looking dry.

Young Skin:

To keep your skin looking young, you need to protect it from the elements and pollution. Sun protection lotions, large dark glasses and hats go a long way in protecting your face. Exfoliating your skin regularly, applying moisturizers, lotions, night cream for the face and eyes go a long way in helping keep your skin looking healthy and young.

Beautiful Tresses:

Hair needs to look healthy and shiny for you to look beautiful. Regular trimming helps keep the hair in shape. Shampooing and conditioning your hair should be part of your regular grooming routine.

In addition to the above it is important to exercise regularly, watch your diet and drink lots and lots of water. A healthy inside promotes a healthy outside. Hollywood stars are born just like us – they just take care of themselves and in the process look beautiful.

Paula is a teeth whitening specialist who offers teeth whitening in Milton Keynes and teh surroudning areas.

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