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In the book, Mr. Cossolotto reveals how to escape from self-defeating F.A.I.L.U.R.E. Traps and get on the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Track. His unique "Fix F.A.I.L.U.R.E. First" approach to personal change employs what he calls "The Three Rs" -- Recognize, Resist and Replace.

"I'm excited that HabitForce will soon be available to readers throughout the United States and around the world," says the author. "I think the book offers invaluable insights and a practical, step-by-step approach to overcoming negative habits and adopting positive behavior patterns. Real transformation is possible once you understand the Three Rs and begin to harness the power of HabitForce so it works for you, not against you. The last words in the book will be familiar to Star Wars fans: May the HabitForce be with you!"

Other voices are already singing the praises of HabitForce!

Cathleen O'Connor, the founder of Stonewater Sanctuary in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, comments: "The HabitForce approach is unique and refreshing. By focusing on the habits and mindsets that hold people back and then offering a system for adopting success habits, this book should be helpful to just about everybody who feels they aren't living up to their potential."

Granville Toogood, author of The Articulate Executive and one of the nation's top executive speech coaches, adds: "HabitForce is a simple, but powerful tour de force. It begins by helping people identify the most common habits and mindsets that hold them back. Then it offers practical suggestions for adopting positive habits and behavior patterns to turn things around. Not only should you read this book, but you should also make a habit of it!" Lee Glickstein, author of Be Heard Now and founder of Speaking Circles International, says: "If you want to make progress toward identifying and achieving your purpose in life, you should devour HabitForce! Once people become aware through this lucidly written book that "failure" and "success" are the result of simple habits that can be changed or cultivated, the die is cast in the direction of success."

About Matthew Cossolotto and Ovations International, Inc.

Author of The Almanac of European Politics (Congressional Quarterly Books), Matthew Cossolotto spent eight years on Capitol Hill, working as special assistant to then-speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim Wright and as legislative assistant to then-Representative and former White House chief of staff, Leon Panetta.

Mr. Cossolotto's multifaceted communications career also includes senior-level speechwriting and executive communications positions at MCI Communications, GTE and Pepsi-Cola. In 1996, Mr. Cossolotto formed his own executive communications and public relations firm, Ovations International, Inc. In addition to speechwriting, speech coaching and public relations services, Ovations has developed a series of innovative "Podium Power" workshops that emphasize integrating Left Brain (objective/content-based) and Right Brain (holistic/connection-based) functions to achieve authentic and effective communications. Mr. Cossolotto also conducts workshops about the habits of F.A.I.L.U.R.E. and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. discussed in his forthcoming book.

One of the reasons people don't remember jokes and other pieces of humor is that the humor is usually heard out of context.

The humor was not used in conjunction with a point which is the way you should use it in a speaking engagement. The humor was used for entertainment value only and was enjoyed and quickly forgotten.

When you bring back some of this old humor, you will be tying it to your point which makes it acceptable to use in the first place.

In the second place, even if some audience members recognize the humor, they probably don't remember the punch line. If you tell it well, even these people will enjoy hearing it again.

The technique to tell a very old joke or story is to tell the audience it is old. This is the one time when you might want to tell the audience you have a joke or story coming.
If you don*t tell them that you know it is old, they will likely think you are out of touch. If you tell them you are going to tell an old story or joke, you are telling them you know it's old, but it makes the point so well that you think it is worth telling again.

You will come across jokes and stories that can be updated. Some can be updated as easily as adding a current name. Here is an old politician joke: Joe the politician said he was so surprised about his nomination that his acceptance speech fell out of his pocket.
All you have to do to update this one is to change the name from Joe to the current politician or association member you want to tease.

You could also make this a joke on yourself if you know you are going to be nominated for something. I was so surprised about this nomination that MY acceptance speech fell out of my pocket.

Did you know that more people today die of disease related to obesity than any other illness? Beginning a regular exercise routine may seem difficult and overwhelming for anyone who is overweight and out of shape. Yet, fitness and weight loss may be activated utilizing four simple steps to include exercise as part of your daily routine.

The key to success is finding a fitness routine that works with your individual lifestyle.

What is the first step toward better health? One of the best slogans ever created was the Nike as "Just Do It".

What can you do today to being adding exercise into your life?
How much do you sit during the day?
Why not take a break every few hours and walk around the block or office building?

Climb the stairs, instead of riding the elevator, to help burn more calories.
What about parking your car at the far end of the mall parking lot?

Movement helps burn more calories to lose weight, along with a sensible diet.

Awarness is the second step toward putting more activity into your life. Use monitoring equipment to track how many calories your body is burning and what your heart rate levels are during simple activities and exercise. This information is vital to understand what changes need to be made in your life. Also, what time of day do you feel most energetic? Pick your highest energy time zone and use that time zone to exercise.

What equipment do you have in your house that was purchased and never used? Is that equipment under the bed, in a closet or being used as a clothes hanger? Why did you buy the equipment in the first place? Did it appeal to you because it looked like it would be easy to use or, was the infomercial too hard to resist? A simple way to begin using any piece of equipment is take baby steps to build stamina and strength. Yes, exercise can be simple yet effective.

The third step is to start with a circuit of working two minutes on the equipment and recover two minutes. Recovery means stretching, breathing, or walking around until you feel you can do another two minutes on the equipment. Repeat the circuit three times and you have just exercised for a total of twelve minutes! Your body will adapt quickly and within days or weeks you will increase the time from two minutes to five minutes or more. Remember to recover in between circuits to maximize the most calorie burn during the aerobic portion of the workout.

The fourth and final step, to fitting exercise into your life, is to make sure you have an emotional support system, as recommended by Dr. Phil, to empower your exercise. Ask a friend or your spouse to exercise with you or have a fitness coach to monitor your progress and encourage you toward success. The body is an amazing machine and when properly used will give you years of satisfaction.

Karen Morse, owner of I Shape U Fitness, is a certified Pilates, Fitness and Phone coach, and licensed counselor.

Karen may be reached at kmorse29@earthlink.net

Did you know that you are where you are and what you are today as a result of your habits? Your habits determine fully 95 percent of your behavior. Everything that you are or that you will ever accomplish will be determined by the quality of the habits that you form.

The good news is that you were not born with any habits. Your habits have been developed from childhood as the result of things that you have chosen to do - or not to do. And since you are always free to choose, you can make new choices and decisions that will determine what happens in the future.

The turning point in my life was the discovery that my self-concept, my basic structure of beliefs about my self, was the determining factor in everything that happened to me. I found that successful people had developed the habit of believing themselves to be capable of success. Unsuccessful people had accidentally developed the habits of thinking themselves to be unsuccessful or less capable than others. In almost every case, it was the individual's habit patterns of thought that determined everything that they achieved, or failed to achieve.

In my program The Psychology of Achievement I talk about the Law of Habit. This Law of Habit says that everything you do, you do as the result of habit. You have two major types of habit. You have habits that revolve around your desires and habits that revolve your fears. The habits that revolve around your desires for health, happiness, financial independence, and success are life-enhancing. They are the habits that have brought you to where you are today. Those that revolve around fears, on the other hand, act as brakes on your potential. They hold you back. They interfere with your success. They cause you to sell yourself short and settle for far less than you are capable of.