5 Easy Ways To Get Your Creative Juices Going

Writing an article doesn’t just mean putting down thoughts into words then typing and writing it. You have to capture the interest of your readers and get them to keep on reading. To send your message across you have to get the attention of the reader and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their curiosity.

The main ingredient in baking up an article is a large dose of creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people, some just gets into a block or something to that effect that can drive someone crazy. Many writers have literally torn their hair out when they get writers block and just can’t seem to get their creative juices flowing.

Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then paragraph by paragraph into a whole article develops the essence of the article.

So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? There is no surefire ways to get the perfect ideas but there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing. No one can guarantee you of having the perfect mindset but many methods may aid you in achieving that state of mind. Here are five easy ways for that.

1) Keep a diary or a journal with you always. Ideas can be triggered by anything you may hear, see, or smell. Your senses are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also write down anything that you have read or heard, someone’s ideas could be used to develop your own ideas and this is not stealing. Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it’s the development of the idea that makes it unique.

2) Relax and take time to sort things out. A jumbled mind cannot create any space for new ideas. Everyone must have a clear mind if one wishes to have their creativity in full speed. Get rid of all obstacles that can be a hindrance to your creativity. If you are bothered by something, you cannot force your mind to stay focused.

Try to relax every time that you can and think about your experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences are what shape your mindset and your opinions which could be reflected on your writings. Try to discover yourself, find out what triggers your emotions. Discover what inspires you and what ticks you off. You can use these emotions to help you in expressing yourself and your ideas, with this you can grow creatively.

3) Create a working place that can inspire your creativeness. Your working place can be quite a hindrance if it doesn’t make you feel happy or relaxed. Creativity comes from being in a good state of mind and a messed up workplace that causes distraction won’t be conducive in firing up your creative flow.

Surround your working place with objects that makes you happy and relaxed. You may put up pictures, or scents, objects that inspire, or anything that can get your creativeness cranking. A clean and well organized workplace also rids of distractions and unwanted hindrances. With a good working place, you can work in peace and never notice the time pass by.

4) Set the mood. Setting the mood requires you to just go with the moment or to induce your self to feeling what makes your mind works best. Finding out what makes you tick could help you find ways to get your creative juices flowing. Set the pace and tempo for your mood and everything else will follow.

There are many ways to set the mood. Some writers have been known to use alcohol, a little sip of wine to stir up the imagination. Some would like some mood music while others let the lighting of the environment create the mood.

5) Go on a getaway and just do something unlike crazy. Letting yourself go and have fun produces adrenaline that can make your imagination go wild. Take an adventure or a solemn hike. Whatever it is that is unusual from your daily routine can take the rut out of your schedule. In no time at all, your creativeness will make use of that experience and get your imagination to go on overdrive.

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4 Things ALL Articles Must Have - Don't Forget!

The importance of articles in today’s websites and internet based companies are immeasurable. They dictate a lot in the success and the drive of traffic into one’s site.   It has become a key element in making a site work and earns a profit. A website operator and owner must have the good sense to include articles in his or her site that will work for them and earn them the many benefits articles can give to their site.

Articles have been known to be the driving force in driving traffic to a website. Articles are a factor in giving site high rankings in search result pages. The higher a site ranks the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie he gets. With a huge number in traffic flow, there are more profits and more potential for other income generating schemes as well.

But, it is not just about stuffing your site with articles; they have certain requirements as well. These requirements must be met to obtain the maximum benefits an article will provide for your site. A well written article will catch the eyes and interest of your customers and keep them coming back for more.  They would also be able to recommend your site to others.

Here are some tips to help you and assist you in making your articles. Below you will read about four things all articles must have to make it successful and helpful in making your site a profit earning and traffic overflowing site.

• Keywords and Keyword Phrases.

An article must always be centered on the keywords and keyword phrases. As each website visitor goes to a site, there are those who are just merely browsing but actually looking for a specific something. When this happens, a searcher usually goes to a search engine and types in the keywords they are looking for (e.g. Toyota Camry, Meningitis, Tax Lawyer and Etcetera). It could be anything they want.

The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must be able t have articles about cars and their parts.  There are many tools in the internet that provides service in helping a webmaster out in determining what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. You can use this tool to determine what keywords to use and write about.  

• Keyword Density

Know that you have your keywords and keyword phrases, you must use them fully. An article must have good keyword density for a search engine to “feel” its presence. Articles should at least have ten to fifteen percent of keyword density in their content for search engines to rank a site high in their search results. Getting a high rank is what articles do best for a site.

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used on an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as the search engines. It comes off as overeager. A low number may be ignored by the search engines.

• Good Article Content

Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading materials. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.

• Linking Articles

And another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to ezines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON’T ever forget to include a link to your site. A little resource box with a brief description of your site and you should always be placed right after your articles that you have submitted. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.

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3 Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills back.
With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is why article writing, submissions and publications are also getting popular.
There are already many tools that people can use to make the process of distributing their articles more easily. Though this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, which is only half of the story.
Let us take a look first at the common mistakes that some people make before submitting their contents to article directories:
1. Confusing the reason to promote the articles with the reason to write them.
In article writing, there are three key benefits why you are promoting them; branding, lead generation and promotion, which are all part of your optimization efforts.
But there is only one reason why you write an article, and that is to inform your audience. If the article is not focused on this primary and most important purpose, it will fail to achieve the three promotion benefits because no one will be interested in reading them.
You need to figure out first how to get people to read what is in your article, then make them click on your resource box. You can achieve this by producing better contents.

2. Failing to maximize the promotional opportunities of article marketing.
You may know already that your articles can help you generate additional links back to your site. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from that same articles?
Mention keywords at strategic places. Just be sure not to overdo them. Some are even using anchor texts which is also an effective method. But it is important to know that majority of the directories are not able to support this.
Remember that is not only about the links back to your site. Part of doing well in your article marketing is getting picked up by publishers with a large number of audiences and gaining the ability of leveraging other brands because of the quality of your work. Better search engine results also are great benefits.
But these things do not put much money in your pocket. There are other factors that can turn your article marketing efforts into an opportunity that can boost your earnings. Not just increase the number of visitors to your site.
Start out with a plan and see to it that your article will serve the function that you intended it to have.

3. Publishing content that does not help your readers.
Maybe in the process of writing articles, you are thinking that all that is you wanted is links back to your site. And any visitors it can generate are fine.
Guess what? Not all article banks and directories are going to accept your content automatically. Oftentimes, they have some guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting.
You can double the number of sites you can submit to by writing articles that the directories want to share with other people. All it takes is one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight.
Write the articles that publishers want in their publications if you want your article marketing to work the most effective way for you. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, spell checks, researching on a good topic and even hiring a writer to produce a good content on your behalf.
In the end, it is all really a matter of choice on your part. You can start getting a little exposure from increased links back but on a very basic level. Or enjoy massive exposure from a little extra time making quality contents.
It will be your choice. You may not be aware of the fact that an article submitted on directories is not meant to have the same level of exposure as highly-targeted content ones geared on a narrow group of people.
Learn the difference between these two and it will surely help you know what kinds of articles to write and to submit.

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3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…

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3 Necessary Tools for the High Rolling Affiliate Marketer

What does it take to become a successful Affiliate Marketer? What are the ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing glory? All these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this business.
Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing business. We have consulted some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business and below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.

Important Tool #1: Your Own Website

The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first concentrate your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.

The most important thing you should consider is that almost all web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that, in the internet, content is still king and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation is a good step in building up a loyal consumer base.

Important Tool #2: Incentives

Competition is extremely tight in the internet world. You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free softwares, access to exclusive services and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.

Important Tool #3: Link Popularity

The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important entities in the internet world. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must launch an aggressive reciprocal link campaign.

One of the best ways to do this – at no cost at all – is by submitting articles, with your website's link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.

These are but three of the many tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become a high rolling affiliate marketer.

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Passover: a Seder invitation to all

Passover is not simply a Jewish holiday; it is an invitation to be free and a method for achieving freedom.
The holiday of Passover takes it’s name, according to the Hebrew Bible, from the ancient Israelites last night in Egypt. On that night, some 3,200 years ago if the story is historically accurate, God “passed over” the houses of those leaving Egypt, sparing them from the last of the ten plagues: the death of the first born Egyptians. The Hebrew name for Passover is Pesach, from the word meaning to pass over.

Passover celebrates more than a one-time liberation though, inviting each succeeding generation to confront the oppression and slavery of it’s own era. Passover celebrates freedom -- past, present and future, both national and personal. And it’s surely not limited to Jews as both the Bible and later rabbinic commentaries portray as much as 20 percent of those participating in the exodus as having been non-Israelites.

According to the Talmud, the foundational text of Rabbinic Judaism, in every generation, every person should see themselves as a slave who is being liberated from Egypt. This seemingly impossible task, the obligation to feel that we are characters from a distant past, is perhaps best understood as being possible when we appreciate that the Hebrew word for Egypt is itself a kind of pun.

In Hebrew, Egypt is called “mitzrayim,” literally a tight spot. Celebrating Passover is about identifying those “tight spots,” the “egypts” in our own lives and in the lives of others, and seeking liberation from them.
The central practice of Passover today is the Seder --the family table centered dinner party featuring story-telling, conversation, eating matzo and drinking wine. While there is a “standard” text, called the haggadah (Hebrew for “the telling”)around which this is all orchestrated, the key to the whole thing is a question-based approach in which anything can be asked and all people are invited to offer their own answers.

Questions and questioning are central features of freedom and each is celebrated at the Seder. Passover reminds us that we are only as free as our minds and spirits are. Physical freedom is a necessary, but insufficient, component in the freedom we all need.

While it often makes for somewhat chaotic evenings, that family and intellectual tumult, so often associated with Jewish culture, is a sacred expression of the freedom which Passover celebrates.

There are physical signs within the tradition as well. Eating matzo at the seder not only reminds us of the food eaten by ancient slaves, but of the path to freedom which we all seek. In fact, the unleavened flatbreads are described by the ancient rabbis of the talmud as bread which provokes questions and invites answers.

The eating of the matzo is paralleled by drinking four cups of wine at the Seder. The four cups are meant to remind us of the four terms which the Bible uses to describe how God liberated the Israelites.

The wine itself is a reminder of the divine-human partnership, the covenant, which is necessary to achieve true liberation. Just as God/nature provides the grapes but require human technology and effort to turn the juice into wine, liberation requires our participation. Liberation, the wine reminds us, doesn’t just happen. Neither we as individuals, nor the world in which we live, will be free until we are part of the process.

Passover invites us to be free -- to free ourselves and our world. It brings together family, friends, and food in the context of lively conversation, inviting us to find the freedom we all seek. May it be so for each of us, whoever we are and wherever we may be.

Source : http://www.washingtonpost.com

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Soejima, Tsuchida win Boston wheelchair titles

BOSTON - Masazumi Soejima amd Wakako Tsuchida gave Japan a sweep of the Boston Marathon men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions, boosting a nation recovering from a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Soejima won Boston for the second time in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 50 seconds, while Tsuchida won easily for the fifth consecutive year with a course record and world best of 1:34.06, breaking the previous mark of 1:34.22 set by Jean Driscoll in 1994.

Soejima, who also won in 2007, was in third place in the final stretch but made a final frantic push to pass Australian Kurt Fearnley and nine-time champion Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa, who both finished in 1:18.51.

Americans Shirley Reilly and Christina Ripp finished second and third.

Photo by Christopher Evans

Masazumi Soejima of Japan crosses the finish line in front of Kurt H. Fearnley of Australia, and American Joseph K. Chirlee to win the men’s wheelchair division of the 2011 Boston Marathon.

Source :http://www.bostonherald.com

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Warrior Dash

If you were a part of the Warrior dash on Saturday and Sunday you were most likely covered in mud from head to toe and dripping wet. This race takes place at DFW Adventure Park. Well it really isn’t much of a race, it’s more like a dash. You simply try to walk, climb, crawl or whatever you can do to get across the obstacles.

This course has a dozen or so obstacles that are designed to slow even the faster competitor. This is a great way to relive the fun of childhood mud playing. I suppose you could stop and make mud pies but that wouldn’t be the thing to do if you wanted to win the Warrior Dash. This is no small event either.

The event was expected to draw about 17,000 “warriors” over these two days and that didn’t include the 10,000 spectators. The dash is pretty short and takes about 30-45 minutes for most people. Some people have however made it in 18 minutes. The guys who make it that quick are “freaks” according to the Warrior Dash folks.

Source : http://www.wagerrun.com

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A Game of Thrones – Episode 1: “Winter Is Coming” review

There’s such a magic seeing a property jump from page to screen.  It’s kind of silly if you really pick it apart  – a good story is a good story, regardless of the format it’s told in, and yet we all want the thrill of actually seeing our favorite characters walking, talking, and fighting on a big or small screen.

I feel like I can’t really claim the kind of excitement longtime fans of George RR Martin must have felt as the first episode of “Game of Thrones” unfolded.  I still have to finish the series (I just wrapped up “A Clash of Kings” last night), but that didn’t stop me from the thrill of seeing The Wall or the quiet “Winterfell” title card.  Winterfell! We’re really here! And for the most part, I’m enchanted with my first visit.

I suppose I should open with a little criticism, and I think it’s one I voiced when I recapped “The Walking Dead” pilot, but it bears repeating.    Adaptations are tricky, tricky things, especially if they come with the massive fanbase that something like “Thrones” does.  You either have to pander and overexplain for newcomers, or you skip exposition and plunge right in.   The perfect balance is, obviously, somewhere inbetween.  I’m not sure “Thrones” struck that line.   I came in with knowledge, and I was able to take off, follow along, and be overjoyed at the first sight of the direwolves.   My mom and sister haven’t read a single page of the books, and immediately complained that it was too convoluted, and moved too fast.   They liked it – sort of – but both were on the fence because they couldn’t tell Starks from Lannisters, or bastards from true born sons.  I saw this echoed on Twitter and in reviews a little bit, with a lot of “Stick with it! It gets easier!” thrown in so we can get a Season 2….

I do think it moved a little fast – but we are talking about a show that has to cram a thousand pages into ten episodes. (Come on though, HBO – couldn’t you have given us a two hour opener? You already spent the money on the sets!)   Considering the bouncing perspective of the books, and the time Martin spends on the smallest of details, it did a pretty admirable job of cramming a lot of exposition into a few moments.  Even the lost and unsure should realize Arya is a firecracker, Sansa is a snot, and Jon Snow hasn’t enjoyed a lot of happiness or warmth in his life.   I thought they even managed to convey Joffrey’s wretchedness with a handful of frames – and just as I was wondering if it was knowledge in hindsight, my fellow viewers both went “Ugh!” when he came onscreen. I would have liked Arya to actually speak, and the Starks to name their direwolves, but I’m impressed they managed to get Robert’s lost love and Cersei’s accompanying disdain onscreen quickly, efficiently, and with almost as much power as the book.     It’s that kind of compression that I’m hoping serves the story well, and gets us from point A to devastating point B…unless they use all the extra time for Tyrion’s sex scenes. (Hey, I love HBO because they allow nudity, but since I didn’t get to see Ned Stark standing naked on the balcony, I will cry foul.)

Like every fan undoubtedly did, I nitpicked – Sansa is too old! Where’s the snow in Winterfell? Daenerys is so…curvy? Why are the Dothraki hanging out near the sea they hate? – but for the most part, it conformed exactly to the way I’d pictured it.  The sets, the costumes, the actors, the cinematography are all breathtaking and authentic.  (Except, maybe, Sansa’s feast dress. What was that?)  The only thing that’s distractingly shoddy is some of the wigwork; but when they’ve constructed Winterfell down to the last bearskin, crypt, and melted candle, I’m not going to complain that Viserys’ hair looked a little stiff and unnatural, particularly not when Harry Lloyd embodied him with all the creepiness of the Targaryens.

But my complaints are minor, and my enthusiasm is great.  Instead, I keep thinking how much I loved seeing beyond the Wall, Ned and Robert in the Stark crypts, the wedding of Drogo and Daenerys, Jon finding Ghost, Bran seeing what he shouldn’t…and I can’t wait to visit Westeros next week.

Source : http://www.bscreview.com

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Lenny Dykstra arrested, charged with embezzling from his estate

Former Major League Baseball star and self-styled financial guru Lenny Dykstra has been charged with selling pieces of his former life as he struggled to battle numerous creditors in Bankruptcy Court.

Dykstra helped the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series and later became a celebrity stock picker and entrepreneur before his finances dissolved in the summer of 2009. Dykstra was charged with one count of embezzling from a bankruptcy estate, the Justice Department said Friday.

The former Mets and Phillies outfielder had been arrested on separate charges Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department's commercial crimes division. Dykstra was picked up at a home in Encino at 8 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of buying vehicles through fraudulent means, police said. Dykstra, 48, was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail and could not be reached for comment.

According to federal prosecutors, Dykstra sold sports memorabilia and items from his Ventura County mansion, including a $50,000 sink, that were frozen as part of the bankruptcy case. Typically, a person in bankruptcy can't touch assets that are part of the case so that they are available to repay creditors.

The criminal accusations are just the latest troubles for Dykstra, who was nicknamed "Nails" by baseball fans for his raucous style on the diamond. The Garden Grove native turned to Bankruptcy Court in July 2009 to try to save his lavishly furnished Sherwood Country Club estate, which he bought from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for $18.5million at the height of the last housing boom.

Despite those efforts and a protracted and ongoing court battle with court officials and numerous creditors, the home was sold last year to the private equity firm Index Investors, one of Dykstra's creditors.

"This is a guy who, like too many professional athletes, feels very entitled," said Randall Lane, who devoted a chapter to his financial dealings with Dykstra in his book about Wall Street excess, "The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane."

An affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Ty Thomas lays out how federal investigators allege the baseball legend "sold many items belonging to the bankruptcy estate" and "destroyed and hid other estate items, depriving the estate of a combined $400,000 of assets."

Dykstra allegedly had dozens of items including chandeliers, mirrors, artwork, a stove and a grandfather clock delivered to a consignment store, Uniques, on South Barrington Avenue in West Los Angeles. The owner of the store paid him cash for a U-Haul truckload of goods, according to the agent.

Despite warnings from a bankruptcy trustee's attorney, Dykstra — moments after promising not to remove items from his Camarillo Airport office — shifted numerous valuable pieces into a truck, according to the affidavit. People who received some of the items from Dykstra listed them onCraigslist and EBay.

One seller seeking to promote the sale of a desk from the Sherwood Estates home bragged that he had taken a picture of Dykstra "the day he purchased a lot of his furniture," including a custom-made desk.

According to the affidavit, Dykstra arranged through his employees to spirit away a dazzling array of antiques, big-screen TVs, artwork and collectible books from his residences.

The Gretzky mansion — a complex of more than 10,000 square feet with tennis courts, a pool, a guesthouse and striking views of the Sherwood Country Club — was the most valuable piece of Dykstra's estate and the crown jewel of his post-baseball business empire.

As his baseball career wound down, Dykstra gained success as a businessman first with a luxury carwash in Corona that he dubbed "the Taj Mahal" of carwashes. He expanded the business to other parts of Southern California and in 2007 sold it to investors.

Dykstra also took his head-first style to Wall Street after teaching himself financial analysis and striking up a friendship with CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer, who hired Dykstra to write a stock-picking column for his influential website, The Street.

With Cramer's seal of approval, Dykstra's prominence soared. He was profiled in a New Yorker article titled "Nails Never Fails: Baseball's most improbable post-career success story," and touted his stock picks on financial news shows.

Cramer declined to comment Friday.

In 2008, Dykstra began publishing the Players Club, a glossy financial advice magazine created for pro athletes and featuring sports luminaries such as Brett Favre and Tiger Woods on its covers. The venture folded as lawsuits from creditors and unpaid business associates began piling up.

Still, like those days on the diamond, Dykstra refused to go down without a fight, challenging his proceedings at nearly every juncture.

Last summer, he briefly moved back into the old Gretzky mansion and reclaimed it as his, throwing a party to celebrate, even though it was under the jurisdiction of Bankruptcy Court.

"Earn your keep," read the emailed party invitations he sent to friends and associates. "You are invited to join Lenny Dykstra and friends as he reclaims the house that Gretzky built!"


Source By Alejandro Lazo and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times 

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