Updating Your Personal & Business Brand… With Your Existing Products, Books, Services, and Ideas…

by Guest Contributor Ruth Klein

Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the work you have to do; all the products or services you want to start; finally use or reuse the previous products and services and maybe even re-launch them? Plus, are you wondering how you will find the time to do all of this work so that you can start monetizing your existing material, products (new or old), services, etc.?

Most small businesses, authors and professionals I work with have answered a resounding “yes” to these feelings of overwhelm and frustration…and they find themselves procrastinating and not getting much of anything done. Our reality is our perception, which is made up of our thoughts and experiences.  If your thinking and hence, your perception, is one of being overwhelmed with all your past and present products, writing, books, seminars, services, then you are overwhelmed.

The response to feeling overwhelmed is often procrastination, anxiety and stress. There is another option and that is changing your reality in this moment. 

 Rather than the perception of overwhelm, you can change your thoughts right in this moment to…I have a “treasure of stuff” that I have created and now I have the opportunity to reuse, modify or re-launch them and update my Personal and Business Brand in the process.

So, how does this all tie into your Personal and Business Brand? Here are six ways that you can take your overwhelm feelings, many “old” and “new” products, services, ideas and books…update them and then re-launch them with a focus to an updated Personal and Business Brand.  I hope you like my new Brand look in this issue.

  1. First, give yourself permission to spend one to two hours a day for the next two weeks to “find” all your past seminars, webinars, videos, speeches, different types of writing, blog posts, MP3’s, testimonials, pictures, special discounts and promotions that worked well in the past.
    Tip: I assure you that the time you spend “gathering” will shorten the “hunt” later.
  2. Organize all this information into what you believe would be worthwhile to use now. You will be amazed at all the great “stuff” or as I prefer to say, “treasures” you will find.  Congratulations for doing this, because now you will save so much time and stress moving forward in sorting, discarding and re-launching your ideas, products, books and services.
    Tip: This is the perfect time to gather all of your old as well as new material. Why reinvent the wheel? Chances are good that your “older” works, material and writings have gems in them and can easily be used and updated with what you’re doing now.
  3. Now, it’s time to make a list of everything you have found and put the “treasures” into categories, and then create neat piles. Do this for all the good stuff you’ve found. Create complimentary stacks, if necessary.
    Tip: Place these stacks of treasures in large plastic containers and list the contents on a sheet of paper that you keep on top of each of the stacks…makes for easy reference and saves a ton of time moving forward.
  4. Okay, now that you’ve taken the time to pull everything, identified what everything is; put them into stacks of similar content; made a list of everything…now, it’s time to identify the top two (yes, only two) areas that you are passionate about and want to focus on in your business. Those are the two (yes, only two..) areas that you will now focus on and this becomes your new updated Brand. Chose the “treasures” from the stacks that feed back into your top focus areas.
    Tip: Choose those two areas that you most enjoy doing and look for ROI (Return on investment in terms of time, money and energy).
  5. Commit to spending four focused hours a day on the two primary areas you’ve chosen and watch how your Personal and Business Brand starts to come alive for you…as well as your new clients. It has to work as it is a Universal Law…that which you focus on most will be that which shows up most in your life!
    Tip: “Focused time” in this case is referred to as Marketing. The life blood and engine of your business is the marketing that you do…four focused hours a day is worth more than ten hours of work with interruptions…including interruptions such as email and reading newsletters! Go ahead and read emails but NOT during your focused time.
  6. Enjoy your new treasures and the wealth of new opportunities and options available to you…which all equates to attracting your ideal clients with your updated products, services and brand.
    Tip: The Universe needs what you have to offer. It’s not about you; it’s about your contribution that is the issue here.

About Ruth

Ruth Klein is a nationally renowned writer, speaker, strategic marketing consultant and productivity coach, is owner of the award-winning boutique firm, The Marketing/Time Source, and author of five books, including the best-selling Time Management Secrets for Working Women…getting the most out of each day.

She is the author of the business marketing monthly, “The Ruth Klein Report,” and the lifestyle trademarked “De-Stress Diva” series of columns, books, radio shows and motivational seminars. Her words and work have been featured in national magazines, and she is quoted widely by major newspapers, television and radio. Her newest newsletter and companion blog is “Take 5 With Ruth Klein.”

ruthklein.com

The Elvis Presley Conspiracy (Part IV): What does it all mean?

Many people have contacted me wondering about the final installment in The Probate Lawyer Blog’s coverage of Eliza Presley and her efforts to prove she’s telling the truth about The Elvis Presley Conspiracy.  Here are the prior installments to refresh your memory.  I promised I would share my personal thoughts about Eliza’s DNA and other evidence.  Now I am able to report that I have read all of Eliza’s reports from the Paleo-DNA Laboratory in Ontario, Canada, which analyzed the DNA.  In fact, it’s only one of many labs that have examined the DNA at different times.  But it’s the only lab to have issued reports about all the various samples. This Paleo-DNA lab reports show: Eliza and “Jesse” are “1.6 x 10 [to the fifth power] times more likely to be half-siblings as compared to an untested, unrelated person of the general population.  These statistics indicate that these two individuals are likely to be biologically related as half-siblings sharing one parent.”  The report shows a match of 9 out of the 13 “loci” tested. The likelihood of Jesse being Eliza’s father is zero (apparently 11 out of 13 matching “loci” is needed for that). Jesse and Brenda Smith [the recognized maternal first cousin of Elvis] are 418 times more likely to be related than someone from the general population, suggesting they are biologically related.  6 out of 13 “loci” match. Jesse and Donna Presley [the recognized paternal first cousin of Elvis] are 45.7 times more likely to be related than the general public, again indicating they are likely to be biologically related.  5 out of 9 “loci” match. Eliza and Donna Presley are 31.95 times more likely to be related, so once again, they are likely to be related.  5 out of 9 “loci” match. The 2002 FOX TV Jesse sample was a 100% match with the 2008 Jesse sample (the pink envelope sent to Eliza).  All 13 out of 13 “loci” match. The matching number of “loci” determines if there is a genetic match of kinship.  The closer the relationship between people tested means more “loci” will match.  Each person would match himself or herself 100%, and no one else (unless there was an identical twin). With these reports, there are way too many matching “loci” for all of this to be a coincidence. These reports show that Eliza and the person now referred to by many as “Jesse” are half-siblings, and Jesse in turn is biologically related to the known cousins on both sides of the family tree to Elvis Presley.  Because Elvis never had any full siblings (other than a twin, Jessie, who was stillborn), no one else could match cousins on both sides but Elvis himself.  Think about it — who else is related that close to your cousins on both sides of your family?  Only you and your siblings.  Even your children and parents wouldn’t match as close because they only share half of your DNA.  And I’m not the only one who read the reports and came to this conclusion.  Suzanne Stratford did another report for FOX 8 TV News about Eliza’s DNA evidence, which you can watch here .  This report concludes that the samples do match. Eliza also sent the results to another independent DNA company to verify the results.  The lab owner, Dr. Donald Yates, said publicly that the DNA supported Eliza’s claim and that Jesse had to be Elvis.  And yes, he said, this means that Elvis is alive.  Here’s a Memphis newspaper article about it. Does this mean the world is ready to believe Eliza? Not quite yet.  Elvis’ death is a ”truth” that has been accepted for more than 30 years.  Eliza is literally trying to rewrite history.  She’s going to need absolute, undeniable proof before she can garner widespread acceptance.  But, she’s spent too many years of her life battling those who don’t want the truth to come out to stop now. While the evidence I’ve seen is strong and compelling, I believe the public will need to see something more direct and concrete to prove a conspiracy this strong.  Relying on blind samples provided by cousins, outside of the court process, is not enough to change the history books. There are only two ways to do so. One would be for Lisa Marie Presley to come forward and provide a little saliva for a DNA test.  The attorney for Elvis Presley Enterprises said in the past that Lisa Marie won’t, because once she does it for one person, then she’ll have to do it for everyone claiming to be related to Elvis. The problem with that excuse is that Eliza is the only one who has ever presented enough evidence to convince a judge to reopen a Presley Estate.  No one else has gotten that far. Second, if Lisa Marie provides her DNA once, there would be a record of it and she wouldn’t have to ever submit it again.  The one sample could be tested against anyone claiming to be related to Elvis.  So why not do it? So far, she refused to cooperate when asked by the FOX TV News team in Cleveland, even though it would have quickly ended this entire debate.  In fact, Lisa Marie moved to London shortly after Eliza Presley’s lawsuit was refiled last August.  Eliza tells me that she will try to compel Lisa Marie to provide her DNA through the ongoing court case, but if Lisa Marie remains in Europe, that’s not going to happen. Which means there is only one other option to conclusively expose the conspiracy to the world.  Vernon’s grave would have to be exhumed and his body tested.  And while they’re at it, Elvis’ grave should be opened as well. I know, it sounds very distasteful, and I’ve asked Eliza about doing that very thing.  She doesn’t want to do it, unless she absolutely has to.  When I first asked her about that possibility, she said it was “unthinkable”.  I for one believe there is no choice if Eliza wants to prove she’s telling the truth … unless Lisa Marie Presley changes her mind and donates a little saliva. Exhuming bodies of famous people for DNA testing has been done before.  Here’s an article I wrote about famed football player George “The Gipp” Gipper .  His body was exhumed for testing because of people claiming to be heirs. In the book I co-wrote with Danielle Mayoras, Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights !, we include the story of Sonny Bono.  A sample was taken from his body for paternity testing, based on a claim of someone who said he was Bono’s secret love-child.  Will Eliza’s journey come to this?  We’ll have to see.  Eliza Presley’s court case is back on track and scheduled to come to a head this summer.  Hopefully, Lisa Marie will reconsider her position and not force Eliza to do what she really doesn’t want to do — seek court permission to exhume Vernon’s body. Until that moment comes, we have to examine the evidence that’s there.  Is the DNA evidence foolproof?  No.  While Dr. Yates and others are prepared to say, under oath, that it’s definitive, there is the issue of proof in terms where the samples came from.   Eliza can establish the chain of custody showing how she obtained the samples.  But for people to accept it, they have to believe her tale about how she got the DNA. In other words, what if she’s making the whole thing up?  That’s something I’ve thought about at length (I am a lawyer, after all).  If Eliza invented all of this, and the DNA isn’t from Presley relatives but is really from her own cousins, and none of them are Elvis relations, then all of the following would have to be true: Jesse would have to be ”in on it,” because his DNA matches Eliza’s — so they really are half-siblings. That would mean either she or Jesse would have had to track the other down, despite their age difference, because Eliza was adopted as a baby and didn’t know
she had a brother. They would
have also had to track down cousins from both sides of Jesse’s family, which again would have been tough because Eliza was adopted. The would-be-scam would have been started back in at least 2001, because that’s when the Dr. Hinton book about Elvis being alive was published. The scammers would have had to fool Suzanne Stratford and her bosses at FOX 8 TV News (unless they’re in on it, of course), because they never would have done the stories if they thought Eliza and Jesse were committing fraud. They would had to have fooled Dr. Yates and his DNA company, as well as Shirley Mason (the graphologist), among many others — not to mention the Missouri Attorney General. Plus, they would have had to plan to submit the Jesse DNA to FOX 8 TV News back in 2002 and then wait to spring their master plan into action in 2008, because Eliza’s 2008 sample from the pink Elvis envelope and the 2002 Jesse sample that FOX 8 TV News had tested match each other.  Why begin a scam in 2001 only to wait until 2008 to see it through? Not to mention the fact that if this was all a master scheme to defraud the public, through a court proceeding, why would they have done it knowing that it would be so easy for their plan to fall apart?  Elvis Presley Enterprises simply has to march into court with the DNA of Lisa Marie, or either one of the two cousins tested for that matter, and they could prove in a snap that it’s not true … unless, of course, it  IS true.  In other words, if this was a fraud, it would be so easy for the “Presley” camp to disprove it that no one would think they could get away with it   Yet no one has come forward in the court case to stop Eliza. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy how they could have pulled all this off if it was a giant scam.  As hard as it was for me to believe, as an attorney, that Elvis may actually be alive, I find it much more believable that all this evidence is legitimate than Eliza and several others having engineered this entire scam years ago, knowing that it would involve testing of DNA.  But again, no one will believe it for certain unless Lisa Marie Presley cooperates or Vernon’s body is exhumed.  That will silence all the doubters.  There would be no way to fake that DNA. Stay tuned until this summer.  That’s when the real fun begins. [This is the fourth article in a four-part series covering the Eliza Presley case.  You can read Part I here ,  Part II here and Part III here ] Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!   and co-founder and shareholder of  The Center for Probate Litigation and  The Center for Elder Law  in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ brmmlaw.com.

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The Elvis Presley Conspiracy (Part IV): What does it all mean?

Kiplinger’s article: Cut the Lawyer out of your Will?

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine has an interesting article that’s coming out in the March 2010 issue, about do-it-yourself estate planning.  It was written by Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor: You’ve been dragging your feet for ages on writing a will and drawing up other estate-planning documents. Now, to avoid the hassle and expense of hiring a lawyer, you’re considering using online forms to get the job done. Companies such as Nolo, LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer allow you to do just that. Not only do they provide do-it-yourself estate-planning documents, but they also offer guidance on filling them out and general information on estate-planning issues. The cost for such off-the-rack estate planning? As little as $50 for a simple will to $220 or so for a package that includes a will and a living trust. That’s cheap compared with the $300 a lawyer might charge for a simple will or the $1,000 or more that a comprehensive estate plan might run you. Still, you get what you pay for, says Danielle Mayoras, an estate-planning attorney and coauthor, with Andrew Mayoras, of Trial & Heirs (Wise Circle; $20 at Amazon.com). Although the products themselves may be sound, one size doesn’t fit all, says Mayoras. “They don’t address as many what-ifs as if you had an attorney with you.” Last will and testament. Using an online will makes sense if your finances and circumstances are uncomplicated, says Joanna Grossman, a professor at Hofstra University School of Law, but “people don’t know whether they do, in fact, have a simple situation.” If you go the do-it-yourself route, be sure to have the will properly witnessed, says Betsy Simmons, an estate-planning attorney at Nolo. “You’re not done until you do all the things that make it official.” If your situation is, in fact, more complex — you want to disinherit a family member, say, or provide for a child with special needs, or shield a large estate from estate taxes — consult a lawyer. (The federal estate tax was repealed for 2010, but Congress is expected to reinstate it retroactively.) Revocable living trust. Often used for large or complex estates, this vehicle lets you transfer ownership of your assets to a trust that you control and avoid the public process of probate when you die. If you decide you need a living trust, hire a lawyer. Trusts are, by nature, tailored to particular situations, and they have a lot of complicated rules, warns Grossman. A lawyer will also have you fund the trust properly, which involves transferring the title on everything — from the deed on your house to bank and brokerage accounts — from your name to the trust. Failure to do so (a common rookie mistake) renders the trust inoperable, says David Shulman, an estate-planning attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Durable power of attorney. This document lets you appoint a representative to manage your financial affairs should you become incapacitated. Depending on your intentions — and state law — it goes into effect either as soon as the document is executed or if you become mentally incompetent. In contrast, a regular power of attorney ceases to exist if you become incapacitated. It pays to work with a lawyer to make sure you use the right documents and choose the right person for this important job. Advance directives. You need two state-specific documents: a living will, in which you specify the treatment you want to receive if you cannot speak for yourself, and a durable health-care power of attorney, in which you appoint someone to make health-care decisions on your behalf when you cannot. They are available free through hospitals and state medical societies. You don’t need a lawyer to fill them out, but you should discuss the provisions with a doctor and your health-care proxy before signing the documents. [ click here to see the article on Kiplinger.com ] The article has some good advice.  We always advocate working with an experienced estate planning attorney .  People who try to use a preprinted form, or trust or will kit, usually end up costing their families much more than they save in legal fees.  Don’t take shortcuts with your legacy! Posted by:  Andrew W. Mayoras & Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of Trial & Heirs :  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founders and shareholders of  The Center for Probate Litigation and  The Center for Elder Law   in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  Andrew & Danielle are husband and wife attorneys.

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Kiplinger’s article: Cut the Lawyer out of your Will?

The 6 Most Controversial Celebrity Wills: Michael Jackson, Leona Helmsley, Princess Diana and More

Who got the money? Who had the biggest family feuds? The mistakes that were made — and what we can learn from them. Two legal experts in estate planning and the authors of Trial & Heirs have the scoop. If the recent and sudden death of Michael Jackson taught us something – other than the side effects of too much prescription medication – it’s the importance of a will or trust. Wills and trusts are taboo topics. We’re usually far more inclined to talk about Botox injections or mammograms than how we plan to divide our assets. But (and sorry for speaking so morbidly) once you’re dead, it’ll be far too late to finally address it. That’s why regardless of your age and health (Jackson was 50 and about to go on tour), it’s important to have a proper will — not just for your peace of mind, but for your family’s peace of mind too. In addition to the King of Pop’s highly publicized estate battles, here’s a glimpse at more late celebrities, who cast a spotlight on the importance of pre-mortem planning. From Leona Helmsley (leaving $12 million to her dog) to former Senator Edward Kennedy (having a confidant as his administrator), here’s a look at how these celebrities divvied up their estates – plus the mistakes they made that you should want to avoid. 1. One of the more recent (and brutal) family fortune battles was started by billionaire Revlon Chairman Ronald Perelman . Who incurred Perelman’s wrath? Besides his ex-wife Ellen Barkin , his infirm, paralyzed and elderly ex-father-in-law, Robert Cohen. Perelman claimed Cohen had promised half his extensive fortune to Claudia Cohen, Perelman’s other ex-wife, who had passed away and whose estate Perelman controls. Despite clear instructions in Claudia’s will to preserve the relationship between their daughter and the Cohen family, Perelman launched a series of vicious lawsuits that pitted them against each other. Perelman has lost on every claim, but vows to appeal in spite of the millions in legal fees he has already spent from Claudia’s estate. *Tip: The only reason Perelman could cause so much trouble was because Claudia Cohen named him as executor of her estate. Choose wisely when naming your executor or trustee or your family may literally pay the price! (Photo © Getty Images/Ron Perelman with ex-wife Ellen Barkin) 2. Sen. Edward ( Ted) Kennedy’s will provided the world a peek behind the curtain of the famed Kennedy family. It revealed that he created a living trust and directed that all of his assets pass into his trust. Who did he pick to administer his estate? Instead of choosing his second wife or any of his children, he chose a trusted family friend and confidant, Paul G. Kirk Jr. This is a classic second-marriage situation. Kennedy may have chosen Kirk because he wanted someone outside of the family to administrator the estate to avoid family friction. *Tip: In second marriages or situations where there is likely to be family conflict, choosing a family friend or trusted adviser makes good sense. Proper estate planning involves taking precautions ahead of time to avoid a family fight down the road. (Photo © AP ) 3. While there was little he could do to surprise anyone given his past eccentricities, when Michael Jackson died suddenly, it caught the world off guard . The good news is that Jackson had a trust, the Michael Jackson Family Trust. A trust keeps affairs private and outside of the probate court — at least when it’s used properly. In Jackson’s case, however, he didn’t transfer his assets into the trust and as a result, his estate went through the very public court process. The general public learned about all of the fighting going on in Jackson’s estate as well as financial information, such as his mother’s monthly grooming expenses of $1,000 and his family’s monthly allowance of $86,000. *Tip: A trust, unlike a will, can avoid the probate court process when used properly. By not transferring assets into your trust, however, you undermine some of the key benefits of a trust — privacy, avoiding probate court and decreasing the chances of a family fight. (Photo © Getty Images) 4. Leona Helmsley chose to disinherit two of her grandchildren while leaving $12 million to Trouble , her well-named Maltese. Faced with these glaring inequities, Helmsley’s two excluded grandchildren filed a lawsuit claiming that she was not mentally fit or competent to create the will and trust. After battling i t out in the probate court for seven months, the two grandchildren received $6 million plus legal fees. Poor Trouble had his inheritance reduced to a paltry $2 million. Hopefully, this would be enough for a secured home, well-paid guardian, grooming and a lifetime supply of dog bones. *Tip: Family conflicts are not unusual when someone passes away, whether the estate is modest or grand. Good estate planning is the best prevention, but if you find yourself in the middle of a dispute, consider a settlement before the fight reaches absurd costs. (Photo © AP ) 5. Unfortunately, the estate of Princess Diana was not handled with the same grace, dignity and class that she exuded in life. Diana left a “letter of wishes” asking her executors to “divide, at [their] discretion,” her personal property and give one quarter to her godchildren. Each godchild would have received property worth 100,000 pounds ($162,700). But Diana’s executors never did so. In fact, the executors convinced the court to disregard the “letter of wishes,” without even notifying the godchildren. Instead of 100,000 pounds, each godchild received only a single memento, such as an incomplete tea set, commercially available watercolor painting or, according to one godchild’s parent, a “grubby trinket.” * Tip: Don’t undermine your will or trust by taking shortcuts. Ideally, your intent should be incorporated into your will or trust and not placed into a separate document. A separate personal property list can work, but giving the executors “discretion” to follow it means that your wishes may not be carried out. 6. Warren Burger wrote his own will consisting of a total of 176 words … for a $1.8 million estate. If you do the math, it’s $10,000 per wor d. The former Chief Justice of the United State Supreme Court could have used a few more words to avoid legal fees. His estate was forced to spend thousands of extra dollars in probate court because his will failed to give his co-executors the power they needed to sell real estate, pay taxes and otherwise manage the estate. *Tip: Even if you are the former Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and wish to write your own will, at least have it reviewed by a legal expert. A “homemade” will is usually better than no will at all, but can have important provisions missing. By using a good estate planning attorney to prepare your will, later your family can save thousands of dollars in court costs. (Courtesy photograph) By Danielle B. Mayoras and Andrew W. Mayoras. Originally published by The Women On The Web at WOWOWOW.COM

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The 6 Most Controversial Celebrity Wills: Michael Jackson, Leona Helmsley, Princess Diana and More

Ethical Wills on Video

by Steve Pender, video biographer & personal historian, Family Legacy Video, Inc. We’ve seen the scene in movies countless times. Bereaved relatives gather in a lawyer’s office. An attorney picks up a sheet of paper and begins to read, “I (insert name here) being of sound mind, do hereby bequeath my estate to…” And so on and so forth. A last will and testament, the document that details how a person disposes of his or her physical property after death, is a pretty common concept. But there’s another kind of will gaining popularity, one that focuses on spiritual and moral values as opposed to physical assets. And this will is often passed along before the will’s writer passes on. It’s called an ethical will. Ethical wills have actually been around for three thousand years, but they’ve gained newfound popularity since 9/11. They can take the form of personal letters written to a child, grandchild, niece or nephew, an audio recording or a video. Ethical wills can incorporate anything a person believes is meaningful enough to pass on. The Web site www.ethicalwill.com lists some common themes: Important personal values and beliefs Important spiritual values Hopes and blessings for future generations Life’s lessons Expressions of love Forgiving others and asking for forgiveness   Why create an ethical will? According to www.ethicalwill.com, some reasons are: We all want to be remembered, and we all will leave something behind If we don’t tell our stories, no one else will and they will be lost forever It helps you identify what you value most and what you stand for By articulating what we value now, we can take steps to insure the continuation of those values for future generations You learn a lot about yourself in the process of writing an ethical will It helps us come to terms with our mortality by creating something of meaning that will live on after we are gone It provides a sense of completion in our lives Video can be a powerful medium for passing along your values to a loved one. The conviction in your words and the passion in your eyes will leave a profound impression on the person for whom you create your video ethical will, as well as the generations that follow. You don’t have to do anything fancy from a video standpoint. To ensure a good quality video, either hire a professional or do-it-yoursef employing some of the basic organization, lighting and sound techniques described in the Family Legacy Video™ Producer’s Guide . An ethical will can be a wonderful gift and a long lasting legacy, made all the more powerful by the use of video.

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Ethical Wills on Video

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