The Advantage program is designed for sellers who intend to distribute their own work or large quantities of other books they are legally allowed to distribute. Unlike the other types of Amazon seller accounts, Amazon requires potential Advantage members to submit a special application. In order to participate, you will need North American distribution rights for any titles you enroll. The account you set up for an Advantage membership will require the same information as a standard selling account.  You will need to input your name, e-mail, password, mailing address, and bank account. You will also need a valid e-mail address, access to the Internet, and a U.S. bank account. To start the application process, navigate to the Advantage home page at: https://advantage.amazon.com/. Click on the “Apply” button to be directed to the application. Note that as a member of the Advantage program, you do not need to maintain a selling account or manage buying orders and feedback. Your Advantage account won’t be active until books are registered under it. Click on “Enroll” under your Advantage account, and type in the details of each book you’d like to sell through the program. Each title must have an ISBN, and each physical book copy must have a valid barcode. After you enroll a title through the Advantage account, you will receive an initial order e-mail with instructions on how to log in and confirm your order. To confirm an order, you will need to log into your member page and select the "Orders" tab. After clicking on the corresponding Order ID number, you will confirm the order and receive shipping instructions. You can print out these slips from your order confirmation page after you’ve confirmed the order. The packing slip should be included in the box along with the books you ship. Place the shipping label on the outside of the box using heavy-duty packaging tape. It’s your responsibility to send your books to an Amazon distribution center, but Amazon will handle shipping the books to the customers. Amazon will instruct you on which fulfillment center to send your books to, and the address will be on the shipping label. You will be notified when your order is received at the facility.  Amazon should have provided you with the distribution center’s address after you enrolled your book(s). If they didn’t, contact the Advantage program and inquire where your books should be shipped to. If you ship an order to an Amazon fulfillment center that does not meet its requirements, Amazon may ship it back to you at your expense. Amazon will take care of getting the books into the customers’ hands. You will receive payment (via direct deposit) from Amazon once customers have purchased your books. Under the Advantage program, the books are put up for sale under Amazon's name rather than your seller name. You will not receive feedback for the purchase or the condition of the book. Amazon will also handle any returns if customers are dissatisfied with the books. For this reason, the Advantage program is ideal for booksellers or publishers who prefer to have a hands-off approach to selling and shipping their own books.

Summary: Submit an Advantage application to join the program. Enroll at least 1 book title under your Advantage account. Print your shipping label and packing slip for each order. Mail your products to an Amazon shipping center for distribution. Let Amazon sell the books and ship them out to customers.


This includes things that take up space and cost money. People who successfully work and travel are usually comfortable with living light rather than being loaded down with possessions. If you have an expensive car that requires expensive insurance, you will be required to always make money to pay for that car. Having less possessions means you have more freedom to make enough to live and travel as you like. Living in a large home was a huge part of the American Dream for so long, but now more and more people are realizing the benefits of inhabiting smaller spaces. The smaller the space is, the less room you have for excessive material possessions too, so it will aid you in the whole process of downsizing your life. Living in a smaller home means less maintenance for you, less stress about the upkeep of your home, and probably less money each month in rent or mortgage. Having the freedom to travel because of learning to live with less often means getting rid of your financial ties to your current home location. It is much easier to travel freely when you don’t have a mortgage, credit card debt, or a car payment weighing you down and always pulling you back home.  Try to limit your spending on frivolous luxuries so that you can put some extra money toward your debt each month. This will help you pay it off sooner so you can have more freedom to travel. If you plan on traveling for extended periods of time, it might even make sense to sell some of your possessions in order to pay your debts down. For example, if you wanted to move abroad for a while, you might sell your car (since you won’t be using it anyways) to help you get your debt to a manageable level. We live in a consumer culture that is obsessed with always looking for the next big thing – the newest car, the biggest house, the nicest clothes, etc. If you maintain these kinds of expectations and desires for your life, it will be hard for you to be satisfied by living with less.  Work on realizing that happiness isn’t achieved through material possessions and that living with less might help you create a more sustainable, more enjoyable life. But to make this work, you’ll need to let go of those old expectations.

Summary: Get rid of the material excess in your life. Downsize your home. Eliminate your debt. Change your expectations.


This is when a doctor does some pulling and tugging maneuvers to strategically re-align your shoulder joint. You will sometimes be given muscle relaxants first, and occasionally a sedative as well depending upon the severity of your pain. Once your shoulder joint is re-aligned, the pain you feel should significantly improve. After your shoulder has been re-aligned, it will need to be immobilized for the first part of the healing period (generally three to four weeks). This is usually accomplished using a sling.  After initial immobilization, your physician will recommend a specific rehabilitation program for you as your shoulder begins to feel better. Following through with the rehabilitation plan is key for recovering full range of motion. It is especially important if you are an athlete and if returning to optimum sports performance is your goal. Your rehabilitation will likely involve doing specific exercises and stretches to strengthen your shoulder. Exercises that your doctor might suggest may include isometric exercises, which strengthen the muscles without moving the joint, internal and external rotations, and/or band exercises.  Perform an internal rotation by attaching an exercise band to a sturdy point about waist-high. Hold the band in your hand, bending your elbow to 90 degrees and resting it against your side. Keep your elbow steady against your side and pull the band across your body. Lay your forearm flat against your stomach if possible (but only pull as far as is comfortable). Then slowly release.  Try an isometric adduction. Place a small item, like a rolled up newspaper, between your injured arm and your torso. Squeeze the item and try to hold it in place for five seconds. Repeat five to ten times.  Check with your doctor before performing any exercises to avoid further injury. Since a dislocated shoulder can be quite a painful injury, you will likely need pain medications as you recover. Depending upon the severity of your injury, your doctor may offer you prescription pain meds for the first few days. Alternatively, you can opt for over-the-counter pain meds such as Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and/or Ibuprofen (Advil), which may be sufficient to keep the pain under control. Another strategy to help with recovery after a shoulder dislocation is icing the area. Icing helps to diminish inflammation and it can also temporarily ease the pain. For severe and/or repeated shoulder dislocations, surgery may be used as a last resort treatment. The risks of surgery are higher, so it is generally reserved for exceptional cases.
Summary: Undergo shoulder reduction. Immobilize your shoulder. Exercise your shoulder. Take pain medications as needed. Ice your shoulder. Use surgery as a last resort.