Imagine the good life in Costa Rica… owning and operating your own bed and breakfast or small hotel, away from the treadmill back home. It’s a lifestyle decision and one that is in reach for any who will dream and take the effort to make the dream come true!

Think of the possibilities. You get up in the morning, chit chat with your guests over coffee and breakfast, make a couple of calls to arrange a diving tour, a deep sea fishing trip or a zip line adventure and you have the rest of the day to yourself… not a bad lifestyle, eh?

Buying and operating your own bed and breakfast or small hotel in Costa Rica is not a complicated process and many have come before you. In fact, many current operators are happy to network and share their expertise with newcomers. All you have to do is ask.

Costa Rica is only 2 ½ hours from Miami and has direct flights from many other U.S. cities i.e. New York, Newark, Dallas, Houston, Denver, and Los Angeles. And tourism is booming, despite the slowdown in economies in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Demand for hotel rooms, particularly in the beach communities on the Pacific Coast is at all time highs, with no end in sight!

Unlike other countries, owning a business or real estate as a foreigner is encouraged not discouraged. You don’t have to be a legal resident or citizen. And if you are not bilingual in Spanish, no problem because many of the locals are and you can hire one as your assistant.

Like any business, the B&B business thrives or dives on promotion and referrals. Take good care of your clients and they will tell their friends. It’s that simple! And if you have a little savvy on the internet, you can keep the place full year round!

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Many couples share expenses, and split up the various monthly bills they receive each month. If you are responsible for the phone bills, you probably look over each one to make sure all of the charges are accurate. While checking the bills to ensure everything lines up, have you ever noticed one or more calls made to or from your lover’s cell phone that you don’t recognize?

If so, you are probably curious as to who owns the mystery number, especially if this number frequently shows up on your partner’s bill. If you really want to find out the owner, your first instinct may be to trace the number with a reverse phone lookup. However, by choosing not to ask your lover about the phone number, you are invading your partner’s privacy without first giving them the benefit of the doubt.

If you want respect from your partner, you need to return the same courtesy. Politely ask him or her about the mysterious number. Explain that you always check over the phone bills to ensure everything adds up, and you happened to notice that he or she had made, or had been contacted, many times by a number you didn’t recognize and you were curious to whom the number belonged.

Unless your lover has something to hide, he or she should not have a problem understanding your curiosity and will tell you the information you want to know. On the other hand, if your partner becomes very defensive and accuses you of being nosy, suspicious, controlling or overbearing, this may be an indication that there is something they don’t want you to know. At this point, you may want to consider performing a reverse phone search to give you peace of mind.

Although you should try a free reverse lookup first, in case the phone number belongs to a public number (landline published in the local phone book), be prepared to pay for a search if the number is the property of a mobile phone subscriber, because you will need a cell phone tracer to learn the personal details you require.

Once you know the identity of the number owner, you can then decide for yourself what the best course of action is to take in your relationship. After all, the results could mean that you were overreacting and had nothing to worry about, or they may further your suspicions and alert you to a deception, breaking the trust you had in your partner.

Nevertheless, understand that when it comes to investigating unknown numbers on your lover’s phone bill, a reverse cell phone search should never be your initial choice. Always confront your lover first, and never forget that when you perform a reverse lookup without their knowledge - no matter how justified you may feel in doing so - you are invading their privacy.

Mary is a bookworm that loves to write about technology and ethical issues. You can check out her latest tech project at http://www.FreeCellPhoneTracer.com

It’s Monday morning and you hate your job. Your weekend was average. You tried to disconnect from your "prison" as much as you could, but the thoughts of your job still crept into your brain at every turn. Saturday night you realized Sunday was near. Sunday night you zoned out in front of your television watching the Daily Ten on the E channel where you caught up on who is fat, who is on drugs, who is "hooking up", and who is breaking up; by the last commercial you realize you have to work tomorrow. Tomorrow is now. Monday morning your alarm goes off for the fourth time of hitting the snooze and you roll out of bed. How does your face and body look at this time? Come on, I know you’ve felt like this at least once in your life. Is your face tense and frowning? Are your shoulders slumped? Do you move slowly and languidly as you approach the shower? I even bet your breathing is shallow and soft.

Erase that feeling of depression for now and think about another scenario. It’s Monday morning and your house phone rings. "That’s weird" you say. "I never get phone calls at this time of the morning." The person on the other line says, "This is KWXZ radio and we are calling to inform you that you have won an all expense paid trip to Hawaii!" You scream, you jump up and down, your smiling uncontrollably, and your face loosens up. You look like one of those crazy contestants that you use to make fun of on the Price is Right game show after they beat out the other screaming contestants for the Grand Prize. Above are clear examples of your physiology.

Physiology is the movement of your body. The movement of your body affects your moods and the moods of others. Physiology is the expressions of your face, the movement of your body, the position of your eyes, posture and breathing. What most of us don’t realize is that we can change our emotions and energy by the way we move. What if in the morning after waking up, you actually stood up straight, take in a few deep breaths and smiled. Do something crazy. Pound your chest, and shout a chant; "It’s a great day!" "It’s a great day!" You are setting yourself up to have a great day. You are forcing your body and brain to move into the position of being happy before you even start the day. That is why some form of exercise or meditation is a great way to start any day because you are moving and breathing in a positive way and your emotions get a jolting charge.

How does this relate to customer service? Your positive or negative emotions affect everyone around you. That is why in the customer service industry we are told to smile, even when we answer the phone. The smiling actually sparks a positive emotion to the customer in front of you. It is important while speaking to the guest to maintain an upright posture. If you are slouching or bent over the counter, you are showing the customer that you don’t even have enough energy to stand up straight and they will subconsciously feel their energy levels drain. When I observed the customer service training at the MGM Grand Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas, I witnessed how important the pre-shift meeting was for their employees. Bernie Vasquez, the Director of Customer Excellence of the MGM described the pre-shift meeting as a way to set the tone for the day. It’s the opportunity to set the contagious mood of positive energy.

Eye contact is the key to any customer service engagement. Looking someone in the eyes while you are talking is a not only a sign of respect but it shows you are paying attention and willing to help them. This means that you are not shuffling papers, browsing your web pages or checking out the good looking patrons that are walking in behind your customers. Eye contact is difficult for some people. There are subconscious self esteem issues that causes some people to not be able to look someone in the eyes for a fixed period of time. One of the most challenging exercises I did in a Landmark Forum seminar was to stand in front of another stranger and stare into their eyes without saying a word. You find yourself laughing, looking at a fixed object, fidgeting and even sweating. A few participants even cried, because you can’t shield yourself from someone’s staring eyes. This exercise really gives you a glimpse into your non-verbal communication and your self esteem issues that you were not aware of. Looking your customer in the eyes shows that you are in control and actively listening.

The tone and speed of your speaking sets the tone of your interaction as well. Did you ever have a teacher that spoke in a monotone voice? You spend part of the class making fun of the voice and the other part of the class drifting off into another world. You do everything but pay attention. A captivating speaker speaks louder than normal but not too loud, also they use inflection and emphasis. A good speaker uses good pronunciation for clear understanding. You emphasize certain emotion based words like wonderful view, beautiful weather, or exquisite cuisine. A good customer service speaker nods "yes" while speaking and eventually the customer will nod and get in the "yes" mode themselves.

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