Good copywriting can not only help a company define its own identity and convey its core message to its target audience, it can also educate potential and existing customers and ultimately drive sales by persuading people to buy.

But good copywriting is not as easy to accomplish as one would think. Creating strong, persuasive copy goes beyond merely writing down what a company stands for -- it has to do with truly understanding the target audience and crafting content that speaks to them and their pain points.

While mastering the art of copywriting may take years of practice, there are a few tested tricks of the trade that any writer can benefit from. Below, 13 members of Forbes Communications Council explore a few foolproof copywriting methods that any business can use to drive their sales.

Members share their top copywriting tips that they use to boost sales.

1. Always Make It About Them, Not You

Most email marketers make the mistake of starting an email with something like, "I just wanted to..." or "I'd love to get some time..." but that focuses on your needs, not your buyer's. A more effective approach would be "You recently wrote on your blog that..." or "Congrats on your recent promotion!" That's the kind of stuff that grabs people's attention. - Udi Ledergor, Gong

2. Be Authentic And Consistent

Consistency in your brand, tone and voice is key. You need every single employee in your company to understand and be educated on your brand, tone and voice. If all the brand campaigns, marketing emails, website pages and solution briefs have one voice but the release notes, outage and renewal notices all have different tones and voices, you will not be seen as authentic. - Seema Kumar, servicechannel.com

3. Make A Personal Connection

Remember there is always a person receiving your marketing message. Even if you are in business-to-business marketing, the goal is to connect with an individual. Align your messaging with what will actually resonate with recipients, which often involves more than clearly articulating your value proposition. Communicate how you will have a direct and positive impact on the recipient and make that personal connection. - Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC

4. Keep It Conversational But Concise

Keep your copy short and sweet. Effective messaging is achieved best with concise, punchy and powerful language. Moreover, when thinking strategically and working to inform or persuade your audience, use conversational language geared toward your targeted demographics to drive engagement and ultimately, sales. - Maura Kennedy, Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano, LLP

5. Speak To The Individual Customer

Rather than speaking in broad strokes, you must use copy to make every potential customer feel as though you're speaking directly to them. That includes everything from the nouns and pronouns used (i.e. "your") and their particular business to including particular content or items they've shown interest in previously. - Jason Wolfson, VuPulse

6. Have A Call To Action

Always incorporate a call to action in your sales copy. This is what you need to really seal the deal and push your audience to take that next step. A call to action will also help you track the success of that particular copy or marketing piece, whether thats a dedicated number, promo code or trackable booking link. - Dana Baasiri, AIC Hotel Group

7. Match The Voice Of Your Audience

Copywriting is not one-size-fits-all. For copywriting to be effective, you need to articulate that content in a way that resonates with the reader. The delivery is just as important as the content itself. Consider the language and jargon of your audience, and mirror that voicing in your copywriting. By matching their voicing, your content will resonate as familiar, informative and authoritative. - Devin Henry, Nomadic Real Estate Investments, LLC

8. Play Devil's Advocate

Put yourself in your customer's shoes and explore any concerns they may have about using your products or services. Now address these concerns and add positive advantages to working with you. Allow your counterarguments and positive additions to serve as a guide to help you create copy that will naturally lower their subconscious resistance by the time they reach your call to action. - Karla Larraga, Champions School of Real Estate

9. Serve Up Value And Actionable Advice

The sales pitch is dead. Yes, your site needs a strong value proposition. You should even talk up those products and/or services. But within reason. Consumers are bombarded with sales pitches every 10 minutes, and they have stopped listening. Instead, deliver content that your target audience finds useful -- content they can consume and run with to solve a problem, fix something or ponder deeply. - Stephen Seifert, Seifert Media

10. Lead With What They're Feeling

Great copywriting is the output of truly understanding your buyer's story and their pain. That's why it's so critical to lead with it. And with research telling us time and time again that consumers buy on emotion, leading with it in your marketing will be the difference between eliciting the kind of emotional response that causes a buyer to click through rather than continuing to scroll. - Yoni Solomon, G2 (formerly G2 Crowd)

11. Leverage AI Tools To Streamline Copy Editing

We're living in an amazing time where there's a tool for everything. With tools like Grammarly and the smart compose feature on Gmail, there's no reason to have unnecessary mistakes in correspondence. Make it a company policy to leverage these tools to help your team present your brand with excellence and professionalism in written correspondence. - Holly Tate, Vanderbloemen Search Group

12. Consider Search Engine Optimization

When mocking up copy for sales use, consider keywords your competitors are using to differentiate themselves and use them to your advantage. Gain web traction by implementing words that are currently used in your brand's repertoire -- remember, organic search engine optimization is your friend. - Harrison Eaton, Backbone PLM

13. Make The Copy Accessible To Your Team

Copywriting is a natural skill for some but a labored skill for others. Regardless of wordsmithing skills, document automation software can help all employees deliver crisp and impactful copy to your customers. Ensure that the entire sales organization has access to best-practice content to build pitch presentations or send compelling business emails, pre-crafted by your best copywriters. - Lucy Mehrtens, Templafy

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13 Foolproof Copywriting Tricks To Drive Sales - Forbes

Charleston, SCs Little Bird plays Bourgie Nights alongside Wilmington favorites Team Player and Lauds. Photo by Georgia VanNewkirk

Jay Hurtt always has answered to the name Little Bird. I was born James Henry Hurtt IV, and Jay Bird was a family nickname growing up, the singer explains. So when he decided to start a bandfirst with guitarist James Rubush, and later as a five-piece with Rubush, bassist Ben Mossman, drummer Oleg Terentiev and keyboardist Noah Jonesthe choice of name was a no brainer. We just never thought to change it, he says.

Both Hurtt and Rubush grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, and began making music together as high schoolers in 2014. In 2015, they released Groovea seven-song LP of slackerish acoustic tunes in the style of G. Love and Special Sauce. The album earned Little Bird early praise, and gigs at music festivals up and down the East Coast. When the time came for both musicians to go to collegeHurt to Savannah College of Art and Design, where he studied film and television, and Rubush to College of Charlestonthey decided to start over. We didnt have the same members available eight hours away south, Hurtt explains.

The unfamiliar surroundings allowed them a fresh perspective. They expanded with new members Mossmann, Jones and Terentiev, which allowed them to broaden their sound, too. Jones, who is currently on hiatus from studying jazz piano at College of Charleston, brought in R&B and soul influences. Mossmann brought new bass sounds and knowledge of electronic music. Terentiev brought his love of hip-hop. Theres just so many different directions we could go, its kind of overwhelming sometimes, the drummer says.

Those influences are rampant on the bands second album, Familiar. Opener Honey Leak recalls the ambient R&B of Hiatus Kaiyote and Nick Hakim. Standout track Made in the Shade (Fool) sounds like Kings of Leons Pyro, filtered through a neo-soul lens. The album shows the band growing up in more ways than one: Hurtt says hed recently returned to Annapolis for the first time, and wrote the albums lyrics with the nostalgia that comes with visiting ones hometown after being away. Everythings the same but its all sort of different, he says. Theres new buildings. Its like the first time in your life you can acknowledge as a different time than growing up.

The band also found inspiration in Charlestons music scene. With the exception of Hurtt, all of Little Bird lives together in a house on James Islandon a street called, poetically, Meander Road. The area is full of musicians; Hurt says its not unusual to pull onto the street and see several tour vans lining the road. You can stand in the street and hear multiple people singing in their houses. Its pretty funny.

At Bourgie Nights on Saturday, Little Bird will play Familiar in its entirety, as well as material from its forthcoming album, Proxima. Beginning with the song Ghost, available now on Spotify, the band will release a series of five singles, followed by a 10-song record in 2020. The album owes as much to British writer and philosopher Alan Watts as it does pioneering musicians like DAngelo and LA-based neo-soul trio Moonchild.

I think its about how we try to perceive the world through our own opinions, says Terentiev, who describes the new record as a space odyssey taleIts about social media and self-awareness and time and the way we perceive time linearly, and just a lot of random stuff.

Hurtt says the album name came about while he and Jones were discussing the bands future on their porch one night. I said something like, Whats next? And Noah heard the word proxima recently, referring to Proxima Centauri, the next star system, says the singer. So we were like, Whats next? Proxima.

Continued here:
EXPANDED WINGSPAN: Charleston indie soul outfit brings new sounds to ILM ILM's Alternative Weekly Voice - encore Online

Zoltan Istvan, a transhumanist journalist, is running for the U.S. presidency as a Republican in 2020, challenging President Donald Trump in the primary.

Istvan, who also ran for president in 2016 on a lesser scale, has written for The New York Times, Vice, and National Geographic, and describes himself as the founder of the Transhumanist Party, the original author of the Transhumanist Bill of Rights, and a frequently interviewed expert on AI, genetic editing, tech policy, and futurism.

His campaign policies for 2020 range from the relatively normal to the quite absurd, from ending the drug war, beating China in the artificial intelligence race, restoring the environment, and providing universal basic income for all, to the development of artificial wombs, nearly open borders, stopping mass shootings and terrorism with drones, robots, AI scanners, and other technology, and licensing parents, or as Istvan explained, requiring prospective parents to pass a series of basic tests, similar to a DMV driving test, to quality and get the green light to get pregnant and raise children.

As a passionate transhumanist (or, as philosopher Max More explains, someone who supports the evolution of intelligent life beyond its currently human form and human limitations by means of science and technology), reportedly with a microchip in his hand that allows him to open doors and use his phone, Istvan also wants the Republican Party to reclaim transhumanism from the far-left.

This week, Mediaite got the opportunity to talk with Istvan about his 2020 campaign and the policies within.

Your campaign policies are very interesting. Typical libertarian policies mixed with some quite out-there stuff like artificial wombs, nearly open borders, and stopping borders with drones. What was the inspiration behind such an odd variety of campaign focuses?

I was busted for dealing marijuana I guess maybe 26 years ago, where I was convicted of a felony conviction for distribution of narcotics, which also made me highly libertarian kind of from the start of my adult years. And then as I went through the National Geographic days I began to try to think about what would be better policy so we didnt get in these wars all the time and the government sort of left us alone. But at the same time, its not that I want to be left alone entirely. I think there should be some safety nets.

If you look through some of my 2020 plans youll see theres a lot of liberalism built into it, so it kind of tries to take the very best parts from all the different ideologies that are out there and put it in one. To be honest, I just dont understand why there cant be conservative people like myself who are totally socially liberal, and while thats classic libertarianism, the reality is that the Libertarian Party just doesnt have enough connections, money, and all these other things to run campaigns that can actually win office, which is ultimately why Im now with the Republicans trying to make a difference, trying to get people that might be fiscally conservative to have some sensibility when it comes to being more open-minded.

You say on your campaign website that youre trying to reclaim transhumanism from the far-left. What do you mean by that?

Thats probably my number one policy goal right now, and its because whats happened recently, at least in the last four or five years, is it seems like transhumanism has been growing dramatically. Im excited about that, but its also growing dramatically to the left, and if it continues to grow and grow in that direction it means that it will be almost this socialist dystopia, in my opinion, where everyone thinks they own everything and they can just do what they want.

Innovation, capitalism and Im saying this from an entrepreneur of twenty years it requires free markets in many ways to come up with these creative ideas in the first place. We all love going to Europe. We all love the quasi-socialism that they have there when were there. But Europe hasnt really created anything innovative in fifty years. I mean not much when you compare to, lets say, America. We want to be careful that in order for transhumanism to survive, it doesnt fall into the hands of the new breed of socialists that America is contending with. Silicon Valley is going that direction, Ive been watching that happen over the last ten years, and so I thought it was finally time somebody stood up and said, Wait a second, we need a better balance here. We need a balance of people who are willing to innovate in libertarian-minded economical ideals without bowing down to the far left.

So do you think transhumanism would die out if we did end up with a socialist society?

No. I dont think it would die out. I just think so you gotta understand the number one goal of transhumanism is really to try to overcome biological death by finding technology. And really, what happens when you put socialism into medicine and some of these other things, innovation dramatically stops. So somebody like myself whos 46-years-old, and of course all the other older people that have been involved in the movement forever, if innovation and science and all that other stuff stopped just even for ten or fifteen years, or doesnt go as fast as it is, a huge amount of extra people wont make it to this new generation where well have all these different techniques to keep people alive.

So theres actually a race going on. A race to keep transhumanism in kind of this capitalistic, libertarian somewhat framework so that innovation continues to move forward and that people like myself will have a chance in thirty years to actually benefit from these life extension medications and innovations that come out.

If we are able to overcome death with science by 2030 versus the year 2050, over one billion lives will be saved. So the meaning here is incredibly important, which is why Im very cautious about socialists being in charge.

Are you not worried that we could end up with a Fallout: New Vegas Mr. House situation, where you have a really really rich guy, or a bunch of rich people who are practically living forever, while no one else can get access to this technology?

That is one of my number one fears.

First of all, from a transhumanist perspective, if everyone lives forever, were going to have overpopulation problems, and I already believe we have overpopulation problems. You can see the climate changing and things like that.

But I think the other one is, whats to keep the Mark Zuckerbergs and the other people of the world from taking this radical technology, using it on themselves, and leaving the rest of us behind? This is where I lose a little bit of my libertarianism, and all the libertarians get mad at me. I actually think under these circumstances there should be some government mandate when it comes to healthcare, when it comes to different types of rights to life extension. That we should all have some type of a universal right to life extension and some of these medicines, even it requires government grants and things like that, because the very last thing that I want to do is create a world where only the one percent has access to these technologies, or even beyond the one percent, and the rest of the people get left behind in some kind of dystopia.

So, this is where I kind of break down and say a little bit of big government is fine, especially if its going to protect and make sure everyone has benefits to this new future that were talking about: the Transhumanist Age.

Do you think there are already some minor life extension schemes going on in the one percent?

I dont believe that theres a conspiracy going on with the one percent, because if it is, I havent heard about it. There are companies like Human Longevity. They cater only to the very wealthy But its not that they dont cater to the super poor, its just that their prices are expensive and theyre not covered by insurance, so only the very wealthy use them.

I would be very surprised if even someone like Peter Thiel has a very strict regiment of kind of undercover, secretive longevity people. I think were all working on this together. We realize the humanitarian aspects of making us all live longer. The person who could come up with the magic pill, or 3D-printing organs, however were going to keep ourselves alive longer, I think not only is it the most important capitalistic thing someones going to become a trillionaire off these kinds of innovations but I also think theres a very deep humanitarian aspect to share with your family, your friends. So I dont think people are hording this technology. I just dont think weve come up with the right technologies yet.

But if you look at the statistics, five years ago this was maybe a one or two billion dollar industry when you talk about longevity, and Bank of America recently said its going to be a 600 billion industry by 2025. I mean it is skyrocketing in terms of venture capital and investment. A lot of money is coming into it, so I hope by now in the next two to five years youre going to have a lot more innovation and announcement.

It seems like youre putting up more of a fight this primary to beat President Trump. Last election you put up a fight, but you werent listed on the ballots, whereas this time youre going to be listed on some the ballots, right?

Yeah, were going to be on basically all the ballots we can be until Super Tuesday, and were going to see how we do. Were spending a lot of our funding for ballot access right now, but thats okay. What happened is the first time around, I had some unique ideas. Of course, I had been a writer for a lot of major media, and so people listened and they liked those ideas, but for the Transhumanist Party as an independent, you really cant make any ground unless you have ballot access.

Were hoping that if we do well in New Hampshire, and were hoping that if we do well in Iowa, maybe get a few delegates here, then we could all of a sudden take it to the next level and make a real push to try to compete against Trump.

Id be lying to you if I said, Look, I think were going to win this thing. Thats not really what were trying to do. What were trying to do is get the attention of the Republican Party and say, Isnt it time there could be a new way of looking at things? Does it always have to be fiscally conservative and also conservative moral values? Why doesnt the Republican Party open itself up to socially liberal values? They would make a lot more room for people like myself who fit right there in the middle. Who dont want to necessarily give up all their money to the government, but also want to say to people, Hey you can do exactly what you want to do with your body. This is something that I dont think the Republican Party has had yet from any kind of public figure or anyone whos run a real viable campaign.

If you could address Republican voters right now with a short statement, what would you say?

The premise here with Trump is that we were promised greatness, and that sounded kind of neat in the beginning, and I was excited not to have an attorney at the top of the chain of command in America, but it turns out that Trump didnt really deliver that.

All we have are these squabbles in America. It seems like peoples views are just attacking each other. I really think its time not only just for a professional to be in the White House, but for somebody with really brand new ideas. And I dont mean empty the swamp. I mean lets fly above the swamp. Why do we even need to be in the swamp anymore? This is the kind of thing Im trying to bring.

Photo courtesy of Zoltan Istvan.

This interview has been edited and condensed for content and clarity.

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Meet the Microchipped Transhumanist Cyborg Whos Running Against Trump in the 2020 GOP Primary - Mediaite

It's that time of year again, Thanksgiving. How do you show your thanks and appreciation?

In addition to winter sports beginning to enter full swing, the holiday season has also arrived. Its the time of year when families sit down, have a wonderful dinner, and be thankful for all the things that have happened throughout the year.

Many times around the holidays, or even in everyday life we forget to have a little perspective in life. We are all guilty of this. Life moves so fast and we have so many things going on with seemingly less and less time each day. We all have the same amount of time each day, we all just prioritize it differently than others. There is nothing wrong with that. However, Thanksgiving can tend to give a brief reminder to have an attitude of gratitude. Be thankful for the things we have in life, the ups and downs, the challenges in life. Perhaps even the things in life that come easy, we can be thankful for, as that allows us to put our minds at ease and keep our mental health in check, without going insane.

There are a few things that Iforget to show appreciation for that mean a lot to me. Family. We all have our families to be thankful for. Family is the foundation. Whether it be grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces and grandkids. We all have a piece of our family we are thankful for.

I will keep it short this week, but Ichallenge you all to make a list of gratitude. Mentally, on a sheet of paper, wherever. Make a list of things you are thankful for this year. Maybe not just this year, but everyday. Whether it be a roof over your head and a floor beneath your feet, or whether it be friends and family, a pet, good health, etc. Write down a list of everything you are grateful for. Dont get caught in the trap of social media and the perception that everyone has it better than you. You will eat yourself alive doing so. Be thankful for what you have; youll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you dont have, you will never, ever have enough. If you made a list of all the things you could be thankful for, the list would undoubtedly be longer than your misfortunes.

I close it out with a quote from JFK, As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

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Balls and Streich(s): The attitude of gratitude - Monte News

We have all heard the old saying "The luck of the Irish," so the real question is whether the Irish are luckier than people from other countries?

Well, it all depends on who you ask. Ask a lucky Irishman and he will no doubt confirm the sayings authenticity. Ask an unlucky Irishman, however, and he will no doubt scoff at the saying and will probably throw in a few choice swear words for good measure.

In other words, luck is in the eye of the beholder. Think about it. How often do people attribute luck to things or circumstances when they are going well, or when things just happen to work out? The answer is too often to count.

Likewise, many people attribute bad luck to situations that havent gone their way or when things or circumstances havent worked out.

But as to the question of whether the Irish are in general luckier than people from other countries, the answer is a categorical no sorry to burst your bubble. That is except for one lucky fella who had a life-changing visit from Lady Luck.

When trained chef Sean Doyle of Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland logged into his favorite online slots casino like those featured on this popular site, little did he know that he would soon be given the chance to exchange his knives for close to 5 million.

For the plucky Irishman, Mars Attacks' online slot game (based on the 1996 Hollywood film of the same name) turned out to be his lucky charm in February this year when he won its eye-watering 4.86 million progressive jackpot at his favorite online casino.

Surprisingly the 33-year-old did not resign from his job immediately after racking up the windfall but turned up for work the next day to help feed diners who were celebrating St Valentines Day. Perhaps Mr Doyle has what it takes to be a saint.

But back to the question of where did the saying the luck of the Irish come from? Well, thats an interesting story in itself and one that originated believe it or not in the United States of America of all places, way back in the mid-19th century.

It was a time when gold fever reigned supreme and intrepid miners from all over the globe traveled long and far to be a part of the latest gold rush, including the one that gripped the U.S. state of California between 1848 and 1855.

Miners made their way to the U.S. from all over including Ireland. So it came to be that many Irish miners struck it rich during the California Gold Rush. This was the cause of much jealousy among the mining population, spawning the now infamous phrase.

While Californias gold rush is long forgotten and solely the domain of the history books, museums, and Wikipedia, that saying has continued to not only live on but to thrive and propagate. Perhaps the reason is the large contingency of Irish Americans in the United States today.

That and the fact the Irish are renowned for many other luck-related icons, beliefs and folklore.

For instance, ever heard the expression the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Well, that is also Irish and is closely connected to the magical and mystical leprechaun.

Leprechauns have always been depicted as elusive little bearded men usually dressed up in green coats, matching hats and black buckled shoes, always with a ready smile and a mischievous glint in their eye.

As the legend goes, leprechauns are very successful shoemakers who like to hide their profits (in gold coins) in great big pots at the end of rainbows on account of how hard they are to find.

If ever a leprechaun is caught by a human he has to grant said human three wishes in exchange for his freedom. The trick, however, is to get hold of a leprechaun because they are notoriously difficult to catch.

Hence it is believed that to catch a leprechaun or indeed discover one their pots at the end of a rainbow, would make one a very lucky person indeed.

A four leaf clover is said to bring the holder luck.

Another symbol connected with Irish luck is the four-leaf clover. There is little doubt that the association was made because of the similarity to the shamrock, a young three-leaf clover sprig and a well-known symbol of Ireland.

The reason for the four-leaf clovers fame is the fact that it occurs much less frequently than the regular three-leaf clover. In fact, according to a recent survey just one out of 5,000 clovers has four leaves which makes them very rare, and thus especially lucky for the people that come across them.

In some quarters it is even believed that four-leaf clovers grant their finders the ability to see fairies. (Perhaps with the help of a glass or ten of Guinness or at least a few shots of absinthe).

Incidentally, while the four-leaf clover is considered to be particularly lucky, the three-leaf clover is also highly regarded in Ireland on account of it being a symbol of the holy trinity in the Christian religion.

Although lucky horseshoes may not have originated in Ireland, they are prevalent in the Emerald Isle. The story of how a horseshoe nailed on the door (typically with the open end pointing skyward) has to do with the Devil himself.

As the tale goes, Dunstan, a 10th-century saint and one time Archbishop of Canterbury, was a blacksmith before he found his calling. One day the Devil entered Dunstans forge and asked him to shoe his horse. Dunstan complied, but recognizing the Devil, he could not pass up the chance to nail the shoe to Satans foot instead of that of his horse.

Dunstan only agreed to remove the shoe (which was causing the Devil excruciating pain) in exchange for a promise from Lucifer that he would never enter any house with a horseshoe nailed to the door. That is why until today many superstitious folks in Ireland and beyond have horseshoes decorating their doors.

In addition, horseshoes with 7 holes are considered to be especially lucky on account of 7 being perceived as one of the worlds luckiest numbers.

As to the even bigger question of what is luck, many people define it as success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions. For our two cents, however, luck has everything to do with a positive mental attitude and hard work than most people realize.

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Is there really such a thing as "The Luck of the Irish" - IrishCentral

EATON The act of gratitude is the act of focusing on the good in life. If we perceive our current life to have more good, we will also believe our future life to have more good. Optimism is correlated with gratitude because those with an optimistic disposition are biologically more likely to focus on the good (gratitude) than on the bad (personal disappointment, anxiety, etc.).

A grateful person takes kindness at face value, believing themselves to be a person worthy of receiving no-strings-attached kindness. Being on the receiving side of gratitude and kindness can be challenging. Which beckons the inquiry how good are you at receiving? Keep this question in the back of your mind as we move forward on this path of gratitude.

There are a million reasons why to be grateful. The research has been done time and time again listing the benefits of gratitude. Basically, when you choose to be grateful, you are choosing to be happier. In a heated moment, an angry, sad or emotional moment find your path to gratitude. In a moment of stress, or not getting your way, find the path to gratitude. That being said, I feel its best to practice paving the path to gratitude so you can easily and efficiently get to it when you need it.

When it comes to your personality gratitude strengthens your emotions, makes us more optimistic, reduces materialism, increases spiritualism, makes us less self-centered, and increases self-esteem. As for gratitude and your health it improves your sleep by increasing sleep quality, reducing the time required to fall asleep, and increases sleep duration. Basically, gratitude helps with insomnia. Gratitude also helps you stay away from the doctor, lets you live longer, increases your energy levels, and makes you more likely to exercise (What?!?!? Gratitude can make me more likely to exercise? I may have to do a little personal research on this one). Those who engage in gratitude practices have been shown to feel less pain (which beckons the question, do you want to feel less pain?), have lower blood pressure, and be less likely to develop a mental disorder.

Emotionally, gratitude helps us bounce back, makes us feel good, and makes our memories happier (that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling). Socially, gratitude reduces feelings of envy, helps us relax, makes you friendlier, helps your marriage, makes you look good, gratitude helps you make friends, and deepens friendships.

Last, but not least gratitude in your career makes you a more effective manager, helps you network, increases your goal achievement, improves your decision making, increases your productivity, gratitude is no cure-all, but it is a massively underutilized tool for improving life-satisfaction and happiness.

Overall, gratitude makes us happier humans, people like us, we are healthier, and we get a career boost when we are grateful. I invite you to take the time in your daily life to work your gratitude muscle, begin practicing gratitude by thinking, writing and speaking what you are grateful for, I am grateful for I invite you to be willing and able to receive gratitude and kindness as well. As for those of us at the Senior Activities Center, we are practicing gratitude this month, stop in and practice gratitude with us.

Resource: http://www.happierhuman.com/benefits-of-gratitude/ To stay up to date on all of our activities, trips and senior news sign up to receive our bi-monthly newsletter the Senior Scene. Membership at the Senior Center is $10 a year. In addition to other benefits, members automatically receive our bi-monthly Senior Scene newsletter which features all our latest news and activities, additional benefits are discounts on trips and select activities. Like our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/preblecountycouncilonaging/ or give us a call at 937-456-4947. Visit our fabulous new website at http://www.PrebleSeniorCenter.org.

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Senior edition: 'The Attitude of Gratitude' - Register-Herald

SAFFRON BARKER was unanimously voted off Strictly Come Dancing last night and thanked her partner AJ Pritchard for taking her out of my shell.

The 19-year-old YouTube star had been in the dance-off against CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual with his partner Amy Dowden.

Saffron told Strictlys Tess Daly: Its been amazing. Id like to thank AJ so much. When I look at what I was like on week one I was so embarrassed and shy.

Hes really taken me out of my shell. Thank you so much for everything.

AJ praised Saffrons positive mental attitude, adding: Youve inspired so many on your own social media too.

Their elimination came after the pair finished joint last on the leaderboard in Saturday nights show, alongside Alex Scott and Neil Jones.

Earlier in the series, Saffron and AJ reigned supreme at the top of the leaderboard and were considered among the favourites to win. But after performing their samba again, the judges told them it was time to leave.

Karim and Amy were praised for having the best dance by Craig Revel Horwood. His fellow judge Bruno Tonioli said they had proven to be the strongest both technically and artistically when compared to AJ and Saffron. Amy and Karim are in the final five, against Alex and Neil, Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer, Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse and Emma Barton and Anton Du Beke.

Next Saturdays musical special airs at 7.10pm on BBC One.

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Vlogging off! Saffron Barker exits Strictly Come Dancing with a tribute to AJ Pritchard - Metro Newspaper UK

After a recent death in the family, a friend asked me, Would you rather die from a physical cause such as a heart attack, or face a mental decline with Alzheimers Disease? It was an awful decision to make, and it dawned on me, does it have to be either one?

There is a great deal of focus in the wellness world on physical fitness, but still very little on mental fitness. As someone who is in perfect health, but has a family history of neurodegenerative disorders on both sides, this is an area I am passionate about researching. In my job as a Director of Spa and Wellness, Im also passionate about sharing what I learn with guests. The Rancho Valencia Wellness Collective is based on the science of epigenetics (the study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off), and I love the feeling of empowerment this science creates, just knowing that potentially 95 percent of disease is preventable through lifestyle.

The latest research shows that it is possible to grow and strengthen your brain through exercises, creating cognitive fitness. After all, humans have both a physical age and a mental age. The goal of these exercises is to improve longevity, and decelerate mental aging. The brain has an amazing ability to change and adapt based on the exercises it is given.

Ive been profoundly inspired by a wonderful book called Boost Your Brain, by Majid Fotuhi, M.D. Ph.D. In the book, he talks about the Core Four ways to grow your brain: Build synapses, bolster the brains highways, nourish and grow blood vessels, and promote the development of neurons. Fotuhi discusses how a bigger brain is critical to peak mental fitness in three main ways: improving memory, clarity and creativity.

Cognitive stimulation helps the hippocampus (which plays a major role in learning and emotions) grow, and increases levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a critical protein in the formation of long-term memory.

A larger network of connectivity (synapses, neural highways, blood vessels and neurons) in the brain improves creativity, and the ability to solve abstract problems in the cortex, the area of the brain where higher cognition takes place.

Our Wellness Collective is based on the most impactful lifestyle factors for preventing disease, and I was overjoyed in my research to learn how beneficial they are to preventing cognitive decline as well. Here are some key microsteps that we use in my own work, and how you can adapt them at home to improve your own cognitive fitness:

Exercise

Exercise has many preventative benefits, from increasing BDNF to improving blood and oxygen flow to the brain.

Myelin is an insulating sheath around the axon of the neuron, which increases the speed at which messages are conducted. Oxygen is essential to the helper cells which keep the myelin intact. Physical exercise boosts oxygen flow to the brain and optimizes these highways.

Exercise also helps create new mitochondria, which help fuel the growth of new cells, synapses and small blood vessels.

To experience the benefits yourself, strive to get at least 30 minutes of blood-pumping cardio five days per week, and five to fifteen minutes of strength training three days per week. You can also get the benefits of cognitive exercise by playing puzzles such as Sudoku, crosswords, and board games involving strategy.

Building community

Fotuhi likens social interaction combined with exercise to cross-training, since it doubles the cognitive stimulation benefits. At Rancho Valencia, our goal is to create a community feel, with ample occasions for social connections. We do that with activities like pickleball, group fitness classes, social gatherings, wellness workshops, and other group activities. I get most excited when I see the added cognitive fitness bonus of someone making a new connection while also experiencing something new, like a crystal grounding grid, or yoga with sound healing! Learning a new activity and challenging the brain creates new synapses and neural pathways.

In your own life, focus on building community to experience the same brain benefits. Invite neighbors over for a potluck, frequent your local farmers market, bake more than you think your own family will need and share with neighbors, or try volunteering. I also love Meetup.com for both meeting new people and trying new things.

Get perspective

In my work, we invite our guests to pause and intentionally bring joy into each day. Thats something everyone can benefit from. This simple practice can alter brain activity, and create an automatic positive response to life challenges. Studies show that just thinking about happy times boosts serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is essential for the proper functioning of your prefrontal cortex, which governs self-reflection and the regulation of emotions, helping it to override old negative patterns.

Try this yourself. Put life in perspective by focusing on what you can control rather than dwelling on what you cannot. By practicing choosing a positive reaction, it will become your natural response. Focus on having an open mind and an attitude of curiosity about the world.

Sleep

Sleep is prime time not only for the repair processes of the body, but also for memory consolidation. Poor sleep shrinks the hippocampus and leads to unhealthy decisions in other areas such as choosing junk food and skipping a workout. Sleep-deprived people also tend to have higher stress levels and tense relationships. Are you seeing how this is all interrelated?

To improve your own sleep quality, keep your bedroom dark and cool. Unplug an hour before bed, as bright light is one of the biggest triggers to our brains that its time to be awake and alert. And practice deep breathing exercises such as Pranayama to balance the autonomic nervous system and calm the mind.

Nurture your body with quality nutrition

Plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline. To boost your brain, choose foods rich in vitamin K, lutein, folate and beta carotenes, such as spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens.

Foods containing flavonoids, such as berries and apples increase blood flow to the brain, boost BDNF, and create new nerve cells.

Omega-3s, ideally from fatty fish or flaxseed oil, have been linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid, the toxic protein that creates synapse-damaging results in the brains of people with Alzheimers Disease.

Nuts such as walnuts and pistachios are rich in omega-3s as well. Pecans and pistachios also contain choline, which increases the memory-related neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

At Rancho Valencia, we focus on what we can do more of instead of deprivation. I think thats a very important nutrition principle. If you slowly incorporate the foods above into your diet, you will be surprised at how easily this simple change can inspire other healthy actions.

Practice meditation

When we are stressed, our adrenal glands release cortisol, which is a natural response as part of the fight-or-flight mechanism. Persistent elevated brain cortisol level interferes with memory, raises blood pressure, and makes it more difficult to sleep. Chronic stress also causes neurons in the prefrontal cortex to shrink and lose connections and reduced BDNF levels.

Meditation can help, and its easy to get started. This practice strengthens the neural highways, creates more synapses, improves blood flow to the brain, increases the size of the hippocampus, and boosts BDNF.

Remember that your genetic makeup does not have to define your destiny. Even if a person inherits the APOE 4, a risk-factor gene, it does not mean that a person will absolutely develop Alzheimers Disease. Simple, sustainable changes to your daily lifestyle and improved cognitive fitness can lead to optimal physical and mental performance. I remind myself of that often empowerment is the key to a life well lived.

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How to Improve Your Cognitive Fitness - Thrive Global

BUDAPEST, Hungary It was the one wed all been waiting for: a straight fight between and for victory. A five-time world champion, arguably the greatest driver of the modern era, versus the man who will spend the next decade chasing down his records.

Up until now they have been the two star drivers of the 2019 season, albeit separated by a significant car advantage for Hamilton. But in Hungary, the track suited the rapidly improving Red Bull, and we finally saw the two best drivers in F1 go head to head. Needless to say, it didnt disappoint.

So what can we learn from the encounter? Is Max a genuine threat to Hamilton, and will Red Bull have the car to match his talent after the summer break?

On the face of it, Mercedes decision to pit Hamilton on lap 49 won him the race. From that point onward, he pushed flat out on fresh tyres, found the time he needed to catch Verstappen and executed a fairly straightforward overtaking move on lap 67 of 70. On the face of it, it looked like Red Bull had simply been caught napping, but deeper analysis showed Mercedes forced their rivals into a Catch 22 situation.

The roots of the strategy were based in Mercedes decision to leave Hamilton out as long as possible in the first stint. It initially cost Hamilton time (he was 1.3 seconds behind when Verstappen pitted on lap 25 and 5.9 seconds behind when he emerged from his own pit stop on lap 32) but the extra six laps of tyre life gave him a stronger hand in the second half of the race.

Initially, Mercedes plan was to pass Verstappen on track. Hamilton had a pace advantage of between 0.3s and 0.5s when he reemerged after his first pit stop, but as we saw on lap 39, that kind of advantage wasnt quite enough to force an overtake. It did, however, result in some great racing as Hamilton put Verstappen out of position in Turns 1, 2 and 3 before braving a move around the outside of Turn 4. But when Verstappen covered him off and the overtaking move came to nothing in the run-off area, the realities of modern F1 set in and Hamilton was forced to back off with overheating brakes.

Max Verstappen vs. Lewis Hamilton was a battle defined on the track and in the pits and is one we are likely to see a lot more of in the future.Charles Coates/Getty Images

Although largely overlooked at the end of the race, the brake issues were a key factor in dictating how Sundays race panned out. Traditionally, the Hungaroring is not a circuit where brakes are a concern, but the threat from Red Bull over the weekend was so great that Mercedes had to push every element of car setup to the limit.

In a fight like this with other cars, youre always trying to optimise the aerodynamic package and close up as much as you can, and the brakes are part of that, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff explained after the race. Thats why you will sometimes have races which are outliers where you have 70 laps on the gearbox of another car where brakes and various engine components can overheat.

I was thinking about it in the race; maybe we should have opened up the brakes a bit and lost 10 milliseconds in qualifying and be less compromised in the race. But if you lose out in qualifying by 10 milliseconds, you will kick yourself. So that is the strategy we took, and we know that sometimes we can run into difficulties like we did.

At first it seemed as though the overheating brakes had brought an end to one of the most exciting duels of the season, but some quick thinking from Mercedes pushed the race into a new, equally compelling phase.

Saunders:

Mercedes strategists realised that the medium tyre had been good for 30 laps of respectable pace in the opening stint if managed correctly, meaning it could probably take 20 laps of abuse at the end of the race once fuel loads had come down and reduced the strain. But with only 20 laps to make the difference, Hamilton would have to find a second per lap and overtake Verstappen to make the difference.

Considering he had only been between 0.3s to 0.5s when pushing hard on like-for-like tyres just after his first pit stop, Mercedes was relying on the mediums to offer 0.5s to 0.7s of pace advantage throughout the final stint.

It took a degree of bravery from the pit wall to commit to the strategy not least because it was only a week since the strategy calls at the German Grand Prix saw the team throw away a victory. Crunching the numbers was chief strategist James Vowles, who could see the pace the car had while stuck behind Verstappen and ultimately made the decision to bring his driver in on lap 49.

It was a brilliant execution by the strategy team, Wolff said. We had discussed all variations in the morning, and the two-stop seemed uncompetitive. But then they reacted in the right way and all the learnings we took from Hockenheim with the radio discipline and the protocol that the strategists in the background came up with James Vowles was evaluating it all.

Initially it looked like Lewis could overtake Max on the hard tyre, but we were too marginal on the brakes, and we couldnt continue to follow him in that way. So the only option to avoid finishing second was to take a risk in the hope that the medium tyre would create an offset. At first it didnt seem very good, but from the moment Lewis sniffed the opportunity, there was no going back.

Hamilton celebrated with his Mercedes team members immediately after his win. It was their strategy that set the platform for Hamilton to win.ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images

The huge gap to the Ferraris in third and fourth was key to the strategy, allowing Hamilton to pit without losing second position. Had and been more competitive, the strategy wouldnt have worked, as Hamilton would have gotten stuck behind the Ferraris. But the relentless pace of the front two drivers earlier in the race had presented him with the opportunity to find some clear air and unlock the true pace of his Mercedes. What followed was a race by proxy as Hamilton was set the target of lapping a second faster than Verstappen for the remaining 20 laps.

At this point, its important to look at Verstappens strategy options. The Red Bull pit wall had identified Mercedes strategy before it happened but believed a counterstrategy i.e., pitting Verstappen just before or just after Hamilton would not work.

It was all to lose, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explained. Because if we had stopped before and they had done the opposite, they had what looked like more of a pace advantage as they had six-lap fresher [hard] tyres, so I dont think we would have caught Lewis at the pace that he caught us.

Its frustrating there were no other drivers in the mix, because if he had dropped behind a Ferrari or even his teammate, it wouldnt have been an option open to him. But with the two cars so far ahead of the rest of the field, and the pace they had in the Mercedes, strategically it was the obvious thing for them to do to roll the dice.

Reacting with a pit stop on the following lap was also off the agenda. After Hamilton made his switch to medium tyres, Verstappen needed at least a 20-second advantage to do the same, but by the time he was back at the pit entrance on lap 50, the gap between the two was already 19.2s, meaning he would come out behind the Mercedes.

They had a good pit stop, and halfway round his outlap, Hamilton was already neck and neck [with Verstappens pit stop window], and by the end of the lap, he was ahead, so we didnt have the ability to cover on the next lap because it would have conceded track position, Horner added.

So at that point, your bed is made to get to the end of the race, and that meant Max started to use the tyre harder than he would have liked.

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Possibly more than at any other point this year, the underwhelming performance of Verstappens teammate came into focus. Had Gasly been in touch with the front two even by as much as 20 seconds he could have acted as a blocker for Hamiltons strategy and helped protect Verstappens lead. It was a factor not lost on Horner after the race.

The problem is he is not in the mix at all, so its not like if Lewis pitted he was going to come out behind him or anything like that, Horner conceded. But today, both Mercedes and Red Bull had one-legged races with the teammates out of contention.

Obviously not having two cars running at the front does hurt us, particularly in the constructors championship where we scored the same amount of points as Ferrari today on a track where we should have taken more out of them.

At first, it looked like Verstappen had the pace to hold Hamilton off. He was lapping in the high 1:19s as Hamilton was only managing middling 1:19s.

We were very much in doubt [that the strategy would work] because we knew we had to catch up a second a lap, Wolff said. There was a stage when Max was turning up the engine and he was matching Lewis pace and you could almost hear the disbelief in Lewis voice why we did the second stop.

Even though the numbers werent stacking up, Hamiltons race engineer Peter Bonnington kept telling his driver it was possible. There was a degree of hope that Verstappen would run out of tyres and drop off, but there was no guarantee. Mercedes had no real idea how fast Hamilton could go if he really pushed, but after seven years working together, they knew misleading their driver about the gap could make all the difference.

Somehow Lewis put himself back in the right frame of mind and probably we motivated him over the radio, Wolff said. One thing Lewis father once said to me is that theres just one sentence you need: You can do it.

Even though the plan said we were running out of laps, we thought that by telling him he was catching him we could help. And thats exactly what happened.

From lap 58 onward there was a steep change in Hamiltons lap times as he suddenly started lapping in the mid 1:18s. At the same time, Verstappen started to run out of tyres, and the gap went from 13 seconds to one in the space of just eight laps.

I had to put all doubt and all question marks out of my mind and go for the best laps I could do every single lap consistently and not drop any time whatsoever, Hamilton explained. I had one of the most consistent period of laps that Id had I dont know if he had traffic or mistakes or whatever, but the gap started to chop down quite quickly.

I think with four or five laps to go I had him four seconds ahead, and I could see him in my sights, so maybe he was struggling with his tyres. So after that I was like, OK, weve got a serious race on here.

It felt like the steepest wall to climb when you come out that far behind, but the team had relaxed faith that we would do it, and Im grateful for their hard work and the decision.

The result was Hamiltons 81st career win and an insight into the mental attitude of the greatest drivers of a generation.

For Max Verstappen and Red Bull, attention is already turning towards building for 2020.Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images

Hamiltons victory has all but secured his sixth world championship at the midway point of the season, as he now leads teammate Valtteri Bottas by 62 points. Verstappen is a further seven points behind Bottas with 239 left to play for and, even though the Red Bull has come on strong at recent rounds, it is not yet in a position to challenge for wins at every round.

I think Lewis is now over 70 points ahead [sic], which is close to a three-race advantage with nine to go, Horner said on Sunday night. So basically Lewis would have to not turn up for three races, if his cough comes back or something, or he gets athletes foot, but its hugely unlikely.

They would have to f up by gargantuan proportions not to win this championship. But our target for the rest of the year is to close that gap at races, and as we get more performance on the car and Honda make progress, this is very much a building year as we go to 2020.

But championship math aside, the progress made by Red Bull has been impressive at recent rounds. The advantage Mercedes held at the start of the year on tracks with low-speed corners has been whittled away by the team from Milton Keynes, while Ferrari is still likely to be a threat to Mercedes at high-speed circuits.

Red Bulls improvement has accelerated since an update package at the Austrian Grand Prix, and in that same period Verstappen has outscored Hamilton by 18 points. Part of that is down to the nature of the circuits and the conditions at the races favouring Red Bull, but there is little doubt that the team has made a breakthrough since the start of the season.

I think that the regulation change over the winter definitely hurt us with the way we work the front wing, Horner added. I think as the team has gained more understanding and been able to use these regulations better, we have managed to recover the balance and characteristics of the car.

And of course, the regulations change was combined with a tyre construction change as well, and those two elements hit us quite hard on the chassis side over the winter. But I think we have made really good progress over the last few months and hopefully in the second half of the year we have got a good vein of development that should continue to help with that.

As a result, Red Bull is targeting Ferrari in the constructors championship rather than Hamilton in the drivers. Yet with Gasly continuing to underperform, the 44-point gap to the Italian team wont be easy to overhaul.

I think this track doesnt play to their strength, Horner added. When we are sitting down in Spa and Monza it will be different. The next two tracks coming up look like Ferrari territory, which is what makes today frustrating. At one point, Sebastian was the next car to be lapped by Max, so it was frustrating not to have outscored them by more points in the constructors.

But while the championship may be all but over, after four thrilling races in a row there is hope of more exciting races to come in the second half of the year. Whats more, with the Honda engine in the back of the Red Bull improving at a rapid rate, there is hope that 2020 could finally see what the Hungarian Grand Prix teased: a genuine title battle between Verstappen and Hamilton.

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Hamilton vs. Verstappen lived up to the billing - Denton Daily

Strictly Come Dancing returned to BBC One with the results show and hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were back at the helm. Following an incredible performance by Andrea Bocelli, the presenters emerged to introduce the show, but those watching at home were distracted by what they were wearing and took to Twitter to comment.

Tess and Claudia are known for their daring and brave fashion choices, in the past they have donned luminous heels and sparkly floor length dresses, but tonight, fans were not convinced with their dresses of choice.

One said: I don't get how the dancers look so amazing, and then Tess and Claudia wear the oddest things... #Strictly.

Fab-u-lous but what is Claudia wearing?? #Strictly, someone else remarked.

A third added: Claudia looks like a sack of tatties #Strictly.

READ MORE:Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Karim Zerouals exit sealed?

Claudia and Tess looking hideous in those dresses #Strictly, another commented while a fifth wrote: why does Claudia look like shes dressed for bed? #Strictly.

While one tweet read: Can someone tell Tess and Claudia Halloween week has gone, them dresses are b****y awful #Strictly.

Tess dress reminds of a quality street wrapper, one viewer pointed out while someone else added: What does Tess have against dresses with two shoulders/sleeves? #Strictly.

Nevertheless, their outfits didn't hinder them from delivering the resultand it was Saffron who had to hang up her dancing shoes.

After facing the dance off against Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden, she failed to impress the judges enough to make it through to week eleven.

Upon her exit she burst into tears and said: Ive had the absolute time of my life and its all down to him. Its been amazing.

Id like to thank AJ so much, when I look at what I was like on week one I was so embarrassed and shy. Hes really taken me out of my shell. Thank you so much for everything.

Her partner AJ added: Every single week youve approached it with a positive mental attitude and youve inspired so many on your own social media too.

DON'T MISS... Strictly 2019: Kelvin Fletcher and Oti wont win because of curse? [INSIGHT]Strictly 2019: Kelvin Fletcher suffers disaster ahead of live show [INTERVIEW]Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Karim Zeroual's win sealed over Kelvin?[DATA]

As a non-dancer starting from day one Im not going to lie I was a bit scared but performing those fantastic dances has been amazing. Ill never ever ever forget that dance. Thank you. The best partner. Thank you.

However, many viewers were surprised to see the CBBC star in the bottom two considering he topped the leaderboard last night with 38 points.

Alex Scott on the other hand was joint bottom with Saffron and she escaped the dance off.

Because of this, fans were furious and branded the show a 'fix'.

STRICTLY COME DANCING WINNERS: A TIMELINE

2004 winner: Natasha Kaplinsky

Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky was the first celebrity to win the BBC dancing series, which originally aired in July of 2004. She was partnered with Brendan Cole. They finished 39 points ahead of competitor Christopher Parker.

2004 winner: Jill Halfpenny

Jill Halfpenny was the second star to impress the judges with her dancing skills. Partnered with Darren Bennett, the pair beat off competition from Julian Clary and Denise Lewis in December of 2004.

2005 winner: Darren Gough

Cricketer Darren Gough won the third series of Strictly. He and partner Lilia Kopylova wowed audiences but never once finished at the top of the leaderboard.

2006 winner: Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ramprakash was the fourth star to lift the Glitterball Trophy. He was partnered with Karen Hardy and they were the first couple to restart a routine after their initial attempt saw Marks mic get caught in Karens dress.

2007 winner: Alesha Dixon

Before becoming a Strictly judge, Alesha Dixon won the nations hearts and the Glitterball Trophy during the fifth series. She was partnered with professional dancer Matthew Cutler.

2008 winner: Tom Chambers

Holby City star Tom Chambers was partnered with Camilla Dallerup when he won the sixth series. He performed the Foxtrot and Salsa in the final week.

2009 winner: Chris Hollins

BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins and his professional partner Ola Jordan surprised viewers when they beat Ricky Whittle and his partner Natalie Lowe in the final. They wowed with the Foxtrot, Charleston, Lindy Hop and Showdance.

2010 winner: Kara Tointon

Kara Tointon was the eighth celebrity to win Strictly. She danced with Artem Chigvintsev and failed to receive 40 points throughout her time on the show.

2011 winner: Harry Judd

Former McFly star Harry Judd was the ninth star to lift the Glitterball Trophy. He didnt top the leaderboard until week seven but then scored 40 points twice in the final.

2012 winner: Louis Smith

The tenth series of the BBC show was won by Olympian Louis Smith. He danced his way to victory with professional partner Flavia Cacace. He faced competition from Kimberley Walsh, Denise Van Outen and Danni Harmer in the series finale.

2013 winner: Abbey Clancy

Model Abbey Clancy won series eleven of Strictly alongside partner Alijaz Skorjanec. She was called a spectacular dancer with wonderful posture by former head judge Len Goodman.

2014 winner: Caroline Flack

Love Island host Caroline Flack took to the dance floor in series 12 where she scooped the Glitterball Trophy with Pasha Kovalev.

2015 winner: Jay McGuiness

Jay McGuiness surprised viewers when he won the thirteenth series of the BBC dancing competition with Aliona Vilani. When he learned hed won, he told host Tess Daly: I feel spaced out - its really weird.

2016 winner: Ore Oduba

Ore Oduba won the thirteenth series of the BBC dancing competition with Joanne Clifton.

The sports presenter broke down in tears after beating Danny Mac and Louise Redknapp.

2017 winner: Joe McFadden

Joe McFadden was victorious with professional dance partner Katya Jones. The Holby City star beat off competition from fan favourite Debbie McGee, Gemma Atkinson and Alexandra Burke.

2018 winner: Stacey Dooley

Documentary-maker Stacey fought off competition to make it to the Grand Final of Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Kevin Clifton last year. When they won, Kevin described her as the most wonderful person".

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Strictly 2019: Tess Daly and Claudia leave viewers distracted with opening - did you see? - Express