Success is For Everybody

Success is available to everybody. Nobody was born successful.

Success is all a matter of what you want in life and how desperate you are to get it; you and you alone are responsible for your own achievements and success in life.

Success starts with an idea or dream of what you want to become or achieve. This idea or dream must be a desire or passion within you then you stand a good chance of achieving what you want and thereby being successful, other peoples ideas won't necessarily mean that you will be successful.

To be successful you must be motivated and be clear and specific in what it is that you want to achieve. There are certain steps that you need to follow, nothing will just happen and give you the desired results;

You must have a goal.

-You must put in writing what it is that you want (be specific).
-Write down when you want to achieve it (date).
-Write down how you want to achieve it (resources that's needed).
-What are you prepared to sacrifice to achieve your goal?
-Repetition (Read and re-read daily).
-Educate yourself.
-How are you going to share your success?

Now let's look at each of these points by themselves;

1.Formulate a goal.
Every idea or dream will stay just that unless it is put down as something definite that
you want to achieve. Unless you work on your idea or dream and put it down as a definite goal the chances of achieving it is very slim, because with the first obstacle a person encounters the chances of saying it is to hard, become very relevant or I've tried my best.

2.Put goal in Writing.
When it is in writing you will be able to see a month or year from now what it is that you
really wanted to achieve. Ensure that it is realistic and achievable. Very unlikely that any human being can stay under water like a fish for days on end without breathing apparatus. With a goal in writing one can regularly check and see if you are still on track and if it is perhaps necessary to put in more effort or work harder to achieve your goal. Unless it is in writing it will remain an idea or dream and can change as circumstances change.

3.When will the goal be achieved.
Unless a specific date is recorded it will remain as an unfulfilled dream. The date must be realistic and achievable. Ensure that the date allow time for unforeseen circumstances.

4.How the goal will be achieved.
What resources are needed? What assistance is required and where will it be obtained? If physical equipment is required like books, buy it from the outset as it will mean commitment.

5.What will be sacrificed?
If the goal involves studying, then parties and socials must come second to the studies. The goal must be more important than TV or other games. Don't neglect physical activities as a fit body means a fit mind. Don't ignore important people like loved ones or family. Don't push yourself to the point of a burnout.

6.Repetition.
Read your goal at least twice daily and then once aloud, convince your inner self that this is what you want, therefore read with the right emotion. By continually reading your goal you will stay focused. Reading the goal will immediately highlight if any diversions is sidetracking you.

7.Educate yourself.
It is necessary to read relevant information to keep you inspired. You might need some specific information. Books or manuals might be informative as to other people's achievements. Watch informative videos or screen shots. You might even need to join a library, depending on your goal.

8.Sharing success.
Who will you share your success with? Who will benefit from your success? How will you live with this success?

Belief in yourself, hard work and perseverance is some of the key elements of success.
Look at the achievements of any great name in history or just the achievements of any Olympics athlete.

Your success depends on yourself.

Dawie writes on motivational related topics.
You can learn more by visiting my blog, Essentials For Success
http://essentialsforsuccess.blogspot.com

Turning Passions Into Profits - Author Christopher Howard

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results" and whilst I am not sure that today people love chopping wood, they certainly love seeing immediate results. Think for a moment about the lives of people around you maybe even yourself and see how the need for instantaneous results dominates our cultural psyche. It is all NOW! NOW! NOW! - We have become like a petulant 2 year old, screaming to whomever will listen - "I WANT IT NOW!" (please feel free to insert whatever IT is for you)

That is exactly how I was three years ago when I picked up the book "Turning Passions into Profits" by Christopher Howard. I was excited and motivated reading and re-reading the book, soaking up every word. I decided that I did not want to be a Billionaire and as Chris says 'you can always scale it back'. So I set my sights on achieving the long-term results I wanted and used the tools and strategies as written.

Turning Passions into Profits provides specific techniques for closing the gap between where you are today and where you would like to be. In this book, Christopher Howard teaches powerful, innovative tools for modelling and replicating the ultimate success of some of the World's greatest leaders and billionaires.

Not instantaneous results but instantaneous change cemented in place for MASSIVE results.

With the ability to select and incorporate some of the traits, strategies, thought patterns, and behaviours of those already achieving results, individuals can plot a course and arrive at a chosen destination greater than they ever thought possible.

When I look around at my life right now, it is miraculous! Sure there are still things I am working on but the long-term results I have achieved in nearly every aspect of my life far out shine any IMMEDIATE result I could have wanted for myself. I also have the confidence and assuredness that I created it all and will continue to creating even bigger results in the near future.

"The more you chase the Holy Grail of short term performance, the less you get in long-term results". Walter Calbot.

If you want to create change that will create results you only dreamed possible then Christopher Howard's "Turning Passions Into Profits" must be your next book to read and implement. And you too will have it take prime position on your Book Shelf.

Don Bemrose is Australia's foremost Male Aboriginal Opera Singer. Don realised his childhood dream this year with an inspirational and joyous rendition of the Australian National Anthem at the second 2008 National Rugby League State of Origin match. Don will play a lead role in the World's first Aboriginal Opera Pecan Summer specifically written for him and his lyric baritone voice. http://www.donbemrose.com

Don is General Manager of Performance Results Pty Limited - a national Coaching, Training and Consulting Company utilising his qualifications as an internationally certified Performance Consultant and fully qualified Master Practitioner and Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnosis & Neurological Repatterning. http://www.performanceresults.com.au

Say What You Mean, and Mean What You Say!

"If you can't be direct, why be?" - Lily Tomlin

When I read this quote, I immediately thought of all the women I coach. I'm constantly saying, "Quit beating around the bush trying to be a nice girl. If you want to be heard, you have to "say what you mean and mean what you say." Then low and behold, I saw this little nugget of wisdom, from Lily Tomlin no less, one of the greatest women comediennes of our time. She really must be into liberating women from the old stereotypical molds if she writes statements like this!

Beating around the bush and never coming straight out and asking for what you want only serves one purpose - it flushes out any stray animals that might be lurking in that certain piece of shrubbery! I know I've said it often enough, but it bears repeating. "Say what you mean, and mean what you say."

There are at least two current generations of us women who have been trained in the art of sugar coating and what I like to call verbal dancing. We 'dance' around the subject we most want to discuss, thinking that the other person will get what we are alluding to and eventually we will get what we want. NOT! The only thing you get from a conversation like that is frustration. It doesn't matter that the other person might be our partner or business associate; we still camouflage our words with honey so they can slide into the ears of the listener more easily. Heaven forbid we rock the status quo by actually saying what we REALLY want to! After all, how could we survive should that other person not like us after they find out what we REALLY think? Here's a better question for you. How's that sugar coating working for you?

Listen up ladies because I've got something to say to you here! Every time you sugar coat or dance around an issue, you diminish your capacity and self worth. You give away your power, your integrity, and your dignity. And most of all, you wind up being frustrated, resentful, and resigned because you're not getting what you want. You don't have to be and act like the 'good ole boys' to get where you want to go. You can be yourself. Be the feminine woman that you are, be direct, and be taken seriously when you say what you mean and mean what you say.

I have another newsflash for you ladies! This is 2008, not 1898! Our role in society has changed from being that subservient, co-dependent, clinging vine that our mothers and grandmothers were expected to be. It is time for us to claim our birthright - to one of being an empowered woman, stand in our dignity, own our power, and have our opinions matter. Instead of being filled with anger and resentment because we feel we haven't gotten our fair shake in the world, why not stand up and stake our own claim to greatness? And I'm not just talking about becoming the President or CEO of a huge corporation here. I'm talking about standing up and 'being' important in our own lives - of mattering to ourselves!

It is up to us to make the choice to quit spinning our words out of fear of repercussion, to calmly and clearly stating our wants and desires without fear of rejection from others. I know it can be done. I learned how to be direct and say what I mean, and so can you.

This week, I want you to ask yourself these 2 questions:

1. What is the price I pay for sugar coating my conversations?

2. Is that how I really want to spend the rest of my life?

Simply being you may not always be the easiest road to travel, but it is whole lot less exhausting!

Sign up to receive my FREE Report, '50 Ways to Take Back Your Power Right NOW', my FREE ezine 'Monday Morning Coffee with Cookie', at http://www.SuccessSource.biz all brought to you by Cookie Tuminello, Your Personal Power Mentor! Visit People Pleaser No More today to get your copy and check out my "People Pleaser No More" program.

Keeping Up Motivation to Exercise

Exercise is one task that requires motivation and commitment, because there is no easy way out. Thereby, it is vital to keep motivated to lose weight. Setting up instructions and goals is a relatively easy task, as to following them through and accomplishing them. Trimming down weight can be for a variety of reasons some are related to physical conditions and fitness.

Of course, once we are overweight, we usually want to trim down for a whole lot of reasons, some related to physical condition and fitness, while others would want to enhance their physique and appearance, and it is never too late to be fit. There are plenty of reasons lose weight, some might go beyond social appearance and vanity. Here are some ways to make sure you stay on track

1. Explicit goal setting

Generalizing doesn't really work, set precise goals. Set the number of pounds your want to lose. Then you should envision yourself in your new frame, and this will surely boost your motivation and dedication.

2. Get a plan/strategy

Your strategy must combine both exercise and diet. Motivate yourself by buying smaller clothes, and throwing away the bigger sizes.

3. Measure and calculate your success

Implement actions that will fit your lifestyle, by implementing actions that you will benefit from . The goal is to be more positive and aim for achievable goals.

4. Monitor your progress

Find someone who can take notes of your development or progress. This will be an inspiration for you to keep going on. Having a support partner can really be helpful, and is better than going at it all.

http://fitinright.com

Book Review of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This is a book review of Dale Carnegie's all time international classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. It is a fairly large review with the occasional "diversion" from the topic because I feel it is appropriate for this classic book.

The original version of this book was written in 1937 with just 5,000 copies in print. It didn't take long for the word to spread around the globe about the value contained within the book for millions of copies to be printed at later dates. The book has spread like wildfire since 1937 with over 16 million copies in print. Business owners, salespersons, and generally people who are interested in better relating to their fellow human being, have constantly referred to How to Win Friends and Influence People over the years as the best book you can read on the subject.

If you're not really familiar with self-help classics, you may be wondering how the heck can books written in the early-to-mid 1900s be useful today? Surely humanity has made many more great discoveries that are far superior than this "old school" material?

I use to think the exact same thing prior to reading such books. However, there is something to do with learning about a subject from the core, the nectar, the heart of its original pioneers that makes the information so powerful. I have literally heard hundreds of people praise How to Win Friends and Influence People. Originally, I thought it was because the book was most people's introduction to communication skills. I thought, "Sure, the book is great because it's your first experience in learning the amazing effect of good communication."

What I later found, which is what many people have experienced, is that by reading the book one time every year you experience a powerful new realization. Life-changing realizations are also frequently experienced by many people when reading Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. The awareness and experience you have at the present time isn't enough to completely grasp the principles in these classic books.

After reading the 2008 edition of this book, I've come to realize that the book's four parts which deal with techniques to handle people, ways to make people like you, winning people to your way of thinking, and being a successful leader, are the fundamental skills of all human relations. I constantly teach these principles without realizing it because they are so fundamental to relationships. The very important point I'd like to distinguish here is that fundamentals are not necessarily basic skills. Fundamentals in any area form a solid framework for further skill development.

An athlete cannot become good in his or her sport by not having correct fundamentals. Sport coaches will tell you that an athlete who does not have the right fundamentals is tough to coach because every skill builds off the foundation laid by fundamental skills. Professional athletes constantly fine tune their fundamental skills because they know the profound affect such skills have on their professional abilities. Advanced techniques are only useful when the person knows the fundamentals. Also, having good fundamentals produces an exponential effect that puts you ahead of 95% of people, while advanced techniques in any area produces a slight improvement that gives you an edge of the 5% who also have sound fundamentals.

Tiger Woods can work on perfecting his 2 iron stinger where he hits the ball with a very low trajectory, while the average golfer is better off focusing on fundamentals like a better grip, stance, and pre-shot routines. However, Tiger still needs to monitor and work on these fundamentals as well. The skills taught in How to Win Friends and Influence People constantly need to be revisited and worked on regardless of how good you think you are at communicating.

At the start of each chapter, Carnegie discusses the chapter's principle. He then provides an example of how someone, mostly students from his speaking course, have applied the principle in their business or family life. The stories themselves can be a revelation at times as you become aware of how and in what situations the principles can be applied.

The majority of the book discusses concepts instead of word-for-word techniques. One principle is making the other person feel important. Dale doesn't tell you to say exactly this and that. He provides the "what," which is the concept, with a little bit of the "how."

The table of contents is below:

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
1. 'If You Want to Gather Honey, Don't Kick Over the Beehive'
2. The Big Secret of Dealing with People
3. 'He Who Can Do This Has the Whole World with Him. He Who Cannot Walks a Lonely Way'

Six Ways to Make People Like You
1. Do This and You'll Be Welcome Anywhere
2. A Simple Way to Make a Good First Impression
3. If You Don't Do This, You Are Headed for Trouble
4. An Easy Way to Become a Good Conversationalist
5. How to Interest People
6. How to Make People Like You Instantly

Win People to Your Way of Thinking
1. You Can't Win an Argument
2. A Sure Way of Making Enemies - and How to Avoid It
3. If You're Wrong, Admit It
4. A Drop of Honey
5. The Secret of Socrates
6. The Safety Valve in Handling Complaints
7. How to Get Cooperation
8. A Formula That Will Work Wonders for You
9. What Everybody Wants
10. An Appeal That Everybody Likes
11. The Movies Do It. TV Does It. Why Don't You Do It?
12. When Nothing Else Works, Try This

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
1. If You Must Find Fault, This is the Way to Begin
2. How to Criticize - and Not Be Hated for It
3. Talk About Your Own Mistakes First
4. No One Likes to Take Orders
5. Let the Other Person Save Face
6. How to Spur People On to Success
7. Give a Dog a Good Name
8. Make the Fault Seem Easy to Correct
9. Making People Glad to Do What You Want

The principles of each part are nicely summarized at its end so you can easily review and memorize them. Overall, each principle may seem simple at times, but don't let simple deceive you into its power. These are powerful principles that are still changing the lives of those who have read the book five or more times. If you don't already have a copy of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, you need to go grab your copy now.

Joshua Uebergang aka "Tower of Power" is an Australian communication skills expert, and has more comprehensively reviewed Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. You can get more relationship-enhancing, friendship-boosting, effective communication skills by visiting his site TowerOfPower.com.au and signing up to his free newsletter to get some of the Internet's best articles on communication.

The Roller Coaster of Life

As Summer winds down, look around. You're still on the roller coaster. Nine months have gone by since you strapped in for this year's ride. Can you look over your shoulder and still see the person who took your ticket and told you to 'keep your hands inside the car at all times'? By this I mean: has your train barely pulled away from the station? Did you begin the year with great intentions and never really make much progress toward them?

Or have you already taken so much action (clicks) toward this year's goals that you have climbed the big hill and are already enjoying the ride?

If so...feels great, doesn't it?

If not, there is still time.

Here are a few action ideas:

1) Dig back to last January and revisit your intended goals for the year
2) Evaluate your progress (or lack thereof) thus far
3) Re-dedicate yourself to TAKING ACTION toward them

One little decision or action, every day, can make all the difference in the world and bring you ever-closer to your desired outcome.

There is no need to be discouraged if you have not yet enjoyed the ride you dreamed of. Expanding beyond one's current comfort-level can be a daunting task, even with the best of intentions. Thinking outside the box can be a challenge. Actually 'living' outside the box can be downright death-defying for some!

The journey starts with just one step. Start small, just nudge your boundaries. Little successes can give you the confidence you need to climb into that roller coaster for a bigger, better ride.

There are 3 months left the year...plenty of time to click, click, click your way up that hill.

Believe me; the view is much better from the top, especially in the moment just before that last click sends you on a wild, exciting rewarding ride!

And once you've ridden this one all the way 'round, you'll want to get back on over and over again.

King Solomon's Problems - Is Heaven's Door Open

The old testament mentions King Solomon as the wealthiest person that ever lived on the earth at that time and there would be no one wealthier than him in the future. Does this qualify him as a rich person?

There is also the story of the talons. This story mentions a master who rewards one of his servants for using the money his master left him to make more money, by investing it. The slave that chose to bury his talons in the ground, to hide and protect them was considered to be slothful and wicked.

Does this mean that all men and women that invest their money and seek profits are good people? Why would these people be considered good and a rich man will have a hard time entering the kingdom of heaven?

Is there a difference between King Solomon's wealth and the rich person in the Bible verse, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Now maybe these are just stories created by man and has nothing to do with what the Jewish and Christian God really thinks. But if there is a difference between King Solomon and the rich person, what's the difference? Does King Solomon really get to enter the kingdom of heaven?, or as Jesus mentioned, will it simply be harder for him to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Didn't King Solomon build God's temple and create a beautiful world for most Jewish people to live in? If you're not confused yet, you will be if you continue to read more of my biblical verses that just don't make sense.

If you're what I would consider one of God's ultimate believers in your religion but have no proof that it's true, but choose to answer with the simple statement," You'd Need to Believe or Have Faith." I would suggest you read other books about other religions or spiritual living .

This is just one example of what I would consider a story in the Bible. If you truly view the Bible as the ultimate guide for good living, do you get confused with certain statements or Bible verses. This really doesn't answer the question, whether or not someone like King Solomon actually gets to enter the kingdom of heaven. I used him as an example but there are many others that could have a life of riches on earth, but difficulties going to heaven if the statement Jesus made was correct about the rich man in the eye of the needle.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his latest articles, How Did You Choose Your Religion

Religious Thought

As a young boy and even into my early adult hood, I asked almost every one that I knew, what they thought heaven was going to be like. These people painted me the most wonderful and beautiful pictures, with the words coming out of their mouths. One woman told me that heaven was going to be the most wonderful place you could ever imagine. She told me that, I would be able to do anything that I wanted to do at any time of the day or night.

All I can say to this, is why are we afraid to die and why do we put that much effort into staying here, when heaven sounds like the place we all want to be. This becomes very confusing during troubled times. We live our whole life to be the best we can possibly be, and then and only then do we get to enter the kingdom of heaven, the most wonderful place in the universe.

Another man told me that, if I wanted to go to heaven, the more good deeds I did on earth, the better buy chances were of actually entering heaven. He said that some people don't get to go, because they did a couple of bad things or maybe one really, really bad thing, like murder. I often wondered what would be worse, murder or painting demonic symbols on the walls of a church, mosque or synagogue. I hope I'm not confusing you anymore than organized religions.

Well now that I have a pretty good idea, that in order to enter into heaven, I need to do good things... that's what I will do for the rest of my life. Sounds simple doesn't it. Now for the bad news, depending on which religion you choose to follow and don't forget that Christianity is one religion that allows you, something special, right before you die, no matter how bad of a person you were to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and accept him as the Almighty God, and this gets you one free pass into heaven.

Am I confusing you at all, does this make sense? When the man told me, that, the only way I would get to go to heaven was by doing good deeds and then the Bible tells me that, I just need to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I get to go to the promised land, heaven. All right now were talking, this sounds pretty good now. I won't have to do very many good things and before I die can ask forgiveness for all the bad things I did.

I don't know what's true, but I can say that it gets a little confusing and as you go from religion to religion and place of worship to other places of worship, you will hear different stories, from different religious leaders. I can't make much sense out of some religions, but if you want to believe in heaven, there is someone out there who can paint you, the most wonderful picture of heaven in your mind. Whether we really get to go there or not, depends on what you want to believe in.

I wrote this article to get people thinking about the choices they've made and the religions they choose to follow. Is your religion right and others are wrong? Ask yourself this one question, think back, to when you made a conscious choice to follow the religion you're in right now, if any, most of the time you started believing as a child and never really got to choose because your parents, teachers, friends, family or guardians made a choice for you.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, spiritual books

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility. It's based on overindulgence.

One Self Help Technique That You Need to Know

If you wish to get along with others better so that you can improve your marriage, career, relationships or achieve your goals and dreams, then you are not alone. One of the biggest reasons folks fail is that they cannot hold their tongue and spout off their opinions and demand that others see their point of view. Unfortunately, this also prevents them from learning anything new and surprise, surprise they never change their personal point of view.

Okay, so here is something for you, it's a self-help technique one, which you can use. I am going to give you a clue. Rather than, turning away from those who see things differently, ask them about their views, experiences, observations and then continue to engage them in this line of questioning. Then perhaps, give them an alternative hypothesis or explain your observations and thoughts, now you have engaged your counterpart in a friendly discourse and dialogue and not a drop dead, "I am right, you are wrong" debate.

Does, this technique work all the time, no, not always, as occasionally you meet someone like yourself, so opinionated that they fail to see the real world for what it is. You will learn a lot about yourself and a lot about the world and your place in it. After using this technique myself for some 32-years, I am often amazed at how much I know and how easy it is to engage just about anyone in conversation and get into deep and interesting dialogues in minutes. Indeed, it helps me write cool articles too, like this one.

"Lance Winslow" - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Council of Nicaea Conclusion - The Origins of Christian Belief

In the year 325A.D the emperor of Rome, Constantine gathered a group of church bishops and other leaders who believes in Christianity. The purpose of the meeting was to define the true God for all Christians and eliminate any confusion within Christ's church.

By the end of this council, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit were considered one and the same. Before the council, there was confusion about, whether they should believe in one God, two gods or three entities.

Here's a statement from got questions, a popular Christian website, "The Council of Nicea affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ and established an official definition of the Trinity-the deity of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit under one Godhead, in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons."

This was a pretty interesting article, if you've got time to read it, I would also suggest checking out Wikipedia for more information about the Council of Nicaea.

Here's Some of the Problems I Have with This Small Group of Proclaimed Christians.

If I'm reading this statement correctly, a group of people or religious leaders, 1700 years ago decided that Jesus, God the creator of everything in the universe and the Holy Spirit are the same. What does this mean to you? To me it establishes as a fact that a group of men, at a meeting, under the control of the Roman empire and the Emperor Constantine, made an agreement within the Council of man, not gods, that the Trinity was now a fact.

If this one thing was created by a group of men, doesn't it get you thinking about other things in your religion that might be false or even misleading. These are some of the facts that most Christians tend to either ignore or don't even have a clue that they exist.

I believe more Christians and other organized religions should inspire their followers to learn more about how their religions were formed and where they came from. I cannot verify that the Council of Nicaea ever took place, I'm basing this information on historical writings from man, that I either gather on the Internet or through books. I don't know if any of this is true or false, always use religion responsibly.

I don't need to believe the information, I don't need to believes the information in the Bible, I need to research and gather more information and with this information I can make an educated guess, and be happy with that, I suggest you do the same.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing, marketing, and personal development

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

Book Notes - A Book Overview on Twelve Pillars

Twelve Pillars, by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener, is a short, easy to read story about a man named Michael Jones, who feels that his life is at a dead end.He meets an older gentleman, named Charlie, who shares with Michael twelve "pillars" that have helped the owner of the house Charlie maintains, Mr. Davis, achieve great success.The story is somewhat predictable (I'm not going to tell you how though, you have to read the book), but effectively conveys each of the pillars. I presented these pillars to a group of college students a few months ago, and thought they would be good to share with you too.

Pillar 1 is "Personal Development."This pillar highlights that you can achieve only to the level where you are.Key points on this pillar are success comes when you develop yourself beyond where you currently are; read books, attend seminars/speaker engagements, study the best people; and implement and integrate what you've learned.These points remind me of the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. To get different results, you've got to change what you're doing. "The only way things are going to change for you is when you change."

Pillar 2 is "Total Well-Being," which is "three dimensional health." The three dimensions are the body (physical), soul (our intellect, emotions, and will), and spirit (part of us that transcends this world).The Spirit is your core, the soul is the next layer, and the body is the outside layer.You need to work on all three, don't just work on one to the detriment of the others.The relationship between the three dimensions highlights the need to be transparent, sincere, and genuine.Let people see you as you really are. "You should make sure the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you."

The third Pillar is "The Gift of Relationships."Relationships represent the "most beautiful highs" and the "most tormented lows" of life. Relationships are the backbone of our existence.Twelve Pillars explains that relationships are like a garden, you have to cultivate them.Once you get them up and running, the maintenance to keep them growing is much easier."Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing." People say that money that makes the world go around, but I believe relationships are what make the world go around because things get done through people.

Pillar 4 is "Achieve Your Goals."I've heard and read many times that you should write your goals down.Writing them bring them into reality.A side benefit of achieving your goals is that you become a better person."The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it."Something I learned from someone elsewhere is that plans will change, but your goals will stay the same.A good approach for checking your progress is "Plan, Do, Check, Adjust."

"The Proper Use of Time" is the fifth Pillar.There are two types of pain, the pain of discipline, which weighs only ounces, and the pain of regret, which weighs tons.Don't procrastinate, the end of your life will come sooner than you expect; don't wait until it's too late.Remember that when you spend a day, you have one less day to spend, so spend each day wisely."Every day has many opportunities, but only one best opportunity."The best opportunities are those that align with your overall goals.Know the difference between the urgent and the important.

"Surround Yourself With the Best People" is Pillar 6."Don't join an easy crowd; you won't grow.Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high."People have an amazing power to influence your destiny.Every relationship you have is an association, be it positive, neutral, or negative.Ask yourself the following questions about your relationships.Who am I around? What effect are they having on me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? What do they have me becoming?Then ask yourself if you're good with the answers.Categorize every person you meet.Is he or she someone you should disassociate with, have limited association with, or should you expand your association? Surround yourself with winners, successful people who exhibit and live consistent to values and skills you want to acquire and develop. You become like those you hang out with, so be picky.

Pillar 7 is "Be a Life-Long Learner."Most of your life is lived after formal education."Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune."Self education is about what you teach yourself and what you learn along the way so you are constantly improving and growing. Learning is the beginning of wealth, health, and spirituality. Read books, observe successful people, reflect on your own experiences; learn what went right and what went wrong.Help others by sharing what you've learned. "All of

Life is Sales" is the eighth Pillar. Sales means influence and influence is the key to a successful life; learn the art and skill of influence."One key to having influence with others is to have others perceive you as a person of talent and virtues."Your talent and virtues represent your character and skill.Be a person of strong character and increasing skill and you will always be growing your influence.

Pillar 9 is "Income Seldom Exceeds Personal Development." Money doesn't solve the problems of life; you can lose it, be sued for it, or it can be stolen. What's important is what you become because, "What you become directly influences what you get." Become a million dollar person.Remember, even if you lose money, you have the skills to earn it again.

"All Communication Brings the Common Ground of Understanding" is Pillar 10."Communication is two or more people working together to find the common ground understanding.And when they find that common ground, they are positioned to have tremendous power together."Communication is hard, yet important in all relationships.It's about what you say, how you say it, when you say it, and the receptiveness of who you say it to. Make sure you really listen. The character behind listening is caring enough and valuing the other person enough to want to listen.People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Pillar 11 is "The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader."Anyone can be a great leader, all is takes is mastering the art of influence. Leaders make a difference through servant hood."To lead others is to help them change their thoughts, beliefs and actions for the better."Be interested in people, not just in what you can get from them.Help people with more than just their jobs, help them with their lives. A critical component is the leader-follower relationship, which must be built on trust and integrity.Great leaders are real, they know where they are.Great leaders have an optimistic vision, they know how to get to a better destination and work towards that vision.Another quote I like that captures the essence of leadership is, "The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly."

Finally, Pillar 12 is "Leave a Legacy." Life is short. You can't choose how long you will live, but you can choose how well you will live. "Live a life that will help others spiritually, intellectually, physically, financially and relationally.Live a life that serves as an example of what an exceptional life can look like." The path we walk has been prepared for us by others who have gone before us. So live your life in such a way that it will serve those who come after you. Blaze a trail that will allow others to move forward in their lives faster than if they had to blaze the trail themselves.

As you can see, the twelve pillars are interdependent; you can't just focus on one and neglect the others.The bottom line is that you have a choice about your life,"Make a Living or Design a Life." I hope you find value in these pillars and will be inspired to pick up Twelve Pillars and apply the pillars to your life and business.

Happy Business Building,

Yoli

Yolanda Allen is a program manager working for the US government. She owns a home based business specializing in financial education and uses the internet to market her business. Yolanda and her business partners teach other business owners online marketing and have set a goal to create 100 millionaires by 2012. To learn more about Yolanda's business, marketing system, and business partners, visit http://www.YBAMarketing.com

A Review of "Transformational Life Coaching" - A Book For Mentors and Mentees Everywhere

There are many different indicators in today's world demonstrating that humanity has reached a new level of awareness and appreciation for its own existence. If we look at the shifts in the types of occupations being pursued (and sought after), the abundance of life coaches and personal development mentors is like a mirror held up to our collective psyche. It seems to say that life is a precious experience, and we simply want to be sure that we're present for it in every way possible. To coin a somewhat overused phrase: We seek to live authentically.

In 1977, long before having a "life coach" was something commonly discussed at Starbucks, Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott published her first book on the subject and began a career that eventually, would find her labeled, "The Mother of Coaching." New Species (published in 1978) was to become the first of many books Dr. Scott would write on personal development. The long list includes, "Negaholics," a series of 'Rules' books - including "If Life is a Game, These are the Rules," and her most recent work, "Transformational Life Coaching."

Transformation Life Coaching throws open the doors to Life Coaching School and invites us all inside. Although written for those who either are, or espouse to become, mentors in the transformational movement, this book is an accessible "how to" for anyone. It welcomes all those who have spent time seeking to develop a better appreciation with their own life and how they intend to live it. Chapter 1 literally outlines what to look for and how to choose a coach, offering twenty-five important questions to discuss during the interview process.

In this book, Dr. Scott has created a virtual concordance of information, challenges for personal thought patterns and judgment, practical exercise and reference tools to use over and over. Embracing many global teachings, Dr. Scott often refers to the different chakras, or energy centers, as tools to release the ego and be of maximum service to others. As she explains, "You are in the process of opening up and taking control of your power," and by deeply understanding each energy center, we will be able to literally, "open and close each chakra at will."

Imagine being able to consciously open the fifth chakra (which controls speech and communication) in order to more fully participate in our marriage or work relationships - or being able to close down our first chakra, which embodies survival and security, so that we might be more risky and daring in our professional roles or fearlessly take on new adventures in life.

Dr. Scott has spent most of her professional life traveling the world and sharing her expertise on personal empowerment and development at every turn. On her website she shares that, "Writing a book is not done with the wave of a wand. It takes time to reflect and soul search for the universal truths related to each developmental phase." These same words could definitely be applied to the very journeys that Dr. Scott encourages us to make with our lives.

What we know about coaching is that it is not only sought after, but it is necessary in today's fast-paced world of endless challenges. From corporate teams to softball teams, being coached and coaching others on how to live as appreciatively and authenticity as possible is a proactive way to turn roadblocks into paving stones on your road of success.

Dr. Success (aka Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.)

http://www.ServingSuccess.com

DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

(702) 243-4040

Making Rejection Work for You in Your Creative Life

No matter what your art form or field of expression: visual arts, performing arts, or writing--one thing is for certain: you will encounter rejection. When you do, what is the most healthy and useful way to respond? Eden Maxwell, author of "An Artist Empowered" offers these suggestions:

1. Know why you are an artist.

2. Know your purpose and the value of your process.

3. View rejection as a mirror that reveals truth about your dedication.

4. Confront yourself and this moment of awareness.

5. Use rejection as a moment of awareness, not a pool in which to drown.

6. Stay focused on results, but unattached to the results of your efforts.

7. A daily spiritual practice helps you keep life, art, and rejection in perspective.

Eden expands here on these seven suggestions.

Janet: Eden, talk about your approach to rejection in the arts. How does this relate to your spiritual practice?

Eden: As a writer and a painter, I have been on the receiving end of both acceptance and rejection and each has its own set of issues. It all comes back full circle to the core question: Why am I an artist?

If you know your purpose and the value of your process, then nothing will deter you from your mission, your dharma.

Janet: What is the true purpose of rejection, in your view?

Eden: Rejection, as it turns out, isn't the bane most artists believe it is; rejection is a mirror that reveals truth about your dedication; you are compelled to confront your own self and that is a moment of awareness.

Janet: How can the creative person learn from rejection?

Eden: If you are to learn from rejection, use the experience as a moment of reflection, not a pool in which to drown.

Should my art be rejected, I understand that if they could see it, could appreciate it, then they would. Also, a rejection from an anonymous party is no cause for faltering. I have seen great art ignored, and mediocre embraced.

Janet: How can the artist balance the need to have goals and yet to hold these goals lightly?

Eden: Having goals is good; wanting to share your unique gift is good; making art is good. Keeping these desires in mind, I also realize that getting attached to any outcome is a self-made prison. Releasing your attachment to an outcome frees you to see other opportunities.

I strive to have no attachment in how a particular outcome manifests. I work; I create; I have faith in fulfilling my dharma; and my evolving strength tells me the Universe is handling the details.

So, no matter what is happening, I focus on the true goal, and the goal is this: understanding.

Visit Janet Grace Riehl's blog "Riehl Life: Village Wisdom for the 21st Century" at http://www.riehlife.com for more thoughts and information about making connections through the arts, across cultures, generations, and within the family. You can also read sample poems and other background information from "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary" on Janet's website.

Primal Leadership - A Book Summary

Primal leadership takes center stage in this book. This concept goes beyond the set of conventional competencies on the making of a leader. Beyond bottom line figures, this book takes a leap forward with the concept of primal leadership through a keen and in-depth understanding of emotional intelligence and its link to leading and building emotionally intelligent organizations.

The authors explore the idea of leadership as an emotional
function. They propose that the fundamental task of a leader is to create resonance at work, thereby unleashing positive traits and attributes in people. Emotionally intelligent leaders bring organizational success to the fore because they inspire, motivate and foster commitment in people.

Harness the power of primal leadership in this book and bring out the emotionally intelligent leader in you.

Primal Dimension of Leadership

The use of emotion in leadership functions is a primal task that sets leaders apart. Great leaders move people by channeling emotions in the right direction, whether it is in formulating corporate strategy in the boardroom or a series of action items in the shop floor.

Resonance Effect

The positive channeling of emotions that empowers people to be top performers is called resonance. The culture of resonance brings out the best in people. On the other hand, when leaders negatively drive emotions dissonance is created. Dissonance is not conducive to harmonious working relationships as it can undermine peoples potentials.

Key to Primal Leadership

Emotional intelligence is the foundation of making primal
leadership work. An emotionally intelligent leader knows how to handle himself and his relationship with the people he works with in order to drive up performance.

Good Moods, Good Work

A good mood is essential for a team to function effectively. It is crucial for a leader to foster positive working relationships because emotional conflicts in a group can hamper a teams performance.

A study of CEOs from Fortune 500 companies revealed that
positive overall mood of top management people leads to better cooperation and better business performance. This argument takes the view that it is top management that creates the conditions for workers to work well.

Resonant Leader

For emotionally intelligent leaders, resonance comes naturally in their dealings with people. Their actions reinforce synchrony within their team and within the organization. The strength of an emotionally resonant leader lies in the emotional bond he forms which allows people to collaborate with each other even in the face of change and uncertainty.

Four Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence

The creation of resonance is a hallmark of primal leadership that can only be fostered by emotionally intelligent leaders. For a leader to promote prime resonance in a group, it is important to understand the four EI competencies. Interestingly, these competencies are not innately inherent but are learned abilities. According to research, an effective leader typically demonstrates at least one competence among
the four dimensions.

1. Self-Awareness

2. Self-Management

3. Social Awareness

4. Relationship Management

Approaches to Leadership in a Nutshell

1. Visionary

2. Coaching

3. Affiliative

4. Democratic

5. Pacesetting

6. Commanding

The Five Discoveries of Self-Directed Learning

1. First Discovery: My ideal self Who do I want to be?

2. Second Discovery: My real self Who am I? What are my strengths and gaps?

3. Third Discovery: My learning agenda How can I build on my strengths while reducing my gaps?

4. Fourth Discovery: Experimenting with and practicing new behaviors, thoughts, and feelings to the point of mastery.

5. Fifth Discovery: Developing supportive and trusting
relationships that make change possible.

Final Notes

Primal leadership is anchored on emotions. These emotions have underlying neurological explanations to them such as the open loop system. Thus, a leader must work hard to obtain emotional intelligence competencies that will make him a resonant leader
because resonance is the key to primal leadership.

A resonant leader builds a culture of resonance by emonstrating emotionally intelligent abilities that permeate throughout the organization. A resonant leader aims to live a resonant life for him and his people in order to make resonant work. It is this kind of work that builds an emotionally intelligent
organization a kind of organization that can survive the changing business climate because it has built-in processes that can sustain change.

By: Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla

Regine Azurin is the President of BusinessSummaries.com, a company that provides business book summaries of the latest bestsellers for busy executives and entrepreneurs.

http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs

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(c) Copyright 2001- 2005, BusinessSummaries.com - Wisdom In A Nutshell

It Was You, All Along - By Gary Spinell

Steps to Self Realization

Gary Spinell writes openly of his journey from low self esteem and self confidence in his book "It Was You, All Along." Gary tells how he created change and the life he desired by acquiring new beliefs and traits by learning to release positive energy.

The book demonstrates that individually we have the power to make our life become whatever we want it to be and that our world is comprised, created and built by the energy of our thoughts, words and actions.

Part I summarizes how American society and culture over the last 50 years have impacted our belief systems. The depression of the 1930s, the generation of baby boomers, women coming into the work force, and the new age of technology are all examples of this impact. Spinell discusses how impatience, discrimination, the quick fix, the concept of suing, and the lack of assuming individual responsibility are all a result of society's influence.

Part II introduces five universal laws and ten key steps that will help you discover how to create the world of your desire and your own reality. I enjoyed the format of the book which highlights significant points and tips. These short synopsis statements and a natural lead paragraph into the next chapter are helpful as they enable the reader to quickly assimilate and retain key points. Spinell challenges the reader to approach their journey with a feeling of curiosity and anticipation.

Gary uses personal examples of applying the universal laws and the dynamic forces at work in the world to create his desired reality. The eight action steps to becoming a person of high esteem were especially helpful. Gary relates his experiences in a candid yet positive approach which allows the reader to identify, empathize, and emulate Gary's success principles.
Spinell's own example demonstrates the success of his formula for inner strength and personal growth. "It Was You, All Along" is a powerful illustration of the importance of resolve, determination, and conviction. It is a practical straightforward guide for attaining success, inner peace and happiness.

978-1432720025, Outskirts Press

As Reviewed for Midwest Book Review

Richard R. Blake, Christian Education Consultant, Book Store Owner

Tips to Effectively Manage Stress

Life today is filled with various kinds of stresses and strains. All of us are trying to cope up with one or the other kind of stress. While most of us manage to keep our chin up and swim through our personal sea of troubles, there are those among us who simply succumb to it and fall prey to the petty issues of life.

The presence of stress and tension robs us of our natural vitality and enthusiasm for life, rendering us dull and grumpy, far reducing our levels of efficiency in all aspects of our life. If we want to start leading a truly happy life, we first need to free our mind of all that accumulated tension.
For the body to remain healthy, we first need to control our mind. A healthy mind alone gives rise to a healthy body. We will never be able to achieve our goal until and unless we learn to relax and let go of our own bondage of negativity.

What exactly is relaxation?

Relaxation is not about stopping all activity and shirking work. Quite on the contrary, it is about getting rid of all the negative energies within you, thereby optimizing your energies to get the most possible success and happiness out of your life. Relaxation is all about understanding and accepting the various challenges thrown at you, with a balanced outlook, without getting upset at the slightest provocation.

You can get your life back on track by employing various methods of relaxation, some of which are discussed in detail below:

Meditation

Meditation, which is about mental control and exercising the mind to remain still, is indeed one of the best ways to manage stress. While meditation does not help in changing life circumstances, what is does is to teach you enough mind control to tackle difficult and unexpected events in your life. This ancient relaxation technique, practically a way of life with the people of the Indian sub-continent and the whole of the Orient, is a method of focusing oneself on the 'Higher Self', thus remaining unruffled by mundane, day-to-day events of life.

Meditation is best performed in complete silence, controlling breathing patterns in a certain prescribed method.

Relaxation by way of visualization

You can effectively use projected mental images to ease your way out of mental and physical stress. Practicing visualization techniques for relaxation helps bestow tremendous peace on the mind. For instance, if you feel stressed out at work and are dying for a break, you could close your eyes and picture yourself watching a glorious waterfront sunset at some exotic destination. It will immediately relax your mind and put it to rest at least for the time being!

Progressive relaxation

With this technique, you can achieve total relaxation by consciously tensing and releasing your muscles one by one, giving your body a sense of complete ease and comfort. This technique is especially useful to tackle several types of common aches and pains.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a recent and much-debated technique to achieve relaxation, which requires you to observe and formally record your mind-body responses with the help of certain medical equipment. While there are many who swear by this method, there are an equal number of other experts who do not at all recommend this technique of mind control.

The above are only a handful of techniques you can employ for relaxation. Here is a word of caution. Do visit your healthcare professional before you choose any one method. There are some mental control techniques that require you to get a clean health chit from your doctor, especially if you are suffering from some medical disorder. Some techniques might actually end up changing your physiology in some way if taken to the extreme. So always be moderate in your approach and go slow and steady with your progress.

Priya Viswanathan is a Performing Artiste, an Internet Marketer and publisher of Inner Power Positive, a website that focuses on looking at positive thinking as a way of life.

Being Flexible

In each of our lives, there will be times of joy and times of sorrow. In trauma, we are born. In trauma, we leave the world. Somewhere in the midst of living, growing, and understanding life in our maturity, we find ourselves seeking to find what we were born with. Innocence is precious. We really never lose it. We might for a time lose innocence, but life is too large for one perceptual being to embrace fully with the mind and the heart.

Innocence comes alive the moment we realize life is beyond our control, our ability to perceive, and our emotional capacity to feel. It is here we realize that life is beyond our control and we open our hearts and mind to something greater than ourselves. Our ego finds its proper place in our lives and we shift from being the central core of life's existence and attention to something much greater. At this point, we begin to place our life, our heart, our mind, and our soul into the very wisdom that has created us.

This movement from self-centered awareness to life-centered awareness allows us to perceive and have revealed to us information greater than what we know life to be to what can be known through us. Here, we become flexible with life, instead of, life having to go our way. This level of knowing creates a 6th sense, a super sense of awareness, an awareness in higher consciousness. We become more soul than body at this point. We become the awareness that brought us into this world. We become spiritual beings having a human experience. We become sons and daughters of the Universe.

When we remember who we are. We re - member ourselves back into the awareness at birth and at death. This awareness is with us always. We sometimes forget who we are. But, when we re - member who we are. We reconnect ourselves into the sense of knowing we grow through life and we also go through life. Through it all, our soul is in process of maturing and in process of remembering. With this in mind, our ups and our downs find consolation in our essence - in our spirit.

Samuel Oliver, author of, "What the Dying Teach Us: Lessons on Living" For more on this author; http://www.soulandspirit.org

Is Busy A Good Thing - Self Help Tips

"Dan, you've been in the office since early this morning, do you want to go for a walk?"
"Id love to but I'm too busy."

"I've got supper ready. Can you stop for a few minutes to eat with me?"
"Thanks Carol but, I'd better not. I'm too busy."

"Dan, it's 11:30. Are you going to quit for the day and get some rest?"
"I'm busy right now. I'll finish this first."

Busy. Do you use that word?

It seems that many people choose to wear the "busy" word as a badge of honour, as if it indicates productiveness, worthiness, and success.

My perception is that the "busy" word is the curse of the new millennium.

"Busy" is a thought-choice. When we verbalize the thought by saying, "I am busy," it reaffirms the thought, magnifies it in our mind, and proves to us that we are busy. "Busy" creates physiological reactions in our body. Our muscles become tense; we lose focus, become irritable, and may experience anger. "Busy" causes great stress and the result is the common cold, headaches, heartaches, and dis-ease.

Common Cold

Im not talking about the sniffles and coughing. The common cold I refer to is our habitual lack of attention to and compassion toward others we are cold to them. Because we are so "busy," we don't take the time to listen to others. We assume we know what they are thinking, and make judgements based upon our assumptions. The common cold eventually destroys relationships.

Headaches

When we convince ourselves that we are "busy." our head begins to swim with confusion and yes, it may even hurt. We think we have so much to do and not nearly enough time. We attempt to multi-task, which is physically impossible. We can do only one thing at a time. When we choose to be "busy," we bounce back and forth between duties and projects and none of them are completed. Or they are not done well.

Heartaches

"Busy"-ness often leads to neglect, resentment, and apathy toward others, and especially to those closest to us our life-partners, children, family, and friends. We tend to not treat them in a loving, caring way because we are too "busy." They may think you are a pain in the butt. That may be true and hearts ache and are being broken.

Dis-ease

Ease is a state of effortlessness and simplicity. In the state of ease, we experience love, joy, and happiness. "Busy"-ness creates dis-ease (lack of ease), and a state of hard work, struggle, and difficulty. In this state, we experience hurt, anger, fear, and sorrow.

With these things in mind, do you still want to be busy?

As usual, I have a challenge for you, if you choose to accept it. Don't get your shorts in a knot; there are only two things.

1. Give yourself a "busy-ectomy." Eliminate the word "busy" from your vocabulary (mentally and orally). Every time the "busy" thought enters your mind, or you start to say it, stop yourself. Instead say things like, "I've got some great projects on the go" or "I'm really enjoying the challenges in front of me" or "I have ample time to do the things I need to do."

2. Consciously notice the changes in how you feel, think, and act.

If you think you're too "busy" to accept my challenge, change your mind. Just as you chose to be "busy," you can choose another experience. At least notice how often the word "busy" is used by people around you, and be aware of how it affects them. Does it do the same for you?

In the past, I was so "busy" making a living that I didn't take time for a life. Since I eliminated "busy." I am more focussed, at ease, and productive. I find that I have oodles more fun making a living and having a life. I experience great pleasure, joy, and happiness in everything I do. Yup, everything. It is a choice I make.

Trash the "busy" badge, turn up the edges of your mouth, jiggle, chortle, snigger, bellow out a big "yahoo" and have fun!

Copyright 2007

Dan Ohler is Thinkin' Outside The Barn!

Dan writes and speaks internationally on relationships, happiness, and change. Through Dan's insights & humour you learn to apply the basics of human psychology the natural laws that create life-long flourishing relationships, and abounding success

Visit Thinkin' Outside The Barn
for FREE how-you-can-do-it-too articles. You can see Dan in action, or order your copy of "Thinkin' Outside The Barn And Steppin' Into Fresh B.S" while youre there!

One Self Help Technique That You Need to Know

If you wish to get along with others better so that you can improve your marriage, career, relationships or achieve your goals and dreams, then you are not alone. One of the biggest reasons folks fail is that they cannot hold their tongue and spout off their opinions and demand that others see their point of view. Unfortunately, this also prevents them from learning anything new and surprise, surprise they never change their personal point of view.

Okay, so here is something for you, it's a self-help technique one, which you can use. I am going to give you a clue. Rather than, turning away from those who see things differently, ask them about their views, experiences, observations and then continue to engage them in this line of questioning. Then perhaps, give them an alternative hypothesis or explain your observations and thoughts, now you have engaged your counterpart in a friendly discourse and dialogue and not a drop dead, "I am right, you are wrong" debate.

Does, this technique work all the time, no, not always, as occasionally you meet someone like yourself, so opinionated that they fail to see the real world for what it is. You will learn a lot about yourself and a lot about the world and your place in it. After using this technique myself for some 32-years, I am often amazed at how much I know and how easy it is to engage just about anyone in conversation and get into deep and interesting dialogues in minutes. Indeed, it helps me write cool articles too, like this one.

"Lance Winslow" - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Find Out Why You Believe in Your Religion

Whenever I ask someone involved in a religious organization, the question, do you really believe in your religion? Most of these people will often answer would be yes and start their religious conversion. Some of these people can become very intrusive if I don't stop them soon, very few of these people listen with an open mind.

I have talked to quite a few men and women about their beliefs over the years and still find it hard to believe that most of them live a life of faith with very little understanding or education about their religion. Now some strong believers might take offense to that statement, while others will listen to what I said and start doing a little more research on their religion.

Most of these religions throughout the world make perfectly good sense to their followers and I understand the reasoning behind some of them, it's all they know, everyone around them believes in the same religion and they get some sort of happiness and joy from it.

It's not hard to imagine a young child, walking around with strong religious beliefs if their parents are strong believers in it also. These children grow up and eventually train their children to follow the same path of their parents. Our children should be able to choose, what they will believe in, by the time they are adults.

This is a natural process of life, your parents learned from their parents and whenever someone asked them a question that they really couldn't answer or were uncomfortable answering, they can always reply with, I'm living a life based on faith or you just have to believe. You have to believe that someone is looking out for you and taking care of you. Most of these people think that something else is responsible for the events that take place in their life.

Is it possible for people that live a life of faith to educate themselves about their religion, to find the origin and maybe the destination of their religions. Could these people actually assume responsibility for their choices, whether they're good or bad. It's often hard to listen to somebody tell me that some evil entity made them do something bad. These people are easily convinced by others who agree with them and support them with their statements and beliefs. This seems to be where the biggest problem lies.

Once the people around us support our beliefs, they soon become realities in our lives. These realities will be transferred to others around us and give them support eventually about their beliefs. It's like a vicious circle that never ends. One believe supports another belief, until it's a fact.

Education is the path to freedom and will soon deliver the students from religious bondage. Someone a long time ago said," Seek and You Shall Find, Knock on My Door and I Will Open It.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, Science Getting Rich

Greg is currently working on a religious education also visit our article library, filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

The Latte' Factor - Never Too Late to Learn to Save (Even With Pocket Change)

In my early adulthood, when I was finally able to afford, at least some of the things I wanted and/or needed, I became a big fan of frivolous spending. I had to have that new issue of Esquire, that personal trainer at the gym (not just the gym), an office in a better location, a more trendy breed of dog or cat, live in a nicer neighborhood, and, of course, later, "My morning Starbuck's". I "had arrived". The "American Dream"...or so it seemed, for awhile.

I am not proud of having been a male version of Madonna's "Material Girl", but I was young, in my thirties and early forties, and was naive enough to believe that peer pressure at least ended after high school, and certainly after college. Not so. It became worse. If my friends bought a better house, I sure better call my Realtor immediately. They got a Lexus, time for a Mercedes. It all seemed like fun and games and, in fact that is all it was. A proverbial game of "show off".

Then came the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Within twenty minutes, all that I had acquired as a material consumer was gone. And insurance didn't come close to covering my collectibles, antique furniture, family albums/videos, memorabilia from as far back as kindergarten, etc. I was left with my car, and a few boxes of clothes, and a one year old golden retriever puppy named Otis who saved my life (barked wildly before the earthquake), I thought to go out to do his business, but to alert me at 5 a.m to get out of harm's way.

Fifteen years have passed and I learned something I never had before, and never thought I might learn. It is called "humility". Please do not confuse humility with sainthood, far from it. Rebuilding one's life from scratch midlife, after "having it all" teaches a few lessons, and, I am certain I am not

unique in this situation. When I say "having it all'; I don't mean the Forbes 400. I mean whatever I wanted, I could generally afford it.

At least I had my health. For awhile. But then that went too for a number of years. This was a motivating factor in my going back to college as an adult, and reading voraciously when not in college, visiting the library often.

One of the most interesting books I ever read was not within the genre of books I usually consume. The book is titled "Start Late, Finish Rich" by David Bach. In it, he talks at length about something called "The Latte' Factor". Strange name I know, but it describes how the American consumer is taught from birth to consume all he/she can in this material world, that life is short, get it while you can, carpe diem, etc.

Then he calmly suggests ways to counteract that. Do we really need that magazine subscription, must we have a latte' and bagel each morning at Starbuck's. Do we have to even buy his own book if its available at the library. Must we have a car that is made to "show off"when a pre-owned Honda, Saturn, etc. does the trick. I have a wonderful eight year old 4-door Saturn now and it rides better than my old fancy German car ever did. Better gas and reliability as well.

When you add it all up, just the small non-necessities, that we don't need, or, in the case of Starbuck's could make coffee at home with flavored creamer for pennies and a bagel for a quarter, nix the magazines, etc. We are talking saving anywhere from $800-2000 or more a month. If that is put into an IRA, even if you are in your fifties now, you will be wealthy by the time you are of retirement age.

Gifts need not be expensive. He recommends memorable personalized gifts that people see daily and enjoy and think of you when they see or use them.

He recommends losing the credit cards and paying as you go, cash, check and/or debit card. I began doing that, and noticed a huge difference in my extra cash at the end of the month. I never used to budget. I do so now.

There is much more to the book, but the bottom line is that The Latte' Factor need no longer be a part of our lives. Yes, at first it seems strange and a little boring, but it is a self behavior modification in which, once done, we never go back. And we are happier and more prosperous in the long run for it.

Rick London is a cartoonist, freelance writer, and e-tailer, and was founder of the Internet's top-ranked award-winning London's Times Cartoons which is known to feature the Funniest Cartoons On The Internet and owns a number of critically-acclaimed e-shops featuring his images on funny gifts He offers personalization for $2 and most gifts are in the $15 range.

Creating and Using a Victory Journal

During an interview with Sandi Givens, the discussion lead to how women sometimes have a difficult time disassociating themselves from the things that they do. In other words, when a woman presents an idea to someone, and the idea is rejected or she's told it's not a very good idea; many women find it difficult to remember that it was the idea itself that was rejected and not the "woman". In other words, women become so closely attached to their ideas and the work that they do, that if something they've brought up is put down, it's often seen by the woman as a put down or reflection of themselves.

In order to help encourage "disassociation" between yourself and your work; or between yourself and your ideas; Sandi recommends creating and using a victory journal. You should purchase a nice notebook or blank journal - the nicer the better because you want to look forward to holding it in your hands and writing and reading from it!

On the very front page of your journal, the "cover page", you'll want to nicely write "Victory Journal". You could handwrite it, or you could make it fancier and use scrapbooking supplies or stickers. Whatever makes you feel good when you look at it.

In this "Victory Journal", you are going to write down your victories, wins, successes of each day. Do not ever write something and belittle it; in other words- don't say "I just had a good meeting today". The word "just" dismisses the victory and that is what we are attempting to overcome with a victory journal.

The other important thing to remember when writing in your victory journal, is your victories do not have to be earth shattering. In fact, it's about all the little things that make up your day that are considered successful. You could write that you met a deadline. You could include that you got your little ones off to school on time and without complications or arguments.

If you're not a big writer, there is no reason to write long winded explanations or anything. A victory journal is actually just as effective if you write your successes and wins for each day in a bulleted list - just short phrases that tell you what the success was.

When someone rejects a proposal or idea that you have come up with, you will immediately pull out your victory journal and read some of the successes you've had. You'll be able to see that you are not your idea; that the idea is not you - and that you have so many victories and successes that having one rejection cannot dismiss all of that goodness about you.

Janet Beckers is the host and founder of Wonderful Web Women
An award winning on-line community recognized for generous and honest marketing advice for women on the internet
To learn from the most successful women on the internet through live webinars, masterminds and forums absolutely free, visit http://www.WonderfulWebWomen.com and join today

Religious Fanaticism and How Jim Jones Impacted on My Life

"To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass suicide, it is one of the largest such mass suicides in history, and the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001. One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who became the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States."

This is a quote from Wikipedia, you can find out a little bit more about Jim Jones by searching Wikipedia or the Internet.

It was November 18, 1978, I was in the 11th grade, living and Anaheim, California when I heard the news about a man and a group of followers that I would think about often throughout the rest of my life. I didn't know Jim Jones or any of the followers but their impact will leave a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life.

As a teenager, during a critical part of my life. I was always trying to understand things that the government, religious and world leaders were doing. Often very confused. I was confused about the life of Christ and couldn't quite get a grip on evolution and creation. I could always count on getting one thing from every person I had ever met, and that was an opinion, with very little factual information to back it up.

It was hard for me to imagine, that anyone would follow another mortal being the distances that Peoples Temple's followers had followed Jim Jones. I guess I could understand this in a supreme being or supreme race extraterrestrial beings, with magical powers and supreme knowledge of the universe. But a regular person, I don't think so.

I rarely watched the news on television and gathered most of my information from teachers and other students who I went to school with. There was an English teacher whom I was fond of and she let the class express how they felt, about what had happened and only then did I realize, this had actually happened. It was real.

I couldn't believe that people were this stupid. How could anyone commit suicide like this? I could understand something like this happening 500 or maybe a thousand years ago but in 1978, it's not possible. I started to get a better understanding as I learned more about Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple based in San Francisco, California. I could understand, that religion offers people hope and we all need a little bit, if not a lot of hope. Hope helps us get through our humdrum and boring everyday lives.

These people were hoping for a better life and when there was no more hope in sight and these people would be going back to live in America, with nothing (most of the people had given everything they owned to The Peoples Temple) I could understand this a little bit better but not clearly enough. When people have no hope or they feel like they're at the bottom of the valley, looking up at an impossible hill to climb, I could see where suicide becomes a viable option.

Looking at 9/11, most of the people that died, had hope. What happened in Jonestown Guyana was a lot different, most of these people did not have hope but all had a reason to live, but chose death. Was this actually their choice or were they so caught up in someone else's dream that they couldn't see reality anymore. There are still fanatical leaders today, causing pain and grief all over the world. Jim Jones was not the first and he won't be the last, make sure you're not one of the victims if this ever happens again.

Over 900 people died that day and I hope we never have to see something like this ever again.

Sir Winston Churchill - "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, You Can Have It All

Here's a question I would like you to think about, winning or losing with Christianity. Fanatical groups like Jim Jones are not a thing of the past, make sure that, what ever religious organization you are following is not leading you down the wrong path. Use common sense and if that doesn't sound right, it probably isn't

Law of Attraction - Step by Step to Attracting Job Promotion

The Law of Attraction can be used for a number of things apart from the obvious money, which everyone wants to attract more of. If you're working for a company and there is a job promotion, you can apply the law of attraction to attract that job promotion for yourself. Here are the steps.

1. Do Whatever Is Necessary To Get The Promotion

As soon as you know about the possible promotion, start to concentrate on doing whatever is necessary to make yourself stand out from others. Take your job even more seriously and try to make a perfect job of it. If possible, try to over-deliver on the outcome with whatever you're doing.

When you're doing some particular work in the company, say to yourself that your superior or the main boss, will be very pleased when they see the end-result. This is self affirmation and one technique that you need to use to apply the law of attraction.

Believe that whatever you're doing is useful and meaningful for the company. With this self affirmation and belief, you'll find yourself very motivated to do the job well. You'll feel the energy flowing out of your body.

This is how you give off your vibrations. These are positive vibrations that you are releasing and the Universe will receive your instructions and act on it.

2. Visualize The Gratitude Of Your Superiors

When you're visualizing, imagine your superiors looking at your work which you just handed to them and imagine them talking amongst themselves. Look at their smiling faces as they feel relieved that they can actually trust an employee to the work completely.

Imagine your superiors speaking to themselves that they've got no other option but to promote you since you're producing work that is miles ahead in quality compared to the others.

Visualize them writing down your name to confirm that you're going to get the promotion.

3. Imagine Getting The Promotion On The Day

Before you go to sleep every night, imagine yourself going to the company with all your colleagues congratulating you on getting the promotion and that you need to buy them dinner.

See yourself going inside your superior's room and listen to them telling you how much they appreciate your hard work in the company. Listen to their voices as they tell you about the promotion and see yourself thanking them and shaking their hands.

4. Visualize You Already Got The Promotion

Throughout the day, when you're working, believe and act as though you already got the promotion. See yourself doing the extra work and see yourself sitting on the new desk and speaking to your staff who now reports to you.

Imagine yourself with a new business card with your new title on it. Start paying attention to the projects or work which the new job requires.

Remember that you need to act as if you already got the promotion. The Law of Attraction works the quickest when you actually believe you already have what you desire.

Using the above steps, you can practice regularly with faith and know that without a shadow of a doubt, the promotion is all yours. Believe and do what is necessary to manifest your desire and get the promotion.

Download the free report "7 Reasons Why The Law Of Attraction Doesn't Work" at law of attraction report

For more "how to" reports on other topics, visit http://www.revealhowto.com - By Adrian Abel (Founder).

Oprah Winfrey

Conscious Creation In the Universe

Here's a different point of view of how life originated in what's going on on our planet and throughout the universe.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a spiritual and sell help articles filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

You Have Got To Read This Book
Spoiled Children

A Law of Mind Science - Whatever You Add to "I AM" Is What You Become!

In the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Divine Consciousness, there is no healing because there is no sickness!

Say to yourself aloud, "I AM the very self-awareness of HEALTH." This affirmation is not only healing, it is better than healing. It is recognition of your "I AM-ness."

We can say the same thing for happiness, for love, for success, and for prosperity.

The Attracting Power of Self-Awareness

Your self-awareness is your self-image. It is the way you see yourself.

Self-awareness is the currency of life. It is with your self-awareness that you purchase happiness. See yourself as that person who is happy.

And so it is with the infinite currency of self-awareness that you purchase love. See yourself as the person who is loving and being loved. You must feel that you are loving and beloved.

You must in your own mind see yourself enjoying love with all of the right people in all of the right relationships for every right purpose. See yourself as love, and you will magnetize yourself to draw the right people to you.

The wrong people won't be able to touch you. Some people that may be close to you now, they will just go the other way, most of them won't even know why. You'd be surprised; some people that you have talked to every day, they will just quit calling you, for no apparent reason at all. You won't hear from them anymore. And those people who drift away from you weren't right for you anyway.

The infinite currency of right self-awareness will draw to you only the right people for every right purpose.

The Technique of Affirmation

You must become skilled in the manipulation of your own self-awareness and you cannot practice too much. There are many ways to do this.

Visualization is the cornerstone technique.

Another technique that we use in manipulating and mastering self-awareness is affirmation. Sometimes I call it self-definition.

You can call it affirmation, self-definition, or you can say "I AM."

Whatever you add to "I AM," this is what you become.

This is what you buy with the currency of your mind. This technique is another way to develop the currency of self-awareness. If in your mind you affirm, "I AM rich," then you acquire that.

Now, be honest with yourself, do you see what you've been buying with the currency of your thoughts over the years?

How many times have you uttered a negative phrase after "I AM?"

"Let the weak say, I AM strong"

Even the Bible says in some of the most mystic words, "Let the weak say, 'I AM strong.'" Even while you're in a weak condition, you must affirm that which you wish to be.

Your "I AM-ness" is money. Your self-awareness, your visualization and your affirmation are money.

The material stuff is wonderful, but the material money comes from your self-awareness. Self-awareness is cause, material money is effect. You cannot have the effect without the cause.

Who AM I?

Here again is a mystic conversation from the Bible. Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I AM?" It's a question for each individual to ask himself. Who do you say that you are? Who do I say that I AM?

If I say that I AM poor, then the getting power of my self-awareness gets me poverty. If I say that I AM rich, then the getting power of my self-awareness gets me riches.

If I say that I AM weak, then the getting power of my self-awareness gets me more weakness. If I say that I AM strong, the getting power of my self-awareness gets me strength.

If I say that I AM well, the getting power of my self-awareness gets me health.

Self-awareness is the only currency in the marketplace of life. If you have wealth in your mental self-definition, it will be the cause for you to have money in your experience.

Now, I want to send you my powerful life-changing FREE e-book, "Thinkonomics", that teaches you how to use your God-given mind power to get what you want out of life!

I'll also send you my free 7-lesson e-course "Visualization - How to Make It Work For You", plus as a third gift, a Powerful AUDIO Visualization Prayer Treatment that will automatically condition your mind for health, happiness and abundance. Request all three free gifts now (with no strings attached), at http://scienceoflivingonline.com/

Dr. Frederick Eikerenkoetter is better known as REVEREND IKE, "The Success and Prosperity Preacher." Using practical Mind Science techniques, he has taught millions of people to be masters of their own mind and their circumstances by changing their self-image, thoughts and attitudes.

Lao Tzu

Want a Successful Legitimate Internet Business? You Need to Program Your Mind For Success

A legitimate internet business provides an opportunity for a lucrative income and the pleasure of calling all the shots in your professional life. You also get to experience the sweet taste of complete freedom to dictate your schedule day to day. Many people are not satisfied with their current professional path and their feelings about their job range from mild dissatisfaction to outright loathing. Many surf the internet trying to find a legitimate internet business so that they can break free from the chains of their current situation. Some will take the leap and some will not. If you are looking for a legitimate internet business or already have one, this article will address some very important information on the proper mental state necessary for success. We have been programmed completely wrong and this leads many people to believe they cannot achieve great wealth or success. There are many great sayings that basically tell us we are what we think. This is very true. Most people sell themselves way too short and this leads some to live a very mediocre life while inside they are yearning to break free. But what is stopping them?

A legitimate internet business can be very rewarding and if you are thinking about doing it, go for it. Do not let your present results influence any decisions you may make for your future. Any lackluster results up until this point represent the you up until now. If you make a decision to change your thinking and image of yourself, success is guaranteed because you will become what you think you are. If you think you are successful and capable of great wealth, you will achieve it. Now, I am not just talking about "positive thinking" That on its own will not be enough. Your actions and thoughts need to match up. Just thinking" It will all be okay" is not enough. You need concrete thoughts with specific details about your success. You need to take action to reinforce these thoughts. Law of attraction and other universal laws are often oversimplified and made to sound like magical thinking or downright naive. This is not true. These laws are very real and very powerful and anyone can harness them for their own advancement. Too many people use the past to determine their future and this is very detrimental.

In order to program your mind for success so that you may run a legitimate internet business you need to replace the deep set thoughts that hinder success with ones that affirm your success and belief in yourself. One of the best ways to do this is using affirmations. Many people may think this kind of self talk is corny and it may conjure images of Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live talking to himself in a mirror but affirmations help reprogram your subconscious and get you thinking right so that you may activate the law of attraction. Not many everyday people engage in affirmations and when you start doing them, you may not fully believe what you are saying or feel a bit silly but this is normal. If you stick with it, I promise that you will notice a very real change in your thinking. You can find ones already written or make up your own that serve to reinforce whatever it is you are trying to achieve. I have a great set of cards that I use every morning. I pick one and affirm for about 10 minutes or so. Then throughout the day, I try to use the affirmation while I am working, driving,etc...You especially need to repeat it when you find yourself thinking of anything that does not serve the interest of what you are trying to achieve. A legitimate internet business can be a reality for anyone but they absolutely need to have a self-image of success that will keep them motivated and on track.

Another vital ingredient you need to run a successful legitimate internet business is patience. Our need for instant gratification is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to success. We want maximum return for minimum investment. A legitimate internet business can bring you lots of money and freedom but you will not be raking in the dough overnight. You need to learn certain skills and build up your business to a point where it is consistently bringing in money. Too many people give up on their business way too soon because they did not get instantaneous results. If you are utilizing the law of attraction and taking purposeful action, you can get what you want relatively quickly. However, one must remember that depending on your goal, there is a natural gestation period for it to manifest. You need to give it time. If you outline your intentions, affirm them in your mind, and take purposeful action to manifest them, you will get what you are looking for in the proper time. Your legitimate internet business will be a success for sure.

Legitimate Internet Business

This is a legitimate online business with good commissions and great personal training. Get the step by step guidance to build a 5 figure monthly income. Check it out. What do you have to lose?

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Confucius