Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wealth Building Habits and Tips

If you want to be successful, you need mentors or in other words find people that have succeeded. These people can include the ultra rich like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, but don't forget about the people around you that have created good wealth building habits.

Some of the people have great advice and will need to be listened to very intently, while others need to be put on a list and never spoken to again. If you're going to be developing wealth building habits, you're going to need some advice from wealthy people. Let me make myself clear, when I'm talking about developing wealth building habits, I'm not talking about spiritual, knowledge, Biblical or religious wealth. I'm talking about making money, as much money as you desire or feel you need.

Wealth building habits start with you. Ask yourself this question "how bad do I want or desire wealth?" Really, really, really bad or are you the kind of person that would like to be rich, but that's as far as it goes. Developing any of these habits does not include sleeping in until 11 o'clock in the morning and then complaining the rest of the day about your finances.

Bill Gates used to work 16 hours a day. How many days a week did he do that? These are the questions you're going to find the answers to. If you're interested in making $50 million, you need to find someone who can teach you, how to make $50 million.

It won't be necessary to contact Warren Buffett but I would advise you to gather as much information about him as possible. Wealth building habits start with learning about wealthy people. If they get up at four o'clock in the morning and read the newspaper until six o'clock, then exercise for 30 minutes and start working at seven o'clock, you need to start doing this also. Developing good wealth building habits over time are what most successful businessman and women have been doing for years. Study their habits and start changing yours.

If you do something every day, it will usually become a habit within 30 days.

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 video library filled with great movies 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.

Feeling Good In Church
Laws Of Attraction Ideas

Monday, March 30, 2009

Achieving Inner Peace

Achieving peace of mind begins with finding an inner peace that can be achieved at all times, not only when a person actively participates in meditation to find it. True peace is something that is within always.

Some simple ways to achieve the inner peace you are looking for can come from other places, not only mediation.

Spiritual Exercise

Practice spiritual exercises and develop strength and understand of adversity.

Practice gratitude for everything in your life

Even for the adversity as it is a lesson for growth. External gratitude leads to inner peace.

Practice the positive affirmations about yourself

Look for the positive in everything and everyone around you. When practiced, a warm glow of inner peach will fill your insides.

Practice choosing peace

Choosing to stay calm in adversity and stressful times will subconsciously allow you to develop positive actions in the face of any challenge.

Learn to love yourself

Learn to practice self love through self compassion and self nurturing. This will lead to building a foundation of inner security allowing you to remain calm and serene.

Learn to forgive yourself

You are human and will make mistakes. Practice not judging yourself and release your resentments you hold against yourself for making a mistake.

Forgive others

Learn to forgive others when you are holding onto judgments resulting in grudges and resentments. This will only lead to disharmony within you. To get inner peace, you must learn to forgive and forget.

Practice Honesty

The most difficult aspect of honesty is to be honest with you. If you can't be honest with yourself, then it is impossible to be honest with others. When you can be true to yourself, this is one of the greatest gifts you can give yours towards obtaining true inner peace.

You are more than your physical body

Your core is your divine essence or your spirit. It deserves peace, true inner peace.

Practice Positive

Practice thinking positively. Look for the good in every situation and every person. Practice positive actions that result in receiving positive feed back.

Practice being Neutral

In every situation practice looking at it from an outside observer taking neither side. This will open your awareness up giving you more choices in life.

A Journey

Remember life is a journey, it is not a destination. A journey that will allow you to learn and grow in self awareness if you allow it that will bring true inner peace.

Practice these simple suggestions on a daily basis to become full of greater inner peace and quiet serenity.

Bright blessings,
Ashira
http://www.ashira.ws
ashira@ashira.ws
Ashira is a Practicing Pagan for over 15 years. Currently she is a featured columnist at
Asknow.com.
The Witches' Child Author
Bacon Bits Author
FFWA Member
Cassel Network of Writers Member

Sunday, March 29, 2009

3 Steps to Compelling Communication

Communication is the primary tool we use to interact with others. It is vital in the development of successful business and personal relationships. Helen Keller who was blind, deaf and mute needed to learn ways to communicate so she could participate in the world. Participating in everyday life requires the development of effective, respectful communication skills.

The 3 key steps to compelling communication are Listening, Awareness and Questions

Listening
Sometimes silence is the most effective listening tool available. Have you ever noticed people who frequently interrupt conversations in order to make their point? What is the message to the person who was talking? Other times people rush to speak as a way of showing they understand or perhaps they have a solution to offer. To really listen means to give someone your complete time and attention without judgment or assumptions.

An employee went to her manager for suggestions and support in dealing with a difficult client. As she began describing the situation, her boss kept interrupting her and making assumptions. She never got the chance to fully clarify what had occurred and as a result the recommendations she was given for handling the situation were not particularly relevant. The impact of being a good listener can bring positive returns in not only working with colleagues but with clients and suppliers as well. When you do not fully listen and understand the concerns, how can you deal with it?

Awareness
In order to be truly aware you need to recognize what you are saying and doing as well as noticing other people's actions and reactions. In the work world as you move your way up the ladder of responsibility you will have managers and bosses who guide you and give constructive criticism. However, if you dislike your job or some aspect of the job you need to be aware of how your dislike might be coming across. How do you deal with a colleague or boss with whom you are having problems? What is your response? As you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings about a challenging situation, you are better able to manage and plan your actions.

It is equally important to be aware of how others may be feeling or behaving. If you are interacting with people face to face you may notice their body language. In today's world this can sometimes be challenging as you may be doing a lot of communicating by computer and phone. Therefore it is important to pay attention to tone of voice and the tone of emails. Your awareness and sensitivity of yourself and others invites collaborative solutions to problems and concerns.

Questions
Asking people questions instead of making assumptions is a useful way of gathering information. However the kind of questions you ask and the tone of your voice is key. Questions which are critical and judgmental disrupt communication, whereas questions which come from a place of curiosity and inquiry invite more meaningful conversations.

According to the "Inquiry Institute" there are two main types of questions, "judging or learning." Questions which have an accusatory tone such as "who's at fault, why are they so irritating or why can't I do anything right," generally contribute to people being stuck. Questions which invite possibilities like "What can I learn from this, what are the options and how can we do it differently the next time," tend to produce a more positive outcome. Which kind of questions would you respond to more favorably?

To move your conversations forward in the direct you want them to be going remember to really listen to what people are saying, be aware of yourself and others and ask questions which invite collaboration.

Copyright 2008, Gail Solish, Communication and Relationship Coach. All rights reserved. Visit http://www.actualizeyourgoals.com for more tips and information on communication skills and developing positive business and personal relationships. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter "Actualize Your Goals".

Gail Solish, provides Executive/Personal coaching to managers, directors and executives focused on workplace development and relationship management. Claim your copy of "7 Keys to Effective Communication" Today at http://www.ActualizeYourGoals.com

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Hope in Religion

I was reading a book on advertising when the author mentioned, "All Advertising Is about Hope."

This got me thinking about other people's dreams and aspirations, most of this is wrapped around them hoping to accomplish something or do something. I never gave it much thought but hope is one of the most important things in our lives. Some people go around hoping that they will keep their job, when the economy is in bad shape. Others go around hoping for forgiveness for their sins or other bad deeds they have done in the past.

What is it you're hoping for? There's got to be something. Are you hoping to become a multimillionaire or even the world's first trillionaire. Are your dreams big or small? Are you the kind of person who is happy living a simple life with very little possessions like a Buddhist monk or are you one who is seeking the lifestyle of the King.

Hope supplies us with the will to continue through hopeless obstacles during our lifetime.

Most people seeking hope are looking for a way out of something or a way toward a better life. These people often fall easy prey to large religious organizations, as they take them under their wing and slowly start to brainwash them. They seek the weak minded, helpless, poor and trusting people and build their organizations using them. I once believed in Christianity, but it no longer offers me true hope, the more I study Christianity and other organized religions, I noticed certain similarities based on inspiration.

I hope I live the good life, so I can go to heaven, the promised land, our ultimate enlightenment.

I hope I am living the true will according to God, Buddha, Krishna or other supreme beings.

I hope that the Bible is wrong about the 144,000 people from the 12 tribes.

I hope I'm living a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

If you're part of an organized religion, ask your religious leaders, any questions that you have about your religion. If they can't answer these questions, try to find them on your own. Books, videos, and the Internet are great sources for information. If you're living your life for the sole purpose of going to heaven one day, you could be disappointed, when that day arrives.

Ask a couple of questions and I hope you will get honest answers to them.

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, Read This Book

Greg is currently creating articles on religion 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

Elisabeth Kubler Ross

Solutions For Dealing With Know it Alls - Don't Let Anyone Push You Around Anymore

Over the years of dealing with people, at work or wherever I was, I have found some of these close minded people to be extremely hard headed and this often creates problems with anyone who doesn't agree with them. You probably know someone like this and they are often hard to relate to.

Some of these close minded people will offer their opinion on any subject at any time, whether you ask for it or not. I once had a man tell me something about my business that was wrong. I suggested that he contacted a government office to get the correct information, if he was even interested. He continued to tell me, that I didn't know what I was talking about and I should contact a government agency to verify his information. I believe he just wanted to argue.

This never has made any sense, if you have some facts and can show them the information and it actually makes sense, wouldn't this be a step in the right direction.

I've tried to figure out where these people were coming from and why they wouldn't take the time to gather factual information or at the least listen to what you had to say, sensibly, usually you have already listened to their opinion and when it's your turn to speak, they have no interest in what you have the say.

These people seem to live in a life of turmoil and confusion, while constantly trying to impress others of their intelligence and this often leads others to an impression of ignorance, not knowledge. While they are explaining to you something in your business or a subject in which you are what others would consider an expert in your field, they will spend hours trying to convince you that they are right and you don't know what you're talking about. Even though you have facts to back up your comments.

These people often create problems in your life and should be avoided if possible. I suggest you have fun with them and lead them to believe, what they truly desire in life and give them the illusion that you personally believes they are the smartest people in the universe.

I have done this more than once, to these hard headed geniuses and had a lot of fun with it. Most of them will talk about subjects they have no information about. Look something up in an encyclopedia or on the internet that you think most people wouldn't know anything about. Ornithology would be a good to have fun with.

Not to change the subject, but there's a great story called the cookie thief story, it's one of my favorites and really puts close minded people into perspective.

Don't let these people control or ruined your lives, either have fun with them or explain to them that your tired of listening to their superior closed minded and hardheaded ignorance of useless information.

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. If you have problems and would like to learn more about Achieving Your Ultimate Goals, visit our website today

Greg is currently working on a personal development and 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

Richard Bartlett

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hindsight - Looking Forward

You know how "they" always say "hindsight is 20/20", meaning that it's easier to see the problems and pitfalls of your choices after they're over? Well, sometimes we spend a little too much time looking backwards at the choices we've made and the things we've done and we forget to look at the opportunities we have right now and in the near future; that or we see the current situations through the filters of our past.

With all the talk about the Secret and the Law of Attraction, it occurred to me that a whole lot of people are looking back at their lives so far and making their lists and affirmations about corrections to what they see as problems instead of creating opportunities for new lives and new experiences.

We don't want to attract more baggage from our past. Let me explain.

Ever notice that when you pack a bag for a trip, things never repack as neatly or compactly once you've started going through the contents? You could use this analogy for your memories and experiences, too. Once you begin rummaging around in the memory pile, things don't fit back neatly and you find errant thoughts and memories creeping into your daily lives like a staticky white sock that attached itself to the back of your good gray wool suit. And they don't match any better, either! Your past is just that, p-a-s-s-e-d. It's all over and done with, things happened and you cannot un-happen them. No matter how much effort and perspiration we put into it, we can't change things that happened 2 seconds ago yet we spend countless hours in contemplation, personal debriefings, should'ing all over our best selves and wishing we'd done something different at the time.

Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you didn't and that's that. You made the best choice possible at the time based on the information, experiences, gut instincts you had at your disposal and the situation you were in at the time. There's no backtracking for a do-over. Yet we spend so much time trying to relive less than optimum experiences so we can do better next time. It's not foresight or hindsight we need. We need sight, plain and simple. We need to see what is right in front of us.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.... You can remember the experiences - I'm not trying to say forget everything that has happened to us- but we don't need to relive these things over and over. Once is enough to make an impression.

Sidney Madwed says... "How many of your judgments, when you made them, were you perfectly sure they were correct, would you want to change now with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight? Since every judgment is only an opinion based on the limited information at hand, filtered through one's personal value system, it might be safe to assume no two people will judge anything exactly the same. Even concepts of right and wrong, good or bad, good or bad morals and ethics are only opinions, for what may be good in one case may be a disaster in another. "

You may have heard this before, but you know, human beings are hard wired to be meaning making machines. We just HAVE to ascribe a meaning to everything that happens. We can't help ourselves. I've heard some people say the weather that is terrorizing the globe lately is a punishment for the world's evil ways, some blame it on global warming. Okay, that's fine, but what is happening is we are experiencing lousy weather. Period.

When we're faced with an opportunity,whether it's favorable or not it's still an opportunity, do we look at it through all the filters of what has gone before, or look at it for what it is?

Five days before my 45th birthday, my life as I expected it to be ended. My mother passed away and disinherited me for a reason known only to herself. I was evicted from her home by her executor with nowhere to go. I felt betrayed, alone, and all the other things loss brings about.

Now I could have wallowed in self-pity (which I did for about three weeks, I admit - it didn't do anything to get me out of the situation I was in), gotten angry, bitter, cynical or any other way of being, feeling put upon and sorry for myself. I could have dug out my violins and looked at the situation as an insurmountable barrier and just given up, thinking I was a terrible person for my own family to have thrown me away like that. I didn't.

I'd had a huge revelation. I was no longer anyone's daughter, no longer anyone's mother. The roles that had defined my life had suddenly dropped away and I had a very rare opportunity to totally change my life as well as my view of the world and everything in it. I knew I had to begin again. I had to sit down and figure out just what I wanted my new life to be. I could have struggled to find the meaning in what had happened to me.

I remember the events, but the emotional charge has gone. There's no anger, there's no wasted energy in blame and sadness. I've unpacked those bags and don't intend to fill them up again (In fact, I've thrown them away). One of the things that's so great about discovering the difference between what happened and what we make something mean is that once we know we give events and situations their meanings, we can make them mean anything we want!

Now what I'm getting at is this: As you go forward into 2009, 2010, and on and on, you can choose to see each opportunity as something brand new and exciting or a rerun of a boring, sad old tape. If the first thought that enters your mind when something occurs is, "oh, no, not again" or "here we go again", that's your signal that you're just replaying old tapes and digging through those old bags. Fluff all that old stuff up, expose it to some fresh air and sunshine and toss out what doesn't fit anymore. You don't need it, really. We've turned the corner on Winter and Spring is coming. Start your Spring Soul cleaning a little early.

DeBorah Beatty is the "Created Life" coach. She is a speaker/trainer and solopreneur expert. She speaks from experience having been an entrepreneur for almost as long as she's been alive (and that's a long time!). She offers tips and tricks on her blog, Opportunity's Knocking, Open the Door, on her radio show on BlogTalkRadio and in her newsletter, Living in Left Field. She is the creator of the upcoming Disconnect Your Oughta-Pilot Telecourse and is currently accepting coaching applications. For more information about DeBorah and to request a free report, "Are You Living On Oughta-Pilot?", visit her website

http://www.DEBORAHBEATTY.COM
Walla Walla, WA 99362
contact-dbc@deborahbeatty.com
http://www.deborahbeatty.com

Ask Yourself Some Simple Questions About Religion

Most of us are raised from children into adulthood, to believe in someone else's religion. Most of us never even got the chance to choose a religion or spiritual beliefs to follow on our own. I came up with a simple list of five things that you should know about your religion, or you shouldn't be allowed to practice it.

1. Where did your religion or spiritual beliefs originate from? You should find out who started your religion and why they started it. Some of the worlds major religions were started by intelligent people. Do you think it's possible that your religion was created by an intelligent person, instead of a supreme being or multiple gods. Someone's just trying to trick you into believing.

2. How did you get involved in your religion or spiritual beliefs? Was it part of your upbringing, did your parents suggest this religion to you, how long has your family been involved in your current religious beliefs. Was your great, great, great, great, great grandfather or grandmother part of this religion or spiritual belief. How far back does it go in your family?

3. Do you believe in your religious doctrine or scripture? Is there any parts of your religious scriptures, writings or communication from other fellow believers that doesn't sit right with you? Does every part of your religion makes sense and can it be explained sensibly to someone outside of your religion?

4. Do you practice what you believe on a daily basis? If you're supposed to read your scriptures or pray daily, do you? If your religion teaches love and compassion, how do you treat people less fortunate than yourselves? Are you one of those people who can justify your wrong doings, to yourself and others, to give them the illusion, that you are a religious or spiritual person.

5. Do you know where you are going after you die? Are you going to someplace wonderful and extraordinary, like heaven? If you had to earn enough credits or points, do you think you have acquired enough, to enter the next level of existence? If you're bad, are you going to a bad place, with all the other bad people?

Try to always keep one thing in mind do you use, religion and responsibly.

These are just some of the answers, that I sincerely believe most people should know about their religion or beliefs. You should be able to answer at least one of these questions if asked by a nonbeliever.

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 religious 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

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Religious Views Based on Hoping

I was told by an advertising executive one day that all of your advertisements need to deliver some sort of hope for the people you're trying to persuade into buying your products. Funny, if you think about it, I got some and great advice about life from someone in the advertisement business.

Most people are looking for hope, in everything they do. Most of our daily activities revolve around hope and this gives our lives some sort of direction. If you believe in an almighty being and creator of the universe, often you will try to please him, ....or her, ....or it, in hopes of entering the kingdom of heaven or the promised land after you die.

Often our fears will increase our levels of hoping, the fear of doing something against your religion can often inspire you to become a more spiritual person, a good and moral person. Fear of making the wrong choices will inspire us to make better, moral choices, all for the sake of acquiring a ticket to Heaven or Nirvana. You're hoping, your good deeds on earth will earn you a place in heaven.

Most people are afraid of dying and leaving this world, for good. They don't know where they're going and that seems to scare most people. If we can offer someone a little hope, that they are going to a much better place than here, we can often ease the pain and suffering associated with death. I have to admit, most religions of the world promise another world, after we're done with this one.

If you're living a honest and moral life with the hopes of living a bountiful life in heaven, could you be wrong. What if you're seeking Hope in the wrong religion? If you're a Christian and the Hindus are right and you're wrong, do you get to enter there eternal kingdom.

Think about this question, I'm about to ask you. What if spend your whole life studying your religion and it's wrong? There is no heaven and when you die, that's the end of your existence

Have you ever wondered why you believe in your religion and someone in another country or even a couple of miles away believes in something entirely different.

Don't get mad at me or yourself, simply think about the question for a while, this question has transformed my life and put me on a wonderful spiritual path of learning.

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, The Power of Intention

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

Could We Be Wrong

Greek mythology is taught in most schools during some time of your education, if you grew up in the United States. I remember looking back at the Greeks and thinking, "I can't believe these people were that stupid, who believes that there is a God of the ocean or one for love." I couldn't believe as a young elementary school student, that these people got caught up in these beliefs.

I mean come on, I was a Christian at that time and there was only one God, how stupid can these people be or misinformed about the way things really and truly are. It's kind of sad, but all the people in the past that did not accept Jesus Christ as the one true God are all living in hell. Well, that's how I thought when I was a child.

Some of the mythological stories are about pain, love, happiness, plotting, scheming and power. Now we're talking about something that most people can understand. These gods were just like regular people, except some of them had extraordinary powers and if they used them poorly, they would have to answer to the gods god, Zeus.

At the time in history, that the Greeks believed and their gods, they were one of the most civilized groups of people on Earth. They had some of the best and brightest scholars around. The Roman Empire and some of the United States government was based on information provided by Greek scholars.

Have you ever thought about your religion as being wrong? If we now know that the Greek gods and goddesses do not exist, do you think our modern day beliefs can also be wrong. If we could go into the future 1000 years, could children be studying about Christianity, Islam or Buddhism, like modern day children study about Greek mythology and other beliefs that we view today as unbelievable or impossible.

The Greek gods and goddesses made sense to the citizens of Greece in the past. Do you think in the future that our modern day religions will be viewed in the same way as we now view Greek mythology.

Looking back at the past, often inspires me for a better future.

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

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

David Hawkins

Monday, March 23, 2009

Hard on Religious Faith

It's probably hard to find facts if your mind is already made up. If you're trying to find information on anything, more than likely you will find exactly what you're looking for, if you look hard enough. With all the information out there, available in books, media, and of course the Internet, would we really know the honest to God truth if we ran into one.

Not something that man made up and forced our ancestors to believe in.

If you're studying on faith alone and trying to prove or disprove something, you will succeed. If you're reading the Bible and looking for answers to problems in your life, eventually you will find the answers. All you need is to believe in your God and he will show you the way. Has he truly shown you the way or are you basing your religious beliefs on faith alone.

I have studied the Bible for many years and came to the conclusion that, I was often blinded by the way I view the information and couldn't get the facts most of the time. I always enjoyed reading Proverbs and the story of Job, both of these books in the Bible inspired me to become a better person.

By studying the Bible without faith and looking for information based on facts, it wasn't long before I realized this book could be and I say could be a group of stories that man over the centuries combined into one book during the Council of Nicaea in 325A.D and became religious doctrine for Christians.

In order to study anything effectively, you need to keep an open mind, this might require you to reprogram your thinking. You have been taught for years that only your religion is correct and all other religions are wrong. You can't think like this and gather information effectively.

Studying on faith alone could close your mind and keep you on the path of spiritual resistance. You know you're on this path if only the things you believe in make sense. Nothing nobody else says can make much sense if you're studying on faith alone.

What would it hurt to read a life changing spiritual book on another religion or form of spirituality? If you can't read another religious book, because you're religious organization tells you to only read their spiritual books to gather information, you're following a path of spiritual resistance.

If you're really going to study on faith alone then I suggest studying with intention to learn instead of follow.

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 reading, Stories from the Old Testament

Greg is currently working on a religious and spiritual answers 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

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Breaking Through Obstacles With Chop Sticks

I remember accompanying a friend of mine to a workshop and taking part in a little demonstration. We were put in teams of two. One person held a disposable wooden chopstick firmly in front of them, with one end of the chopstick in one hand, the other end in the other. Their partner took a business card and was instructed to break the chop stick with the business card.

As soon as this little game was explained I had a powerful thought. "I'm going to break that chopstick on my first try." I don't know what made me feel so confident, but I just knew I was going to do it. Now mind you, I'm not particularly strong or fast. However, I was feeling particularly powerful and wanted to prove to my friend - and myself - that I could do whatever I set my mind to do.

My partner, Andrea, chose to go first. She whacked away with her business card until it was a pulpy mush. Other people whacked and smacked and swiped to no avail. It took a while, but eventually one person broke the chopstick. Then another and another succeeded. Now it was my turn. I took the card and made a bold swipe. The stick instantly broke in two. Andrea looked at me in disbelief. I just smiled. I did exactly what I imagined I would do.

I wish I could tell you that I'm always so successful. It's not that I (and you) are not capable of these little (and big) victories in life. We are. But little nagging voices of self doubt come marching in like ants to a picnic. Those old, sad stories of how we aren't good enough, or smart enough, or talented enough tug at our self confidence and stop our efforts before we start. I have heard these nagging doubts referred to as "your evil twin" mocking any attempt at success.

You can't tell other people to shut up (not safely anyway) but you can tell your evil twin to take a hike. And you should - as often as the little creep whispers nasty nothings in your ear. As long as you believe these sad stories, they will continue to have power over you. Make it a practice to rewrite your life's script and choose to believe the winning moments of your life as your model. Our actions are the direct result of what we believe we can do.

Robert Collier once said: "Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives."

The proof of this is illustrated as my little story continues. I went home and repeated the chopstick demonstration to my 14-year-old daughter, Brittany. I got out a pair of chopsticks and a business card and tried to replicate my earlier success. There is something a little intimidating about a teenager's disbelief and mocking smile. I took the business card and swiped it against the chopstick. It didn't break. I took a moment and thought about my plight. What was different? It only took a second. A little self doubt had crept in. I paused, took a deep breath, mustered up the power I knew I had within me WHACK!. The chopstick broke in two. Brittany was amazed. I was proud and relieved.

So what is the moral of this story? If we believe in our personal power, rather than focusing on our failures, we can be heroes in our own life story. So, don't just sit there reading. Go out there and do something amazing. Chop, chop.

Sally Marks

Coauthor of upcoming book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within. Check out her blog at http://www.erasenegativity.blogspot.com

How Do I Get Un-Stuck?

It's sad to say, but the majority of people in our society are asking themselves this question every day. They feel hopeless when they are looking at their current situation and cannot see a way out. I know because I used to be one of them. Are you still there?

So, what does a person in this situation do? How does the common person get themselves out of this all too common state of life? Well, I can point you to this recourse, or introduce you to that opportunity, but none of those things will change your situation until you first change your mind, or the way your mind looks at situations. If you're still here reading this, then you obviously have the desire to change, but desire is nothing without the action to back it.

You first have to know, not hope it will happen. You have to know, not hope you will succeed. You have to KNOW! You see, until you develop a mind set of knowing, you will be approaching every situation in life from the state of lacking what it is you want. And if you are lacking, then there is doubt. And if there is doubt, there will never be success. But if you know something is already yours, then nothing can stop you from getting it (except you).

So don't lose hope. There are many great opportunities out there for you to get un-stuck. But before I can show you those, you must know that you absolutely can you absolutely will.

Frankie Gomez is a professional marketer and web based business owner. Serious entrepreneurs, who wish to know more about his extremely lucrative opportunity that is taking the industry by storm, please visit http://www.IamTheMasterOfMyFuture.com today. You can also visit http://www.myspace.com/wealthbuilderfrankieg to find out more about Frankie.

Satan's Little Kingdom

In 1967, the world was abuzz with something sinister going on in San Francisco, CA. A new church had arisen, a church dedicated to the Devil. Created by a former musician and magic enthusiast Howard LaVey who renamed himself Anton Szandor LaVey, it performed public rituals supposedly dedicated to the glory of Satan and the celebration of Earthly pleasures and delights.

Every Friday night, LaVey and his friends and followers conducted a black mass that was a purposeful perversion of Christian church traditions. The music was a corruption of Catholic hymns. The altars were nude women. Semen and milk were used instead of wine. And crowds of reporters looking for shocking pictures and juicy stories (especially reporters for men's magazines) snapped away at the show in front of them, writing story after story. Many Christians were aghast in fear that Revelations 13 was slowly starting to play itself out especially as the Church of Satan's membership grew by leaps and bounds.

But hidden from the cameras was an internal struggle within the Church. The whole point of the Church was to scare and shock Evangelicals and Catholics. It was a show, a performance and many members joined for the glory of being associated with the infamous church, its naked altars and sinister allure. In an interview, Tom Blackwood, a former Priest of the Church shared that when it came to its membership tally, LaVey would pad the numbers.

"If you sing a song with Satan in it, write a book or some articles about Satanism or black magic and you're in."

LaVey also realized the problem of Satanists joining the group just to scare the willies out of Christians among their family and friends. In a Newsweek interview in 1971, he addressed the problem head-on.

"Satanism is developing two circles, an elitist group which I always intended my church to be, and the faddists who are becoming Satanists because it's the thing to do."

He was growing tired and frustrated of just spooking people he didn't like very much. He wanted to practice what he called real Satanism. Combining Nietzsche, Rand and supposedly some writings of the infamous Cabalist and Hermetic Aleisteir Crowley, LaVey preached an ideology that celebrated the human being and all the inherent flaws, imperfections and pleasures the human form entailed as divinity in its own right. While Ayn Rand preached that people should only worry about themselves and their own personal interests, LaVey took the concept one step further and said that each person was a God or Goddess.

But that caused even more of a problem, especially after LaVey's death and the subsequent splintering of the Church. Each member was a supposed divinity and free to create his or her own doctrine. These individual doctrines competed with each other and leaders of small Satanic groups were constantly fighting with their flocks which often thought they created a better magic theory after a year or two of listening to the High Priest. As Blackwood puts it...

"Because LaVeyan Satanism teaches that each human is a God, everybody thinks he's Zeus or Thor. So what happens when you get Thor and Zeus in the same room? They're going to fight. Satanists today bicker endlessly about what's true Satanism and who has the best theory of it."

When LaVey stopped all public ceremonies in 1975 and worked until his death to create a real culture of celebrating the individual and Earthly pleasures, he unwittingly engineered the splintering of the Church. The infamous Black House from which the group was ran since the 1960s was demolished in 2001 after its condition declined so much, it was deemed unsafe for habitation by the city. The current leaders of the Church of Satan are now based in New York City. They advertise some events and a radio show but the original group that made headlines in the 1960s and 1970s is no more. Satan's kingdom on Earth is limited to a small number of people busily engaged in arcane arguments over the finer points of what they think is black magic.

This article is featured on Weird Things (http://gfish.wordpress.com), a blog that explores the strange, unknown, technology, space, science and strange things with a skeptical and analytical eye.

Numerology and The Number 11

Seeing the number 11 over and over in your daily
life can mean many things.

Its possible you have prominent 11 in your
comprehensive natal and, or timing charts, which
would mean the number 11 is especially
important to you.

Its common for people to favor certain numbers, or for
certain numbers to mysteriously show up time and again
in their lives, without even realizing that the numbers are
of great magnitude (i.e., position and, or frequency) in
their comprehensive charts.

Or, perhaps it could be purely a subconscious attachment
to the number 11 for any number of reasons.

An article (see Column link on site) dated January 6th,
2006 posted on our web site features more information
about the phenomenon of seeing the same numbers over
and over (whether it is the number 11 or other numbers).

Our Numerology Decoder Software correctly calculates
Master Numbers, can tell you where in your basic charts
you have them and what they mean in those positions.

11 is a Master Number, as are all double digit numbers,
such as 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, and 99. Master
Number is an appropriate term because the high side
of each Master Number represents rare and exceptional
energy originating from outside mundane reality, far
from the norm. But too often the low side of these
double digits manifests, and operating productively
under the energy is like trying to tame a wild horse,
especially when the person lacks the discipline and
general overall capacity to deal with lifes challenges
in the first place. Difficult personal timing as reflected
by the collective patterns of time cycles also symbolically
prohibits the constructive expression of Master Numbers.

11 is not an easy number, especially for material interests.
You want to avoid heavy speculation, for example, if you
have a lot of 11 energy in your comprehensive charts.
There is a huge potential for loss in high risk material
concerns, depending upon the rest of the patterns in the
natal and timing comprehensive charts.

Some of the more challenging traits associated with
the number 11 may include any of the following (other
considerations in the charts collectively either support
or mitigate the energy): Nervous energy, intense fear,
unpredictability, unrealistic outlook, lack of
discernment, religious dogma, fanaticism, insecurity,
hyper-sensitivity, controversial behavior, overly
receptive and vulnerable to the point of being an easy
target, self-deprecation, low self-worth, health issues,
stagnant energy, vacillation, excessive mutability or
changeability to the point of constantly riding the fence
and lacking true personal convictions, dual nature,
excessive idealism and unrealistic spiritual ideas
resulting in a cosmic fu-fu-based dogmatic outlook,
complex personality, untamed, wild inspiration,
emotional volatility, infamy, extreme behavior, or
insanity.

On the high side (again, other aspects/patterns
collectively either corroborate, moderate, or cancel
out the qualities), those with heavy 11 may possess
illumination, unparalleled spiritual awareness (if they
are otherwise grounded, as symbolized by the rest of
the comprehensive charts energy), magnetism, vision,
prophetic talent, charm, grace, inventive inspiration,
and they may have regular revelations to help guide
them on their earthly path. They are often natural
channels and mediums, messengers for the Gods, and
they frequently end up well-known or famous
(frequently very famous). Artistic talent is common,
as are big ideas, high standards, strong interest in
metaphysics and holistic healing, humanitarianism,
and public service, often through their work (although
it may not appear directly as public service).

11 pertains to heightened awareness and those with
plenty of 11 tend to get regular shocking insight about
their life and other people. After growing into their talent,
its not shocking any longer, at least to them. While they
are often vulnerable, they see others as they are, beyond
the personas and facades. They must learn to trust their
insight and avoid going with the expected modes of
thought and behavior. Grounding disciplines, such as
meditation, exercise, or artistic pursuits serve them well.
Those who try to ignore and deny their piercing
illumination risk phobias, obsessions, and even
psychosis.

Those with a traditionalist point of view possessing
heavy 11 who expect life conditions that appeal to
society (out of a desire for approval) are prone to
embarrassing life situations. For example, a messy,
very public divorce, or a daughter who comes out of
the closet in a very public way in a part of the world
where expressing ones true sexual orientation is still
significantly frowned upon is typical.

Again, 11 isnt easy. Those with a potent 11 along with
heavy materialistic considerations in the comprehensive
charts, sadly, are often challenged with integrity issues.
Duplicity and deceit eventually gain them infamy.
Kenneth Lay (The former CEO of Enron was convicted
of 10 counts of securities fraud in one of the most
publicized corruption scandals in U.S. history; Enrons
bankruptcy was the biggest in U.S. history when it was
filed in late 2001.) and Manuel Noriega (The Panamanian
dictator was accused of taking payoffs from a Columbian
drug cartel; in the early 1990s he was convicted and
sentenced to 40 years in U.S. prison.) are two prime
examples.

Divine revelation is intimately tied to the number 11.
The two columns of the side-by-side number ones
comprising the 11 symbolize a channel from higher
dimensions.

Unfortunately those with plenty of 11 are too often
seen as empty-headed. This is partly because its not
easy being in two places at once under the 11 (easier
with other Master Numbers, such as 22 or 77). They
split their energy between the earth plane and other
dimensions, often-times preferring the latter. Its as if
in their most previous existences, they spent more time
in angelic form instead of in human form. Its natural
for them to psychically tap into the mysterious, unseen
levels of being while generating their phenomenal
visions. However, they suffer from not spending 100%
of their time rooted on the earth plane, and it detracts
from a solid feet on the ground existence.

Number 11 demands that one lives their light, no
matter how good or bad that light might seem to
society. To do otherwise makes their life more difficult
than necessary. A compassionate viewpoint and candid
way of life, living within their ideals, allows them to
effectively spread their vision, fulfilling their earthly
mission.

Some great examples of known individuals with heavy
11 energy (in various, prominent positions in the
comprehensive charts) include the following:

*Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor, lead in Titanic,
the biggest grossing film of all time.

*George Patton, American military commander of
WW1 forces. He Claimed he had lived previous lives
as, among others, a Greek soldier and a Roman
Legionnaire.

*Jackie Stewart, Scottish-American pro race car
driver; one of the most famous race car drivers of all
time.

*Gene Wilder, American comedian and actor. Joined
the army in his 20s and spent two years in the
psychiatric hospital ward, which he later drew upon
for his role in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

Copyright 2007 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo

Scott Petullo and Stephen Petullo are identical twins and have been exploring metaphysics since the early 1980s. They are experts in the fields of prediction, personal fate, love life, and past life regression, and are natural psychics and mediums. Get their free report: 13 Spiritual and New Age Myths and 11 Questions to Ask before hiring Psychic. http://www.mystictwins.com - http://www.holisticmakeover.com

Do You Ever Loose Your Keys - Planning Advice

You obviously don't need to read this article if you rarely lose your car keys. However if you misplace your car keys often and have a pretty good relationship with your locksmith, it's time to change these bad habits into good ones.

One of my friends, recently lost their car keys. I would like you to listen to what I'm about to say and see if it makes sense to you. Most people get two keys when they buy a car. This means, if they lose one key, they now have a spare key. When they lose their first key, this should give them a pretty good clue that the second key is now the only key, if they wish to drive their car.

Does that make sense? If you lose your first key, you don't have a second or spare key anymore. Now is a good time to purchase a spare key or have one made. Don't wait until you lose the second one, unless you are planning to change your bad habit into a good one.

Now let me get back to my friends who recently lost their car's key. The car they were driving was a new Honda and you can't go to the locksmith to get another key made. You have to order one from the Honda dealer and this key cost them over $200. That's a lot of money for one key.

Now my friends lost both of their original keys and now have one key to operate the vehicle and this key cost them over $200. Now if I had to pay this amount of money, I would make sure that I never lost this key ever again. I would do whatever it to to change my old habits and create some new ones.

How hard is it to get in the habit of placing your keys inside of your purse. Placing your keys in your pockets and then only removing them when you are going to place them inside of a drawer, container, cup, bowl or on a shelf in your bedroom. If you place your keys in a drawer, this will keep them out of other people's temptation.

If you choose to lay your keys in a bowl, in the kitchen, there's a good chance someone will take them or another member of your family could lose them. Place your keys in a protected area, do not leave them out in the open ever.

If you want some tips to prevent you from losing your keys, simply talk to someone who rarely if ever loses their keys. Most of these people have simple and easy to follow tips. You can consciously create a habit that can save you money and frustration in the future.

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 video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Personal Development - Add Juice to Your Life!

Life is growth, and we are not growing we are dying. If we think about this point, we can see how life can become monotonous, and mundane. When we explore we feel great, when we settle to routine, we lose sight of a vision.

What is the point of digging a hole in the ground, if all we are going to do is cover it up again? Sometimes life can seem pointless. Get up, go to work, work, come home, sleep, and rinse and repeat.

Daily routine can add its toll. But, it does not have to be that way. In fact I am sure you have had times in your life where things are going great. If you look back, it likely was a time when you were doing something new. You were exploring, and growing.

So life is growth. When we grow we feel great. When we try a new meal or go to a new destination, we learn something new. We learn we liked it or we didn't, and even what it looked like. We have created a bigger map, and here is where personal development can add zest to your life.

What has Bill Gates, Obama, King Solomon and a beggar got in common? They all goal set! Goal setting is at the heart of personal development, and it is so, because goals are generally for things we have never achieved before.

So, what has personal development and goal setting got in common? You set a goal, and now, you have to develop to get that goal. This is so, because we can only have what we are ready for. A person earning $30k a year can't earn $100k a year, until they grow.

Now, back to Bill Gates, Obama, King Solomon and the beggar. With goal setting, we all do it. Unfortunately the first 3 people set a productive goal, while the beggar did not. We may say the person on the street has no choice; they are stuck there because of circumstance.

If we hold such a view it says that we wholly believe in fate, and there is no room to achieve goals, which would be unfortunate, and does not give room for goal setting. The truth is that personal development and goal setting can take you from where you are to where you want to get to.

And here is where the fun begins. You set goals that are positive, for whatever you want. And you work to get them. They require personal development for learning, they need applying to transform learning into skills. And finally the confidence of achievement.

Goal setters live longer and they achieve more in one life time that many would not in several lifetimes. Personal development is a loose subject, which adds benefit to it also. It is like science, it can include chemistry, biology, astronomy and many more subjects.

Likewise personal development includes personal and professional, wealth, health, happiness and a number of other areas. Enjoy personal development, and grow to your full potential.

Goal setting can be a great way to cut down the time to success. Visit this goal setting link for more info. Also I have my blog up where I put some golden gems which can help you on your journey to success - success coaching.

Is the Bible Historically Accurate and True

I'm going to start with the first book of the holy Bible, Genesis chapter 1 verse one through five. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said," let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

If the Bible is historically accurate, did God actually create earth. I have been battling over this, my whole life. It's very easy for someone to accept and believe in any religion, government, other people or whatever they truly desire to make real. I see it every day of my life, open your eyes and you will see it to.

It's hard to imagine that a superior entity like God created everything that we touch and see. The moon itself is pretty big and the creation of the sun would prove to be a little more difficult, but if you're God and your all knowing and all powerful, he or she or it, must be one incredible being.

This is only the first couple of paragraphs in the Bible and there is no, I repeat no, historical accuracy to this event. It seems like God or man, whoever wrote the Bible, should have started the Bible with something a little more believable for people that live in the 21st century. It's not hard to imagine someone 2000 years ago, believing in something like this.

2000 years ago the Romans were worshiping their own gods, we might find this ridiculous today but back then the Romans would punish you if you didn't worship their gods. We are not too far from that today. If we don't stop organized religion and their influence on humanity, we're going to have serious problems in the future.

The biggest problem I foresee is common sense. If the Bible has 500 historical accurate facts that can be proven without a doubt by historians, scholars and other intelligent people, but has one thing that can't be explained, how do we handle this. How do we handle the fact that the Bible states God created light? If this is false, what else is false in the Bible.

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. Have you ever really ask yourself Who is, Jesus of Nazareth?

Greg is currently working on a Personal Power Ideas. If you're ever wondering why some people can achieve success, while others seem to struggle aimlessly, what would it hurt, to take a couple of minutes of your time, if you could actually find the truth

Motivational Speech Review

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Rethinking Christianity

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

Something You Don

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Patronym - The Name of God the Father As Patronym

The Patronym is the Name of God the Father. When you are sealed, it is written in your forehead. It shows you belong to God, that He has claimed you as His own child.

It is not enough that you consider God your Father. You need His consideration. You need Him to say that you are His child. You may want Him to be your Father but you must have His approval to realize your dream.

You may say, "You are like a Father to me." But does He say, "And you are a child to me," in response? This is what you are seeking. The favorable response of God. And being sealed is the way.

When you are marked with the Seal of God he claims you as His own. He owns you. He should be able to do with you as He will. That is the ideal at least. But it's not always that way.

And most people are not marked by God. It is not common. It is unusual. It is not the norm. It is an exception. But it can happen to you. Just like it happened to some of the people in Heaven.

One of the apostles John saw a multitude of people in Heaven. There were 144,000 of them. And each of them had the Name of God written in their forehead. They belong to God. And so can you.

God is seeking people to belong to Him. It hurt God that man disobeyed Him from the beginning. That was not what He created you for. He created you to work with Him. To help Him. And so He could help you.

Because when you belong to God you are not just His property. You are glorified. And He will give you what your heart desires. He will help you fulfill your dreams. Just as you help Him with what He is doing.

And often the two will be inseparable. You will want what God wants. He will want what you want. The goals of the two of you will be in such agreement that when one of you gets their way so will the other.

It can happen to you just like it happened to the people in Heaven. God can favor you as His own. You can belong to Him. The way it happens is to be sealed with the Patronym in your forehead, or Name of God.

Jason Witt is a sinner healed and sealed. He has been transformed by Jesus, who came and made His Home in Jason's heart and in his mind. Come and see what Jesus foretold that is starting to happen today. Jason Witt dot org

Andrew Shatte

Structuring Your Time

We only have 24 hours in each day, if we're working 12 hours each day, six days a week, planning the time required to create a habit will be a little more difficult, than someone who works four hours a day three days each week.

If you're one of those overachievers and can't seem to rest or sit down for even five minutes a day. This tells me, we need to change this habit first. Most people that tell you, they just don't have any time during the day, for anything. These people usually have a lot more time than others.

Their time is normally unstructured and they often find themselves running around like a chicken with its head cut off. They are not organized or very efficient at most things that they do. Keep in mind that there are some extremely successful people that only work four hours each day and some of these people take vacations every other month.

Structuring your time will allow you the extra time you need during the day.

If you have a daytime organizer, use this to figure out, if there is any wasted time during the day. Pay strict attention to any wasted time and make a list you can evaluate at the end of the day. Do this for one week and at the end of the week evaluate your weekly activities.

If you don't have a daytime organizer, carrying around a scrap piece of paper to keep track of your daily activities. If you don't have a daytime organizer or if this is too much work for you, simply pay attention to any time you might feel, has been wasted during the day.

If we can create better time management habits, it won't be long before we have more time than we ever imagined.

Have you ever thought about Getting up Earlier.

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 video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Game Of Life And How To Play

Top 12 Qualities of True Business Professionals

Many in the business, education, government and not for profit sectors consider themselves to be true professionals. Yet if this was so, why are we experiencing far more poor ethics from the financial meltdown to pay for play to the decline in even professional associations?

Professionalism is a word embraced by many, but in all honesty demonstrated by far fewer individuals. Its Latin's origins come from the word profess which means "to avow before." So the question is what are these individuals who believe themselves to be true professionals avowing before? Possibly the answer may be found within the word professional.

1. P = Positively proactive. Professionals demonstrate behaviors that are positive and proactive instead of negative and reactive.

2. R = Respect. Through this ethic and value of respect, professionals are known and trusted within and without their respective organizations.

3. O - Opportunities to help others. Those who avow before understand they have a responsibility to help others whether it is to grow self leadership skills or provide some expert advice.

4. F - Follow-up. No one likes to wait for un-returned phone calls or emails. Professionals make it a habit to follow-up on everything and accept responsibility when they fail to engage in that behavior.

5. E - Empathy. Professionals know how to be empathetic. This characteristic is a one of the signs of high emotional intelligence and a predictor for leadership success.

6. S - Self-confident. When individuals are self confident, they do not have to put others down at their own expense. These individuals have a high sense of balanced self-esteem and role awareness.

7. S - Sustainable. Professionals are truly sustainable in that they can continue forward when times become difficult. Their ethics and beliefs keep them focused.

8. I - Integrity. Simply simply, integrity is putting your values into action; doing the right thing when no one else is looking without personal gain or benefit; and accepting a potential personal cost.

9. O - Optimize all interactions. This is really critical because professionals do not negate the value of people. They look to see how one interaction can benefit someone else even before themselves.

10. N - Nimble. Being flexible and open to change allows these individuals to be quick on their feet, nimble to the opportunities that they encounter on a daily basis.

11. A - Awareness. Having a high level of awareness of themselves, the marketplace, the community and even the world helps these individuals to continually stay on top of things.

12. L - Leadership. Last, but not least, professionals demonstrate exceptional leadership skills and even more importantly self leadership skill. For if you cannot lead yourself, you cannot lead others.

Leadership Coaching Tip: Take a few moments to revisit this list and determine if there are any areas to be further developed. Remember the origins of the word professional - to avow before and are your actions in alignment with your beliefs?

If you would like to receive Leanne's weekly business column for free, sign up at http://www.processspecialist.com/column.htm

Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or leadership coaching strategy session with Leanne Hoagland Smith provided you are willing to be uncomfortable.

P.S. This tools helps with developing true professionals

Deepak Chopra

Monday, March 16, 2009

What Makes A Great Presenter?

Every day millions of people around the world make a presentation. Yet most of us who have been to meetings know that very few of those people are truly great. At each meeting there is usually only one person who stands out head and shoulders above the rest as someone who really connects with us in the audience. The truth is, most presenters are just plain average and quite a few are simply dreadful. So, how can you move from being a run of the mill presenter to being fantastic?

Every one of us has the ability to be truly great as a presenter. There is nothing particularly special about the people who stand out as brilliant. However, the average presenter is usually holding themselves back, doing things which prevent them from being good.

At every training course run by The Presentation Business we spend some time debating what makes a great presenter. This inevitably leads to a discussion of what the bad presenters do wrong. Having kept a record of what these sessions considered I have been able to produce a definitive list of what to do to make your presentations great.

The overwhelming conclusion of all these discussions is: content is NOT important. Of the hundreds of people who have debated what makes a great presenter not a single person has mentioned the value of the content. Your audiences are likely to think in just the same way. They are NOT interested in what you are saying, but the way you are saying it. If you say it well, that appears to make the content interesting. But what this means is, if you concentrate your planning and preparation on content, you are likely only to be average.

The most important factor for great presenters according to our discussions is that they make a personal connection to every member of the audience. This means lots of eye contact, liberal use of the words I and you, and that everything you deliver is done form the audiences perspective. This means you need to know a great deal about your audience in advance so you can do this.

The connection you make between yourself and your audience seems to be enhanced by the widespread use of examples. Our discussions at training courses show that your audience expects you to show rather than tell. In other words, you dont need to give them messages and content; instead you need to give them lots of examples and they will work out the message for themselves.

A further element of this aspect of being a great presenter is that these examples should always include you. Your audience wants to know about your thoughts, your feelings and your opinions. They want to share your experiences. If all you deliver is content, this does not help your audience. They could get your content from a book, a web site or some other non human contact. The fact that you are presenting to them means your audience wants to hear from you personally.

Your audience also wants you to be a living person. They dont want to hear from a statue. In other words you need to be active. The discussions held at our training courses show time and time again that presenters who move are the one who gain the most attention. If you think about this, it is quite understandable. In social situations we are active we use gestures, we move our bodies and change posture. To avoid doing so when presenting makes you look abnormal and this serves to disconnect you. There is also a big advantage to moving it helps reduce nerves when presenting.

As well as moving to be natural, our discussions show that great presenters are interactive. They ask questions, they involve the audience and essentially they treat the presentation as a conversation. This helps boost the connection between themselves and the audience. Thats because for the audience the interactivity appears normal, whereas being spoken at for a great length of time does not.

Another important aspect of making your presentation appear normal is that your audience expects you to deliver your material without any prompts. Conversations do not need notes! Hence your presentation will benefit from appearing normal if you do not use notes or any prompts of any kind including bullet points on slides. Discussions at our training sessions show time and time again that audiences do not like presenters who use notes, prompt cards, bullet point slides or any other form of memory jogger. Audiences expect presenters to know their stuff. Great presenters never use notes.

An extension of the lack of notes concept is that great presenters talk from the heart. They are passionate about their subject and they are emotional. The dispassionate, business-like presenter is one of the most disliked, according to our discussions. What this means is that you should talk less about your subject and much more about your experiences as this will help boost your passion.

Our training sessions also reveal that audiences want to have fun. They want to see you enjoying yourself and they want to have a laugh. This does not mean you need to tell jokes, but it does mean your audiences expect you to be light. Even for serious subjects it seems that audiences expect some kind of lightness. They want humour and they want you to smile. Straight faced, dry presenters are particularly disliked by audiences.

One final aspect that is revealed by the discussions at our training sessions and that is everyone in your audience expects the presenter to motivate them. This does not mean you need to be a motivational speaker. Rather what it means is that your audience is expecting you to tell them what to do. Your audience does not expect a presenter simply to deliver information they can get that from a book or a web site. Instead great presenters give audiences some action to take.

All of these discussion points suggest that those presenters who treat their presentation as a conversation who just have a chat with the audience are the ones marked out as truly great. People who give presentations by delivering content are seen as boring and uninteresting. This also means their messages are not conveyed, so they may as well not be presenting in the first place.

Oh, and one final thing. Our discussions show that audiences simply detest the use of computerised slides. They just want to hear from you. Truly great presenters therefore do one other vital thing they switch off the projector!

Graham Jones runs The Presentation Business at http://www.presentationbiz.com which specialises in helping people become great public speakers.

Deepak Chopra

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Thinking Big - Re-Wiring the Way You Think!

Many of us are taught to believe we are worth a lot less than we are really worth. It's been ingrained in us for our careers and even from college. You may have noticed this mindset in your network marketing business, and your downline. So, maybe it's time to re-wire our way of thinking about ourselves, as taught in the book, and DVD "The Secret". After all, the way we think about ourselves most likely will determine where we end up in life. The people who think big often end up with the big job, big cars, and the big houses while the little thinker ends up with the small paying jobs, old worn out cars and living in Middle America just going through the motions.

It's not that living in Middle America is a bad thing. Many people are very happy there. It's safe, and it's all they have known. It may have been ingrained into their thoughts early in life that they go to college, graduate and get a job. Or, even in some cases college isn't an option. They graduate from high school and start to work at the local plant like their parents did. Some will be happy, while others will always wonder if there could have been something better that they missed.

On the other hand, who is to say that living large is a wonderful thing? Having a lot of expensive things because you can own them doesn't necessarily make you happy. In fact, having a high paying job may not make you happy. Happiness comes from within. How you feel about yourself can determine what you will earn and what you are worth. Some say most people will never earn more than they think they are worth. In other words, people will settle for whatever they think they are worth. It's easier for people to stay in their comfort zone and put up with a job and lifestyle they don't like, rather than take action and change it.

Something we all must realize is we are all 100% responsible for our thoughts and actions. It's not your fault that nobody has told you this, and it's never too late to change the way you think. Many in the network marketing industry think they have to be part of a larger company, which they must sell 100's of products to make small commissions only to be able to cover the cost of their advertising budget. Most people in the network marketing industry have this same mindset they have in the real world, creating a recipe for failure.

Well, it's time to let you know, it's OK to think BIG! Don't settle for a company or network marketing business that limits your growth, doesn't have a logical pay plan, or a duplicatable system for your downline. It's time to think big. Why waste your time selling 300 units of something to make $1000 commission when you can make the same effort and sell 20 units for $1000 commission. The power of positive thinking is real. If you have been lucky enough to read, or listen to "The Secret", you would know this to be true. Think big, and it will happen!

Bill Drapcho is an experienced network marketer who helps beginner and intermediate networkers with new business development. You can find his website at http://sixfiguresite.info and you can follow him through Twitter using the name wdrapcho.

James Allen

Thinking Big - Re-Wiring the Way You Think!

Many of us are taught to believe we are worth a lot less than we are really worth. It's been ingrained in us for our careers and even from college. You may have noticed this mindset in your network marketing business, and your downline. So, maybe it's time to re-wire our way of thinking about ourselves, as taught in the book, and DVD "The Secret". After all, the way we think about ourselves most likely will determine where we end up in life. The people who think big often end up with the big job, big cars, and the big houses while the little thinker ends up with the small paying jobs, old worn out cars and living in Middle America just going through the motions.

It's not that living in Middle America is a bad thing. Many people are very happy there. It's safe, and it's all they have known. It may have been ingrained into their thoughts early in life that they go to college, graduate and get a job. Or, even in some cases college isn't an option. They graduate from high school and start to work at the local plant like their parents did. Some will be happy, while others will always wonder if there could have been something better that they missed.

On the other hand, who is to say that living large is a wonderful thing? Having a lot of expensive things because you can own them doesn't necessarily make you happy. In fact, having a high paying job may not make you happy. Happiness comes from within. How you feel about yourself can determine what you will earn and what you are worth. Some say most people will never earn more than they think they are worth. In other words, people will settle for whatever they think they are worth. It's easier for people to stay in their comfort zone and put up with a job and lifestyle they don't like, rather than take action and change it.

Something we all must realize is we are all 100% responsible for our thoughts and actions. It's not your fault that nobody has told you this, and it's never too late to change the way you think. Many in the network marketing industry think they have to be part of a larger company, which they must sell 100's of products to make small commissions only to be able to cover the cost of their advertising budget. Most people in the network marketing industry have this same mindset they have in the real world, creating a recipe for failure.

Well, it's time to let you know, it's OK to think BIG! Don't settle for a company or network marketing business that limits your growth, doesn't have a logical pay plan, or a duplicatable system for your downline. It's time to think big. Why waste your time selling 300 units of something to make $1000 commission when you can make the same effort and sell 20 units for $1000 commission. The power of positive thinking is real. If you have been lucky enough to read, or listen to "The Secret", you would know this to be true. Think big, and it will happen!

Bill Drapcho is an experienced network marketer who helps beginner and intermediate networkers with new business development. You can find his website at http://sixfiguresite.info and you can follow him through Twitter using the name wdrapcho.

Structuring Your 24 Hour Day

Friday, March 13, 2009

Book Review - "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens"

I just finished reading "7 habits of highly effective teens," by Sean Covey. This book is written by the son of the famous author of "7 habits of highly effective people," Stephen Covey. The author attempts to shed light on some issues that teens face and how they can best overcome them. As the CEO of a teen jobs website, I read dozens of teen related books each week. In my opinion, this is one of the most engaging and entertaining teen related book I have ever read.

This book will provide meaningful content for teens, such as advice for improving their self image, how to build friendships and how to resist peer pressure. What I like most about the book is the way the ideas are presented and the format. The author uses a lot of graphics, cartons lists, quotes and other elements to really hook the reader and compel them to keep reading. Another great part about the book is the real life examples that the author writes about. There are real stories of teens that have been faced with huge obstacle and the incredible stories about how they overcame adversity. This part of the book was very inspiring to me.

The one criticism that I have is the fact a lot of the tips and suggestions are quite obvious and really basic common sense. I would have liked to see more of an emphasis on the real teen stories, as I think a book can be written on that topic alone.

In closing, I highly recommend this book to teens and parents of teens.

Dan Keller is the CEO of the popular Teen Jobs site and runs a Teen Forums site as well.

The Truth About Jealousy

This article will not take up too much of your time, but will be very helpful in your daily life. What you are going to read is important in regards to the very controlling and confusing issue that so many women are challenged with every day, for some every single minute of their day. In this particular part of the jealousy series, you will learn what jealousy feels like and just how serious and captivating an emotion it can be. The next article will talk more about dealing with jealousy and how one can actually get control of it.

In the next few minutes you will learn what and how a woman feels when she is stuck in this very real and controlling jealous emotion.

It has been proven that many women are not even able to identify this confusion of thoughts that they are suffering from. A very big part of healing and winning these battles of jealousy is in identifying your enemy. In this situation the enemy is the jealous emotion that results from a much deeper issue that may or may not be obvious to its victim. You will hear more about that in a bit.

Through research and in speaking with many women every day through the womensselfesteem.com, jealousy seems to be a very big issue that has them in such a downward spiral that they cannot find a way to get hold of it.

One of the main causes for this negative emotion, "jealousy" stems from a time in a persons life when an emotional wound is created, which severely attacks their safe world or in other words their feelings of inner securities. These insecurities will seriously affect a woman's self-esteem, which will in turn result in feelings of low self-worth, lack of a self-respect, and mistrust. These emotional wounds can be caused from several types of abuse or trauma such as, physical, psychological or an over-restrictive/dominated childhood. If a child is sexually abused, then that child's security is threatened through the fact that she trusted the abuser and almost always grows up feeling that they were at fault for the abuse. This also rings true in an adult life, especially if the victim truly trusts and sees her abuser as almost," God" like. When a child is psychologically abused, they usually live a life of demeaning name calling or belittling, again this does happen to adults in a trusting relationship. The over-restrictive or dominating upbringing begins at an early childhood and then follows through into adulthood. Each and every one of these abuses that you have just have just heard about are definite cuts that eventually turn into deep emotional wounds.

These wounds will send a person into a prison, a prison of fear and weakness that they will carry throughout their lives if they do not learn to identify them and deal with them and strengthen their inner self. So many women search for answers to solve this scrambled up problem that they can feel inside of themselves, always coming up with a 0. They tend to look outside of themselves and that is the mistake that they are making. So many jealousy issues come from within.

The human brain is set up of two minds, which allows two ways of thinking, one being positive and one being negative. Unfortunately if a person is somehow mistreated or loses a trust as you have heard about earlier through my thoughts, at any time in their lives, it tends to weaken their ability to maintain a balance between the two. This is when they will fall prey to certain triggers that will ignite the fuse that leads to jealousy. You may be wondering what triggers are, they can be anything from a memory of your past, a smell, a persons laughter, a picture, another women, a feeling of being left alone, or even a look from a partner. There are many different types of triggers that will set off negative emotions. In this series of articles you will learn about relationship triggers and how they set off your jealous emotions.

Negative relationship triggers are definite causes, which happen when a relationship fails due to mistrust issues caused by infidelities or pornography addictions by a present or past partner, and are left unresolved, which unfortunately will follow them into every relationship, if she does not stop and take hold of her issues.

Jealousy is not just a word that can be ignored or excused. It is a word to be feared because it is fear that creates this negative feeling. Have you ever noticed how jealousy changes your relationship from happy to devastate in just seconds? It will feel like something that you would not wish on your worst enemy.

The negative emotions that are hidden behind this word jealousy will tear your trust apart letter by letter, and rearrange it until it spells deception, betrayal, even hate. Theses words will turn you into a paranoid living creature, hiding from reality. Reality is truly jealousy's enemy. It avoids its enemy as quickly as it replaces the positive thoughts that you once had in its place. It is strong enough to take control of your mind and direct it into thinking that someone you dearly trust and love has turned into another being, a being that is cheating on you, lusting for another, watching pornography behind your back, lying to you when you ask a direct question, twisting everything you say so that you come out looking like you are delirious and they will laugh at you when you cry out for help. It will tear your guts apart until you feel like you are going to vomit and it will make your head swirl with uncertainty. Jealousy can speed up your breathing quicker than a exercise machine, which in turn will send your heart racing into turmoil. It is a total body trauma. It can make your body break out into a sweat so fast that it will make rain look slow. If you have ever had even one minute of these threatening feelings, you know exactly what I am trying to explain here.

This negative emotion will make your mind fear abandonment, ones biggest fear in a relationship are to be replaced or abandoned. This fear alone is a very strong trigger of jealousy. This fear will imprison you and force you to suffocate or guard what's yours, until that person can no longer be a victim to your jealousy. It will drive you to feel a deep need to control another's thoughts and actions. To allow jealousy in your mind to the point of this kind of control, is to fall victim to an," attachment prison" or an addiction. In this attachment prison you are the weaker element of the partnership or relationship, your need to feel attached will ruin your sense of security and your self-esteem. A very good example of an attachment prison is when you fear with all of your senses to let your partner out of your site, not even to go to the corner store or to work for fear he may see someone that you would deem as a total threat.

Jealousy is like a drug. Once it gets into your veins, you are no longer coherent or independent in your thinking. You have now just become a dependent thinker, dependent on jealousy and its power. To have such a need is also equivalent to an addict needing a drug. Your addiction is your jealousy, your high is the adrenalin that your body creates through its fears, only this is not positive adrenalin; it is a pure negative adrenalin rush. The only antidote to combat this addiction is through positive steps that will strengthen your ability to take back your control and find a freedom from that attachment prison.

Jealousy will not rest until through you, it has created a frustrating and unbearable environment that puts you in the position in your relationship as your own worst enemy. In effect you become the attacker that you have been trying to run from. You are now jealousy! You are the cause of this turmoil that is being thrown to your outside world; an outside world that cannot possibly feel your pain; nor can they help you escape it. But they will look down on you in their confusion. You are all alone in this prison. You are the only one that can feel this pain, the only one that feels this need to control and hide from the world. You will find yourself being driven by negative thoughts every turn you make.

Have you ever been on a negative thought rollercoaster? If you ever have, you will understand what I mean when I say negative thoughts; negative thoughts that will not let you think rationally. If anything, they will work very hard at confusing your positive thinking. You will spend countless hours talking to yourself trying to get out of insecure feelings and you will end up right back feeling the same negative control that jealousy has over you.

Jealousy will rob you of sleep hour after hour. When your mind cannot sleep, it becomes weak and that is exactly what strengthens the negative thoughts that will feed jealousy and keep it controlling you. These thoughts will turn over in your head until they are locked into a place of negative non realities. This is when you begin to believe in things which seem surreal. An example of this non reality is, let's say, you're walking past your partner as he is watching television. A commercial is on. There is a young scantily dressed woman on the commercial. Your immediate reaction is fear. You fear that at that very minute he is lusting her or worse, wishing you were her. As I said non- real negative thoughts = jealousy.

This negative emotion is extremely careful to not allow your self-esteem to strengthen. It will turn your thoughts into a comparison mode instantly when it feels threatened. When it can put your mind into doubt of it's worth, it has total control. It will continue to control and force thoughts of being undeserving, not worthy, unintelligent, boring, self-less, non-appealing, even just plain ugly. It is a true negative powerful and destructive emotion that will not only control your thoughts but will also alter your desire to love. It will make you hide in safe, loveless corners and never allow another person into your heart. To allow a person into your heart would mean that you would be putting yourself at risk of falling victim to jealousy and all the horror that it creates and feeds on. So, you at this stage begin to set up protective walls, separating you from ever being hurt, but also putting a wedge in between you and your partner. Your choice, if you choose to stay in negative thinking, is to live a life alone.

When you have allowed it to weaken your thoughts to the point of delusional thinking, your mind will only see what will feed this negative emotion. All of your rational characteristics will be taken over by irrational thoughts and reactions. Everything that you thought you could control is now uncontrollable. Nothing is what it seems, while this jealousy emotion has you imprisoned behind its bars of negative and low self-worth thoughts.

I truly believe that being controlled by jealousy is similar to being in captivity. Your mind will get so conformed to that space that you're allowing, that you will learn to depend on it. You will feel safe only in that space. All of your knowledge of what's outside of that captive space has been hidden away into a very dark deep place in your mind. It is all you feel that you can control, not even realizing how little control you do have; again equivalent to an addiction.

What captivity and jealousy have in common is that once you allow your mind to be controlled or captivated by the overpowering emotion: jealousy, your mind will react as it would in a captive situation. Both jealousy and captivity hold your mind and reshape it to conform to its negative demands. A person in captivity eventually starts to depend on the person that's holding them captive. You start to depend on the feelings that you're getting from being captive by your jealous emotion. Jealousy becomes you, and you become jealousy. Together the duo team that you have allowed to control your thoughts will now destroy anything that is real. You will now live together in an unreal negative world of deception.

You will live and breathe the feelings of fear, worry and deception. You will not rest one single minute. Your mind will constantly be filled with disorder and accusations and," what ifs". At this point your ability to trust and feel secure with your partner will no longer be available to your mind, to your negative mind that is; the negative mind that you have allowed to take place of your once positive mind. Your innate desire to protect you and your reason for being are now at risk in your mind. You need to control everything and everything about your partner, right down to his every move. You need to take ownership in order to feel safe. With this control, then and only then can you feel safe from jealousy? Again the," attachment prison" takes over. This prison created by jealousy to keep you in its power and control. You're first breathing thoughts are livelihood and your future are based on attachment and acceptance. To lose that would be like dying a very slow death. Under the control of jealousy and its attachment prison you will fight to survive at any cost. You will be on guard even in your sleep, to notice even the simplest sign of abandonment or loss. Hence, the sleepless nights, haunted by the enemy: jealousy, captivated by the attachment prison again.

This is what you already know of jealousy. It is not fun. It is not a happy place. It is however very destructive and it will destroy your life if you continue to allow it to control your thoughts. As I mentioned earlier in this article, your mind has two sides, one being negative and one being positive. You have the ability to choose.

I have brought this part of the jealousy series to you because of how important it is to identify with the truth of jealousy. It is as real as you are sitting there listening to this. There is a way out and a way to free your mind of this prison of negative thoughts. Through my next article on "The Truth of Jealousy", you will learn steps and strategies that will help to strengthen your mind so that you may win the battle of negative thinking.

dorothyl@womensselfesteem.com