12 Weeks To Fitness
In undertaking my own intensive training program I am quickly discovering that consistency is the key to success.
I began a 12-week gym program which is in the form of a competition to see who can change ones body the most in that time period as well as their lifestyle.
The program involves partaking in an intensive training regime, taking part in lectures and seminars focused on training and nutrition and changing your eating habits to reflect your new-found lifestyle.
I am quickly discovering that exercising consistently and at a consistent level will give you far better results, and that cardio-vascular workouts are just as important as weight training to achieve the body you want.
Two weeks into the program I have found that while my weight training is going reasonably well and I and other people are seeing results it lacks consistency. Taking days off is not the answer to my soreness perhaps I could lower the intensity of my workouts a notch instead.
I am also finding that I need to increase my cardio-vascular workout intensity. While I have lost centimetres from my waistline (based on measurements taken prior to the start of my training program) I have gained weight presumably muscle mass.
To combat this I need to increase the intensity of my cardio workout. Varying the cardio activities I undertake could also help with this as my heart rate changes with each exercise. A good way to burn fat is to stagger the intensity of your cardio workout.
For example, if I were to warm up with 10 minutes of walking, then for 10 minutes alternate between running for one minute then walking for one minute this would change my heart rate every minute. The effect this kind of exercise has on the heart rate has been proven to be a very effective fat-burning way to exercise.
Nutrition is an important part of any intensive workout program. If you are trying to achieve weight loss it is important that your output is greater than your input. This means that we need to burn more calories when we eat and lower our fat intake. Research shows the most calories are burned when we are resting, so it makes sense to increase the speed at which this happens. The rate at which calories are broken down or metabolised when we rest is called our resting metabolic rate. Increasing muscle mass plays a major part in increasing our resting metabolic rate. Eating also increases our resting metabolic rate, so it pays to eat five to six small meals per day rather than three large meals.
Protein is also important as it plays a crucial role in building muscle mass. It also helps you to feel less hungry. Try to incorporate a serve of protein in most of your meals. If you find you are not hungry when it comes time to eat again it probably means you ate too much for your last meal. However, it is important not to skip meals as your metabolic rate will continue to decline until you eat again, so eat something small instead. If you are finding that you are still hungry after eating try having a large drink of water. Water is a very important element of any balanced diet, and more so if you are undertaking a training program. Often dehydration can be mistaken for hunger meaning we feel hungry but are actually thirsty. A large drink of water also helps to fill your stomach before you eat.
If you are lost for what to eat try muesli with low-fat milk for breakfast, a protein shake and fruit for morning tea, a meat and salad sandwich for lunch, a protein shake and fruit or rice crackers for afternoon tea and meat and vegetables for dinner. Make sure not to over-do it on the carbohydrates, as unused carbohydrate is stored in the body as fat.
Article by health writer Kate Wiley of http://www.healthy-shopper.com Health in 1 http://www.health-in-1.com
and Advice on Health http://www.advice-on-health.com
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About the author:
Kate and Phil Wiley run the popular health sites http://www.healthy-shopper.com Health in 1 http://www.health-in-1.com
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Would you like to be God? Alan TuttWould you like to be God? A common fantasy is to have the Powers and Knowledge of God, yet retain one's individuality. To be capable of knowing everything and doing anything. What possibilities!
Yet there are many who feel that this is extremely egotistical and megalomaniacal. How dare you think that you could be God! That's not your place. Why should you have special abilities that the rest of us do not!
And then there are those who's response is: "I wouldn't want the responsibilities." To be God means to have to take care of everything in existence, to make sure that things run smoothly and come out the right way.
Where do you fit into this debate? Does any of these positions hold more weight than the others? Is it possible that more than one of these positions could co-exist with each other?
There is an interesting theory that I came up with many years ago which seems to explain a lot of things. I was trying to find the Power behind various religions and systems of magick. Christians believed that Jehovah was God and that He answered prayers according to His Plan. The Biblical Christ seemed to teach that anyone with Faith could get anything that was asked for as long as the person Believed. (Notice that Christ did not say you had to believe in Him or in God, simply that you had to believe that you would get what you asked for. If you care to read the New Testament, and actually read the words on the page, you will see that critical distinction.) The Magick-workers felt that the Power was as natural as electricity and just as available to anyone who cared to learn it's secrets. Wiccans and other Pagans believed that there are many Gods, and that each will answer prayers or not according to their moods and purposes.
In all of the various teachings, there seemed to be only one connecting thread. Faith. Belief. Believe that this thing you're doing will accomplish the thing you want, and it will be done for you. Whether the thing you do is prayer to a higher being, or speaking strange words while performing ritualistic rites, or simply repeating to yourself an affirmation of the thing you want as being true. As long as you believe in what you're doing, it will work.
When I finally discovered this commonality, my next question was "What do I believe will work?" I had studied so much, so many different things, and had read success stories in each one. And if it didn't matter what I did, then what could I do that I would believe in? I have since found that it is just as easy to make a decision to have a certain result, and the result will come about, without any action being performed. This doesn't happen often, as my mind makes many decisions, and not all of them produce results (Thankfully!)
Over the years, I developed a system that worked well for me. I even shared it with several of my close friends and the system worked for them as well. The system is simple, with support from logic, and ties to many religious beliefs. This system is more than a collection of techniques to create change, such as a magickal system would be, yet it does not impose a dogma of beliefs such as a religion. This system is built upon a small set of core beliefs upon which a large system of philosophy resides, which in turn supports several techniques for effecting change. This system is called the Keys To Power.
The central beliefs of the Keys To Power are simple. There are only 5. They are:
Bringing yourself into alignment with Power (or God, or Spirit) gives you access to more Power.
Power is directed into use by your thoughts and feelings, whether positive or negative.
If you don't like something, use Power to create what you do like. Blame is useless.
There is no good or evil, only desirable or not.
Living with Love makes Life wonderful!
In the process of creating this system, I explored many theories about Power and God. The one basic theory which seems to hold everything together is this: Everything is connected, there is only One Being, of which we are all a part. And if this One Being has Infinite Power, then each one of us has access to this Power. And if there is only One Being, then I am no different from the next person who is no different from you who is no different from God! At least at some level, that is.
But at what level? Here is that interesting theory I came up with. Mind you, it's only a theory and I do not claim that it is reality. Consider this. How do we know that our reality has any existence outside of the Mind of God? What if you, I, and everything we experience in Life is only a daydream. If you've seen the movie 'The Matrix', then you have some idea of what I'm talking about. Or what if the substance of our reality does exists, but God is playing all of the parts? Much like a computer game where the computer plays many characters. First the computer plays the game as one character, then another, then another, switching between all of them so fast that you, the human player see everything happening simultaneously. Maybe God is playing all the parts in this grand play of Life. At one moment, God is me, then you, then your boss, then my lover, then someone else, and on and on until God is playing the part of my character again. Maybe God is switching between all of us so fast that we perceive it all to be one continuous flow.
Or there could be this variation. If time is simply another dimension which can be traveled, and on a higher level, all time co-exists, then God could move into the Creation and play one part all the way through. Then go back in and play another part all the way through. Then another and another until all the parts have been played. And since God is playing multiple characters in this play, and the characters exists simultaneously in time, then each one of us is God pretending to be human!
As I said, this is only a theory, but how can we prove or disprove it? It's true that we don't feel like God, but that may simply be the act that God is putting on while playing our part. Human actors in a play do not portray their characters as themselves. They portray the characters as those characters will be known. Until we are capable of transcending our level of reality and learn to see beyond our limiting dimensions we will never really know the truth. Maybe we really are God and we just don't know it.
If you would like to explore the possibilities of rediscovering your Godhood, visit www.KeysToPower.com and sign up for the email course. The beginner's course is free to all who request it. The Keys To Power - Step by Step course will guide you through the development of your mind and spirit so that you can tap and use your inner Power. I'll meet you there.
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The Power of Covert HypnosisAlan TuttThe Power of Covert Hypnosis
Where is the greatest need for Power in your life? For most people, it is in persuading others to go along with our ideas. Whether we are trying to sell a product or service to a prospect, trying to discipline our children, trying to convince our boss to give us a raise, or trying to seduce that beautiful stranger, a greater degree of Power will help us achieve our goals much easier.
In one respect or another, we are trying to sell someone on an idea in practically every situation of our lives. If we could improve our ability to control the situation, our effectiveness as a person would go up considerably, and we would be a more powerful person.
Logic will not always win, even when logic is on our side. I'm sure you've been in the situation where every deciding factor was in your favor, yet the other person still would not go along with your plan. Sometimes we take this as a rejection of ourselves, the other person simply did not like us. Sometimes we feel that trust was the issue to blame, or maybe the issue was fear of some sort or another.
The human mind is a very mysterious system. There are so many factors which govern a person's behavior, and so many variables which we are almost never aware of, that trying to predict exactly what will cause a person to accept our proposal is usually a guaranteed way to fail.
But we don't have to predict what a person will do. We only have to influence their decision so that they are more likely to do what we want them to do, and our success rate will be better than it was before. In any complex system, a small change can sometimes have dramatic results!
In our study of the mind, we find that the subconscious mind, that part which is outside of our conscious control, is very suggestible. What's more, the subconscious mind is also far more in control of our actions and behavior than our reasoning, conscious mind. For those of us who look for any and all means to achieve our goals, there is a hint of Power in this knowledge.
What if we could find a way to influence the subconscious mind of the person we are trying to win over to our point of view? If we could find a way to suggest to the other person's subconscious mind that they want what we are offering, and want it with a fierce desire, then our goal of persuading them will be much easier.
Advertisers have long studied the methods of influencing the subconscious mind. You have probably heard of the experiments with subliminal messages played in movie theaters. A whole industry grew up around the concept of subliminal messages to help a person change their behavior and their habits. While the results are generally disappointing to many who have tried the products offered, the disappointment was as much to do with the general nature of the suggestions buried in the material as it was due to any other factor.
Another industry has gained much popularity in the last several years. This industry has grown up around a new technology of understanding and manipulating the mind. This technology is called NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). NLP teaches us that most people access different areas of the mind while performing some basic physical actions that you can identify. Using this information, you can tell if a person is remembering an actual event that took place or if they are making up a story to cover up what really happened.
NLP has also been used to help people establish rapport with others in an incredibly short period of time. Rapport is important for one key reason, unless you and the person you are trying to influence are in rapport with each other, there will be very little agreement. If the other person does not feel comfortable with you, and does not feel that you are 'like them', at least in general ways, that person will not feel good about accepting what you have to say and acting on that information. In short, you will not get what you want from that person.
Okay, so let's assume that you are somewhat familiar with the basic ideas of NLP. You know about mirroring the other person's body language. You know about speaking in their terms, whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. You even know about the eye movements and what they refer to. This is only the surface of the incredible amount of power that a full knowledge of NLP will give you.
Some of the more advanced techniques of NLP deal with what is known as pacing and leading. The central idea here is that if you say a number of things that are obviously true, such as we are in a room with 4 walls, that we are sitting at this table talking with each other, and that you are holding a glass of wine, then whatever you say next (which is not so obvious) will seem to be more true than if you did not include the obvious facts. Guys, if your girlfriend starts to think that you don't love her, here is your salvation. Simply say a string of obviously true statements right before you tell her you do love her. Repeat this a few times and she will start to believe you.
And this works (to one degree or another) with those you just met. You can use this if you are a salesperson trying to convince the prospect that your product is superior to your competition's product. You can use this to convince your boss that you are worth much more than the company is paying you. And you can use this to convince that hottie that spending an evening with you will be better than anything else he/she could be doing.
This one concept from the science of NLP is priceless! And there is much more. There is a whole segment in NLP on language patterns. There are some patterns which will help you discover exactly what someone means when they say something vague and mysterious. There are language patterns which contain hidden meanings which bypass the conscious mind and go straight to the subconscious mind (our focus for this article). And there are language patterns that can induce a hypnotic state without a formal induction ritual. Talk about an open door to the subconscious mind!
There is so much information, that a brief article such as this one could not cover it all. There are numerous books out on the market which explain many of the theories of NLP. And if you're good at translating theory into practical application, any of these books will give you greater power in dealing with other people.
If you are not so good with translating theory into practical application, then there is only 2 books that I have found which give you a word for word roadmap to gaining the cooperation of another person. Both are produced by a single company, which also produces audio recordings from which to learn the techniques in exquisite detail. One book covers many general persuasion situations. The other book is geared specifically towards intimate relationships and seduction. Click Here to find out more about both of these books and the audio recordings which supplement them.
Good luck in your persuasion activities!
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Living With PowerAlan TuttLiving With Power
I have had some of my students ask me, "What is life like when you achieve mastery with Power?" I will attempt to answer that question here. I think that the reason some of these students ask the question is so they can evaluate the effectiveness of the Keys To Power system, and the course which teaches this system. The early lessons in the Keys To Power - Step by Step course do not give any real indication of the true Power of the system, and it is easy to misunderstand where the course will be leading. Other students, I believe, will ask the question to evaluate me as a teacher, to see if I truly have the answers they seek.
I agree with the viewpoint that a teacher should embody a mastery over the subject he teaches. At least be much further on the path than his students. Although I will also caution these students to not expect a teacher to be beyond improvement. If one has reached a level of absolute mastery, with no possibility of improvement, then that person will not stay on this Earth much longer. Life here is meant to be a training ground, and when we've developed our abilities enough to move on, we do just that. There have been a couple of exceptions, but they are very rare.
I developed my own abilities, not by learning from a fully developed master, but from the hazy understandings of mere mortals. Everyone I meet has the ability to teach me something, and it is up to me to learn what I can, where I can. I continue to learn, and develop my skills. I doubt my training will be complete any time soon. But by that as it may be, I can still teach much to those who are open to my offerings.
But, to get back to the question, "What is life like when you achieve mastery with Power?", I must answer that Life Is Wonderful!! Knowing that anything that I want out of Life is a possibility, that all I have to do is tap into the source of Power and direct it to create the situations I want, and then let it go to do it's work, is an awesome feeling. If I want to create a successful business, all I have to do is decide what I want to do in that business, what that business will do for it's customers, and then tap and use Power to create it. If I want to improve a relationship, or create a new one, all I have to do is decide what I really want and then tap and use Power to create the ideal relationship.
I have indeed done these things, and a lot more. The relationship I have right now was a direct creation. I imagined every aspect of the concept of relationship, envisioned each aspect to be exactly what I wanted them to be, made a few choices between various options, and then tapped into the source of Power. Once tapped into Power, I directed it to create this ideal relationship, giving it the details of what I wanted, when I wanted it, and how I expected to find it. Then I let it go. I repeated this process several times over a period of about a month, then I released the whole process. (I spent a month on this simply because I was very picky about what I wanted.)
Over the next several months, I busied myself with many other tasks that had to be performed. This was at a time when I had finally discovered the true secrets of Power, and was trying to recover from previous negative fallout from some very bad experiments. When I was creating my ideal relationship, I was about as low as a person could get. I had no job, no place to live, no friends (at least none that I could count on), and no money (not even $5!). The tasks I had to do were to find a place to stay (used Power to create that in about a day), find a job (another one day task), and start planning the business I wanted to create (photography, desktop publishing, or writing, I couldn't decide which).
It took about nine months before I met the person I had envisioned as my lifetime partner. During that time, I had cleaned up a lot of the mess that the bad Power experiments had created. I had moved from job to job about 3 or 4 times until I had a fairly good job which gave me what I needed. And while I was not rich, I was definitely moving in the right direction (I still hadn't decided what kind of business I wanted to start, I wanted to do them all). I had also tapped into Power to reinforce the goal of the relationship. I probably did this about once or twice a month.
When I met Linda, I knew that she was the one. It wasn't anything in particular, just a feeling, as if I saw her spirit and recognized it. At the time, she did not feel that she was ready for a relationship, since she was still hurt from a previous divorce. I then knew that that was the reason I had to wait as long as I did. Timing will not always be exactly what you want it to be. It took patience, persistence, and a careful display of charm to eventually win her over. But win her over I did. During this process, I didn't worry that it might not work out, I knew it would. I had Power on my side, and when you have Power working for you, you get what you want.
We are still together, almost 6 years later, and our relationship gets better every year. Its amazing how closely our relationship resembles the vision I had when I created it. I had envisioned attending theater together, something I had never experienced before. Linda is an avid theater person, having performed in many shows in the local area. I love music, and Linda is a musician (keyboards/piano) with many musician friends. I am starting to learn how to play guitar, but with very little time to devote to it, it is a slow process. I had envisioned long, intellectual discussions, something else I had always wanted, but could never find. Linda and I are able to get into hour long conversations about many wonderful topics. I love computers, so does she. There are just so many things that mirror exactly what I had envisioned.
Soon after I moved in with Linda (she owns a fairly large house), I had finally decided to pursue a photography business. I already had a decent camera, although not 100% professional. I put together a darkroom to control my costs and the quality of the prints I sold. I spent months and months deciding on a business name, a logo, and a business card layout. My indecision, and many negative beliefs about money made the process much more difficult than creating the relationship with Linda. And I also have to admit that many times I forgot that I could tap into Power and make the process easier, and so I did not take advantage of it. But eventually, I was able to derive my full income from photography.
And each year, the photography business gets better and better. I think that it practically doubles each year in terms of volume and profitability. Especially after I realized that I could direct Power to make it grow. At this point, I don't advertise the business at all, yet I continue to get more and more business.
At one time, I did try to promote myself for the desktop publishing work. I soon realized that I didn't enjoy doing other people's layouts, so I dropped it. And now that I've decided to pursue the writing goals that I wanted to achieve, I am finding that this is extremely satisfying. When I decided to pursue the photography as a business, I was strongly pulled between that and the writing. I knew that I wanted to put together at least one book during my lifetime. And I knew that that book would be focused on the knowledge that I have been working with for many, many years on the Keys To Power.
Now that I am offering my writings and my teachings to the world, I am finding that they are being very well received. I also am finding that the profit potential with this is so much higher than photography ever could be! While I make at least $1000 to photograph a wedding, and could charge as much as $2500 (once I put together some high-quality sample books), I am finding that I could make ten times as much for the time I am investing in writing my materials, even though I am offering many of them for free! Believe me, I am tapping into Power to direct the course of events in my writing career. It is working extremely well!
So what other things have I been able to do with Power? Although you may not believe many of the things I will describe, everything I say here is true.
I have been able to direct weather patterns. There have been many times when it was raining and I needed to be outside, not wanting to get wet. After a few minutes of working with Power, I have been able to stop the rain. Wind is something that I have not had as much success with, although I can sometimes increase or decrease the speed of the wind. Tornadoes are very unpredictable things, but there was one time a tornado was heading directly toward the house I was living in at the time, and within a minute or two of working with Power, the tornado dissipated. I don't know whether it was my work that did that or not, but the timing is interesting. I once had a girlfriend that had a small garden. She mentioned that it would be nice if there would be a little rain each day to water the garden. For the rest of the summer, we had light rains practically every day. A few months after we broke up, I finally realized that the continual rain (which I really didn't care for) was something I had set up. So I directed Power to stop the rains. They stopped.
I was able to find jobs where I was paid to pretty much sit around, doing some occasional work, which wasn't very difficult. I was able to do a lot of reading, studying, and listening to music while on these jobs. It's nice to be paid to do your own thing. I have had friends ask me to help them create various circumstances, such as jobs, relationships, and health issues. Most of them reported satisfying results. I think the few that reported no results were not open to the assistance and wanted to believe that they were beyond help. They were unconsciously using Power to thwart my efforts.
I have also been able to use Power to drive psychic perceptions. This is an area that originally intrigued me, and where I started with very poor abilities. When I started learning about Power, any test I took of my psychic abilities were either flat out chance scores, or worse than chance. I couldn't guess numbers, cards, dice, or perceive where someone was, what they were thinking, or tell you anything about a person I hadn't met. After training myself properly, I have been able to have someone give me a name of someone I had never met, and then proceed to describe that person with about 90% accuracy.
There were even a few times when I gave information the person sitting in front of me didn't know about the third person. One case in particular, I saw the man with dark black hair. The woman in front of me said no, he had always been blond. I checked again and saw the black hair. Everything else I told her she affirmed, but not the black hair. A few days later, she called to tell me that her friend was in the habit of bleaching out his hair, and that she had never known that. There have been many more instances where my Power-enhanced psychic abilities have proven accurate.
As I said before, living with Power is wonderful. While I may not be at the level of materializing money out of thin air, or teleporting myself across vast distances, or even predicting the numbers of a lottery, working with Power has made my life smooth, easy, and very satisfying. And since I know the basic principles of Power, and the exercises to develop my use of it, I know that those way-out abilities will eventually be mine if I continue to work towards them.
If you're curious to learn the Keys To Power system that I have developed, please visit http://www.KeysToPower.com and sign up for the course. There is also a free course that you can sign up for, a free newsletter, and several free articles on Power and it's use. See you there.
Alan Tutt
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Achieve All Your GoalsAlan TuttAchieve All Your Goals
What do you want out of life? Most of the people I talk to want to make life easier. They don't really care about dominating the world, or even reaching the pinnacles of success. They want to work a little less, make a little more money, have their relationships be a little more satisfying. There is nothing wrong with this idea. Life is usually a series of growth steps. Moving from one level to the next level slightly further ahead than the last. Evolution on a personal level.
But why stop there? What if you could have all your dreams fulfilled? What if you could say some magic word and have all your troubles go away? While not the majority, there is definately a large population who would like this scenario. Instant gratification. I want it all. Give me, give me, gimme. Sound familiar? I'm sure you've heard this tune from at least one person in the last month.
What's the difference between these two mindsets? One point of view only wants the next step in the pathway of evolution. The other wants everything now. I think that the main difference between these two mindsets is one of belief. One person believes that they can have it all, and the other believes that getting a little bit more is all they can have or all they should have.
Of course, the person who believes that it is wrong to want everything will disagree with me. This person will say that the difference is one of values and morals. Anyone who studies history and cultures will realize at some point that values and morals depend greatly on the society in which one lives. In some cultures, it is considered a great honor to take the head of an enemy and eat his body. In other cultures, women are considered the superior sex. In still other cultures, education is considered a waste of time. These 'values' are at odds with what is generally accepted in America as being 'right', or the normal course of life.
Today, the many cultures of the world are becoming much closer to each other, much easier to make contact with. We can no longer remain ignorant of other cultures and their value systems. Gradually, we are starting to accept the differences between ourselves and other people. Being intellectually sophisticated, we are beginning to realize that values are indeed relative, and may be exchanged with other values when the time and situation is right.
Whether you believe that you deserve to have everything you want in life, or if it is 'better' to make progress a step at a time doesn't matter. You can live your life any way you want to live it. One thing that we all have in common is that we want our lives to improve. And we will use techniques that seem logical and feel natural to us. If it seems logical to take additional classes to get ahead in our job, and it is not too difficult to take those classes, most of us will take that step. If it seems logical to change certain habits in order to make progress in an area of life we care about, and there is a process of changing those habits that does not require us to do anything unpleasant, we will usually take the steps to make the required changes.
What goals are you wanting to attain? What steps seem logical to you to reach those goals? Does it seem logical to you to increase the effectiveness of your mind? Would improving your perceptive abilities, your creativity, your memory, and your intellect move you closer to your goals? Experts have agreed for many years that we are living in an age where information is the most valuable commodity we can possess. Some experts are now saying that our 'information age' is quickly becoming a 'communication age'. Information is so commonly available now, so much so that we are drowning in a sea of it, that what we need most is not raw information but rather refined information communicated well.
This is not something that is easily done, at least not by the average person. But there are techniques that the average person can use to achieve this level of mental ability. Using specific techniques, anyone can increase their mental abilities, in much the same way that anyone can use specific physical techniques to improve their physical performance. Physical exercise will condition the body to perform better. There exists mental exercises which will condition the mind to perform better.
Here is a description of one of these exercises, designed to increase perceptiveness. Pick an object to look at and examine it in extreme detail. Notice everything about the object, the color, texture, shape, individual shapes which together make up the object. If the object is small enough, pick it up and notice the weight, the distribution of weight, and the object's solidity. Imagine being very tiny and walking on the surface of the object. What is that like? Imagine being able to pass into the mass of the object and notice what sensations you get from that. While you may not be able to rely on this imagining to produce any real information, the effort to gather information not readily available stretches the mind to look for more subtle information and become aware of it. Follow this line of exploration using all of your senses, sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, and imagination.
Here's an exercise designed to increase creativity. Pick any two object. Pick them at random, even if you have to close your eyes and point two fingers to choose them. Now imagine the first object becoming more like the second. See it change shape, yet retain it's original function. See it retaining it's own shape, but performing the function of the second object. See the two objects merging together and becoming one object. What does this new object do? What does it look like? Now, what else can you change about these objects? Can you make them sing and dance? What other functions could you make them perform?
Here's another exercise, which results in some very interesting benefits. Find a comfortable spot to sit for at least 15-30 minutes. Try to empty your mind of all thoughts and simply experience everything around you. Pay attention to everything. Try to look at everything all at once. Try to hear every nuance of sound. Try to identify every odor in the air. Focus on every sensation of texture and pressure (the pressure of air flow, of temperature, of sound). Focus on every detail and try to keep them all in your awareness simultaneously. This will be very difficult, yet will expand your mind like nothing else. You will have to get completely out of your own way. If you think about anything, you will miss most of the experience. If you find yourself analyzing something, or daydreaming, or thinking about something else, don't chastise yourself, simply pick up the exercise again and start over.
There are many other exercises, and these exercises may be taken in different directions to improve the benefits in specific circumstances. If you want to improve your effectiveness in attaining your goals, work on these exercises. Try to create your own exercises to push the limits of your mental capacity. You will see gradual changes in the results you get in all areas of your life.
If you are interested in taking your mental development to it's highest level, there is a course available that will lead you, step by step, through many different exercises, each designed for a specific purpose, and all working together for a greater effect. This course has been created from a system called the Keys To Power. The course itself is called "Keys To Power - Step by Step". To find out more, visit http://www.KeysToPower.com.
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6 Great Online Dating Safety TipsAndy ThompsonTitle: "Online Dating Safety Tips"
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Online Dating Safety Tips!
By Andy Thompson.
Online personals and dating is a great way to meet that special someone, however it is important to approach it with safety as your first priority. While most online services are very secure and do a good job at helping ensure your privacy and confidentiality, you are ultimately responsable for your own safety.
Most services do not pre-screen their users, therefore they cannot assume any responsability for the people you meet through their sites. This officially grants you the title of screener, a responsability which you must take very seriously. After all, if you are comfortable and feel secure online, you will have much more fun with online dating!
Here are a few good security tips:
1- Never reveal your last name or address to a stranger. If telephone numbers are exchanged, try to use a cell phone with a private number. If you call a stranger at home, always use caller ID blocking to maintain your privacy.
2- Do not use your primary EMAIL address for online dating correspondence - create an anonymous Email account (such as a Hotmail account) to correspond with potential dates.
3- If you decide to meet that special someone, always meet in a public place - NEVER meet in private for your first date! Always let someone know where you are going.
4- Be honest about who you are and what you are seeking - do not reveal more than you normally would in a face to face first meeting. If your online contact attempts to presure you into revealing more than you are comfortable with, re-evaluate his/her intentions.
5- Always review the security and confidentiality policy of the online dating service you are using. Many of the better known online dating sites have very good privacy policies. A comprehensive listing of major online dating sites is available at http://www.cosmodating.com
6- Don't rush into a face to face meeting - take your time, chat up a storm and get to know each other. Is the person on the other end being honest, or do you get the feeling they are just saying what you want to hear. You are the sole judge and jury in this love trial - use your best judgement!
In conclusion, safety should be your 1 priority as you venture into the world of online dating. Go slow, take your time to and get to know you potential dates. Like the song says, "Only fools rush in" - taking your time will only increase your chances of meeting that special someone and at the same time help weed out the bad seeds!
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Esther's Zeal & The Feast of PurimAngelique WatkinsEsther's Zeal & The Feast of Purim
First, I would like to share that I do not hold a postion of clergy, pastor, minister nor evangelist. I have never studied Theology nor taken religion classes in any school.
I do not represent nor am I certified in any specific field. My only resource is the Holy Inspired Written Word of God ...The Bible. One thing for certain I believe and stand on -- ALL Mankind IS precious.
The Biblical Truth on Record: The greatest message of Esther is a divine providence, by which God can rule and overrule in the affairs of men and work events out according to his will. The king had a sleepless night at exactly the right time - the night before the first banquet (Esther 6:1). God could easily cause that. The king had the book of records brought before him and read. The result was that Mordecai was honored on the very day that Haman planned to hang him. Then at the second banquet Esther, was in a postion to plead for her life and the lives of her people. (Esther 7).
It will help to think of Daniel or Esther when ever in a hard place. But remember most of all that the Lord is your helper as he was theirs.
Key Words in Esther 4:10-17; 9:20-22, 26 and 27: Hatach, commandment, unto Mordecai, one law of his, the golden sceptre, I have not been called, Think not, enlargement, from another place, fast ye for me, and the 15th day, Purim and such as joined themselves unto them.
The identification of the Hebrew name Ahasuerus with Xerxes was determined via of the Babylonian form of the name. Ahasuerus is mentioned in one verse in the Book of Ezra 4:6 and in the period of his reign comes chronologically during the part of the 57 years which elasped after the events recorded in Ezra 6 and before those of Ezra 7.
The book of Esther was written in the Persian period around 406 - 359 BC, by a Susan Jew who was familiar with the palace, and with Persian history, and with Persian customs.
Esther, the Persian name of HADASSAH, daughter of Abihail, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. Esther was a beautiful Jewish maiden, whose ancestor Kish had been among the captives led away from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar when Jehoiachin was taken captive. She was an orphan without father or mother, and had been brought up by her cousin Mordecai, who had an office in the household of Ahasuerus king of Persia, and dwelt at "Shushan the palace." When Vashti was dismissed from being queen, and all the fairest virgins of the kingdom had been collected at Shushan for the king to make choice of a successor to her from among them, the choice fell upon Esther. The king, was not aware, however, of her race and parentage.
The opening book chapter of the book of Esther tells of a 180 day feast given by Xerxes in the third year of his reign. The banquets was a time to decide concerning an invasion of Greece. Between the third year of Xerxes, when Queen Vashti was deposed, and his seventh year (Esther 2:16), when Esther was made queen, Xerxes campaign against Greece took place, ending in dismal failure.
The royal favorite was Haman, called thought to mean that he was of Amalekite descent and hence one of the hereditary obeisance. Haman was wroth and determined to get revenge by bringing about a massacre of all the Jews throughout the Persian Empire.
It was then that Mordecai, warned Esther of the terrible proposed destruction and urged her to intercede with the king in her people's behalf. Mordecai suggested that Esther elevation to the position of queen might be a part of a divine plan to save the Jews from death. There was prayer and fasting. Then Esther risked her life and went in before the king.
The king held out to Esther his scepter, and asked her what was her request. Esther invited the king and Haman to a banquet and then to a second banquet. Haman was highly elated, but Mordecai was honored instead of being hanged on the gallows prepared for him. The plot of Haman to destroy the Jews was revealed.
The 14th day of Adar, the first day on which the feast of Purim is celebrated, is called in the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees "Mordecai's day," which shows plainly that Purim was observed late in the period between the Old and New Testament (2 Macc 15:36).
The 13th day has been observed by fasting in honor of Esther's prayer and fasting before she approached the king. On the following morning of the 14th, synagogue services are held, with the reading of Esther (Exodus 17:8-16) which records the destruction of the Amalekites (Esther 3:1). Presents are given to the poor and to friends, and the rest of the day, as also the 15th, is observed with feasting and rejoicing.
Scripture text-history-reference:
Crusade @ Bible Publishers, Inc. 1970, Mt. Juliet, Tn, USA, 37122
The Precious Promise Bible KJV, "International", Copyright 1915/1908 By The J C Winston Co., Entered 1915/1908 At Stationer's Hall, ALL Rights Reserved, Printed in USA
New Devotional "KJV" & Explanatory Bible, Old & New Testaments, Apocrypha, Concordance, & Psalms in Metre; Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by J R Jones, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington
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The happiest person in America: what's sex got to do with it? David LeonhardtWho is the happiest person in America? USA Today featured Happiest Person in a cover story in its USA Weekend magazine. Bad news: it's not you. Nor is it me.
Just how did they find Happiest Person and determine that he is indeed the happiest person in America? The USA Today research team appears to have used an elegantly simple three-step process.
First, they identified "the world's leading authority on happiness", Martin Seligman ... which must have come as a wee bit of a surprise to several of his equally well-known and equally well-respected peers. How they picked Seligman remains more of a mystery than how a land-locked nation of mountains and yodeling became home to the holy grail of yachting, but we are working feverishly to crack the code.
Next, they asked Seligman to name six principles of happiness. Seligman listed couple strengths, a win-win approach, savoring success, playing to one's strengths, opening doors to opportunity and finding meaning in life.
Finally, they applied Seligman's principles to determine who best matches them. Naawww, just kidding. That would make way too much sense. Instead, USA Today created a make-believe process of its own that stands out from Seligman's list like the Jolly Green Giant at a dwarf convention. Here is the USA Today process.
Geography. It seems that Happiest Person must live in the best place to live, which is Virginia Beach, in case you didn't know. If somebody even happier than Happiest Person lives in San Francisco or Vermont, the USA Today research team does not want to know.
Why confine their search to one town? Could geography be the secret to happiness that Seligman failed to mention? True, research does show that people living in free societies tend to be happier than others, but there is no evidence that where you live within the free world makes a difference.
Sex. Women are prone to higher emotional highs and lower emotional lows, whereas men are prone to more constant emotions. So Happiest Person must be a man, concludes USA Today. While the science does hit the bull's eye, the conclusion misses the barn wall. I suppose they'll be telling us that Seattle is the sunniest spot in America because the weather fluctuates less than in The Sunshine State.
Family. Happiest Person is married, has children, and is healthy. People with intimate relationships do tend to be happier, and marriage is a fairly good indicator (especially for men). And health is important. These may not be among Seligman's six principles, but let's not argue against good health.
Money. Happiest person has a "good, dependable job" as a stockbroker, a 2,300 square foot house (with an eat-in kitchen and a deck!). The truth comes out money does buy happiness, according to the USA Today research team.
In fact, studies show that money makes a difference only if it elevates a person above the poverty level. When a person has means enough not to struggle for basic necessities, money rarely buys happiness.
Brand-awareness. This one must have made the big ad agency tycoons drool in their Corn Flakes. Happiest Person is for real because he likes all the right brands! He "digs" Coca-cola, so he must be the real thing. And he loves Craftsman tools and Dell computers. Say no more.
Where does the USA Weekend expos leave the rest of us? If you are a little old lady enjoying retirement in Atlanta or a student conquering new fields of knowledge in Ann Arbor, you clearly are not happy enough for USA Today. But cheer up, even The Happy Guy eats "donuts" rather than "Krispy Kremes".
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10 Tips To Overcome Your Fear Of SellingDr. Rachna D. Jain10 Tips To Overcome Your Fear Of Selling
Ahh. Selling. Sometimes, this is a word that is dreaded and feared by all but the most intrepid business owners. It seems that, even though we all know we need to "sell" our products and services, many of us feel fearful or anxious about actually doing so.
These 10 tips are designed to help you shift out of your fear, and into excitement, about sharing your product or service.
1)Know the source of your fear. This tip reminds us that it is necessary, first, to know what we're afraid of. Most often, fears of selling come in several forms. Either we worry about not being liked, or being perceived as pushy, we (secretly) worry that our product or service might not perform as we say, or we struggle with the idea of rejection. Knowing the source of your fear (sometimes it can be a combination) is an important part of overcoming your fear of selling.
2)Take action to address the source. In this way, you are taking action to overcome your fear. In some cases, this might mean that you improve your product or service (you can use customer feedback for this), or you can find ways to share your product/service in a way that feels more authentic and natural to you. You can also find ways to "bounce back" after rejection which is easier to do, by the way, if you don't take "no" personally.
3)Find enthusiasm for what you offer. One of the best techniques I've ever used to overcome my fear of selling has been to tap into my passion and enthusiasm for what I'm offering. I make a list of all the really wonderful benefits and successful outcomes of past customers. I hang this list nearby where I can see it everyday. Try this for yourself - your confidence will skyrocket.
4)Shift your perspective. How would it feel to think of yourself as "sharing information" about what you do? Or "showing benefits" or "sharing your passion?" If you feel uncomfortable or anxious about "selling"- find a way to shift your perspective to one of sharing information rather than "convincing someone to buy."
5)Start small. Very often, people tend to tackle projects much larger than they can comfortably handle. When you want to overcome your fear of selling, start small. Maybe you will share your new business with a few trusted friends first and then gradually find ways to expand your sharing to include a larger circle. The most successful business people are those who interact with others in an authentic, passionate way so find a way that feels comfortable with you and stay with it.
6)Keep track of your successes. Keep a "wins" or success journal nearby and record your achievements in it each day. This will help you stay aware of just how much you do right. We sometimes forget this.
7)Have fun with it. Rather than approaching this from a heavy "have to", "doesn't feel good" perspective find a fun, interesting way to share your knowledge or passion. Some of my clients have thrown parties, offered free giveaways, donated products/services to charities - all of these were easy, fun, and income generating. What would be fun for you?
8)Stay focused on your desired outcome. Most people take actions and reach their goals because they stay focused on the benefits of doing so. Sometimes, reminding yourself what you want, why you're doing this can help you take the next action and the next.
9)Detach from how the outcome shows up. Very often, we get really attached to "making the sale" or having a situation turn out a certain way. Instead, why not focus on efforts "I will give a great, enthusiastic, and passionate presentation" rather than outcome: "They will buy X number of this." Very often, if you stay focused on the effort - doing a great job- the outcome turns out better than you ever imagined.
10)Keep practicing. Like any other business skill, "selling" gets easier the more you do it. So get out there, start small, and keep practicing.
2003. Dr. Rachna D. Jain. All Rights in All Media Reserved
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Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic SelfStephanie RobertsHave you ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control, the universe so unresponsive to your needs and desires, that you couldn't help it: you just had to clean up? By paying attention to these impulses we recognize the deep connection between our personal environment and our innermost selves. It's as though by shifting the arrangement of our belongings we hope to rearrange the molecules of our emotional lives as well.
Feng shui teaches us that our spaces both reflect and affect our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. When our homes become cluttered and disordered, other aspects of our lives tend to feel gridlocked as well. It's a chicken-and-egg kind of situation. Not only does a cluttered home reflect a distracted and cluttered mind, it also makes it hard to focus and think clearly. It gets easier and easier to stop making the item-by-item decisions that could put you back in control of the mess and help you to feel more in control of your life.
Eventually, we give up. The task seems overwhelming, and the clutter is so pervasive that we can't figure out where to begin. We slog through our days thinking &8220;someday when I have the time I've got to clean this up." Clutter clearing becomes an abstract goal that awaits a mythical future time when our calendars will be free of obligations, we will awaken one weekend morning well-rested and energized, and mysteriously through some unseen grace we will have acquired the focused clarity and enthusiasm that will finally inspire us to dive in and get it done. We wait for the moment to be right before we begin, so beginning never happens.
We're approaching the clutter challenge backwards when we think this way. Regaining a sense of clarity and order is more easily achieved by putting our space in order than by trying to order and control our thoughts in a disorganized space.
Clutter saps your energy and erodes your spirit. Clutter makes it difficult to get things done, enjoy peace and quiet, or spend time the way you really want to. It adds to your stress, slows you down and drains your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. Clutter is disempowering.
In feng shui terms, clutter is both a symptom and a cause of stuck energy. Opening the dictionary we see that &8220;clutter" derives from the Old English word &8220;clott", which means: &8220;to cause to become blocked or obscured." Like a blood clot blocking circulation in our veins, clutter prevents energy from circulating through our homes and our lives.
As a feng shui consultant, I have worked with many clients who complain of feeling creatively or professionally blocked, or who bemoan the lack of a sense of purpose or direction in life. What I usually find in their homes are lots of things that don't reflect their personality or future aspirations. These people are surrounded by objects that have been allowed to wander in unchecked at the door or that linger on the shelf long after the relevant stage of life is past.
On an energetic level, all this stuff is preventing a clear vision of self. Anything that is neglected, unwanted, or unappealing to you will drag your energy down every time you look at it. Even a beautiful object of great value does nothing for you or your home if you don't like it. This is why we include &8220;anything that you do not love" in a holistic definition of clutter.
Everything that surrounds you should be working for you in some way. If the things in your space are not supporting you and contributing to the positive quality of your life, it is time to do something about it!
The defeat, fatigue, and depression that you feel when you think about your clutter will start to evaporate as soon as you put yourself in action. The hard part is getting started, but once you do the magic will begin.
Clutter-clearing creates space for us to discover our true path in life and to define who we want to become. With this new vision we can consciously choose to surround ourselves with objects and imagery that reflect and support our authentic concept of self.
2003 Stephanie Roberts
[exerpted from &8220;Clutter-Free Forever!", Lotus Pond Press, 2003]
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Face Your FearsLisa MartinFear can be broken down into three categories: real (healthy), imagined (thought-based) and worry. Although fear can get in your way by interfering with your hopes, dreams and desires; fear is not always a bad thing. Admitting youre afraid of something can be quite enlightening. It gives you a chance to assess what is holding you back.
Real Fears Protect
Lets look first at real fearthat is, fear or concern thats based in reality and that you must look at and evaluate rationally to maintain your physical, emotional or spiritual health. This kind of fear often acts as natures warning signal. There are definitely times when we are fearful of pursuing our hopes, dreams and desires for some very good reasons. Feeling afraid to start your own business when your financial reserves are lacking is a healthy fear. Your intuition is sending you signals to get your financial house in order before embarking on a new venture.
Imagined Fears are Obstacles
On the other hand, imagined fear is not healthy. When our fear is basically in our heads, it can be unreasonable and paralyzing. Imagined fear needs to be examined very closely. Is what you consider a reasonable fear really a rationalization or an excuse for not trying. Do these sound familiar? Im too old to do something new. It will take too long. I wont be any good at it. People will laugh.
Most imagined fears are outcome-basedin other words, the source of the fear is attached to an end result or how things may turn out. Two of our most common fearsof rejection and failureare both are deeply connected to an outcome. However, if you spend all your time fearing an unknown outcome, you will never move forward. When you detach from the outcome you release the fear and give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the process.
Worry Depletes Energy
The third category of fear is plain old worry. Its the most pervasive form of fear, and it saps your time and your energy. Worry is pointless and counterproductive. It leeches time and energy away from achieving your goals.
But how do you stop? The key to overcoming worry is to learn new patterns. When you find yourself beginning to worry, pay attention to the physical symptoms that accompany that reaction. Notice what kind of thoughts you have as you begin to worry. Switch your thinking to the present. Focus on what you are doing right now, in the present moment. Use this as a ritual to cut worry off and bring you back to a more positive frame of mind. Over time, as you grow more aware of the signals your body is giving you, youll worry less and be more productive.
Playing with Your Coach
Make a close assessment of one of your fears. Is it real, imagined or just plain worry?
If your fear is real, then understand its source and create a plan to deal with it.
If your fear is imagined, analyze whether or not it is outcome-based. Assess the risk of that outcome versus the benefit of the action you are afraid of.
Make a commitment for the next month to practice dropping and/or ignoring most of your negative, fearful thoughts and worry. Gently but firmly push them away. As they return, push them away again. With a little practice youll find life is a lot more fun without them.
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Need A Solution For Trouble? Try This Breath Of Fresh Air!Richard VegasI just heard the story of a man who hired a plumber to restore an old farmhouse. After he had finished a rough first day on the job he realized he had a flat tire which made him lose an hour of work; then his electric drill quit, and then his truck refused to start. As his customer drove him home, the plumber sat in stony silence.
HmmI wonder where this is going? Well, when they arrived at the plumbers home he asked his customer in to meet his family. As they walked toward the front door, the plumber paused briefly and stared at a small tree without saying a word. He reached out very tenderly touching the tips of the branches with both hands, took a deep breath and then the two of them walked inside.
Age Before Beauty!
After opening the front door, the plumber went through an amazing transformation. His tanned face lit up and he was ear to ear smiles. His customer, very curious, watched as the plumber scooped up his two small children with those big burly hands and then kissed his wife.
Afterward, the plumber walked his customer to the car. As they passed the same tree the customer's curiosity got the better of him. He asked him about the tree and what he had seen him do earlier.
Greater Love Hath No Man!
Oh, said the plumber, that's my trouble tree. He went on to say, "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and children".
So, I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning, when I leave for work, I pick them up again.
He said, "funny thing is, and smiled, when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before".
As I read this story I thought of all the methods and techniques that I have used over the years to renew my mind. And, clean out the subconscious of undesirable thoughts that everyday troubles attempt to gain a stronghold over.
And, once again I realize that it's the simple things in life that can have the most profound affects. We have been programmed to believe that the bigger, the more complicated, the more expensive, the more difficult things and solutions are, the more valuable they must be in every way.
I mean everybody believes that more is better, right? Obviously, not in everything, because I've never seen anything that is right for everybody.
It Just Goes To Show You!
Well, I gave the plumber's technique a test and, here is what I learned. It's not the technique, but the attitude. I mean my Lord, you could go outside and rub every branch off of every tree in sight, till the crack of dawn, and not get remove one trouble. So, that's not the answer.
When I started to pick mine up the next morning, I stopped and said, whoa!! Dummy. Leave em there. And, I tell you something, sure it was symbolically, but it made my step a little lighter and my countenance a little brighter.
But, once you find your "plumbers tree" or, whatever you can relate too, and decide to make that your holding tank for the day's troubles, then you can inform your subconscious that all troubles are to be left there. Then, the next morning you can pick them up on your way out.
I believe it helps to make some sort of physical gesture to cause this to have meaning to your subconscious. Reach out and touch "it" or rub "it", whatever "it" is, just don't rub where you already got a rash; nah, I 'm kidding, and, mentally release it to your holding tank for the night.
Much Ado About Nothing!
Now, if you're the worrying type, I suspect you won't forget to pick em up in the morning when you leave. Cause, Heaven knows you need a few more things to worry about. Don't you get mad at me, I'm kidding.
Now, let's analyze this logically. Let's take our emotions out of it for a moment. All you have done is, find an object that you can relate to, a stump, or whatever, and rubbed it. Now, did that make the problem go away? No, of course not.
Then what did it do? Well, it might have given you a peaceful night's sleep; it might have helped you to not have indigestion after dinner; it might have even caused you to kiss your wife and pet your cat; In that order, and not reversed. :>)
Sealed With A Kiss!
Now,your subconscious can be your best friend or your worse enemy. And, it doesn't really care which. It has no preference one way or the other. It's there for your directions given through your conscious. And, you can train it to be your best friend and lover all the time and not just hit or miss.
And, it's very simple to train it but, it's not easy to perfect. If you ever slack off, you'll begin to lose some of the previous training. But, as soon as you stop, and head back the other direction, the good benefits begin coming back.
A Word To The Wise!
Here is something very important. This is not happenstance; it's not trial and error, the subconscious doesn't say, "ok, I'll forget that you decided to go negative for the last two weeks and give you some positive results anyway". Oh no, if you pull that stunt, your subconscious will tell you, you've got a face only a mother could love and hand you a square peg to put in a round hole.
Then you'll go spitting all over town saying my "trouble tree" don't work. You see, the subconscious knows exactly how the universe is supposed to work even though we don't, or, we forget. And, it always conforms to the laws of the universe even if it is to our detriment.
Yea, our own subconscious will keep giving us the short end of the stick, and then make us believe that sometimes you get to eat the bear and sometimes the bear gets to eat you. Here's what I think of that..
Richard Vegas
Richard Vegas is a populas recording artist and internet marketing professional. He invites you to subscribe to his FREE weekly ezine "Wing-Tips" The Success System That Never Fails at:
http://1-work-at-home-based-business-opportunities.com/Articles/articles.html
You may also hear and follow Richard's music career at:
http://richardvegas.com
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Avoid Being the Worst Boss You've Ever HadEileen "Turtle" ParzekEveryone who has ever had a boss has probably had at least one moment that they thought "I could do better than THIS!" A fraction of those people set out to do exactly that - improve their work life, build a better widget, or do something as it has never been done before. Suddenly thrust into the role of boss, and employee, it is very easy to find yourself being the worst boss you ever had. And so I share a few entrepreneur-at-home lessons I've learned through experience.
1. Pay yourself
This seems so simple, doesn't it? But anyone who has freelanced or run their own business knows it is not. Clients sometimes don't pay on time - sometimes there aren't even any clients - and it takes some practice to learn how to juggle the unsteady income you might generate, especially at first. When money comes in, chances are there are a whole pile of bills waiting to be paid, and more than a few things you need to get the work done. If you immediately start paying the bills, it's a good bet you won't pay yourself and you definitely won't save. So, I present to you my fool-proof routine, which has worked for me for the last 7 years and made my accountant oh, so proud.
First, make sure you have at least 4 bank accounts - personal checking, personal savings, and business checking and business savings. When money comes in, deposit it into business checking. Then immediately calculate what 30% of that deposit was, and transfer that amount into business savings. DO NOT touch that money, until I tell you to! Twice a month, pay yourself a salary (this will probably fluctuate, of course!) by transferring money from business checking into personal checking, and pay your personal bills from that account. At the end of every quarter, calculate how much gross income your business took in that quarter. Using the percentage your accountant tells you is appropriate, figure out what part of that amount will need to be paid to the tax department. My percentage is usually between 20-23% of every dollar. Transfer that amount from business savings to business checking and write that check to the tax man. Next, calculate what 3-5% of the total income was, and send that to whatever you have set up for a retirement fund, for yourself. And finally, most importantly, take the same amount, another 3-5% and transfer it to your personal savings account.
Assuming you are bringing in money in the first place, if you follow this plan strictly, you will always have the money to pay your taxes, save for the future and cut yourself a nice bonus every quarter that is based on how well you did.
2. Go home
When you're the only employee of your company, you will undoubtedly find yourself doing nearly everything there is to do. If you're successful, you will often have more work than you can handle. And if your work is in your home, you will find it extremely hard to "go home." While, its part of the entrepreneurial expectation that you will have to work overtime fairly often, you have to discipline yourself to make it the exception and not the rule. There is no faster route to burnout, than to work 16 hours a day, for weeks - trust me! Set office hours for yourself, even if the office is in your bedroom and the hours are all in your head.
For example, I set a basic work day that runs between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. That's a reasonably long day - in which I do take a break to eat lunch, maybe another break to walk on the treadmill and read for a while. Occasionally, I bargain with myself - work until 7, and you can have that cat nap in the afternoon. But for the most part, I have learned that it is critical that you set a boundary on your work time - and walk away from it, just like you did when you had a regular job elsewhere. Otherwise, you never can find the boundary between work and home, personal and business life, and that's just not good for you in the long run.
3. Don't skimp
When you were an employee, you probably had to beg and plead to get the equipment, software, or tools you needed to do your work, right? You might need to budget for it, or save for a while but if the means are there, don't skimp - if you really need something, get it. Ergonomics are extremely high on my priority list - so I didn't think twice about indulging myself in a good mouse and keyboard, since I tend to type for hours and hours, days on end. Invest in a really comfortable chair; if you are going to be parking your tail in one all day you'll be glad you did! The key, of course, is to be honest with your boss - if it really will make you more comfortable, healthy, productive or able to do your work, put it on your approved list. Research what you need online, search for the best price, save for it, and get it.
Just be sure to revel in the fact that you don't need to justify yourself to anyone else, wade through red tape or sell your first born to get what you need - that's half the fun!
4. Train yourself
If your business does take off and you're suddenly busier than you have ever been in your life, it is hard to justify the "down time" necessary to learn new things. After all, you're learning by doing, and if you're like me, you learn well that way, so why do anything else? There are a number of different types of learning that take place in a business - I strongly advocate that you step away from the work at least periodically and invest time and money in one of them. For example, if you learn well by reading books, be sure to budget in your business for a book allowance. Perhaps once a month, you treat yourself to a new book that will teach you something you can apply to the business. But be sure to budget TIME for reading it! Make a commitment to yourself that you will stop working early one night a week, to give yourself a couple hours to read. Turn off the phone, step away from the computer, go in another room or out of the house and do it. If you work on computers, grant yourself two hours at the end of every Wednesday for play time - no work, just time to teach yourself a new trick or read a tutorial and see if you can do it. The same idea applies to seminars, or training classes - figure out what applies to your line of work, and budget the time and money for it.
You have to really discipline yourself but the rewards are bountiful. You don't want to be the kind of boss that only gives lip service to employee development, now do you?
5. Take time to smell the roses
When you work for someone else, you are probably chained to a desk or a cube for most of the day, looking longingly out the window, wishing you were a squirrel, right? Maybe thats just me. Still, for most employees, on those afternoons when your brain just doesn't want to punch back in from lunch, you are stuck, sitting there, waiting for something to change. But if you're the boss, you have an option - so exercise it!
Take a walk or a run. Get your grocery shopping out of the way. Nap a little. Putter in the garden. Or just go sit in the park and throw bread at those squirrels. It doesn't matter what you do - as long as its NOT work, and assuming you're disciplined enough to not make a habit out of it, and reel yourself back in eventually. You might even consider scheduling a weekly or biweekly outing for lunch with friends or old coworkers, to get you out of the house and socialized every so often! The best part of allowing yourself this time is that when you do come back, you're going to be fresher, sharper, and more ready to work than if you had sat there the whole day, waiting for the dryer lint to clear itself from your head.
I was recently working on a tough logo design project, and after getting up at 7 a.m., sketching all morning and coming up with 1-2 good ideas, I was stuck I needed 4-5 thumbnail ideas, and I had NO ideas. So, my inner boss gave me permission to check out. I went shopping. Left the house, to go buy paper, and pens, and a few other things I needed at Office Max. I had to do these things eventually anyway and by going for a drive, and giving myself a break from logo conceptualization, I was being a good boss to myself. When I got home, I didn't even go right back to work - I fixed dinner, watched TV for a while and then BAM! Suddenly, it hit me I had an awesome idea wonderful ideas and I went back in my office after dinner, to jot them down. Being somewhat self disciplined (see 2) I didn't work on them then - but sprang out of bed the next morning, and in a few hours, had a whole set of great concepts to show my client.
Creative people need this more than anyone but anyone who needs ideas, inspiration or clarity can benefit. The brain works best if it is given a rest, and allowed to go ponder other things. Have you ever tried to remember something, and couldn't - until you stopped trying to remember? It's the same idea. I've found that making the outing or the experience new or different can benefit even more - just people watching or wandering through the museum down the street provides enough stimulous to kick my brain back into gear.
Looking back across my five pieces of advice, I must admit that I know all of these are easier said than done. Be gentle with yourself and only try to force one new good boss behavior on yourself at a time. Really work at it because if you apply all of them, at least half the time, you won't wonder at times if a rotten boss that comes with a steady paycheck is a better option. Good luck and let me know if these tips work for you!
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Motivation: It's an "EQ" Thing, not an "IQ" ThingSusan Dunn, The EQ Coach"Motivation is not a thinking word," say John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen, in their book, "The Heart of Change." (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578512549/susandunnmome-20 )
They go on to say ANALYSIS HAS 3 LIMITATIONS:
1.In a remarkable number of cases you dont need it to find the big truths
2.Analytical tools have their limitations in a turbulent world. These tools work best when parameters are know, assumptions are minimal, and the future is not fuzzy
3.Good analysis rarely motivates people in a big way. It changes thought, but how often does it send people running out the door to act in significantly new ways?
More every day, we see the need for emotional intelligence in the business world. Our thinking can only take us so far. We can gather data to rationalize our decisions, but often we're better off using our intuition.
Yes, you must be analytical about choosing your new computer or phone system, but when it comes to trying to figure out why Allen's team is failing, when you know in your gut, it's Allen, isn't productive. It doesn't provide any more information that you already know.
And no amount of intellectual arguing is going to change someone at their core and motivate action. You have to reach in and touch their emotions. You have to find out what's important to someone, and you have to model what's important to you - at the feelings level.
EMOTIONS IN YOUR FACE CHANGE PEOPLE'S MINDS
Kotter and Cohen give a marvelous example of this. A CEO takes a client out for dinner and listens to him talk about his disappointment with a product that, supposedly built to specifications, keeps being delivered defective.
"We ask again and again for things to be changed," says the unhappy customer, "and the person we talk to nods his head but he doesn't seem to listen." What the CEO does is send a video team over to the customer's office the next day and ask him to speak candidly, which he does, and then he shows the video to his employees, many of whom had never interfaced with customers, and never experienced this sort of "strong, negative feedback."
THE 'ARM CHAIR LIBERAL' MOVES INTO THE WORK PLACE
I saw this happen repeatedly in my days in non-profits when I raised money for the homeless. I spoke all over town on homelessness and encountered all sorts of reactions, including "Why don't they just get a job?" If I could convince the person to actually come down to the shelter and meet "the homeless," things changed. It changes your mind to sit in the same room, face-to- face with someone who was previously just a statistic.
YOU GET A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW ... AND NOT IN THE PLACE WHERE YOU 'THINK'
It's impossible to retort, "Why don't you just get a job?" when you listen to a mother with 3 children tell how she can't make as much money at her minimum-wage job as she can on welfare, and while she'd rather have 'a decent job like everyone else,' the numbers don't add up. Why doesn't she "just get a job?" Because she can live better on welfare. She may be "homeless," but she isn't stupid. You begin to see the complexity of the problem.
You see a man with 4 children and no wife, who hasn't a suit, washing machine, computer, fax or answering machine to take calls while he's out looking for a job, and you begin to see the complexity of the problem. "Why doesn't he just get a job?" becomes "How could he get a job?"
NO ONE EVER CONVINCED ANYONE BY LOGIC
I could talk till I was blue in the face about "homelessness," and have no impact while 30 minutes in the shelter, seeing real people, seeing a "face" instead of "a problem," reached in and touched people at their core. There's no place for "cold logic" in a homeless shelter. It assaults your heart, and therefore it assaults your brain.
EMOTIONS TAKE PRECEDENCE
Emotions have a stronger impact, because they're essential to our survival. We don't need to know a whole lot about the bear that's standing in front of us snarling; in fact if we DO stop to think, our life will be at risk, so our brain pumps us full of "fight or flight" chemicals which preclude thinking and cause us to TAKE ACTION.
MOTIVATION
In conducting tours of the homeless shelter, I remained detached from the outcome, letting the experience do the work. I knew that the reality of a face-to-face encounter would accomplish what I couldn't. Motivation is real when it comes from the heart.
Whatever the person decided to do after touring the shelter was between them and their heart. The outcome was always a new understanding of a situation that had previously existed as "cold facts" in their head. People's general reaction changed from "there's a problem," to "I must do something." And each individual, moved from his or her armchair in front of tv to the reality of the problem, as represented by real human beings, decided that there was something they COULD do. They decided they wanted to make a difference.
I used it to motivate myself as well. Sitting over in my office, overwhelmed by the workload and the enormity of a problem for which there is no solution except day- by-day, one-by-one, I was often discouraged. A trip over to the shelter was always the antidote to my flagging energy.
THE PROS
The Archbishop of San Antonio often spoke at our fund- raising banquets. He always began by giving a specific example of a specific person in a specific encounter. He told a story. He put a face to a "problem," touched people at the feelings level, and caused change. Motivation is not a thinking word.
Recommended reading: "The Heart of Change" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578512549/susandunnmome-20
Recommended course: The EQ Foundation Course http://www.susandunn.cc/courses.htm
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So What Does Emotional Intelligence Look Like in Real Life?Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach1.High IQ, Low EQ: A student.
Theres a story going around the Chicago area about a student at the U. of Chicago last year. At that venerable high-IQ institution, its still a graduation requirement that each student pass a swimming test. A student showed up to take the test and, 3 hours later, after theyd dragged him out of Lake Michigan and the EMS had left, they asked him why hed shown up to take the test when he didnt know how to swim.
I read about it, he said.
2.High IQ, Low EQ: Frank.
Ph.D. in Engineering, designs military defense systems for the government, has a net worth in the millions, and top security clearance, and is on his 5th wife.
3.Average IQ, High EQ: Dr. Bob
Bob has an IQ of 125, low for a physician. He was told repeatedly he wasnt med-school material, but his social skills, focus, and determination made his becoming a doctor a reality. And what a gift to the profession! He has a marvelous bedside manner. Hes grateful he can practice medicine when was the last time you encountered a physician with that attitude??
4.High IQ, High EQ: William Pickering, the Rocket Man.
Ph.D., Physics, CalTech. In 1957, when Russia launched Sputnik, Pickering was working for the Jet Propulsion Lab. In 2 months, the Naval Research Laboratory launched the Vanguard, which under the glare of international media, blew up on the launch pad.
Fortunately, Pickering had been working since Sputnik on their own satellite. ExplorerI was launched less than 4 months after Sputnik.
To bring this off, Pickering worked James van Allen, and Wernher von Braun.
(What's that sound I hear? Egos colliding???)
Imagine the pressure and EQ it took to pull this off with the government, the military and the American public breathing down their necks.
Which of these towering, credentialed geniuses got the leadership job? (And correct me if Im wrong, but Einstein was also alive at the time.) The one with the EQ!
5.High IQ, Low EQ: John, a lawyer.
His girl friend, my client, became increasingly displeased with his cluelessness and lack of demonstrative affection. Finally she lost her temper and yelled, Cant you just send me some flowers?
You dont understand, he replied. I dont know how to.
6.Low IQ, Low EQ: Mike Tyson.
7.High IQ, Low EQ: Harry, a lawyer.
A lawyer I worked with. Told his secretary, a single parent with 4 children under the age of 6 and no child support, who earned $28,000 a year, when her second-hand car broke down, Well, if youd just buy a new Lexus like I have
Were his office projects sabotaged? What do you think?
8.High IQ, High EQ: Ray Garrett, Jr., former chairman of the SEC.
The man under whom it all shook down after Watergate in the 70s. The stock market was at its all-time low.
He was interviewed live on Wall Street Week, the night before he deregulated stock commissions. Rukheyser, hoping to ^nail him^, said, And what will you do if this doesnt work?
Unflappable, Garrett shrugged and replied, Try something else.
9. High IQ, High EQ: Captain of the RCIs Rhapsody of the Seas
Many seniors travel on cruises and when their poor eyesight and bad hips collide with a rocking ship, spilled beverages, and tendering, the results are predictable despite all caution. Last cruise I spoke on, I watched the captain come down from the bridge to visit with a couple sitting poolside. He asked the man how he was doing after his fall in the dining room, looked at his bruises, ordered drinks delivered, sat and visited.
I know your insurance company would tell you not to do this.
I worked in a law firm at one time and I heard it repeatedly, If he had just apologized If shed even said she was sorry.
I rear-ended someone 2 years ago. Just flat out didnt hit the brakes in time. The woman told me she had just recovered from a back injury and was scared. SHE was scared? I was PETRIFIED. I asked her to follow me to a parking lot. I spent 30 minutes with her expressing my concern, calming her, offering to drive her home, make phone calls, and saying how sorry I was to have added to her stress.
Believe it or not, I never heard from her again.
10. Low IQ, High EQ: Jen, sales.
Jen never finished college. Her strengths on the StrengthsFinder are Positivity, WOO (Winning Others Over), Empathy, Communicator, Activator. This is not the profile of an intellectual. She makes 6 figures.
11.Unk. IQ, High EQ: Michael Jackson
A tricky one, but, EQ involves creativity, flexibility, and intuition (rather than purely cognitive rules and formulas) and few have produced more hit singles than he. Consider his responses to an interview:
S: How do you write your songs?
Michael: If I sit there and say Im going to write a best-seller, nothing is going to happen. The way I wrote Billy JeanI was in the car and I thought Id like to make a song with a really cool base line, and I let it go. I just let go. A few days later, the beats just started playing in my head.The mistake many musicians make is that they get in the way of the music. Get out of the way. Let the song write itself.
S: But if you dont write it, where does it come from?
Michael just shrugged, paused, and said, Above.
12. Unk. IQ, High EQ: Pearl Bailey
There are two kinds of talents, man-made talent and God-given talent. With man-made talent you have to work very hard. With God-given talent, all you have to do is touch it up once in a while.
Emotional intelligence is where emotions and thinking interface. Winners have high EQs and it can be learned. Why not start today!
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Video Games no Longer Just Childs Play ARA(ARA) - The stereotype of video games as a childrens-only pursuit is as outdated as a classic Pong console. Sure, teens still play them, but the first wave of gamers that grew up playing video games in the 1970s and 80s has now reached adulthood -- and many of these avid gamers have children of their own. As a result, millions of people today are playing, buying and even learning to create new games and other interactive entertainment products.
Colleges around the country are responding to the gaming industrys need to create new products and fill jobs by offering game-related courses for credit. According to Mary Clarke-Miller, academic director for Game Art & Design at The Art Institute of California - San Francisco, "The growth in college programs related to game design reflects a growing need for trained talent in the interactive entertainment field. Educators are working together with the game industry to develop relevant programs to fill this need."
According to the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), the average age of a game player is 28 years old, and 90 percent of all games are purchased by adults over the age of 18. Its not just young men playing and buying games. The IDSA reports 40 percent of game players are women who tend to choose role-playing and lifestyle titles. This broad base of game purchasers helped drive video game industry global sales to an estimated $31 billion in 2002, according to a report by Informa Media Group. In the United States alone, UBS Warburg puts 2002 sales at $10.3 billion.
In addition to the education communitys keen response to this burgeoning industry, Wall Street is also keeping a close eye on its development; many game-related hardware and software companies are publicly traded. In the United States, the launch of three new gaming systems sent sales soaring, up nearly 43 percent to $9.4 billion in 2001, reports market researcher NPD.
For game art students, many of them game players since grade school, a steady rise in the sophistication level of games requires that students must not only have a solid foundation in drawing skills, but also a strong understanding of acting and storytelling, says Christian Bradley, chair of Game Art & Design at The Art Institute of California - San Diego. Bradley, who has worked for industry leaders such as Interplay, The Dreamers Guild Studios and The Collective Studios, explains that in the early days of game production, design was driven by technical considerations, providing little more than rudimentary graphics, however once those technical hurdles were overcome, graphics and game art started to play an ever-increasing role in game production.
At The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago, Media Arts & Animation instructor Ed Kerr, says graphically, game art lagged beyond other entertainment forms such as television and film, however with current game technology, the artistic challenges for the artist, and student, approach those of more established media. Kerr also believes because rapidly-changing technology places constraints on the game art medium, game art creators must ply their craft, communicating clearly and effectively within the limits of the game design.
And, although the game art field as a career is growing, more graduates with game art degrees means increased competition for jobs. Graduates should anticipate starting near the bottom -- like most other fields -- and working their way up, says Mark Meier, a game art instructor with The Art Institute of Phoenix, and a creator of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games. The best prospects for jobs may be smaller, or less established companies, where advancement can be quick, he adds.
So with an industry exploding as quickly as gaming, is there any end in sight to its growth? When we consider that currently only a small segment of the population is computer literate, the potential for increased growth, in the industry and the jobs needed to fill it, looks very promising, says Meier.
For more information, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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