31st March

Choosing Greatness by Zig Ziglar

Here's the story of one skinny, sickly young man who truly was the "97-pound weakling" when he was in high school. He wore thick glasses, arch supports and a shoulder brace. His self-image was so poor and his concern about his appearance so great that he dropped out of school. His future did not look good.

Then one day he attended a health lecture. He was inspired by what he heard and became convinced that there was something he could do about his poor physical condition. He wanted his future to be better than his past, so he started to exercise for hours every day. He also dramatically changed his eating habits. As a cumulative result of these actions, he slowly changed his appearance, his self-image and his future.

In 1936 he opened one of the first health studios in America because he wanted to share with others the benefits he was enjoying. He went door-to-door in Oakland, California, promoting his new exercise business. After nearly six decades he's still promoting exercise. His reputation is international and many think of him as "Mr. Exercise." He's become a financial success, but more important, he's become a success in life itself.

Today he can outperform men who are 50 years his junior. His feats of strength and endurance astonish us all. By now you've probably guessed that I'm talking about Jack LaLanne. Jack would be the first to tell you that his change of direction wasn't easy. A major change of direction won't be easy for you, either, but with Jack LaLanne as a role model, you can begin the process. Follow his example and your future will be different and better than your past.

The choice is yours. Make the right choice, and I'll See You At The Top!

Dividing the Financial Pie by Jim Rohn

I believe real-life economics must be one of the most glaring omissions in our educational system. I say this because in my travels to lecture throughout the world, I constantly run into otherwise well-educated people -- doctors, lawyers, top corporate personnel, even entrepreneurs - who haven't the vaguest idea as to how to manage their finances.

So if you will indulge me, I would like to share a simple formula of how money should be allocated for the creation of wealth.

Taxes -

Yes, I did say taxes. Now this is a topic that can get people pretty heated! Just the mention of the word makes people groan, sigh, panic or break out into a cold sweat! But we must deal with taxes.

You know what they say, "The only sure things are death and taxes." I realize that the topic of taxes may seem like a strange place to begin the discussion of creating wealth.

And yet throughout our lives, whether young or old, we must learn the necessity of paying taxes. And as soon as they have any money at all, our children, too, must learn that when they spend money they immediately become consumers. And all consumers of goods and services, no matter how young, must pay taxes. Why?

Because we have all agreed to live as a society, and for that society to function properly, there are some things we cannot do for ourselves alone. For example, we cannot each build a piece of the street. The machinery would be too expensive, and it would take too long to learn how to use it.

So we have a government. And a government is made up of people who do things for us that we cannot or do not want to do ourselves. Because the streets, the sidewalks, the police, and the fire department must all be paid for, we've agreed to add some money each time we buy something and give it to the government.

We then move on to federal taxes. Here is a good way to explain federal taxes. I call it "The Care and Feeding of the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs." It's so important to feed the goose -- not to abuse the goose or tear off its wings -- but to feed and care for it.

What's that you say? The goose eats too much? That's probably true. But then, don't we all eat too much? If so, let not one appetite accuse another. If you step on the scales and you're ten pounds too heavy, you've got to say, "Yes, the government and I are each about ten pounds too heavy. Looks like we both eat too much." No question about it. Every appetite must be disciplined -- yours, mine, and the governments'. Hey, we could all go on a diet!

My mentor, Mr. Shoaff urged me early on to become a happy taxpayer. Now, I must admit it took a while, but I finally did become a happy taxpayer. Part of this transformation occurred when I began to understand the function of taxes and that it is right for everyone to pay his or her fair share.

I finally decided I didn't mind picking up my share of the tab for defense. It's so necessary for our safety as a country to keep the international bullies away. Some people say, "Why bother with all that expensive equipment? They won't come over here." Obviously, those people haven't been reading their history books.

Others say, "We're not about to pick up the tab for defense." Well then, I suggest they go to a place which doesn't offer defense as part of the package. If one is going to enjoy the benefits, one should pay a share.

Now, let me add this: Don't pay more than you should. By all means take advantage of the incentives. They were given to you as a reward for channeling your money into areas the government thinks helps the economy.

All I'm saying is that when everything has been computed, all legitimate deductions have been taken, and you reach that last line on your income tax form, whatever the amount, pay it. And pay with happiness, knowing that you're feeding the goose that lays the golden eggs - the golden eggs of freedom, safety, justice, and free enterprise. Some goose! Some eggs!

The 70/30 Rule -

After you pay your fair share of taxes, you must learn to live on seventy percent of your after-tax income. This is important because of the way you'll allocate your remaining thirty percent. The seventy percent you will spend on necessities and luxuries. The thirty percent? Let's allocate it in the following ways:

1) Charity

Of the thirty percent not spent, one-third should go to charity. Charity is the act of giving back to the community that which you have received in order to help those who need assistance. I believe that contributing ten percent of your after-tax income is a good amount to strive for. (You may choose a larger or smaller amount -- it's your plan.)

The act of giving should be taught early in life. The best time to teach a child the act of charity is when he gets his first dollar. Take him on a visual tour. Take him on a tour of a place where people are truly helpless so that he learns compassion. If a child understands, he won't have any trouble parting with a dime. Children have big hearts.

There is another reason why the act of giving should be taught early and when the amounts are small: It's pretty easy to take a dime out of a dollar. But it's considerably harder to give away a hundred thousand dollars out of a million. You say, "Oh, if I had a million I'd have no trouble giving a hundred thousand." I'm not so sure. A hundred thousand is a lot of money. We'd better start you early so you'll develop the habit before the big money comes your way.

2) Capital Investment

With your next ten percent of your after-tax income you're going to create wealth. This is money you'll use to buy, fix, manufacture, or sell. The key is to engage in commerce, even if only on a part-time basis.

So how do you go about creating wealth with the ten percent of your income you set aside for that purpose? There are lots of ways. Let your imagination roam. Take a close look at those skills you developed at work or through your hobbies; you may be able to convert these into a profitable enterprise.

In addition, you can also learn to buy a product at wholesale and sell it for retail. Or you can purchase a piece of property and improve it. And if you're fortunate enough to work at a place where you're rewarded for additional productivity, you can work for more income and use this income to invest in an ownership position through the purchase of stocks.

Use this ten percent to purchase your equipment, products, or equity -- and get started. There is no telling what genius lies sleeping inside you waiting to be awakened by the spark of opportunity.

Here is an exciting thought! Why not work full time on your job and part time on your fortune? Why not, indeed? And what a feeling you'll have when you can honestly say, "I'm working to become wealthy. I'm not just working to pay my bills." When you have a wealth plan, you'll be so motivated that you'll have a hard time going to bed at night.

3) Savings

The last ten percent should be allotted to savings. I consider this to be one of the most exciting parts of your wealth plan because it can offer you peace of mind by preparing you for the "winters" of life.

And through the magic of compounding interest, greatly aided by the new tax-free retirement programs available to every working person in this country, you can accumulate a princely sum over the years.

Let me give you the definition of "rich" and "poor." Poor people spend their money and save what's left. Rich people save their money and spend what's left.

Twenty years ago, two people each earned a thousand dollars a month and they each earned the same increases over the years. One had the philosophy of spending money and saving what's left; the other had the philosophy of saving first and spending what's left. Today, if you knew both, you'd call one poor and the other wealthy.

So, remember that giving, investing and saving, like any form of discipline, has a subtle effect. At the end of the day, a week, a month, the results are hardly noticeable. But let five years lapse and the differences become pronounced. At the end of ten years, the differences are dramatic.

And it all starts with the same amount of money -- just a different philosophy.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

To order the special New Release Offer of The Jim Rohn 2004 Weekend Event with Special Guests Denis Waitley, Brian Tracy and more - 24 hours on DVD, 24 CDs and 283-page comprehensive workbook; Plus receive 90 Days to Life Change as a bonus, go to www.YourSuccessStore.com

Your Personal Image: It's Your Most Important YOU Asset -

By Paul Barton ***

Your personal image: It’s the most important “YOU” asset that you own.

Your personal image, the perception that people have about you, affects your success in every aspect of life – your life on the job, your social life, even your "personal" relationships with others.

That is true because, no matter who you are or what you do, your success, ultimately, depends on what other people THINK about you – the image they have of you.

Your personal image has a number of elements. The way you dress, the colors you choose, the way you talk and the way you relate to others are some of the more important ones in determining your success in your career and in life.

Some examples:

PERSONAL IMAGE AND HOW YOUR DRESS

One very dramatic real-life example of how the way you dress can affect Your success was recounted in the New York Times. The Times reported on what happened when two young men attempted to get an online service executive to give them $500,000 for their surfing website.

The young men bought new suits for the meeting and their presentation was equally buttoned up.

After just five minutes, the executive ended the meeting, saying “These are *#@%+! surfers?”

A couple of months later they came back for another presentation. How were they dressed this time? Like surfers – with Hawaiian shirts, shorts and sandals. For good measure, they acted the part in everything they said and did. But they didn’t change their presentation at all.

This time, they walked out with the $500,000 order.

Clearly, the way they were dressed made a huge difference. They now “looked the part” and this gave them the credibility they lacked before.

“Looking the part” by dressing correctly has been proven critical to success in getting people to do what you want them to do.

In a famous experiment, two men approached 50 secretaries each in the same building to see which could best get past the secretaries to see their bosses.

Both used the same approach – but one man succeeded 24% of the time, while the second succeeded an astounding 60% of the time!

Even more astounding, they weren’t two different men at all.

They were the same man.

The first time the man approached 50 secretaries he was wearing a black raincoat.

The secretaries perceived him as a messenger or delivery person -- someone who should not be allowed to get in to see their bosses.

When he approached the second 50 secretaries, he wore a tan raincoat. This time the secretaries perceived him as an executive, a peer of their bosses. So they granted his request to see them.

The clothes he wore and the colors he chose in each situation profoundly shaped the secretaries’ image of him and made the difference between success and failure.

PERSONAL IMAGE AND YOUR CONVERSATION

Your talk (conversation ability) can be even more important to your success in business than your grades in school or college, according to a study by the Stanford University School of Business.

The study tracked the success of MBA's 10 years after they graduated. The result? Grade point averages of graduates had no bearing on their success -- but their ability to make conversation did.

The most successful graduates were those who could make conversation with anyone -- anyone from strangers to secretaries to bosses to customers.

Your image as being good in conversation helps you achieve success in social and “personal” relationships in two ways:

(1) Good conversation promotes "liking." We "like" to be around people who can carry on an interesting conversation.

(2) Good conversation creates an attractive image of wittiness, intelligence and self-confidence.

If you are able to carry on a good conversation, this makes people think of you as having more intelligence, wit and self confidence than those who cannot do so.

And, a university study showed just how important the perception of intelligence and self confidence can be.

In a study to determine the characteristics of the ideal male or ideal female -- intelligence and self confidence were rated as most important by 60% or more of respondents.

The message in all this for people who want to put themselves in position to succeed in their business, social and personal lives:

Take good care of your most important “YOU” asset – your personal image.

Copyright © 2004 W. Paul Barton

About the Author

Mr. Barton, author of How To Be GREAT!!! In Conversation, offers a range of image and other self improvement books at Sellfire.com Improve your image now at http://www.sellfire.com/PersImage.htm

You ARE loved….

You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

5. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world has turned it's back on you, take a look again.

11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

Words That Limit Your Success

1. When I..
Uh huh.

2. If I can do x, then Y will result...
Big if.

3. It should...
Yeah, it should, but WILL IT?

4. I could...
Yes, but WILL YOU?

5. If I could just...
Nah, it ain't that easy.

6. Done deal...
It ain't really done until the client's check has been cashed and the services/goods have been delivered.

7. We're very close...
Close to what, reality? Dream on.

8. If only...
If only pigs fly.

9. If you'd just support me...
Support yourself.

10. No one understands what I am trying to do...
Very likely, but that means you're really an entrepreneur. If they DID understand, you wouldn't have much to offer, then, would you?

Article by Meir Liraz, president of BizMove.com (http://www.bizmove.com), a free informational web site for entrepreneurs and small business owners that provides free guides and tips for starting, growing and managing a small business

The best career advice you can give you children (and yourself, too!)

As a career coach, I meet many people whose parents advised them, "Learn something you can use," or, "Good grades will lead to success.

"Here's what I would tell a teenager, based on life experience, research, twenty years as a college professor, and a diverse group of coaching clients.

1. Focus on freedom, not security.

These days, no job is secure, and no skill guarantees employment. In my youth, we were taught that teachers and typists would always have jobs.

Stay marketable so you can avoid being locked into a job by bosses, layoffs, market changes or your own debts.

2. Get comfortable with your strengths, even if they don't seem important now.

It is easier to build on strengths than to overcome limitations.

And who knows? Today's limitation may be tomorrow's strength.

3. Honor your own values. .

Many mid-career transitioners are shedding careers that no longer fit their value system. They were taught that being a lawyer is good, being an artist is bad -- or vice versa.

Choose a major based on your natural abilities and passions, not "what will get me a job." Claudia Kennedy, the Army's the first female three-star General, majored in philosophy. Carly Fiorino, famed CEO of Hewlett-Packard, majored in medieval history. And Michael Lewis, financial writer and best-selling author of Liars Poker, was an art history major.

Successful people know where they belong. They walk into an interview and say, "I don't fit here." They have learned to tune in to their own inner wisdom.

4. You always have choices.

Few doors are closed to a young person, unless they get arrested for a felony. Yolanda Griffith, WNBA basketball star, dropped out of college when she became pregnant. She never gave up. Many people make changes in mid-career. Your first choice needn't be a life sentence.

5. Getting into a top university will not guarantee success.

My own schools were first-rate and I'm grateful for my education. However, I've met Ivy League graduates who were unemployed and broke. And I've met people who have gone on to prestigious careers after graduating from schools I'd never heard of.

6. Straight A's are useful only if you want more school.

Graduate schools look at your grades -- but some make allowances for special circumstances. Focus on achievement, confidence and motivation.

7. Get used to success.

Do something outstanding, and do it early.
Make the honor roll. Get selected for a play, a club, or a team.
Get elected to office in an organization where you had some competition.
Get hired for a competitive job.
Once you've tasted success, you'll know how it feels, and you will want more.

8. Make decisions based on, "How will this path lead to more freedom?"

Choose a job that will give you skills or credibility to get the next job, or, better, to start your own business. If you find yourself becoming less marketable, take action fast.

9. Look forward, not backward.

Expect to make mistakes. Recover by focusing on what you want, not what you don't want. Find a way to experience some joy every day. If you keep repeating a pattern of discontent, find the underlying cause and fix it. Most likely, you have lost touch with your own inner wisdom, or you never learned to listen in the first place.

10. Get comfortable with uncertainty.

Success comes from knowing how to take enlightened risks.
Expect coincidence and luck to influence your career at least once.
You can't avoid an occasional failure, but you can learn bounce-back attitudes before you need them.

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. author, coach, speaker Helps mid-career professionals move to career freedom Nine Magic Keys to Career Freedom
http://www.movinglady.com/freedombook.html

Ten Tips For Personal Growth

Personal growth seems to occur in spurts. We gain a little, lose a little, surge ahead or slide into a holding pattern where in growth seems to be stagnated. Here are ten ways to get back on track.

1. Recognize that growth continues, despite our best efforts to thwart it.

There's a saying: God's time and mortals' time differ. Nowhere is that more true than in the area of personal growth. Growth can be likened to fermentation; it often occurs well below the surface and appears dormant for long periods. Still, much is going on, if only we have the good sense to realize it. And, there ARE things we can do to break through the surface layers...

2. Engage in the process; give up attachment to the result.

We live in a results-oriented world. That's both good and bad. In the short term, it enables us to get more done faster. In the long term, however, it conceals a great life truth: ultimately, ALL is process, and as we engage in the process and relinquish our obsession with results, the results occur spontaneously, easily. To be involved fully in the process is to be fully in the present.

3. Work on one thing at a time.

High achievers and type A's pride themselves on their ability to keep several balls in the air at one time. For many, it works, but there is a price. Multi-tasking, as it's come called, splits your focus, reduces the energy devoted to any single task and--when the balls mysteriously begin to get out of control--leaves the serious multi-tasker at a loss for words or acts.

But to work on one thing at a time is tantamount to enjoying the beauty of a single rose, savoring the clean clear taste of cold spring water, and feeling the exhilaration of a new day. Single tasking gets the body and the mind going again, inspires and invigorates.

4. Stop thinking, writing and speaking in the first person.

Here's a fun exercise. It's called, an I inventory and it goes like this. Review our correspondence file, the letters you've written, and note how often you begin a sentence with, I. Then, pay attention to your conversations with others. How often do you use that word, I? If you journal, take a yellow (better yet, red) marker and overline every single I. All of these are good measures of your preoccupation with yourself. Try taking a vacation from the word, I. You may find it both refreshing and stimulating.

5. Realize that it can take great effort to achieve a state of effortless achievement.

Sounds like double talk, doesn't it! But it's true. In order to achieve effortlessly, which is a measure of alignment, you must get beyond concepts that serve as comfort zones e.g., self-importance, personal attachment, and even enlightenment. With respect to enlightenment, it's not so much a state to be achieved as one to be recognized. If you're having trouble with this one, think of Jesus's words: Before Abraham was, I am (The Bible, John 8:58).

6. Look for the lesson in pain.

This is not a plea for a life of self sacrifice, or an argument that pain is necessary and good. It's just that sometimes, pain IS. Stopping, taking time to examine what's really going on in the present state of pain, prevents this all too common emotion from developing into anger, resentment and resignation. Looking at pain dispassionately, openly, allows you to learn the lesson and move ahead.

7. Let go of your need to have an opinion.

When things go wrong, friends offend, and our progress seems to be grinding to a halt, it's natural to have an opinion, to explain, justify and defend. Natural, yes; understandible, yes; but productive? No! To give up the need to have an opinion in such instances is to free the mind to receive answers.

8. Walk away from it.

Years ago, I was going through a rough time, but was determined to stick with it until I won out. A friend who sensed my frustration asked if I would tell her about it. With some hesitation, I told her of the problem, the struggles, and the seeming lack of progress. She listened patiently and, after I finished, hesitated a moment, and then said something I'll never forget: "You know, sometimes wisdom is knowing when to walk away from it." So, when IS it time to walk away?

From a distance of some years now, I would say it's when the course you are "stubbornly" pursuing is not producing results and you have no real feeling that it will!

9. Follow your path rather than your plan.

The distinction relates to specificity. Paths are often winding, indistinct and surprising in where they lead. Plans are clear, definite, and designed to eliminate uncertainty. To follow a path is to be open to discovery, to the sudden turns that yield joy, insight and challenge. But, to really follow a path requires courage and a willingness to give up certainty. To follow a path is to go forward when you can see only a single step ahead, confident that the next step will appear.

10. HEAR what is being said.

Have you ever had a friend offer you some unwelcome advice and preface it with, "You're not going to want to hear this, but ..." Well, often when new information comes to us that conflicts with what we know, believe, think, or want, we DON'T hear it.

Even while we're "listening", we're preparing our replies, defenses and rebuttals. In short, we're blocking our chance to learn. To "hear", as opposed to simply listening, is to withhold judgment, to go beyond the actual words, and to really be open to the possible lesson that may be lurking just beneath the surface. the difference between listening and hearing is that, somewhere in between, there's a filter, and it's usually our resistance to new and sometimes conflicting information.

Article by Meir Liraz, president of BizMove.com (http://www.bizmove.com), a free informational web site for entrepreneurs and small business owners that provides free guides and tips for starting, growing and managing a small business.

MAKING LIFE COUNT *
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbour, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, will power, or heart.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and down falls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

23rd March
Sleep aid Personal development self help blog:

Does Social Anxiety Hold You Back?

In the "Anxiety Disorders" section of the manual entitled "Diagnostic Criteria from DSM IV," which is used for the diagnosis of mental health conditions, there are 12 anxiety diagnoses covered.

The fifth, and what may appear to be a soft diagnosis, is Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder). In contrast to "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" and "Panic Disorder" this diagnosis may seem to be lighter than the rest.

Please don't be fooled by names or the sound of names or even the fact that many of the others have achieved more press time. Social phobia is a very real threat to the quality of life for many individuals.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder? Glad you asked. Following is a list of life areas impacted by social anxiety --

1. Meeting new people
2. Answering the door
3. Interacting with merchant clerks at banks, grocery stores etc.
3. Setting appointments with doctor’s offices etc.
4. Attending church
5. Buying or returning items at retail outlets
6. Sick days where your anxiety has made you sick
7. Driving (fear other drivers looking at or thinking of you)
8. Paying at the gas station
9. Eating in front of other people
10. Signing your name in front of others
11. Attending or hosting social events
12. Dating
13. Talking in a small or large group
14. Expressing your opinion
15. Performance situations, such as playing on an athletic team, singing in a choir etc.
16. May or may not have panic attacks
17. Fear of what others are thinking of you
18. Fear of being embarrassed or humiliated

Next is a general physical symptom list of the physical signs of social anxiety --

1. Blushing
2. Sweating
3. Dizziness
4. Heart palpitations
5. Muscle tension
6. Dry mouth
7. Shaking
8. Nausea
9. Diarrhea
10. Headache

These are a few of the symptoms of social anxiety as experienced in life areas and physically. Many folks have social anxiety but do not realize that this is what they struggle with. Oftentimes thinking about or engaging in any of the activities listed above will induce anxiety.

The real danger with this disorder is that it can subtly grow into a monster. Left unattended, social anxiety can reshape the life that you should be living into one that is centered around avoidance of anxiety

. Some of you are aware that you have anxiety and fight with it constantly. Many others are not aware of anxiety as the culprit, even though it's impacting all these life areas. That's powerful!

Ongoing social anxiety can result in developing a pattern of avoidance, whereby you begin putting off many of life's activities. Too often, you have only the best of excuses, but if you suffer from social anxiety, it's really anxiety driving your life's bus.

There are many keys in the overcoming of anxiety. At the top is bolstering your self-confidence. Ironically enough, the more withdrawn you become while feeing anxious and avoiding activities, the stronger the social anxiety becomes.

A FEW KEY AREAS TO TARGET IN OVERCOMING SOCIAL ANXIETY:

1. Participate in activities which increase esteem and a sense of personal safety

2. Establish an area of expertise or mastery and allowing those abilities to be present in anxiety situations

3. Learn relaxation strategies that become serenity-hygiene habits

4. Challenge irrational thought patterns that support the anxiety

5. Keep an anxiety scale journal to chart goals and progress

6. Seek a caring individual to hold you accountable to your goals

7. Know that peace and anxiety cannot exist at the same time. Any ritual which brings peace into your life is a great tool to use to eliminate anxiety

8. Practice knowing that you are loved and have a right to live a joy-filled life!

This is your life! If you find yourself angry over being anxious, that's GOOD -- but only if you direct your anger at anxiety and allow it to become an energizer in your efforts to reclaim your life.

Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW is an author, university faculty member, success coach and veteran psychotherapist whose passion is guiding others to their own success in life. For weekly doses of the webs HOTTEST success tips, sign up for Dave’s powerful “Feeling Great!” ezine at http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com

20 Tips to Ensure Good Sleep

by Michael Smolensky, Ph.D., former director of the Chronobiology Center at the University of Texas-Houston (part of the Hermann Hospital system), and Lynne Lamberg

Getting a good night's sleep is one key to having a productive day -- so if you're plagued by periodic or chronic insomnia, you're bound to be compromising your ability to do your work. Here are 20 things that can help you . . .

1. Regularize your schedule. Get up about the same time every day, regardless of how much sleep you got. This is the single most effective way to keep body rhythms in tune. A consistent bedtime helps too, although it is less crucial.

2. Program yourself mentally for sleep with daily rituals. Walk the dog, watch the news, have a snack. Include tactics you can "take along" on trips.

3. Keep your bedroom dark or wear eyeshades. Darkness tells the brain it is time to sleep. Open window shades or curtains as soon as you get up in the morning, when sunlight provides an alerting signal. If you have a secluded bedroom, leave the windows uncovered and let sunlight awaken you gradually.

4. Keep your bedroom quiet. This sends another sleep signal to the brain.

5. Keep your bedroom cool. This will promote the decline in body temperature critical to restful sleep.

6. Go to bed only when sleepy. You're already halfway there.

7. Reserve bed and bedroom for sleep and sex. If you watch TV, snack, chat on the phone, and do paperwork in bed, you create cues for wakefulness, not sleep. Some people aren't bothered by this, but you may be.

8. If you can't fall asleep within 30 minutes, get out of bed. When the gate to sleep is closed, you can't force it open. You have to wait until it opens on its own. Be patient, but be ready. Don't start baking a cake.

9. If you nap, limit time lying down to 30 minutes in mid-afternoon. A regular nap at the sleepiest time of the waking day may help you sleep better at night by easing worries about not getting enough sleep. A 20-minute nap is enough to boost alertness for several hours. If you're really sleep-deprived and need to catch up, set an alarm to awaken you after either 90 minutes or three hours, allowing you to enjoy one or two full sleep cycles.

Caution: Avoid naps if they make your nighttime sleep worse.

10. Take a hot bath 90 minutes before bedtime. Soaking in 105 degree F water for 30 minutes raised body temperature by nearly one degree in a group of women with insomnia, Cynthia Dorsey found in a study at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. On getting out of the tub, the women's temperatures plummeted. And they got more deep sleep afterward. The hot bath improved sleep as much as widely prescribed sleeping pills.

11. Exercise regularly. Some people have trouble falling asleep after intense and prolonged stimulating exercise. But exercise that is not too strenuous can serve as a time cue to help foster sleep several hours later, particularly if you do it outside in daylight hours. Within a few hours of bedtime, it also may promote sleep by raising body temperature temporarily, much as hot bath does.

12. Avoid caffeine within five hours of bedtime. Even if it does not keep you from falling asleep, it's likely to make sleep more restless.

13. Don't drink alcohol or smoke near bedtime. A so-called "nightcap" may make you sleepy, but alcohol's rebound effect disturbs sleep. Nicotine is another stimulant that interferes with sleep.

14. If you are a bedtime worrier, find 30 minutes earlier in the day to focus on problems. Write your worries down, a tactic that often points to possible solutions. Or try Napoleon's trick: To combat bedtime worries, he allegedly envisioned a chest with many drawers. He mentally stuffed each problem into a drawer and shut it tight. When all his problems were tucked away, he fell asleep.

15. Forget about counting sheep. It's too slow a method of distraction, according to Richard Bootzin of the University of Arizona. "A person can count sheep and still worry," he said, adding, "It's better to get out of bed, jot down some notes, and think about the problem in the morning, when problems seldom loom as large."

16. Use escapist fantasy. Robert Louis Stevenson said his father put himself to sleep every night of his life with stories of ships, roadside inns, robbers, old sailors, and commercial travelers before the era of steam. "He never finished one of these romances," Stevenson wrote. "The lucky man did not require to!"

17. Learn relaxation techniques, such as muscle relaxation, meditation, or yoga, and use them regularly. These may help reduce stress both day and night.

18. If you awaken frequently in the night, turn your clock around so you can't see it. This may keep you from obsessing about how much sleep you have gotten so far, how long you've been awake, and how badly you may feel tomorrow if you don't get to sleep right away.

19. If you sleep poorly, use a sleep diary to help identify possible triggers. Note what helps and what harms your sleep. Sleep problems fall into four basic categories: "I can't sleep," "I sleep too much," "My bed partner says strange things happen when I sleep," And "I can't sleep when I want to." The first and last of these may reflect "circadian rhythm" sleep disorders. (See "Word to the Wise," below.)

20. If sleep problems persist, see your doctor. Medications you may be taking for other illnesses may be disturbing your sleep, or you may have a sleep disorder. If you snore loudly and are excessively sleepy in the daytime, for example, you may have sleep apnea -- and you may need a sleep specialist. Find accredited sleep centers near you at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's website (www.aasmnet.org).

Learn more about sleep at websites of the National Sleep Foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org), and Sleep Research Society (www.sleephomepages.org). The American Sleep Apnea Association is at www.sleepapnea.org.

(Ed. Note: The above article was reproduced with permission from "The Body Clock Guide to Better Health: How to Use Your Body's Natural Clock to Fight Illness and Achieve Maximum Health," by Michael Smolensky, Ph.D., and Lynne Lamberg

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805056629/earlytorise-20)

Health and happiness are not that difficult to have in one's life. It just takes some attention and some action to insure that you have as much of both as you desire.

Far from being difficult, tiring exercises, getting healthy can be quite easy. A few simple acts or lifestyle changes can put you on the path to feeling happier and healthier faster than you can imagine...

1. Eat breakfast every day.

Your mom was right, it's the most important meal of the day. Don't skip it.

2. Drink lots of water.

In these days of coffee, tea, sodas, seltzers, colas and coolers it's easy to think we're getting all the water we need, but nothing beats good ol' plain water. Eight glasses a day.

3. Get a good night's sleep.

As one who deals with sleep problems, I can tell you from experience, poor sleep patterns can quickly disrupt your life. Research shows that 6 to 8 hours of restful sleep is what most of us need to be happy and productive. If you're having problems sleeping, contact a doctor immediately.

4. Eat more fruit.

The old "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" saying may not be 100% true, but the truth is that fruit provides your body with need vitamins, minerals, and natural sugars.

5. Start walking.

For short, nearby trips in the neighborhood, leave the car at home and take a walk. Do this a few times a week and the results will amaze you.

6. Turn off the t.v.

Read a book, get outside and play with the dogs, have a conversation with your spouse. Look for things to do other than watch the telly, especially around news time.

7. Laugh.

Every day. A real, good, hearty, belly laugh. Look for the funny things that life has to offer. Share a joke with a friend. Share a lot of jokes. Laughter is good for the heart and soul, for your health and spirit.

None of these things requires you to spend a lot of money. None of them take much time or energy. But each one can, over time, dramatically improve your physical and mental health. Pick one or two to focus on this week and be healthy! _____

• Your potted plants stay alive.

• Having sex in a twin sized bed is absurd.

• You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

• 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.

• You hear your favorite song on an elevator.

• You carry an umbrella.

• You watch the Weather Channel.

• Your friends marry and divorce instead of hookup and breakup.

• You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.

• Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as 'dressed up.'

• You're the one calling the police because those darn kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo.

• Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

• You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

• Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

• You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's.

• Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

• You no longer take naps from noon to 6 p.m.

• Dinner and a movie - The whole date instead of the beginning of one.

• MTV News is no longer your primary source for information.

• You go to the drugstore for Ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy test kits.

• A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff'.

• You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.

• Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi & Ding Dongs.

• "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."

• Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

• You don't drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

• You read this entire list looking for one sign that doesn't apply to you.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.

“If you have the time” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity.”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present, such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”

"That they live as if they will never die, and
die as though they had never lived.”

God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved.”

“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds to
open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.”

“To learn that two people can
look at the same thing and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they forgive
one another, but they must also forgive themselves.”

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here... always.”

Persistence by Bob Proctor

If you were to choose just one part of your personality to develop that would virtually guarantee your success, I'd like to suggest that you place persistence at the top of your list.

Napoleon Hill, in his classic "Think and Grow Rich" felt so strongly about this subject, he devoted an entire chapter to it. Hill suggested, "There may be no heroic connotation to the word persistence but the quality is to your character what carbon is to steel."

Think about it. If you took a quick mental walk down memory lane and reviewed some of your accomplishments in the past - large and small - you would have to agree that persistence played an important role in your success.

Napoleon Hill studied many of the world's most successful people. He pointed out the only quality he could find in Henry Ford, Thomas Edison or a host of other notable greats that he could not find in everyone else was persistence.

What I found even more intriguing was the fact that Hill made comment of the fact that these individuals were often misunderstood to be ruthless or cold-blooded and that this misconception grew out of their habit of following through in all of their plans with persistence.

It's both interesting and sadly amusing to me that, as a society, we would be quick to criticize people for realizing they had an unshakeable power within them and were capable of overcoming any obstacle outside of them.

This power would ultimately move them toward a greater chance of achieving any goal they set for themselves! Milt Campbell is a good friend of mine. He and I have shared many hours together discussing the very topic of persistence. Milt was a Decathlete in the Olympic Games held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. His goal was to capture gold for the US.

Unfortunately, another fierce competitor who had taken home the gold four years previous in London wasn't satisfied with one gold, Bob Mathias wanted two; Milt had to settle for silver. That did not deter Milt one bit.

He had formed the habit of persistence and four years later in Melbourne, Australia, Milt won the gold medal, earning him the title of the greatest athlete in the world.

On numerous occasions Milt has said, "There were many guys in school who were far better athletes than me, but they quit." I can recount story after story about individuals who overcame obstacles so great, but only did so because they dared persist. These individuals are no different than you and I.

Ultimately persistence becomes a way of life, but that is not where it begins. To develop the mental strength - persistence - you must first want something. You have to WANT something so much that it becomes a heated desire... a passion in your belly.

You must fall in love with that idea. Yes, literally fall in love with the idea and magnetize yourself to every part of the idea. At that point, persistence will be virtually automatic.

Persistence is a subject I have studied all of my adult life and I can tell you one thing I know for certain: very few people ever, mentally or verbally, say to themselves... this is what I really want and I am prepared to give my life for it, and thus, they never develop the persistence to achieve it.

Persistence is a unique mental strength; a strength that is essential to combat the fierce power of the repeated rejections and numerous other obstacles that sit in waiting and are all part of winning in a fast-moving, ever-changing world.

As Napoleon Hill found out, there are hundreds of highly successful men and women who have cut a path for others to follow, while leaving their mark on the scrolls of history and every one of these great individuals was persistent. In many cases it was the only quality that separated them from everyone else.

It is generally believed that a lack of persistence is a consequence of a weak willpower. That is not true. A person could have a highly evolved willpower and still lack the persistence required to keep moving forward in life.

In more cases than not, if a person lacks persistence, they do not have a goal that is worthy of them, a desirable goal that excites them to their very core.

Though willpower is important in moving a person toward their goal, if there is ever a war between the will and the imagination, the imagination will win every time. What that means is: you're powered by desire and fuelled by the dream you hold.

Once you start to use your imagination to help you build a bigger picture of your dream, to define and refine it until you get it just right in your mind, the emotion that is triggered by that desire far outweighs any force that may be caused by sheer will alone.

I am not suggesting the will does not have to be developed, it does. It must become highly developed in order to direct you toward the image with which you are emotionally involved.

Your intellectual factors hold the potential for enormous good when they are properly employed. However, you must remember that everything has an opposite and any of your intellectual factors can turn, without warning, into destructive lethal enemies when they are directed toward results that are not wanted. It is easy to find individuals who are persistently doing what they don't want to do and achieving results that they do not want.

A lack of persistence is not their problem; that person is persisting to their own detriment. Ignorance and paradigms are the enemy that we must defeat. Everyone is persistent. Our objective must be to put persistence to work for us rather than against us.

Vision and desire have to be the focus of your attention if you're going to develop persistence into the great ally it can become.

Another excellent example of persistence was demonstrated when, in 1953, a beekeeper from Auckland, N.Z., Edmund Hillary and his native guide, Tenzing Norguay, became the first two people to climb Mt. Everest and return, after having tried and failed the two previous years.

Hillary had two obvious character strengths that took him to the very top - vision and desire. Even despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges, he had no trouble persisting with the strenuous acts that were required because every act was hooked into the image of him standing on top of the mountain.

They were expressed because of his persistence, but he was persistent because he was emotionally involved with the image. Without persistence, all his skills would have meant nothing.

Persistence is an expression of the mental strength that is essential in almost every profession, where repeated rejection and obstacles are part of a daily routine.

In closing, let me give you four relatively simple steps that will help you to turn persistence into a habit. These steps can be followed by virtually anyone.

1. Have a clearly defined goal. The goal must be something you are emotionally involved with, something you want very much. (In the beginning, you may not even believe that you can accomplish it - the belief will come.)

2. Have a clearly established plan that you can begin working on immediately. (Your plan will very likely only cover the first and possibly the second stage of the journey to your goal. As you begin executing your plan, other steps required to complete your journey will be revealed at the right time.)

3. Make an irrevocable decision to reject any and all negative suggestions that come from friends, relatives or neighbors. Do not give any conscious attention to conditions or circumstances that appear to indicate the goal cannot be accomplished.

4. Establish a mastermind group of one or more people who will encourage, support and assist you wherever possible.

What do you dream of doing with your life? Do it. Begin right now and never quit. There is greatness in you. Let it out. Be persistent.

For 40 years, Bob Proctor has focused his entire life and agenda around helping people create lives of prosperity, rewarding relationships and spiritual awareness.

To order any or all of Bob Proctor's extensive library of success products (and save big for one week only) including The Goal Achiever, The Born Rich Learning System, Your Mission in Commission, The Success Puzzle and The Success Series see #4 below or go to www.YourSuccessStore.com

Liberate Yourself From Fear by Mark Victor Hansen

Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing, which you think you cannot do."

This quote states the problem and the solution. We must stop running away from things that frighten us, face our fears head on, then do the thing we fear the most.

Most of the time we'll find out that the "thing" was not that scary after all. Our imaginations had behaved like a super fertilizer and grown a grotesque monstrosity in our minds. Remember, our imaginations are incredibly powerful.

They can work against us, creating horrible images that leave us paralyzed with fear. But they can also work for us, building a world where everything we do is an adventure, a miracle.

And the most amazing thing is that we hold the power to control our minds - we allow fear to dominate our lives or we choose to dominate fear. Those are our only two choices.

Problems are good, not bad. Welcome them and become the solution. - Mark Victor Hansen

Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, has for more than 25 years, uniquely focused on the vital elements of human behavior that most affect our personal and professional lives and has influenced society's top leaders and the general public on a global scale.

To receive 20% off Mark's best-selling cd programs Sell Yourself Rich, How to Think Bigger, The Aladdin Factor and Mega Book Marketing University, visit www.YourSuccessStore.com

I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it
gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....
That it's the small daily happenings that make life so
spectacular.

I've learned....
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be
appreciated and loved.

I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me
think I can?

I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only
letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to
surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies
and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the
ones you miss.

I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock
elsewhere.

I've learned....
That I should keep my words both soft and tender, because
tomorrow I may have to eat them.

I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do
about it.

I've learned....
That when your newly born child holds your little finger in
his little fist, you're hooked for life.

I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all
the happiness and growth occur while you're climbing it.

I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I
get done.

If you are unable to dance, don't let that stop you having fun-- sing at the top of your voice instead.

2) Smile! Force yourself to smile even if you don't feel like it. This tricks your brain into thinking that you are happy.

You do want to be happy don't you? Okay then--a great big cheesy grin. After three, one, two, three--smile:0)

3) Spend time with children. Their natural zest for life is infectious.

As well as the pleasures of a spontaneous hug or a chubby little hand in yours, try to take away with you some of their joy in simple things, licking an ice cream, playing with water, tramping through fallen leaves or following a butterfly.

4) Reward yourself. If there is a job that you hate to do, household accounts, home repairs etc. don't keep putting it off so that it is constantly nagging at you. Just get it done.

Then reward yourself with whatever you love, a shiny new magazine, a bunch of flowers, a long soak in an aromatic bath, two bars of chocolate or an evening in front of the TV doing absolutely nothing.

Or even all of the above if you can afford it. The peace of mind that comes from having got the job done will be the greatest reward of all.

5) Clear out your clutter. The ancient art of Feng Shui believes that getting rid of clutter rids your home or work space of negative stuck energy and allows space for positive energy to surge into all aspects of your life.

Whether or not this is correct, it is an undeniable fact that clearing out what you no longer want or need makes life easier. Your home is neater, looks more spacious and is easier to clean.

There can also be a tremendous feeling of freedom as you let go of the past and trust in the future to bring you what you will need. Emotional clutter can be even more damaging.

We've all said or done things we regret, the trick is to do anything you can to repair the damage and if that is not possible, forgive yourself and toss it out of your life.

6) Take action. If something is worrying you, be it a health problem, or debt or divorce, make that doctor's appointment, get some debt counseling, find out your rights.

The reality is often less stressful than sitting alone worrying about it. Try to talk over your problems with a friend, or if that is impossible find a support group on the Internet by typing debt, divorce or whatever into a search engine.

7) Positive thoughts. When you leave the house each morning, say and mean, I'm going to have a great day, it's going to be lots of fun, rather than thinking, Oh no, another dreary day at the office to get through.

The first attitude will attract good vibrations and positive fun people to you, the second will ensure a depressing day.

8) Have more fun. Apparently children laugh approximately 400 times a day yet adults laugh only about 20 times a day.

When do we lose our sense of fun? Claim it back. Play games, watch comedies, have daily jokes delivered to your mailbox or throw a fancy dress party.

9) Make something. Being creative gives you such a buzz you won't stay down in the dumps for long.

Stencil a room, make a cake, plan a garden, sketch or paint a picture.

Express yourself with a modern collage, change your rooms around, display your collections or start a patchwork quilt.

10) Keep a gratitude journal. Write down half a dozen things every day that you are grateful for, from waking up and seeing your children's beautiful little faces to the smell of the roses in the local park.

This cannot fail to cheer you up if you do it regularly as it gives you a whole new way of experiencing your life.

11) Start a new project. Learn a language, trace your family history, redecorate your home, learn to ride a horse, gain a new qualification, take music lessons, learn to make your own soft furnishings or do your own auto repairs.

Visualize yourself successfully completing the project and the benefits it will bring to your life. Then make a start and follow it through to the end.

An added bonus will be the increased self esteem that comes from having planned, problem solved and perfected the whole project yourself.

12) See your old friends. It's easy to get into a work, family, housework, shopping, sleep and back to work again routine that leaves you no time at all to be the person you once were.

The funny, up for a laugh, outgoing young woman you used to be. Spending time with friends who knew the old you seems to resurrect that side of your character.

You will come away feeling younger, more positive and excited by life than you were before you met up.

Go on, invite them over to share a pizza and catch up on each other's lives.

13) Paint or accessorize a room that you spend a lot of time in a lovely bright yellow. The colour of sunshine will lift your spirit and bring positive vibrations.

We subconsciously know about the effects of colour on our emotions which is why we talk about the future looking rosy or having the blues.

14) Take the happiness option. You have the choice whether to spend this day, which you will never live through again, in a state of happiness or unhappiness.

Choose to spend it as happily as you possibly can.

----------------------------------------

Colleen Moulding is a freelance writer from England where she has had many features on parenting, childcare, play, travel, entertaining and the Internet published in national newspapers and magazines.

*************************************************
Robert Elias Najemy is the author of over 600 articles, 400 lecture cassettes on Human Harmony and 20 books, which have sold over 100,000 copies. He is the Founder and director of the Center for Harmonious Living in Greece with 3700 members. His book The Psychology of Happiness is available at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971011605/holisticharmo- 20 and http://www.HolisticHarmony.com/psychofhappiness.html. You can download FREE articles and e-books from http://www.HolisticHarmony.com where you can also receive guidance on life issues.

• Your potted plants stay alive.

• Having sex in a twin sized bed is absurd.

• You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

• 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.

• You hear your favorite song on an elevator.

• You carry an umbrella.

• You watch the Weather Channel.

• Your friends marry and divorce instead of hookup and breakup.

• You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.

• Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as 'dressed up.'

• You're the one calling the police because those darn kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo.

• Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

• You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

• Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

• You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's.

• Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

• You no longer take naps from noon to 6 p.m.

• Dinner and a movie - The whole date instead of the beginning of one.

• MTV News is no longer your primary source for information.

• You go to the drugstore for Ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy test kits.

• A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff'.

• You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.

• Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi & Ding Dongs.

• "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."

• Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

• You don't drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

• You read this entire list looking for one sign that doesn't apply to you.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.

“If you have the time” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity.”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present, such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”

"That they live as if they will never die, and
die as though they had never lived.”

God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved.”

“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds to
open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.”

“To learn that two people can
look at the same thing and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they forgive
one another, but they must also forgive themselves.”

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here... always.”

-author unknown

Personal development self help Blog:

When you feel terrific, notify your face.

Worry pulls tomorrow's cloud over today's bright sunshine.

"Happiness is a form of courage." -Holbrook Jackson

If God shuts one door, He opens another.

If at first you do succeed, hide your astonishment.

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.

The one thing worse than a quitter is the person who is afraid to begin.

"Man is made or unmade by himself...In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master." -James Allen As A Man Thinketh

There is one art of which man should be master--the art of reflection.

"Growth, in some curious way, I suspect, depends on being always in motion just a little bit, one way or another." -Norman Mailer

"Each forward step we take we leave some phantom of ourselves behind." -John Lancaster Spalding

People who look for the easy way out seem to have trouble finding an exit.

The most important ability is availability. Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.

School is a building that has four walls--with tomorrow inside.

"As soils are depleted, human health, vitality and intelligence go with them." -Louis Bromfield

There are many ways of going forward, but there is only one way of standing still.

There is no great success without great commitment.

Out of the mouths of babes come things parents never should have said.

Last year I made a list of things that I resolved to do--I'll use that list again this year--it's still as good as new.

Always hold your head up, but keep your nose at a friendly level.

A lot of us would like to move mountains, but few of us are willing to practice on small hills.

People are very open-minded about new things--as long as they're exactly like the old ones.

Peace of mind is not the absence of conflict from life, but the ability to cope with it. The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.

Most of us know how to say nothing, but few of us know when.

Fear of becoming a has-been keeps some people from becoming anything.

It is better to hold out a hand than to point a finger.

Doing your best is more important than being the best.

A cheerful friend is like a sunny day.

Forgiveness is like sunshine after a rainy day.

A bad habit is nothing more than a mistake repeated.

In the eyes of a child, there are 7 million wonders of the world.

Between each dawn and setting sun, set aside some time for fun.

Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for getting old.

No person ever advanced by traveling in reverse.

All that you do, do with all your might--Things done by half are never quite right. Years may wrinkle the skin, but lack of enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

You can't turn back the clock--But you can wind it up again.

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

Time is not an enemy unless you try to kill it.

If television shows continue the way they're going, the public will soon be demanding longer commercials.

He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.

Giant oak trees started out as little nuts that held their ground.

To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable.

Nature is the art of God.

A truly contented person enjoys the scenery along a detour.

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors--we borrow it from our children.

No brook is too little to seek the sea.

Joy is not in what we own...it's in what we are.

An obstacle may be either a stepping stone or a stumbling block.

Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail.

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.

The best thing you can spend on your children is time.

Personal development self help Blog:

Famous quotes to motivate and inspire you!

"Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man." – inspiring famus quote by Benjamin Franklin

“Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot.” –motivation quote by Jim Rohn

GREAT FUNNY QUOTES BY GREAT LADIES

Inside every older lady is a younger lady -- wondering what the hell happened.

Famous quote by -Cora Harvey Armstrong-

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies.

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. -Helen Hayes (at 73)-

I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. -Janette Barber-

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. -Lily Tomlin-

A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car. Famous quote by -Carrie Snow-

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends. -Laurie Kuslansky-

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. -Erma Bombeck-

Old age ain't no place for sissies. Famous quote by -Bette Davis-

A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't. -Rhonda Hansome-

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. -Jane Sellman-

Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows. Famous quote by -Jennifer Unlimited-

Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. -Charlotte Whitton-

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. -Caryn Leschen-

I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. Famous quote by -Jennifer Unlimited-

If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. -Catherine-

When I was young, I was put in a school for retarded kids for two years before they realized I actually had a hearing loss. And they called ME slow! -Kathy Buckley-

Personal development self help Blog:

Personal development self help Blog:

WHY GOD CREATED CHILDREN (AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)

To those of us who have children in our lives,
whether they are our own,
grandchildren,
nieces,
nephews,
or students...
here is something to make you chuckle.

Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort
from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.

And the first thing he said was
"DON'T!"

"Don't what?"
Adam replied.

"Don't eat the forbidden fruit."
God said.

"Forbidden fruit?
We have forbidden fruit?
Hey Eve, we have forbidden fruit!"

"No Way!"

"Yes way!"

"Do NOT eat the fruit! "
said God.

"Why?"

"Because I am your Father and I said so! "

God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.

A few minutes later, God saw His children having an “apple break” and He was ticked!

"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? "
God asked.

"Uh huh,"
Adam replied.

"Then why did you? "
said the Father.

"I don't know,"
said Eve.

"She started it! "
Adam said.

"Did not! "

"Did too! "

"DID NOT! "

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.

Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!

If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!

1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you.

In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY:

Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY:

IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:

"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

Quick, send this page link on to ten people within the next five minutes.

Nothing will happen if you don't, but if you do, ten people will be laughing.

Personal development self help Blog:

"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."
-- Colette

"And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."
-- Erica Jong

"We would worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do."
-- Ethel Barrett

"Fun is about as good a habit as there is."
-- Jimmy Buffett

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Wishing you all the very best life has to offer.
Helene Malmsio

for some natural Sleep Aid Tips for your better sleep go to:
http://www.sleep-aid-tips.com

for some good clean Jokes and self help Personal Development resources go to:
http://personal-enterprise-self-help-resources.com

for over 100 Famous Quotes and free Small Business & Consulting resources go to:
http://www.strategic-services-aust.com

Personal development self help Blog:

This makes interesting reading. Take a look..... believe it or not

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

Interesting!

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway.
Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot.

They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.

They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

And that's the truth... Now, whoever said that History was boring ! ! !

Self help personal development blog:

Nathaniel Branden - Healthy Self-Esteem

As the world becomes more complex, competitive, challenging, self-esteem is more important than ever.

The shift from a manufacturing-based society to one based on information, and the emergence of a global economy characterized by rapid change have created growing demands on our psychological resources.

Recently, the focus of my work has been to show how self-esteem principles and technology can be used to improve performance in the work place.

Self-Esteem Defined

Despite the abundance of books, studies, workshops and committees devoted to the subject of self-esteem, there is little agreement about what it means. Self-esteem has two essential components:

Self-efficacy: Confidence in the ability to cope with life's challenges. Self-efficacy leads to a sense of control over one's life.

Self-respect: Experience oneself as deserving of happiness, achievement and love. Self-respect makes possible a sense of community with others. Self-esteem is a self-reinforcing characteristic. When we have confidence in our ability to think and act effectively, we can persevere when faced with difficult challenges. Result: We succeed more often than we fail. We form more nourishing relationships. We expect more of life and of ourselves.

If we lack confidence, we give up easily, fail more often and aspire to less. Result: We get less of what we want.

What Self-Esteem is Not

Self-esteem is a necessary condition of well being. But it's not the only one. Its presence doesn't make life problem-free. Even people with high self-esteem may experience anxiety, depression or fear when overwhelmed by issues they don't know how to cope with.

I think of self-esteem as the immune system of consciousness. A healthy immune system doesn't guarantee you'll never become ill, but, it does reduce your susceptibility to illness and can improve your odds for a speedy recovery if you do get sick.

The same is true psychologically. Those with strong self-esteem are resilient in the face of life's difficulties.

It's impossible to have too much self-esteem. People who are arrogant or boastful actually show a lack of self-esteem. Those who are truly comfortable with themselves and their achievements take pleasure in being who they are... they don't need to tell the world about it.

Becoming successful, powerful or well liked does not automatically confer good self-esteem. In fact, talented and powerful people who doubt their own core value are usually unable to find joy in their achievements, no matter how great their external success.

Important: Self-esteem has to do with what I think of me, not what anyone else thinks of me.

The highly touted use of affirmations is also ineffective, or at best of marginal value, in raising self-esteem. Telling yourself you're capable and lovable accomplishes little if you are operating irresponsibly in key areas of your life.

Roots of Self-Regard

Genetic inheritance may have a role in a person's self-esteem -- it's conceivable, anyway. Parental upbringing can also play a powerful role.

Parents with strong self-esteem lay the foundation for that quality in their children. They raise them with plenty of love and acceptance, believing in their competence and setting reasonable rules and expectations.

Yet there are exceptions that we still don't understand. Some people who have these positive factors in their backgrounds become self-doubting adults, while others who survive seemingly destructive childhoods grow up with a strong sense of self-worth.

Strengthening self-esteem is not a quick or easy process. We can't do it directly. Self-esteem is a consequence of following fundamental internal practices that require an ongoing commitment to self-examination. I call these practices the "Six Pillars of Self-Esteem":

Living consciously: Paying attention to information and feedback about needs and goals... facing facts that might be uncomfortable or threatening... refusing to wander through life in a self-induced mental fog.

Self-acceptance: Being willing to experience whatever we truly think, feel or do, even if we don't always like it... facing our mistakes and learning from them.

Self-responsibility. Establishing a sense of control over our lives by realizing we are responsible for our choices and actions at every level... the achievement of our goals...our happiness... our values.

Self-assertiveness: The willingness to express appropriately our thoughts, values and feelings... to stand up for ourselves... to speak and act from our deepest convictions.

Living purposefully: Setting goals and working to achieve them, rather than living at the mercy of chance and outside forces... developing self-discipline.

Integrity: The integration of our behavior with our ideals, convictions, standards and beliefs... acting in congruence with what we believe is right. Most of us are taught from an early age to pay far more attention to signals coming from other people than from within. We are encouraged to ignore our own needs and wants and to concentrate on living up to others' expectations.

Self-esteem requires us to listen to and respect our own sensations, insights, intuition and perspective. For some people, learning to do this may require the help of a competent therapist. For all of us, developing the pillars of self-esteem is a life-long -- and worthy -- challenge.