Motivation - The Defining Moment Of Self-Improvement

For any aspect of self-improvement, there has to be a reason for you to start and keep going. That is your motivation - the reason for doing what you do. In order to attempt any sort of improvement in your life, you need to be motivated in some way to get started. Strategies for self-improvement start with defining what it is you want to achieve and then charting a course through which you can effect the improvements or changes. These do not have to be drastic changes - they could be something as simple as making time for yourself to write in a journal each day or something to improve your health, such as quitting smoking.

Motivation comes from within. It is something that you want to do for you. This is what keeps you going, getting up each day and going off to work. Children are often the motivating force behind parents saving money, when they would ordinarily blow it on something frivolous. You know that you will need money for your children's higher education or to give them the extras that they want, such as toys and brand name clothing. This is the reason that you work each day, maintain a home and spend time enjoying each other.

If you don't have something to look forward to or see some sense of gratification in what you do, then there is no motivation to get doing it. Just meeting with colleagues helps you get a sense of who you are and your place in the world. Socialization, confidence and improvement are three main aspects of life. When you enjoy life, you can be motivated to achieve great things. Achievement does not have to be something that everyone recognizes. It can be something as simple as learning to make a quilt or to use a saw to create beautiful woodwork. The end result is the feeling of accomplishment that you have in yourself.

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The Embarrassment of Self Development

For a long time I yearned to improve myself; my true inner self, but something was holding me back. I made a lot of excuses back then; I didnt have time; I was too tired; I wasnt sure what direction my search should take. However, the truth was I felt embarrassed about opening myself up, especially to those close to me. All that changed when I went for a stroll along a Danish beach.

I went to Denmark for a short camping holiday. I stayed on a small island in the North Sea. It was beautiful, very peaceful; just what I was looking for. On about the third or fourth morning I went for a stroll along the beach. The beach stretched the entire length of the island, about 20km and it was about 2km wide!

After about an hour or so, I came across a young woman who was doing some type of oriental martial art. She was all by herself and seemed totally absorbed in what she was doing. Maybe this is not so strange, but what really seemed incongruous (and darn right silly to me) was that she was wielding a Samurai sword. I really did find myself thinking how silly she looked and actually became a little annoyed. My first thought was: What a poser. Did she really love herself so much she thought other people would want to see her performance with a sword? I found myself wishing she would lose her footing and fall down, and then I could say: thats what happens when you think so highly of yourself. But she didnt fall over; she kept moving, slowly and gracefully.

I continued walking along the beach. I tried to enjoy the remainder of my stroll but I kept thinking about the young woman and her sword! Why are some people such exhibitionists? I kept muttering to myself. I was no longer casually strolling along the beach, looking out to sea; I was marching, hunched over, looking at the sand beneath my shoes. I had become self-absorbed; lost in my not-too-pleasant thoughts. I was brought back to this world when I almost walked into an elderly couple. I apologised profusely. They smiled back and said not to worry; they hadnt been looking where they were going either. They were a sweet old couple, with weather beaten but healthy looking faces with open smiles. It was clear that they were very much in love with one another; they each had a hand resting on the others waist. I dont see too many elderly couples who still walk together with their arms about each and so they appeared a little odd. But what was really strange was that neither of them was wearing any clothes!

I was embarrassed, naturally. But the elderly couple werent. They were in no hurry to move on and they began to talk to me. They told me they were Danish and came often to the island. They asked where I was from and had I been before. They went on to tell me that they had been together 42 years and had 2 children. They also told me many things about themselves and asked many questions about myself. And soon, I forgot about their nakedness and felt at ease, and enjoyed our little conversation.

After a time, the old man said that they must be getting on their way and so we said our goodbyes and continued our separate walks; not once did they make any attempt to explain why they were naked. As I thought about the old couple I couldnt help but smile. They were so gentle and at ease with the world. I knew that they were what I wanted to be; free. Totally free from what others may think of them, totally free of any inhibitions to live the life they wanted. My mind then turned toward the young woman I had seen earlier. I knew, of course, that she was not an exhibitionist seeking attention. She was also free. She was doing what she wanted because it made her content. In truth, the annoyance I felt when I first saw her was not for her but for me. Annoyed because I was embarrassed, about what others might think, to do what I really wanted in life.

I came to a stop and stared out to the grey North Sea. I knew that I must break free, not from the world or people around me, but from me; myself. Without the thought crossing my mind I began to undress. I can honestly say I felt no shyness that day when I removed my last garment. I felt no different than when I undress to take a shower. I left my clothes behind and walked into the sea. I didnt stay long, less than a minute, the water was freezing. But the dip had felt like a baptism. I walked back out and picked up my clothes. I did not dress but made my way back down the beach from where I had come from.

A while later I passed the young woman. She was sitting crossed legged with the sword across her lap, looking out to sea. When I stepped across her line of vision she looked at me and smiled.

I smiled back.

Robin OBrien is founder and editor of www.selfimprovementtechniques.com and www.winchester-tourist-information.com

Why Creating a Resolution Fuels Motivation

By means of something different, everybody is motivated. For any kind of goal, that is the similar. Since their high school reunion is around the corner, someone may want to lose weight, while another may want to discard those extra pounds to get into the mood. Some reasonable goals, incentives, or even the character of the person is typically, what motivates a person to do what he or she does. In order to get good grades, one person may be motivated, or strive, because they need a high GPA, while another person may be motivated to earn high marks since they will get money from a parent.

Whether you are looking to lose a few pounds, exercise more to get in better shape or to get your house structured, creating a sense of purpose is the key to motivation. Motivation is difficult without having a sense of purpose. Without a reason, your goals are not clear and your outcome that you are working towards will be harder to reach. Many different things may motivate a person, but the reason why they are motivated is typically because they have some kind of purpose.

Oftentimes, when a person creates a firm sense of purpose, or a clear reason, then the end result is easier to reach. Clear goals and understanding why you want to motivate yourself can often be the simplest way to get motivated to do nearly anything. When you get ready to work on achieving a goal and understand your purpose for doing so, it will make easier you achieve you goal. Think about what motivates you and then you can easily find ways to help yourself along the way.

Make a list of small things that you could use for motivation. These could be rewards or incentives that could range from a new book to a new dress.
On creating a sense of purpose that can help you motivate yourself, there are a few key tips. When you do not feel motivated to do something, you can create a sense of purpose by thinking of want you want to achieve.

It could be something very small, such as washing your car, or something much bigger, such as purchasing a new house. Whatever your idea is, you require having a clear purpose in mind. Perhaps your purpose for achieving this goal is to better yourself, many it will improve the lives of others or perhaps it is a way to be more efficient or make more money. Your purpose is a significant way to motivate yourself.

In addition, without a clear purpose, your motivation will drop when your work becomes difficult. You lose sight of why you are doing whatever it is that you are striving to accomplish. You can easily give up and you no longer have in sight what your end result can or will be.

Understanding your goals, your reason for what you are working for all creates a clear sense of purpose. This makes motivating yourself so much easier and helps you reach your mission much faster and easier than without a clear purpose.
Another great motivational tool is by rewarding yourself for reaching your small goals along the way. After you have thought about your reason for wanting to do something, consider what you would get pleasure from a reward. Often, small rewards can motivate and help make your end goal easier to achieve.

Having a clear purpose for an outcome gives you the clearness you need to become motivated. Motivation is near impossible to achieve without this clarity. Understanding purpose which means, who, what, where and why of your motivation gives you the key self-assurance needed to meet your goals.
Writing a list or journal of goals will help you reach your end result is another way to keep your purpose in mind and to keep yourself motivated.

If you want to exercise more, possibly keeping a journal of what kind of exercise you do and how long will help you maintain a clear picture in your mind. By looking at your exercise log, your motivation and purpose could be spurred each day. You will start by making small changes each day, if you are trying to attain a large goal, such as losing twenty pounds. These small changes are your goals that will cause you to your successful weight loss.

I hope you have gotten some good ideas from this article and that you are able to use them. I want to thank you reading. Go ahead and look around to find additional helpful tips and information at http://www.selfhelpzone.com/

Nishanth Reddy is an author and publisher of popular Self Help Blog. For more information on motivation, goal setting and success and visit: www.selfhelpzone.com/category/motivation/

Do You Value Yourself?

We all live. We all work. We all wish to have a family, have children, retire peacefully and then pass away. Is that all in our life? What is the true value you put to your life? What are you? What do you want to achieve so that you make a difference in the world? What memories you want to leave? These are questions all of us must ask. Billions of people in the world lead a routine life and pass away. Is that enough/ Can we not do something better? How to make ourselves valuable?

We make ourselves by giving. When we make others happy, we become happy. When we do something unselfishly, we feel good. Most of the problems in our life arise because of absence of giving. Marriages are getting broken for small reasons, because neither the husband nor the wife wants to give in. Both have their demands that must be met, otherwise separation.

Every child wants admission in the best college. Every person wants the best job. Everybody wants the best comfort. All of us want. What about giving? Few of us do that and that is our problem for dissatisfaction in our own life. We are slowly losing our self-esteem because of our own behavior.

Once we begin giving, we will be rebuilding our esteem. Try to help those around you. Tolerate few nuisances. Forgive others for their faults. Do not hurt people with harsh words. Do not act in a manner that destroys a life. Contribute to the world so that the world remembers us for our goodness. All of us may not become saints, but we can surely follow in their footsteps.

Pause - Yield - Choose: Your Three Powers for Happiness and Vitality

Copyright 2006 Tom Russell

When I was a young man of seventeen I learned to fly airplanes. My first flight as a student pilot taught the value of the PAUSE.

On my very first lesson the instructor put me at the controls. Great tension possessed me as we lifted off and I wrestled the plane up to an altitude of a few thousand feet. All of a sudden Wally said to me, "Tom, the airplane was made to fly itself. Relax. Cooperate with it."

For the first time in the flight I noticed my state. I was gripping the controls with everything I had. I was gritting my teeth. I was a wreck but was completely unaware of it until Wally had me PAUSE.

The PAUSE brings you back home to your released state. It returns you to the natural flow of life that "flies itself." Strain and struggle are replaced by easy taps on the controls. You and daily life work in harmony to produce spiritual flight.

Here's how to apply the pause: Simply let go and know where you are. Often a deep breath arrives to refresh you. See as much as possible about your present state and the world around you. Be aware of both your environment and yourself as an integral part of it. Hold this new state for as long as you can.

The Power to YIELD

Picture a man walking a path to the top of a high mountain. At a certain point a small boulder comes crashing toward him. Stunned, he reaches down with both arms and stops the boulder. It jars him terribly. A moment later another boulder heads his way. He does the same thing. But with the approach of the third boulder a new and higher idea comes to him. At the last moment he simply STEPS ASIDE. He YIELDS. The boulder passes right by.

This is how we can deal with difficult and obnoxious people. They are on the prowl for a fight and when you don't give it to them they fall forward from their own momentum. It is amazing how powerless difficult people become when you consciously let them win. They are so ready to fight!

More importantly, YIELD is how to heal emotional hurts and conflicts that often lie deep in the mind. You are the calm spark of awareness that sees the turmoil without entering it or manipulating it or demanding that it go away. Release your efforts to handle them. Let them run their course and go where they want to go while you seek insight and understanding into precisely what is happening.

As author Vernon Howard so beautifully said once, "The problem is not the thought; the problem is the thought about the thought." Mental gymnastics are powerless to relieve deep-seated pains. It is the Light itself that heals us, not machinations of the mind. The spirit knows precisely where to go and what to do. No mistake, no blunder, no grief is too much for it. Life with a capital "L" has an amazing power to renew itself if allowed to work without interference.

The Power to CHOOSE

To choose is to refuse to catch the ropes thrown at you from every direction. For example, people often throw negative ropes by their facial expressions and by their quick little remarks. The TV itself is a giant rope-tossing machine. But the power all of these rope tossers possess derives from one thing: YOUR DECISION TO CATCH THEIR ROPES! You can choose in favor of yourself. You can stay in your own intelligent zone of independence and free flowing energy by letting the ropes fall right to the ground.

It was a great relief to me when I realized that a large part of my problem was my demand that rope tossers stop tossing ropes at me. I finally understood that they are never going to stop. The ropes they throw are a result of the life-level they inhabit. The people who run the media are never going to stop. Sleeping people who have no interest in self-development are going to spend their entire lives tossing ropes. It was my demand that they stop that created anguish.

Most importantly, I can choose to refuse the thought ropes thrown within my own mind. Guilt, anger, worry -- these are all thought ropes that linger in our minds because we catch them. What a pleasure to see a tossed rope that says something like, "You'll never make it, you're too old to change, you had your chance but missed it" and simply let it fall into nothingness.

Conclusion

PAUSE, YIELD, CHOOSE are never contradictory because they are three different powers that you can use at different times. Sometimes it's best to work with YIELD. Other times it's more profitable to turn your attention toward a refusal to catch ropes. When things are hectic remember the PAUSE. But at a higher level these powers combine into one dynamic force. As your skill grows in their application you'll find that they fit together and work in perfect harmony. Your awareness of their existence guarantees their development.

Tom Russell is the host of www.SuperWisdom.com and the author of "The Power of Vertical Thinking" and "Seven Secrets to Light Up Your Essence." His free newsletter, The SuperWisdom Ezine, is read by subscribers in more than 40 countries. You are cordially invited to visit the website and subscribe.

7 Tips to Staying Motivated While Working From Home

Copyright 2006 Sandra P. Martini

Youre doing it. For years youve wanted to work from home and you are finally doing it. You are no longer an employee who has a J O B; you are now a business owner, self-employed, ruler of your own destiny AND you have inherited all the responsibilities that come with owning a business:

* You are the manager * You are the marketer * You are the service provider/widget maker * You are the bookkeeper

And the list goes on. We often get so busy running our businesses that we forget why we started them in the first place.

So what does a small business owner do to stay motivated while working from home?

1. Remember the why.

Take a step back to remember the reason you went into business in the first place. What was your inspiration? It helps to focus intently on how you felt when you first realized you wanted to be successfully self-employed. For me, it was the sense of freedom and independence that I knew would come with success as an entrepreneur.

2. Give yourself a deadline.

If youre procrastinating about a project, you may be motivated by the self-imposed pressure of a deadline. Try giving yourself a deadline that you wont want to back down on: send an email to friends announcing a new product launch, email your client with a due date for that big project youre working on, take reservations for your first teleclass, you get the idea.

3. Maintain a support system.

One of the hardest parts of being a solopreneur can be the sense of isolation. When things go right (or wrong), we no longer have the water cooler to go to. Be sure there is someone who you can share with, someone who is available for a quick motivational chat when you need one.

4. Keep the goal in sight.

A simple, yet effective motivational tool is to keep your goals in sight literally. Ive taken a picture of my dream house and made it the background wallpaper on my computer. One glance at it is a megadose of motivation for me!

5. Take a nap.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, taking a powernap is one of the best ways to rejuvenate your body AND mind. So the next time youre feeling overwhelmed or low, slowly and intently read each of your goals and then go take a powernap. Let your subconscious work on ways to manifest those goals while you rest.

When you wake, youll be raring to go!

6. Reward yourself.

When faced with a large project, unpleasant task or anything that overwhelms you, plan a reward for once its done. The reward can be as simple as a quiet bath with candles or as exciting as a professional sporting event. Just be sure to plan a reward that YOU want and will enjoy!

7. Take a break.

Youve most likely never worked harder than when you are first starting your own business. In addition to actually doing all the work, you need to work on marketing, invoicing and other overhead or non-billable tasks.

Dont get caught in the trap of all work and no play. Be sure you take days off and breaks throughout the day to rejuvenate and gain some perspective. Whenever Im stuck on a project, I grab one of the dogs and go for a walkby the time I return to the office, things have usually sorted themselves out in my head.

It doesn't matter how successful your home business is or how much you love to work from home; both new and established entrepreneurs face the motivational dilemma at some point and while some of the above motivational strategies may seem conflicting on their face giving yourself a deadline versus taking a break for example they all have their place in the life of a successful entrepreneur.

Online Business Manager Entrepreneur, Sandra Martini, publishes the 'Effective Entrepreneur' weekly e-zine. She also coaches small business owners to more efficiently manage their businesses while increasing profits and having fun. Sandra's coaching programs are available via teleconferencing, emails and telephone calls. For more information or to sign-up for Effective Entrepreneur, visit www.online-biz-coach.com today.

When Motivation Counts

Have you stopped to think just how short life really is? Do you realize that every day you spend worrying or feeling bad about yourself is one more day that you are putting off being happy? If you are ever to get the most out of life, now is the time to start. Is there a dream, purpose, or accomplishment you have desired for a long time? Then now is the time that motivation counts!

What are the components of a life worth living? Many people would say that their relationship with their spouse and their children are an important part of what makes their life worthwhile. Do keep this in mind, though. Family life and marriage are not always easy. It requires that you put time in with those special people. It requires you to learn to be patient and keep your cool, too. Right now is the time to get motivated and start taking that weekly date with your spouse. Right now is the time to start having dinner with your kids and talking about their day. Now is the time motivation counts!

If you're single, you don't have to give up hope. You can know that fulfillment, too. The person you eventually attract will depend a lot on the person you are. A good rule of thumb is to be the person you desire to make your mate. In other words, do you want someone who is patient and loyal? Honest and humble? Virtuous and hard-working? Then be those things yourself. Then get out there and meet people. Or go online. With today's internet options, there is no reason everyone can't find Mr. or Ms. Right. But now is the time to get motivated and work toward that dream. Motivation counts now!

Another thing that makes life worth living is having the ability to have fun. This can mean having enough money to take vacations and the like, and with motivation, you might be able to have the money you want. However, if you don't learn to relax and enjoy what you have, the money itself might never really bring you the fun you crave. An easy-going, up-beat, contented attitude goes farther than money when it comes to having fun. If you don't have this type of outlook, then now is the time to get motivated and become more positive. Now is when motivation counts!

Almost everyone is required to work in order to have food on the table and a roof over their head. If your job makes you miserable, then even with a great family and lots of fun, you're going to be putting in forty hours a week of misery. How can you improve this picture? Do you need to look for a job in a different line of work? Or would a successful work-at-home business be perfect for you? If your income or work tasks are unsatisfactory to you, then it's time to push yourself a little to make a change. Motivation counts now!

So when does motivation count? Maybe a better question would be, when doesn't it count?

For more personal growth articles visit: www.personalgrowthunlimited.com

5 Tips To Supercharge Your Motivation

Motivation is the driving force behind life-enhancing change. It comes from knowing exactly what you want to do and having an insatiable, burning desire to do whats necessary to get it. It keeps your dream on track as it is the power of motivation that keeps you going when the going gets tough.

Heres 5 top tips to help you supercharge your motivation:

1. Create a picture board and fill it with images of your desired goals. The car you want to own, the house you want to live in, the area where you want to live yes, theyre the obvious ones. Others could be pictures of holiday destinations, trophies, first-class travel tickets, clothes you want to buy, fine restaurants you want to frequent whatever you can think of that gets your pulse racing.

2. GET ANGRY. If you want to change your life for the better then get angry about where youre at now. Having a blas attitude towards change isnt whats needed and it wont create a strong desire within you. So ask: Why do I want to change? Is it because youre FED UP with debts? Does your job DRIVE YOU CRAZY? Is your life DULL AND PRECITABLE? Are you SICK AND TIRED of doing the same thing week in week out? Are you BORED BEYOND BELIEF by the dull, uninspiring, unhappy people you associate with? THEN GET ANGRY ABOUT IT. And I mean REAL ANGRY. Write it all down, all of the frustrating, unrewarding, miserable lot of it that makes every day a dull slog until your final days. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?

3. Speaking of your final days, start to appreciate the value of time. Time is one of the most precious resources you have and it is also a NON RENEWABLE resource. You can either use it fully or squander it. If you want to create change youre going to have to invest a lot of time to make it happen. Start to reduce the time you waste on irrelevancies: Television, newspapers, lie-ins, weekends spent shopping, partying, dining out, visiting an endless line of relatives and friends these wont help you get what you want and all of them will rob time from you. Valuable time that you can use much more effectively by investing it in YOU. Remember this: You have a finite amount of time here on Earth. You dont know how much time you have no one does. But its how you use the time you have that counts. So make your time count and that means starting from right NOW.

4. Conformity. Are you a mindless little sheep whos way too timid to pursue your own way? Do you have to follow where everyone else goes, doing exactly what everyone else does and therefore, who gets the same levels of happiness as all the other little sheep? Seriously, does this describe YOU? Are you too frightened to be different than all of the other sheep because they wouldnt like it if you decided to follow a different path? So you dutifully trot along following all the other sheep because if theyre doing it then thats how it is right? But if you do what everyone else does youll just get what everyone else gets. Do you want to be a mindless, timid little sheep who blindly follows all the other sheep? Or do you want to be a leader, a warrior who possesses the courage to be uniquely you and to do what you want to do and make your dreams happen? If so then this means you have to be more like a tiger than a sheep. Do you really want to be a sheep? I mean, havent we got enough sheep already?

5. Fear your fear. Fear is the force that is determined to stop you in your tracks and rob your dreams from you. But it can only do this if you let it. Are you going to let this cruel destructive charlatan trample on your dreams, steal your happiness and crush your spirit? Imagine this thought haunting your final days: I didnt do the things I wanted because I was too frightened to live. And by then, itll be far too late to conquer fear. Refuse to let fear spoil your life and start taking action now!

The world is waiting for your unique gifts. Why keep it waiting any longer?

Chris Green is the author of the new book Conquering Fear, a special program which will show you how to conquer fear and attract greater happiness, success and prosperity into your life. For more info, click here => www.conqueringfear.net

Exercise Tips: 25 Ways to Stay Motivated

We all know that exercise can be pure magic for the mind, body and soul. But how do you go from a sporadic, on again, off again exerciser to someone for whom exercise is a lifelong habit, as natural and necessary as going to work and eating regular meals?

Here are 25 tips from someone who has been on both sides.

1. The first thing to do is to ask yourself: Why are you exercising? Are you trying to get in shape for an upcoming event? Do you want to lose weight, sleep better, increase your energy, gain strength, add muscle tone and flexibility, or just feel a heightened sense of well being? If the reason you are exercising has anything to do with someone else (for example, your boyfriend says you need to lose weight or get in shape), you need a new reason (and, quite possibly, a new boyfriend).

2. Set goals. Set both a short term goal, to achieve in three to six weeks, and a long term goal, to achieve over the course of a year. Make sure your goals are achievable enough that they are not discouraging, but high enough that you have an incentive to tie your workout shoes each day. It is also important that your goals are specific and directly related to your specific motivation for exercising. For example, my main motivation for exercising is to consistently maintain my brighter mood and the calm, energized feeling that I get only from exercising, so my goal is to work out at least 5 days per week. My other motivation is to gain strength and cardiovascular endurance, so my other goals have to do with how long and how quickly I run.

3. Keep an exercise journal or log. Write down how your exercise is making you feel each day. How is your exercise benefiting your mood, energy levels, quality of sleep, weight, and so on? Do some exercises have more significant effects than others? Chart your progress in regard to your specific goals.

4. Take photos of yourself each month in your workout gear so you have a visual record of your results.

5. Make sure you are working out hard enough to release endorphins. Of course, you will want to talk to a doctor before starting any workout regimen, and you want to make sure that you are exercising at the optimum level for you, your body type, and your fitness level. I find that I am much more likely to continue with an exercise program if each workout releases those endorphins and immediately improves they way I feel.

6. Advertisements for fitness products (especially athletic shoes) can be tremendously motivating. Purchase a fitness magazine and make an inspirational collage of images, advertisements and slogans that speak to you. Post your collage where you will see it each day.

7. Make sure you are using proper technique. You want to avoid injury, above all, so check with a doctor or trainer if you experience any pain, or if you are not sure whether you are doing a particular exercise correctly.

8. Join an online community, such as WeightWatchers.com or Ediets.com, which encourages you to log and track your exercise each day.

9. If you enjoy working out with someone, call a friend to help hold you accountable for those daily workouts.

10. Join a group that combines fitness goals with charity fundraising. The Team In Training, from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, for example, provides training to walk or run a whole or half marathon, or to participate in a triathlon or 100 mile bike ride, all while raising money for a good cause.

11. If you prefer to work out alone, give yourself something fun to do while you exercise. Find some good heart pumping music or listen to books on tape. A suspenseful audiobook may be all you need to get on those running shoes each day.

12. Identify the excuses you like to use and have a ready made response. If time is an issue, make sure your workout clothes are ready to go. If you have young children, get a good jogging stroller or set up a babysitting swap with another mom in your neighborhood: you can watch her children while she works out and vice versa.

13. Make sure you have the right gear, which can make all the difference in the comfort level of your workout. A good pair of shoes is essential. And weather resistant clothing or a membership to an indoor gym can help you fight off your own excuses when weather conditions are less than ideal.

14. Once you find an exercise that you particularly enjoy, do a Google search to find out more about any coaches or specialists that may be able to provide inspiration or special training, either through tapes, books, or online resources. If you are a runner, for example, check out JohnBingham.com.

15. Recognize that your will to exercise is going to fluctuate, and exercise anyway. Sometimes it helps if I promise myself that I can stop my workout after 10 minutes if I still want to. At that point, I am usually feeling so much better that I finish the workout.

16. Place a giant star on your calendar each day to indicate that you completed your workout. These visual rewards can be so motivating.

17. Change your routine as you reach new goals. Add zest to your workout and avoid the exercise plateau by increasing the intensity or the duration of your workout, or by trying a new workout or sport.

18. Hire a trainer. If you are in an exercise rut, consider consulting with a personal trainer for a session or two. You will learn new techniques and find fresh motivation, as well.

19. Try not to take more than one day off at a time. I have found this really important to avoid losing valuable momentum. If I take two days off, it becomes very easy to take another day, and then another day. That means that if your workout is only part of your weekday routine, weave it into your weekend routine, too.

20. Be gentle with yourself. If you miss a workout or two or three, get right back to your regular schedule. You will feel better instantly.

21. Choose an exercise that you are likely to do each day. Some experts say that walking is the best exercise simply because it is something that is easy to do on a continual basis. There is no need for special equipment, and you can do it absolutely anywhere.

22. If you are walking or running, get a good pedometer to help you track your progress.

23. Schedule your daily exercise on your to do list and in your planner. Think of it as simply something you need to do before your head hits the pillow.

24. Give yourself simple rewards. It is generally best if these rewards are not edible, since a food reward can be a tad demoralizing after you have just worked to burn so many calories in a workout. For long term goals, treat yourself to a new pair of athletic shoes or other fitness equipment. For short term goals, consider a new fitness magazine, workout video, or simply fresh flowers for the dining room table.

25. Try to think of exercise as something you do for yourself: a gift you give yourself, a way to stay balanced and focused, and time when you can be alone with your thoughts.

Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape at www.momscape.com . Visit today for the latest online Coupon Codes including money-saving shoe store coupons.

If You Can You Can Do Anything

I recently had an epiphany. Many may consider it a minor feat, yet for me it feels like a big accomplishment. I did something I didnt think I could do and I changed my own image of myself. I also learned something that can be applied to most everything in life.

I have never thought of myself as a swimmer. Sure, I took lessons when I was a kid just like everyone else, but I struggled with it. I did not find it easy. I thought everyone else was a better swimmer than me and I did not think I could do it. So I didnt swim. For years and years I just didnt even try.

But this summer I was inspired. I wanted to swim. Not just swim, I wanted to become a good swimmer. Being a Mommy is definitely inspirational and my inspiration to swim came from my two-year-old daughter. My beautiful little daughter inspired me. I took her to a mommy-tot class and she loved it. Every time she was in the pool she loved it. She seems to be natural at it, just the opposite of what I was. Her lessons have been over for weeks yet still every single day at 8:00 in the morning, she puts on her swimsuit and she is ready to go to the pool.

My family always enjoyed boating and water-skiing, but my lack of skill in swimming never seemed to be a problem, after all I could always grab the life jacket! But watching my daughter swim and feeling the joy she felt, I realized that my family was going to be a swimming family and as the Mom, I needed to catch up!

So, I decided I would start to improve my swimming skills by swimming laps. I asked the swim instructor when the lap lanes were mostly empty so I didnt interrupt any of the triathletes or the regulars and I just decided to do it.

At first I was tentative, I didnt know how I would do. After all, it had been 30 years or more since I did any serious swimming and even then I was never comfortable. So I started with a kickboard and I went across the pool a few times. But that got real boring, real fast. So I tried to swim and breathe and swim and breathe. I remembered how, I realized that I just needed to practice. The first time I made it all the way across without stopping I was elated. But the breathing was the scary part. So I concentrated on breathing and as I got better I realized that the trick with breathing in the water is not the Inhale but rather the Exhale-the releasing of all of the air in your lungs to make room to bring in more air. You have to release the resistance of the last breath in order to get the next breath. Soon I was able to breathe easily in the pool. Now I can swim lap after lap without any problems.

As I came home and told my husband (my best friend) every single, minute detail of my newfound passion, I excitedly declared, If I can breathe, I can do Anything! Wow, what a concept! And how true it really is based on everything that I have learned in life! We really are limitless beings, so of course, if we are breathing we are capable of just about anything!

So swimming gave me a great metaphor for lifeIf you can breathe, You can do anything! One of my favorite, late, great, mentors W. Clement Stone said, Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, It can achieve. Hes rightIf you can believe it (and you are breathing!) you can achieve it. It may take some work or practice and you may need to release some resistance but If you can Breathe, You can do Anything!

Karen Lynch is the creator of the motivation and inspiration website www.livethepower.com You can learn about using the power of your own mind by picking up a copy of a Free Ebook of "The Power of the Subconscious Mind" by Dr. Joseph Murphy at www.livethepower.com/home.html

Practice Self Talk and Postive Affirmation Statements in Your Life

Positive self-talk means purposely giving yourself positive reinforcement, motivation, and recognition- just as you would do for a friend. Congratulate yourself when you do well, and remind yourself of your abilities, accomplishments, strengths and skills. Keep a to-do list, check off accomplishments, and review your progress periodically.

Make self-talk work for you. When you habitually say to yourself has a very profound impact on your self-image, your self-esteem, and your performance as well as eventual success. Remember that your subconscious triggers physiological responses to match the pictures and thoughts that you have of yourself to make them happens. Make this work for you by keeping your self-talk positive.

For example say to yourself either I did a good job on that changing a friends oil even though I took a quart and for myself or I did a good job of not paying a good friend the cost of supplies for the efforts he did for me .

Stop negative self-talk. You may well be quick to nag yourself because your mother wanted you to more than perfect. However, negative self talk can be damaging because your subconscious believes what you say to your when you repeat that negative talk in your mind over and over. How is your subconscious to know otherwise? If you catch yourself using negative self-talk, stop and rephrase. Eliminate the negative words. Focus instead on the best course you can take and do it.

Make positive communications a habit. Focus on the positive in goal statements, self-talk, and all communications. Compare the following phrases, and notice how the positive words convey confidence, commitment, and enthusiasm.

For example instead of I will try substitute the phrase I will . Instead of saying to you I should do insert the phrase I will do . Try saying I want to or I choose to instead of the more common I must .

Focus with affirmation statements. Affirmative statements are positive self-statements or reminders to help you achieve goals. They are positive messages with a punch mental bumper stickers of sorts to motivate your subconscious mind to work for you.

Here are guidelines to help you to use the powerful tool of affirmative statements as vital mental reminder technique.

1) Make the statements personal to yourself. Not arbitrary or generic. Use the phrase I , your own name , or you

2) Keep affirmations short. How can you use the affirmations if you cannot remember them?

3) Phrase your affirmations positively. The mind accepts as truth the words that you give it. Use positive words only as affirmations. Leave out any negative words. For example say I will not be nervous during my interview with the warden . Rather say I will be calm and self-assured during my interview

4) Include a positive emotion. A phrase that triggers a positive emotion strengthens the affirmation. For example My goals are valuable and it excites me.

5) Phrase affirmations as fact. Phrase a goal as though it is happening even if you have not achieved it yet. Your subconscious believes mental messages and works to make them a reality.

6) Say your affirmation at least 6 times a day. Repetition is life. Repetition enhances self-confidence, acts as a reminder, and stimulates your subconscious to help you achieve your goals in life.

It cannot be overstated the impact that positive self talk and affirmative statements can help you towards the vital goals that you have identified in your life. Remember that without goals even if you work hard you are like a ship without a rudder.

These powerful tools of positive self talk and positive affirmations can more than help speed you along to your chosen goals.

Bill Piker old dog!'s Blog blog.360.yahoo.com/blog/slideshow.html?p=3id=ROjOVC8wIv9KijBAErka www.aceemploymentservices.net

The Best Learning Tool

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison

What do these people have in common? Walt Disney, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Joanne Rowling (Author of the Harry Potter books), just to name a few.

Well, I'll give you a hint. You might say they all attended the same school. Took some of the same courses, in a manner of speaking.

Every one of them is famous today, and is considered to be the model of a successful person. However, at times in their lives, and not just during the early years, they had pretty much either failed, or had not achieved anything of note in their lives.

They all attended, in one form or another, the school of hard knocks. But, they learned in that school, and they eventually accumulated enough knowledge, enough common sense, enough experience, enough guts, maybe, to rise to a point where their names have been recorded as a part of history.

Oh sure, circumstance played a part. Had not World War II happened along, Winston Churchill would have remained a has-been rather than becoming one of the world's most famous statesmen. Had Abraham Lincoln caught a fatal disease in his youth, we would never have known his name, and how much of our world would be different?

We have to look at our lives and our circumstances in this light. I AM here now, and I CAN make various choices. One of the choices is to do nothing. One of the choices, however is to take a stand, give it the old college try, go out swinging...pick your literary cliche.

In the world of network marketing and internet marketing, those with experience and "success" can almost to a person tell story after story of failure, embarassment, defeat, rejection, and depression. I've never met a person yet who joined a program and was making appreciable amounts of money in just a few days. I've HEARD about such things, and I am sure that there are a few who have either had the skill or luck to create a huge network business practically overnight. However, it doesn't happen to most of us.

What DOES happen to most of those who sign up for a network marketing program is that while we AREN'T experiencing overnight success, we DO experience failure, embarassment, defeat, rejection, and depression, not to mention other "...slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." This combination of negative pressures without any offsetting positives (I'm talking about income) in the early stages of a network or internet business causes most of the so-called "failures" and drop-outs in the networking world.

The sad part is that most of these people do not truly become "failures" until they actually give up. Yes, some will never be successful, but that is true about anything from brain surgery to law to flipping burgers. Some people are just not going to be good at certain things. Some people are going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time almost every time, but that does not mean that they are failures or should be branded as such by themselves or by anyone else.

Temporary failure, if we can see it that way, is not just a course in the school of hard knocks, it is a coach. Just as a coach may pit a boxer, wrestler, or entire team against a tougher opponent in hopes of teaching them to overcome such opponents, failure gives us the opportunity to learn new skills and to unlearn old, useless skills. Those who continue to grow through this process are the ones who will eventually be labeled "successful".

It is necessary to see the obstacles that a new marketer faces as training experiences, not as an insurmountable or immoveable objects.

The sad part is that so many people recruiting for network marketing programs go out of their way to play up the potential gains of the business while failing to prepare the new player for the difficulties of the game. Many of us who have achieved varying degrees of success in network marketing or internet marketing can tell many of the same stories. We tried all kinds of programs, methods, and techniques. We bought, or bought into, all kinds of books, programs, software, and miscellaneous mumbo-jumbo. We did it because we were ignorant, and perhaps a little greedy, but eventually we learned, and eventually we succeeded.

I now make a living off the internet, the mystical target, the six-figure-income. However, beside me is a bookcase full of books, on top of my work station are all kinds of software, loaded onto my computer are many programs, tucked into nooks and crannies around the room are folders full of papers. Among all of these are many things that I use to promote and grow my business, but, to tell the truth, I could probably dispose of ninety percent of it and never miss it. I have spent so much time following the wrong paths, and so much money (my term is "accidental tuition") buying things that did little or nothing for me. And yet, I cannot truly regret all that because I never gave up the idea that some day I would succeed, and each "failure" just was another lesson learned. Eventually, all those lessons reached the point where one day my wife looked at me and said, "You know all those ads you use to read to me about making a six-figure-income?"

I replied, "Yes. What about it?"

She said, "You are."

I had graduated from the school of hard knocks, at least for the time being, but I did not grauate because I was brilliant. I graduated because I didn't give up.

Wow! Me and Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln.....! Okay, I'll shut up now, but I started with a quote and I'll end with one.

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." -- Walter Bagehot

Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer and internet entrepreneur. A graduate of the University of West Florida, Pensacola, and a member of Mensa, he creates website content for his own use and that of other webmasters. He offers home based internet business opportunities at www.donovanbaldwin.com/

Hopes Dreams: A Critical Ingredient In The Lives Of Caregivers And Their Loved

Its human nature to hang onto two basic hopes the hope of overcoming illness and the hope of delaying death. However, in many cases the reality is that your loved one faces a steady medical decline, a life-threatening illness or impending death.

Hope is like the vase that contains your sweet-smelling colorful dreams. Dreams, like flowers, change over the seasons of life and the stages of caregiving. Yet, no matter how desperate the situation, there is always room for hope and dreams. It is the magical salve for the suffering of caregivers and their loved ones.

Hope is the optimistic belief that you can expect a better tomorrow.

Sometimes that better tomorrow happens as a result of something that changes in the outside world such as a new drug or unexpected help. Sometimes the better tomorrow arrives because you see things from a new perspective. Hopes and dreams become the guiding light for the tough choices that you and your loved ones face.

Here are 7 tips for hanging onto hope:

1. Give a voice to your secret longings, wishes and dreams.

If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for? Maybe its turning back the sands of time and taking away the car keys from your father instead of sitting at his hospital bedside where he is recovering from the car accident he caused. Maybe its imagining that youll turn on the news and learn of a new miracle cure for the cancer thats taking over your mothers body or for the dementia thats erasing your grandmothers memories. Hope might be something simple like a good nights sleep for you and your loved one. Say it out loud, We could use a good nights sleep.

2. Define the reality.

In the course of taking care of tens of thousands of patients, Ive seen miracles happen. However, most people experience likely events. Grasp an understanding of your current reality based on whats most likely to happen naturally.

When you define the most likely outcome, it helps you decide where to place your hopes. For example, a friend of mine who is a family doctor told me of a conversation between him and a loving mother whose 6-year-old child had a relapse of leukemia after a bone marrow transplant. There was an experimental treatment offered halfway across the country. The mother wanted to know where to take her child: to a new hospital across the country for lots of pokeys as her son called them, or Disneyland to enjoy the final days of his life. Does she hope for a cure, or for the fullest remaining days of her childs life?

3. Recognize your loved ones hopes may be different than your own.

The mother of the 6-year-old made the medical choices for her son. What if the person with the leukemia is your father, who is competent to make his own medical choices? Maybe you cannot bear the thought of losing him and hope that a new treatment will cure him. Maybe your father shares that perspective. However, what if he considers experimental treatment with certain discomfort and an uncertain benefit and decides he would rather live out his days enjoying his grandchildren?

You may find it difficult to support him. You do not want to burden your loved onea with your disappointment that he has placed hope in a different place than you would if you were in his shoes. Thats when you turn to a trusted friend and say, I wish Dad would make a different choice. I want him to fight. Im sad and angry that hes chosen death.

4. Honor your loved ones hopes.

As a caregiver, its important to understand that your loved one is the patient. Its his or her body and life. As much as you think you know what the best choice is, your job is to help your loved ones realize their hopes.

5. Mourn the loss of the old dream.

Gretta said, Mom had always hoped to live all of her days in her home filled with the memories of Dad and small children and happy holidays...and not so happy holidays. It just wasnt safe any more. We moved her to a terrific retirement community that has everything she wants, including a beautiful garden. Still, shes sad because its not what she had always imagined.

You too could have a dream of a healthy and independent loved one thats hard to let go of. The loss of a dream can be as painful as the loss of a loved one. Mourning the loss of a dream brings healing.

6. Create a new dream.

You can still have hopes and dreams! Theyre just different. Maybe the hope for cure is replaced with the hope for days or hours or moments free of pain. Maybe its the dream that your fragmented family will come together and heal old wounds around the deathbed.

State your dreams as attaining something you want rather than avoiding something you dont want. As medical conditions change, its important that you and your loved one revisit the dream. If youre disappointed about the course of events, ask, Is this the loss of a dream, or a hope I can fulfill?

7. Focus on your loved one.

Always remember, caregiving is first and foremost about supporting the person you love. Yes, you as a caregiver have hopes and dreams. Maybe the heart of caregiving is the willingness to fulfill the hopes and dreams the vase filled with brilliant blooms of those for whom you care whether or not you hold the same vision.

Follow these tips, and you will be sure to hold onto your hopes and dreams. Remember, no matter how desperate the situation, there is still hope for the dream. The dream will change as the condition of your loved one change. Just like theres always a flower to put in a vase -- theres always hope.

Dr.Vicki,board-certified surgeon who left operating room to help families take the most direct path from illness to optimal health.Her book,The Personal Health Journal,will help you understand direct your loved ones health story. Empower yourself with the tips tools that will help you partner with their doctor more effectively; save your loved ones life at: www.drvicki.org/drvicki-store-health-journal.html

MP3 Players: Why You Should Buy One

AN MP3 player will be relatively small price to pay for your grand victory behind a poker table and I do not mean that as a joke. Studies conducted over past years have proved direct connection between player's performance during the poker game and the type of music these players listened to while playing it online or at live casinos.

What can we say about poker game? This game is full with emotions as well as strategic moves and considering the number of books written on that theme, I can assure you that poker game is here to stay for a very long time. Students, college professors, professional players and simply lucky gamblers want to discover the naked truth behind the game, and frankly, we are slowly getting closer to the answer. If that is the case, then music will be the first phenomenal aspect of poker gaming around the world to receive high media hype because music can touch people's souls.

The greatest artists who ever lived on the planet can tell you that music has great impact on human brain, almost hypnotic, if I may. For instance, it can help sick people to get well, encourage children to overcome their fears, program individual success in terms of relationship or accomplish positive thinking, which is a clear psychological mark. What seems very natural to us is not a coincidence, but rather a solid theory based on years of profound research - music can program person's mood and shift it one way or the other like talented magician can make the girl appear or disappear on his command. But since we do not live in the circus, that theory must prove itself in real life.

We must see the influence of music in order to believe in it, but here comes the question skeptics would definitely ask: how can we see or recognize something unobservable, especially when it happens online or in a land based casino? I give ten percent to every skeptical question because not even one theory can be one hundred percent reliable, what leaves us with ninety percent assurance. Before I continue our discussion, I suggest you to try the following exercise: listen to your favorite song and try to think about something, the very first thing that comes into your mind. After you done that, play something that you normally dislike or turn off your TV when you hear this composition and do the thinking exercise again. I bet in the first case you thought about something nice like hot chocolate in the cold winter or your loved ones as oppose to the second time when you felt some unexplained disturbance and irritation.

The secret is very simple my friend: some type of music can bring happy emotions while other rhythms awake negative feelings. Your poker game will be directly influenced by your emotional state and result in explicit consequences. Are you ready to buy that MP3 player now and fill it with winning melodies? Before you pay your next visit to online poker room or land based casino, I suggest investing a few bucks into that little magical device, because it will take your poker game to the new levels. If peaceful melodies suggest higher level of concentration in poker room and help to prevent external disruptions, then beats loaded with negative energies will motivate aggressive behavior and players should avoid that at any cause.

Jack Reider edits reviews of online casinos , poker rooms and flash casinos but he also edits a musical theme site.

How To Get Into The Zone

Alan C. Walters, an author and motivational expert, has often been "in the zone." He calls it the Golden Magic Zone.

In his book, The Secrets to Increasing Your Wealth, Power, and Happiness, he describes one of his remarkable experiences.

Once I wanted to purchase an airplane, a turbo-charged Beech Bonanza, that cost $38,000; I had $3,000.

I circled the advertisement in red ink and thought, "How am I going to turn this $3,000 into $38,000?"

An idea flashed to mind: Play Blackjack!

It was a Sunday morning. I got into my car and drove 280 miles to John Ascuga's Nugget in Sparks, Nevada, a suburb of Reno.

I sat down with two other people at a table that had a $400 a hand limit. I cashed my $3,000 for chips and bet $400 on two positions.

I played for twenty minutes and bought cards three times by double downing an ace, two, and received an eight each time.

I hit blackjack twenty-three times in twenty minutes; I had a huge pile of chips. The first time I lost a hand, I quit.

Picking up my chips and taking them to the cashier, I found I had won $58,000; I had $46,000 after taxes.

I purchased the Bonanza for $34,000, cash.

On my first flight, I blew the engine over Aurora, Oregon. Looking down, I saw a small airport. It had no radio, so I landed with great billows of black smoke pouring from the engine. I didn't know where I was, and the airport was surrounded by trees and hedges.

With several taxiways disappearing into the trees, something made me choose a taxiway toward the south end of the field.

As I taxied between those trees, I saw an old, broken-down shed. I stopped the plane in front of the shed, climbed out and walked through the front door. There I saw an elderly man putting away tools.

"Is there anyone at this airport who really understands turbo-Bonanzas?" I asked.

The man smiled. "Well," he drawled. "Up until last week, I was the foreman and head mechanic of Bonanza West, over at Portland Airport."

Amazing! (I was in the right place at the right time).

I had him replace the engine and do a complete overhaul of the plane. It cost $12,400, the exact amount I had left from my winnings. I flew that plane for ten years and never had another problem.

What are the factors that create this unique experience?

Dr. Perry Mitchell, a psychologist and public speaker, has identified some critical elements that can help anyone step into the zone.

Since what you focus on expands, you get into the zone when you naturally capitalize on your strengths and get over your mistakes quickly.

If you enjoy what you do, you will effortlessly create a momentum that can carry you into the zone, a state where you are focused, relaxed, and self-trusting.

People rarely enter the zone because they completely believe in two myths about success.

One is that to do well you have to work hard. The result of this, of course, is that since you want to do well to succeed, you believe that working harder and harder will get you closer and closer to your goal. What it does, however, is increase pressure, anxiety, and fear. Instead of doing better, you actually do worse as you fatigue and tense up.

Another myth is that pain is good. It has been particularly popularized in sports with the slogan, "no pain, no gain." Again, increasing pain results in a state of exhaustion and the cessation of effort toward your goal.

These myths are so ingrained in the collective unconsciousness that most people operate on them without even noticing them. They feel that they are not making progress unless they feel a sense of strain and effort. And they doubt if something can be good for them if it doesn't cause discomfort.

What keeps these two myths operating is what Dr. Mitchell calls the "Critical Advisor." In Freudian terms, this would be the Super-Ego. It is an ego state that is omnipresent and works on you by making you doubt anything and everything, especially your own self-worth. It is your inner map of how you should be and persistently criticizes you for not measuring up. It considers negative motivation to be necessary for your success.

To get into the zone, you have to shut off the Critical Advisor and get into the "Hands Free Zone." This term is based on an analogy. When you are riding a bicycle without holding the handlebars, you're in the "hands free zone."

When you are in the Hands Free Zone you are soaring. When you are in it, you are focused, but in a relaxed way, like a karate expert, who is both alert and relaxed enough to strike quickly at an opponent. However, once you start to notice that you are focused,
the Critical Advisor leaps in and puts you down, thus cutting off the evenly flowing psychic energy that was putting you in the zone.

The Critical Advisor has a contest mentality and a critical mentality. The contest mentality is polarity. An evaluation of whether you are good or bad, performing well or poorly. The critical mentality is the belief that you are not good enough to do it well, not worthy of accomplishment. It constantly looks at results.

Thus, the Critical Advisor operates on a polarity paradigm and a results paradigm. Since its job is to criticize you in the belief that this will steer you in the right direction (negative motivation), it cuts off any flow or zone states. You are so focused on not making a mistake that you manifest mistakes. By trying not to miss the ball flying at you, you fumble and let it slip through your fingers. By trying not to hit the lake as you make your golf swing, you send it straight into it .

The way to avoid "choking" is to turn the Critical Advisor off. You do this by being willing to consider multiple options. And you do this by focusing on the process, not the results.

If there are more than two options, then the polarity of right and wrong lose their grip on you. Similarly, if you're still in process, you can't judge results.

Doing it right is relevant to the Critical Advisor. But to the person in flow, doing it is all that matters. When you are just doing it, not worrying about whether you are good or bad at it, not concerned about results, then you are in the zone.

In the zone, you surge (enter the Hands Free Zone), recover (from the Critical Advisor), and surge again (back in the Hands Free Zone).

In relationship to time, the Critical Advisor seeks to either dominate the past or the future.
In reviewing the past, it stirs the emotion of guilt and regret. In previewing the future, it stirs the emotion of doubt and anxiety.

A person in the zone, focuses on the present, which completely removes all the negative emotions that arise from contemplating the past or the future.

There are two formulas for getting into the zone.

In the first formula, you do the following:

1. Notice what is happening right now.
2. Weigh all your options (also called the magic of the third option).
3. Learn from your experiences.
4. See what is different.

In the second formula, you do the following:

1. You perform a centering ritual. For example, a basketball player may bounce the ball three times before shooting for the net.
2. You perform a mental rehearsal. The basketball player envisions the ball arcing and flying into the center of the hoop.
3. You optimize. Turn up the volume, so to speak. Releasing the ball into the air.
4. Finally, you capitalize on what you did well. Say a loud "yes" with a clenched fist as the ball slides perfectly into the hoop. This reinforces the subconscious.

Getting into the zone is possible. But it is a skill more than just luck. And like any skill, you have to practice to get good at it.

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. The Empowered Soul

Don't Quit Poem

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

** Author unknown**

Aspire to Achieve

Let us be together aspire to achieve
No matter what, no matter when, working hand in hand
Let us go the distance, reach for goals that shine
Creating our future, with everyone in mind

Let us find in our strides, new strength to go on by
Nothing is ever easy, we have to hold on and strive
Let us never be afraid, if we have to change our ways
Through the years, we'll always stay, one in every way

Pass it on

A candle loses nothing if it is used
to light another one.

***

Feel the Flame Forever Burn
Teaching Lessons We Must Learn
To Bring Us Closer to the
POWER of THE DREAM

***

Faith vs doubts

Doubts sees only Obstacles but Faith sees the Way
Doubts sees the darkest Nite but Faith sees the Day
Doubts dreads to take a Step but Faith Soars on High
Doubts questions ... "who can" ... Faith answers "I"

RichDeVos