Thoughts To Ponder #95

Eric Butterworth was Senior Minister of The Unity Center of New York City from 1961 to 2003. Eric was considered a legend and spiritual icon in the Unity Movement. We will never know the countless number of lives that have been changed by applying the Spiritual Principles taught by Eric Butterworth. The author of 16 best-selling books on metaphysical spiritual1697ity, a gifted theologian, philosopher, and lecturer, Eric was a highly respected pioneer and innovator of practical mysticism, whose life was dedicated to helping people to help themselves.

"Prosperity books use as examples tycoons such as Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie to illustrate how you too can become a millionaire. The fact is, these people did not set out to make money at all. In each case there was the sudden or progressive unfoldment of an idea, which in turn was translated into automobile plants and steel mills. The real substance that made it all possible was ideas. Ideas are the flowing forth into mind of the wealth of the Universe."

"In studying mathematics or simply using a mathematical principle, if we get the wrong answer in a sort of algebraic equation, we do not suddenly feel that there is an anti-mathematical principle that is luring us into the wrong answers.....Evil, and evil spirits, devils and devil possession, are the outgrowth of man's inadequate consciousness of God. We must avoid thinking of evil as a thing in itself-a force that works against man or, against God, if you will."

"The purpose of life is not acquisition but unfoldment and personal development."

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life." Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

Jerry And Esther Hicks

How to Live an Ageless Life

It seems that when we celebrate any birthday with a zero on it, our mood is more like a funeral than a celebration. Why is that? Isnt our special day suppose to be just that--special? Instead, a lot of people that I know treat it like a step closer towards death. A mindset that I personally have adopted for myself is that of ageless livingsimply not keeping track of your age by any numerical means and instead start living your life by the way you feel inside, independent of how old you really are. This method of ageless living has been much more empowering for my own life and I suggest it to my clients as well.

Why We Want to Know Another Persons Age

Being a young expert and author, one of the questions that ticks me off the most is when people ask my age. How old are you? They ask. Have you ever wondered why people ask this question? What is the fascination with age? Well, surprisingly, my research in this has shown me that people have a psychological need to compare that persons life to known benchmarks such as milestones in their own lives or the set standard for accomplishments based on age. As human beings, we analyze things by comparing and contrasting to the things around us. We compare what we have to our neighbors. We compare our body or our beauty to those we see on television. When we ask another persons age, we are comparing our own accomplishments in life to that of the other person or a known benchmark of where that person should be in their lives compared to other people. This is problematic because we are judging ourselves based upon other people when we really should be judging ourselves based uponourselves.

How to Live an Ageless Life

1. Change your psychology to focus away from a numerical representation of your age and instead base your age on how you feel inside.

2. When people ask you your age (assuming its not in a legal-type capacity), simply tell them that you dont keep track of your age anymore.

3. Celebrate ageless birthdays. Celebrate your special day, but dont attach any numbers to it.

4. Be the age that you feel like. If you feel like you are 20 again, then be that age. Age is defined by how you look and feel, not how long you have been on this earth.

5. Carry yourself the way that you feel. Flexibility is the main factor associated with a youthful gait. A young person has a bigger stride and more spring to their step. An older person has a shorter gait and is more rigid.

Copyright 2006 by Tristan Loo.

For over 10 years, Tristan Loo has inspired, motivated, and brought success to the lives of the people hes touched. Successful in his own right, Tristan has competed athletically against Olympians as a world-class gymnast, saved lives as a police officer, au526thored numerous Personal Development and Interpersonal Communication books and articles, and is a highly sought-after Personal Development Coach. Tristan is the founder of the Synergy Institute, a San Diego based Personal Development Firm. His philosophy of passionate living and helping others fulfill their dreams has continually been the driving force that has placed him well above the industry standard. Visit Tristan's website at http://www.synergyinstutueonline.com/ or by email at info@synergyinstituteonline.com

Anthony De Mello

Thoughts of the Day

So often people get so caught up in their daily grind that they stop thinking, when they get home they try to de-stress, but they turn on their TV, the same one they have surrendered their mind too and let it flood information into their heads, most of which is completely irrelevant.

Well, it seems that; Ignorance, Arrogance aB68nd Complacency are nothing more than Precursors of Disaster, Devastation, Doom - doomed to repeat. Doomed, via the law of unintended consequences using the very definition of insanity they decry - I ask why?

And that my friends is my first thought of the day and the one that causes me to write this short article, so let's begin this daily monologue of thought. Perhaps if I take you through my thoughts from today, it might make you think and wake up your mind, maybe you might take it back from the smog of information or the flickering High Definition TV in that living room cave of yours?

A friend today mentioned that the Multi-National Corporate Conglomerate knows No boundaries and he is correct considering that our World is growing closer and closer together now. After all we live in a Global Market Place, there are good aspects to that as well as not so good issues, as well. He asked me;

Has the evolution of the multi-national corporation transcended all boundaries and societies to completely dominate and eliminate society's culture?

Well, I do not believe that multi-national branding has to delete culture, or regional flavor. Indeed, allowing for regional variation by companies helps them "sell more" and therefore they will succeed better when they do. In franchising (I am retired from the franchising industry) we always did, and we competed well.

Adaptation for specific markets is "good business" and it makes sense. Someday, who knows, a World Franchising System, could allow governments, nation-states to operate in similar monetary, trade markets using similar laws. Make the Whole World like the United States - or United Franchise System, so to speak. Then everyone would be on the same team.

The thought occurred to me that it could work, except during times when those in-charge were not working together, kind of like the UN or during Change Management. hat About Changing the Way We Think about How Business is Done? Is that possible? Today, I finished reading a book:

"Rewiring the Corporate Brain - Using the New Science to Rethink How We Structure and Lead Organizations" by Danah Zohar - 1997.

And although I am not a new age type thinker, with all the spiritual fluff, wrapped around a quantum physics reality like a religion, the author did make some good points. And to one of those points and addressing such scenarios as the authors of "Co-opetition" where the future has in store from us a different market place were companies communicate and cooperate for the common good of all, without attacking and worrying about the competition, but rather focusing on the customers.

Sure, that could work and it would work a lot better if the corporation and the employees got along too and focused on what is best for all concerned, sometimes this happens but usually not. We just saw t1BFhe UAW strike at GM and General Motors write down in the third quarter of 39 billion dollars. Then in the same Wall Street Journal issue we read that Chrysler Company laying off 12,000 right after negotiation with the UAW? All this while the Hollywood Writers Picket outside the Studios along side the Homeless - See the point?

Worker's Unions and Global Government Political Impasse are very similar and when one side blames another well, "5B4there you go again!" and it occurred to me that If You Name it - "When you name it, you own it and if you own it, it owns you." Lance 2007. Even the Teamster Truck Drivers are out to get more right at a time when US diesel prices are at the highest point in our nation's history and oil is hovering near $100 per barrel, thus teamster truck drivers are at least for now - No Friend to Logistics.

Right after de-regulation of the industry teamster drivers would run other independent truck drivers off the road. Hurting competition, raises prices for all of us, as it is like a tax on the over all society. Still, those truck drivers are Americans and now 750,000 truck drivers have joined the Truckers Mobile Watch Program as part of the American Trucking Association. So everything is not black and white, no one side is evil and no side is innocent - too bad they will not all work together in a common cause, because the efficiencies and economies of scale would be significant and add to the everyone's quality of life and standard of living.

But, how can you be sure as business person that you are hiring someone who will be a team player and not turn into a problem for your companies bottom line? You cannot tell by their resumes, which made me think about an article I read recently that stated; Long Resumes Becoming Popular. Is a resume that tells a story better to judge a potential team member?

In some companies, the employees a5B4re trained to do every job in the company and thus, if there is ever a problem or disruption, someone else can pick up the slack. If you will read the book; "The World on Time" by Fred Smith - the FEDEx story you will see this point. During the California Fires a helicopter spotted a small fire that was growing, but instead of landing to try to put it out, they were told not to risk it and return to base, the fire spread and destroyed several structures within the hour.

Should all emergency personnel be trained to do some of this fire-fighting, even if on a limited scale. What if we designed pick-up Truck Portable Fire Suppression Spray System Devices for the Forest Service, Rural Mountain Communities and Area Residents? It has been proposed that new mini-fire suppression units needed for USDA Forest Service workers in every vehicle. Could we get some of these devastating fires out before they grew to epic proportions, threatened property, lives and wipes out water supplies?

Or is such a concept simply impossible due to the bureaucracy out there? And if government does nothing very well, then why let them do very much? Should the bureaucracy hold fake news conferences, like FEMA did? Should the regulatory bodies of the Federal Government PR their every move to prove to the citizenry that they are doing something, even when they are not? Is the bureaucracy so big that it cannot get out of its own way? This had me ponde5B4ring the following questions, perhaps worthy of future titles for articles:

• Why the Justice Department's Industry Regulatory Bodies Fraudulently Deceive the Consumer and Citizen
• How Government Regulating Agencies Justify their Growth at the Expense of the Taxpayers
• How Corporations Use Small Businesses as Banks During Recessions and Down Turns in Their Sectors
• How the Government Allowed Corporations to Crush Small Businesses - Case Study in Labor
• How Government Regulating Agencies Justify their Growth at the Expense of the Taxpayers

Indeed, we need to fix this problem of government and if we do not we will drown in red tape, which is killing businesses both large and small. Do we need Regulation Reduction to Reduce Recession Risks - or is the recession inevitable, as this ship cannot be turned fast enough before it runs aground? Is there a way to stave off a recession of shallow out its effects on our economy, middle class, currency and employment? I think there is a way, which made me think of writing an article titled:

Recession Proofing a Nation Using Franchising, Small Business Solutions and Entrepreneurial Training

Maybe, I will write this article and position myself as The Portable Franchise Guru or something similar? What if we took such a concept and franchised it out to the world? Networks of net-centric syste5B4ms to help the world, develop micro-businesses and habitats? Maybe, a book needs to be written on this subject; "Low Cost Third World Village Systems - Wells, Power, Microloans, Shelters, Farming Tools - eBook Project"

If we do not do it now then who will do it? Will the next generation come up to the plate and hit a home run, or will we just have to work harder and live longer to do it ourselves, as Life Extension in BioTech Advances. That's great, but will we run out of money helping all the baby boomers grow old, instead of getting them to fix the problems they were assigned and failed to fix? Do we let them off the hook, as it is not a very pretty picture with Pensions, Social Security, Medical Insurance and In Home Care Personnel Shortages.

Still, I thought if the economy holds on then that will pay for the future funds to fix these issues. And yet everyone is debating about the so-called; Coming US Recession, rather than doing something to advert it. The Headlines seem obvious now, well at least to me? With CitiGroup, foreclosures soaring, GM 39 billion dollar charge off, Morgan Stanley questions, Chrysler cutting 12,000 jobs and rather weak economic numbers?

So what's the answer, we have too many outflows from our nation, we are borrowing too much and we have too much bureaucracy and being taken advantage of by preferred nation trading partners. Still, Capitalism with Protectionism decays society rather than Bui59lding it Up and I am no party pooper to capitalism, I believe in fair trade like any true5B4 economist would, still, what happened to fair trade, are we really getting a fair shake?

Some say things will get better and the economy is good, but with housing, construction, transportation and Auto all hurting and issues on the horizon with retail, how can anyone say things are rosy? Yes, I believe that consumer confidence is important and probably accounts for one-third of the game, to keep it going and we do not need any lower consumer confidence going into the Christmas Season, still I see that US Retailers are gearing down and conserving coming into the Christmas bend.

If that is not bad enough, we find that Al Qeada is plotting to attack Shopping Malls, stated an FBI official, who called the threat information credible. Top this with higher fuel prices definitely taking its toll on the consumer, and no more home-equity loan tricks for most consumers to pay off credit card debt and the US Automakers that make up retail economic sales figures and they are currently tanked, expected to remain low - one has to wonder about the economy.

Still, you know markets go up and they come down, industry sectors do their rotations and it is all in the ebb and flow of the river of monetary flow. I guess it is similar to the politics of this recent Water Bill that was vetoed and over-ridden only to be continued, as there is more to the story, before it gets fully funded and spent. The question thus goes back to corporate grow594th, can it go on for ever, always increasing its output and efficiency like Moore's Law or do we need to do a little tweaking on the way we do things?

Well, I need to get something to eat, it is nearly 10:00 am now and I have been busy thinking for over an hour. So, I will continue these thoughts of the day article later, but I hope you will enjoy these thoughts and that it gets you thinking too.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Transformation

Everything Starts With a Thought

We create in a variety of ways but the basic process of creation is a three-step formula. We create by thought, word, and deed.

The Creation Equation: Thought

Thought. Everything starts with a thought. Let's examine this powerful phenomenon that is pervasive in our lives and sets the table for the smorgasbord of things we can pick from to create the life of our intentions.

Everything starts with a thought:

We have thoughts running through our heads all the time. Most of the time we do not think about them too much because we are used to them, and they are like background noise in the day-to-day world that we live in.

We are bombarded with noise constantly as we move throughout our day. Our heads are filled with the sounds of music from the radio, or the incessant dialogue on the television. We receive constant messages about everything from how many people were killed senselessly in the world today, to which team is better at football, to canned laughter about some tired sitcom joke, to which potato chip to eat with the next newest diet, low-cal, low-fat, low-sodium, decaffeinated, high-calcium, sugB15arless soda pop we are supposed to drink.

We talk to a variety of people throughout the day and receive a huge volume of incoming messages that we process and filter to glean out the information that we need. As we take the information from outside stimuli, we also process information internally to use in our decision-making process, and then develop and systematize our thoughts into speech patterns to verbalize them. We listen, we process, and we talk, all through this concept of thought.

We understand that we have thoughts all the time. This concept becomes apparent when we sit calmly and try to quiet our thoughts, as we do when we meditate. Sometimes it takes a long time for your thoughts to quiet down and not pop into your head in random-fire order. You actually have to train your mind to quiet your thoughts in order to reach a truly quiet and tranquil place where you do not have this constant barrage of thought.

Thoughts come to us because that is the nature of the universe and the creative process and thank God for that. We need our thoughts to tell us about our environment so that we can be aware of the things that influence our lives and allow us to decide which thoughts we wish to pursue.

Every thought we have is creative but we don't create every thought we have into our reality. However every thing that shows up in our reality started out as a thought. Not just your personal reality but also the collective reality of the universe. You had a hand in how life on planet earth is being played out with the very thoughts you are thinking.

Yes, that is how powerful you really are. Your thoughts not only are the catalyst for every experience in your life but when you feel strongly about social issues those thoughts form with other similar thoughts and society as a whole is created with your input.

You are the center of the universe and everything in your universe started with a thought. Your thought.

Richard Blackstone is an award winning author and international speaker on Love, Oneness & Creation. Journey into discovery of Self by reading this FREE report; "The 3 Simple Immutable Laws of the Universe" at: http://www.NutsandBoltsSpirituality.com

Wisdom Of The Ages

Take Back Your Self Empowerment

Have you gone through periods of your life when you felt helpless and hopeless about your circumstances and destiny? I believe we all have.

Many of us have experienced the tragedy of physical or emotional abuse, broken relationships or the death of loved ones. The first thing we want to do is blame others or outside influences for our state of mind, financial stresses, relationshiB68p stresses or just life.

It's so easy to blame the abusive person or the person who broke our hearts for destroying our ability to love or trust again. You're placing on others the responsibility of your life, your emotions, your self worth, and happiness. However, blame is the easy way out and is a very disempowering emotion.

When we are thinking of making changes in our lives, we have a tendency to look externally. We think if we change our outsides, then we will be happy. We are waiting for the circumstances to change before we can be happy. However, true happiness comes from inside out; taking control of our own lives, being responsible for our own emotions, making the right choices for us.

The simple choice of taking responsibility for your self and life is the first step towards picking up the pieces of your life and starting over. When you focus your attention on making positive changes in your life, the constraints of the past are removed and you can be, do or have anything you desire. The power of deliberate positive thoughts will literally change your reality.

True empowerment is not just about taking control, fighting injustices or passing new laws that we think society needs to change the world. Empowerment starts within us first. It begins with our willingness and acceptance to be responsible for what is happening in our own lives.

I'm sure at some point in our life; we are all face with challenges and adversity. Some of us want to point the finger at others or outside situations, while others own their responsibility, making necessary changes to grow and learn from those challenges and get on with our lives. The sooner we realize this lesson, the sooner we will find life happier and with less stress. The way we handle our pain and these challenges and let it transform us makes the difference between winning and losing life's battles. The realization of this and the appropriate action makes you the true master of your own destiny. Isn't this what we all desire?

So I say to those who are still playing the blame game, it is time to take back your own empowerment and start living the life you so richly deserve. A life of choice and freedom.

About the Author: Sheri Falcone is a novice author, student of personal growth, and entrepreneur who enjoys helping others become truly empowered and achieve their dreams. She has turned her passion into a lucrative personal development, home business, http://www.setnolimits.info This business system provides all the tools you will need to create greater prosperity and joy in your life. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she believes laughter and appreciation are our emotional healers.

Rick Warren

Self Development And Growth

When starting out the the area of self development and growth, one of the most important anAA8d basic skills to learn is the skill to deal with issues in your life.

Many sources often overlook the process of how to change. The process is long and hard, and often you will lose motivation and forget your goals for self improvement. While you may yearn for instant gratification and instant change, the reality is that it just wont happen overnight. Habits take a long time to form and break; deeper psychological issues that a long time to resolve.

Often when people deal with their issues, they're dealing with it in a LOGICAL manner. This doesn't motivate you because motivation is EMOTIONAL. When you feel emotionally affected towards the issue, you will have the drive to resolve the emotions. This is the basis for my model of dealing with issues.

Without further ado, here it is: Dealing with issues, the 4 steps.

1. Figure out what the issue is.

This first point is ridiculously obvious, but incredibly important and oftentimes looked over. In many instances, we believe that we're dealing with one problem when in reality we're actually facing problems with a deeper inner issue.

For example, in the world of dating and relationships, the actual act of meeting members of the opposite sex can be quite daunting. The possibility of rejection, the fear that they will dislike you is present. No one likes to think that they are incompetent with the opposite sex, and this is the issue that may arise and challenge them if they approach and get rejected. So they sit at the back of the bar with their friends talking about how they're 'pimps' and 'could pick up anyone in this bar' but 'they don't want to' because 'no one here is worth it'.

What is happening here is an avoidance of the real issue: they depend on other's approval and reactions to feel good about themselves. An issue of low self esteem and low self confidence.

This issue would not be realised without some serious hard thinking and the ability to see things for what they really are. Your mind and ego will throw up a million different cognitions to throw you off the real issue because the truth hurts your sense of self.

This first point is ridiculously simple yet hard to realize.

2. Experience the issue.

This is different. I swear by this technique 100%.

When you figure out what the issue is, it's going to try and hide. It's going to throw up excuses as to why you have those cognitions. You're going to want to avoid the issue. Yeah that's right, you know what I'm talking about. This is the nerd realising that they suck with women but rationalising it as due to their studies or the fact that they "don't have time", then using that as a constanB07t excuse not to GO OUT and MEET women. Or the woman who has emotional issues that affect her relationships but blames her relationship problems on her looks.

By experience the issue I mean to feel it fully. You KNOW it's there, you aren't going to avoid it. You just broke up with your partner? It feels crap. Don't avoid having the feelings. You're scared of chatting up that cutie? Don't avoid the issue. Immerse yourself in the experience of feeling like that.

Only then do you have a solid base for your motivation to get the problem fixed.

3. Act on resolving the issue

After experiencing the feelings that you don't want to feel, make a decision to ACT upon the issues. After all, just pointlessly making yourself feel bad is... pointless. So what did you do? Make a commitment to take steps forward in solve the issue. If you're afraid that people will 'reject' you then approach people until you emotionally realise that 'rejection' by a stranger means nothing more than the fact that you approached them in the wrong way. If you're avoiding exercise because of an underlying issue of laziness, get out there and exercise! Do you actually WANT to be unhealthy? How does being unhealthy feel?

Experiencing the issue should give you the MOTIVATION to ACT on the issue. If you don't act, you'll just stay the same. Do you really want to feel the way you felt when you were experiencing the issue? I doubt it.

4. Figure out your other issues

In self improvement, it is critical to remember that your problems will NEVER end and you will ALWAYS have issues to deal with. Reality is harsh.

If you're serious about improving yourself, keeping this in mind will help you a lot. You will always have something to fix. Take a break once in a while, moderate how much you work on yourself, but never forget that you always have something to improve. Read "The way of the superior man" by David Deida. It gives a good description of this point.

I'd dare say your not as good with women as you wish you were, your looking for something that can take you above and beyond 99% of men for free, it's here, you just have to reach out and grab it.

Have fun,

-- Solace

Eckhart Tolle

Why Do You Need to Rid Your Life of Stress

Good or bad, you will always have challenges in life. Oftentimes, the struggles you face will be happy trials, because you can see the positive end result. However, at other times, you trials will seem like a millstone around your neck, causing a great deal of unhappiness and anxiety. So, learn why you need to rid your life of stress, and learn the coping mechanisms lending to contentment in life.

First, unless you get a handle on your stress, it will adversely affect your health. For example, anxiety has a negative effect on blood pressure. Although not the direct cause, always being uptight can only make the problem worse. As most of us know, the end result can be debilitating and even deadly diseases. As the great Bob Proctor said, look at the word disease. It'5A8s merely your body being at dis-ease

One of the most deadly illnesses to come to mind is a heart attack. Medically speaking, you may already have the precursors to an episode, but the majority of people generally experience the pain and full arrest after periods of physical or mental stress. Anxiety is basically the straw that broke the camels back. It's also been proven that stress can potentially activate cancer cells in your body.

The same can be said for strokes. Stress is not the primary cause, but it is definitely a contributor to this often fatal disease. So, in addition to taking care of your physical health, you need to be mentally well. Nevertheless, your physical and mental condition is not the only reason to rid your life of stress.

Anxiety will influence your productivity and effectiveness in the workplace. Being on top of your game is good; but, being constantly stressed will not only make it difficult to stay on task and do the best job possible. In fact, you stress can also influence the lives of your coworkers and the atmosphere at work in general. In addition, how you react to stress may also determine whether you get a promotion or retain your position if your place of employment downsizes.

If your health and your job are being influenced by stress, you can bank on your home life suffering as well. Anxiety will infiltrate your relationships with friends, a spouse, children, or anyon576e else that is important in your life. No matter how hard you try, your inner turmoil will be a source of contention in your personal interactions as well.

Now you know why you need to rid your life of stress. Fortunately, if you want to change how you approach challenges in life, and make anxiety a thing of the past, help is available. Do not wait until all facets of your life have been permeated by tension. You can learn to live stress free.

Paul Sutherland is an Accelerated Business Growth Coach. His company - Daniel Thomas International is also heavily involved in personal development and growth. For that reason a website http://www.perfected-products.com was created. Here you will find some of the very best tried tested and proven methods for creating the life you really want to achieve.

Don't make the mistake of trying the same old things and expecting different results. Make a real difference in your life right now and find out what works in the real world.

Motivational Speakers

What Does It Take to Be Great

It takes the wisdom to know that you are here for Higher reasons that your logical mind my not remember or even fathom.

It takes the courage to speak your truth, and it takes patience with others when they are not coming from a place of love and support.

Being great is not a matter of ego. Quite to the contrary, being great takes vision to fulfill your beingness with the brilliance and vision you hold within.

It takes harmony, and supporting others to recognize the greatness they hold within. It is a reemergence of the spirit of cooperation, and aligning with others to make many dreams come true.

It stems from a non-threatening or threatened paradigm, where a win/win for all is the only way to play.

It shatters the egos need to own, and embraces the souls re-emergence to share with all others.

Being great boasts no ego. It is achieved in the spirit of sharing, of serving, and of illuminating the hope within others when they have lost all hope of their own.

Being great needs no recognition as the rewards of a life lived in this process far outweigh the egos need for stature. The soul knows its stature, and its possibilities are limitless, boundless and eternal.

Being great is not an outcome. It is lived each moment. It is filled with a child-like wonder that helps others to remember the child-like wonder they once had.

As you read these words, remember that your greatness lies within your heart, and in your Divine connection to the guidance you receive that gently nudges you to honor who you are. Not by doing more, but by BEING more.

What greatness do you hold within that you 5B4would like to bring out? THAT is the greatness you are, and no one else can be you. Remember that!

Copyright by Barbara Rose, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.

Barbara Rose, PhD. most widely known as "Born To Inspire" is the best selling author of "Know Yourself", "If God Hears Me, I Want an Answer!", "Stop Being the String Along", "If God Was Like Man" and Individual Power. She is an internationally recognized expert in the field of personal transformation, relationships and spiritual awakening. Barbara is a pioneering force in incorporating Higher Self Communication, the study and integration of humanitys God-Nature into modern personal growth and spiritual evolution. Her highly acclaimed books, public speaking events, tele-seminars, widely published articles, and intensives have transformed the lives of thousands across the globe. She is the founder of IHSC -Institute of Higher Self Communication, inspire! Magazine and Rose Humanitarian Alliance. Barbara holds a Ph.D. in Metaphysics and works in cooperation with some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time, to uplift the spiritual consciousness of humanity. Visit her website http://www.borntoinspire.com

Metaphysics

Thoughts To Ponder #52

When Betty Eadie was 31, she died in a hospital after undergoing surgery. What happened next has been called by some, "the most profound near-death experience ever." Betty journeyed to a beautiful world beyond this life. She met Jesus there. Jesus gave her a message to give to others when she returned. These quotes from her books, Embraced By The Light, The Awakening Heart, and The Ripple Effect give a glimpse of her profound experience.

"Every encounter we have, even if brief and seemingly unimportant, may have more significance than we know. A brief encounter may begin a greater ripple that reaches its intended purpose years later. Everyone who comes into our lives may be part of our mission, and we, a part of theirs. Understanding this can give meaning to the common events of life. By being positive and helpful towards others, even in casual moments, we can make the most of our time on earth."

"We will never know all the effects of our prayers in this life. We won't know all the good we do, the hearts we touch, the lives we bless. We will not even know what good we have brought into our own lives through prayer. And we cannot knowuntil we get therewhat joy we give heaven by the power of our prayers."

"We may become like the angels themselves, helping others who are in need. In prayer and service our lights will always shine. Service is the oil to our lamps generated by compassion and love."

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life." Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abu3E9se Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

Northern Buddhism

Who Is In Your Circle of Influence

We have heard that old saying, You are judged by the company you keep. And that saying is important in our business life and our personal life. It is a fact that we allow ourselves to be influenced by ou5B4r peers. And for that reason, parents will pay attention to who their kids have as friends; employers will do background checks on job candidates; private schools will do in-depth parental interviews prior to admission of their child; private clubs will often restrict membership to individuals nominated by current members; and why police will ask who is in a victim's circle of influence when they investigate a crime.

The major point of all the above is this: who you associate with will say as much about you, your ethics, your integrity, your honesty, your core values, your beliefs, your passion and your future intentions as your actual personal behavior does. And as a business owner or business leader, you are being observed every minute of every day. Colleagues, clients, vendors, suppliers, et al are all scrutinizing, watching, listening to those people you influence. Therefore, this is a serious matter for consideration when you decide who will be in your circle of influence.

We know that it is difficult and sometimes very painful to break off and end relationships. This is especially true when those relationships are long-standing ones with friends, colleagues, employees, and others who have greatly influenced our life. And we need to remember that effective leaders, winners and high achievers gain their positions of stature by a very deliberate and well thought out process of selecting who they associate with in t364heir business and personal lives.

Another part of the harsh reality you must face, as you advance up through the ranks of success and leadership is that many of your former friends and colleagues may not be making the upward journey with you. Some of them will fall and fade away for a variety of reasons. A major risk to advancement and growth is sticking with the masses that get stuck in a time warp and stop growing and maturing. By hanging around with these people you will be infected and may actually stall or destroy your own growth. So you must decide that you will either maintain stagnant and no growth relationships or you will move on to more challenging and fulfilling relationships. In fact you must make this choice since you cannot have it both ways.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach challenges you to stop and look around you. 5B4 Who do you see? Who is there? Who is in your circle of influence? Are they losers, whiners, blamers, lawbreakers, cheaters, low achievers, liars, etc? Or are they winners, trusted friends or colleagues, high achievers, honest & law-abiding people, etc.? Now is a great time to review your circle of influence and ask yourself if the people you see there are: helping or hindering you and your efforts; are building up or demolishing the image you desire; positively or negatively impacting the achievement of your business and personal visions; and providing positive support or bringing a negative attitude to you.

Furthermore, Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach reminds you that it is your life and it is your right to choose who will be in your circle of influence. Ask yourself if you are making wise choices about your circle of influence. And be brutally honest with yourself when you answer that question. Your choices and your answers are critical to your future. Know that the people that you have in your circle of influence will speak more loudly about you than any words you can say.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn 5A6is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, "Glenn's Guiding Lines - Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach" and has published more than 275 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site at http://www.businesscoach4u.com or jgecoach@aol.com

Southern Buddhism

The Motivation Myth

"It is the ultimate management conceit that we can motivate people." Peter Scholtes, team effectiveness consultant and author

After six years at Universal Pictures, Harry Cohn formed Columbia Pictures in 1924. During the following decades he ran the company with an iron fist. His image as a tyrant was reinforced by the riding whip he kept near his desk to crack for emphasis. Cohn form of "motivation" led to the greatest creative turnover of any major studio. At his funeral in 1958, one observer suggested that the thirteen hundred attendees "had not come to bid farewell, but to make sure he was actually dead."

Some parents want their kids to be independent as long as they do everything they're told to. Some team leaders want their teams to be empowered as long as they follow directions. What some "leaders", call "motivation" is getting others to carry out their orders. Some seem to live by the philosophy that if I want any of your bright ideas I'll give them to you. Just do what you're told...and look like you're enjoying it. These forms of "motivation" are based on fear and force. If the punishment is strong enough and the policing rigid enough, they will lead to compliance. People will follow the rules and marching orders. But that's all. Energy, creativity, and extra effort will be minimal. So will ownership and commitment. The only passion tyrants and autocrats create are fear, loathing, and the desire for revenge.

The key problems of the Motivation Myth are clearly illustrated by a Farcus cartoon; a team leader is at the head of a conference table addressing her team with these words, "we need to improve morale, any of you boneheads have a good idea." The main cause of the problem seems pretty obvious. She just needs to look in the mirror. But obviously the obvious isn't always so obvious. Root causes and symptoms are continuously confused. The Farcus team leader is treating low morale as a problem to be solved rather than an indicator of much deeper issues. Clearly a key source of a deeper problem is her contempt for her team and her forcefulness. Her approach is like an auto mechanic reporting, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."

Many of the symptoms and root causes of motivation and morale can be clarified by understanding the doing versus being aspects of mobilizing and energizing. We need to get beyond "do to" programs and techniques. The big sticks of fear, punishments, and discipline or the carrots of incentives and rewards may work in the short term. But to keep them working, we need to continually increase the beatings or sweeten and vary the incentives. Eventually the beatings will burn people out and they will quit. Some will leave and find other jobs. Many will silently resign and continue to report for work everyday.

People should be fairly rewarded for their contributions. The absence of money can be demotivating, but its presence doesn't provide healthy, long-term motivation. Using money or types of incentives to get increased performance turns people into selfish, 5ABself-centered mercenaries who are increasingly tuned into WIFM (what's-in-it-for-me). Pride, teamwork, concern for customers, shared values, growing and developing, passion, meaningful work, and the like fade. These become hollow words that raise "the snicker factor" whenever they are heard.

Effective mobilizing and energizing goes well beyond "doing" programs to the "being" or culture of a team, organization, or any group including a family. That culture is a set of shared attitudes and accumulated habits around "the way we do things here." The culture provides the context or backdrop that either energizes or exhausts people.

Excerpted from Jim's fourth bestseller, Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success. View the book's unique format and content, Introduction and Chapter One, and feedback showing why nearly 100,000 copies are now in print at http://www.growingthedistance.com Jim's new companion book to Growing the Distance is The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success. Jim Clemmer is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. His web site is 2FAhttp://www.clemmer.net/articles

Religion In Ancient Greece

Easy Guide to List Building

When you own an online business, you know how important it is to be having an always-maintained build list of e-mail addresses on your server. You know as a businessman that you need these addresses to potentially market your products to them at any given time. But what if these e-mail addresses on your built list begin to wane and diminish? What actions are you going to take to make sure that your perpetual source for prospective clients remains intact and working? Well, just like any otherwise moves to take, all you have to do is to re-build the list by capturing newer and fresher addresses through your marketing strategies. To build a responsive and actively participating list, here is what you can do:

Create an E-book. E-books are a good source of e-mail addresses because people would like to just read books. What is good about writing e-book is that it does not require too much time to create one since all you have to do is put a manual books content into your e-book. If there is one thing that you should work on getting an e-book, is to ensure that the quality of the e-book does not suffer.

Write article materials. Articles do not go obsolete as a source of feedback and traffic. Day to day, there are new topics that need to be discussed and talked about. When an article material is well written primarily based on facts, people just love to react on it.

Join forum channels. People who are on forum channel utilize this area to get some answers to some of their questions or inquiries. It is best then that you join this channel and participate and direct them to your landing page for further inquiries to capture their information.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Norse Paganism

Your Words And Thoughts Have Power

Even though they might seem relatively innocuous, our words and thoughts do, indeed, have a lot of power and in fact determine what our own reality is.

We are not the first to recognize this fact. In fact, wise people throughout the ages have seen just how prevalent this is. For example, William Blake, the poet, said, "We become what we behold." The Buddha himself said, "With our thoughts we make our world." These are just two of the wise minds that have seen this process evidence in action.

What words to use, then, that can create this kind of power?

Let's take the often used phrase, "Yes, but." In effect, what you are doing is trying to overcome someone else's opinion by suppressing it. In effect, what you have just done is completely discounted their opinion with the word "but." If you are someone who5B3 does this often (or even occasionally), it really blocks you from being able to communicate effectively with other people, and is also not particularly fair to that person. If you would not use this, you could simply acknowledge the other person's point of view and send the message that although you might not agree with the other person's point of view, you still allow the other person his or her full power. In other words, you don't want to disempower anyone else even if you disagree with his or her idea.

You can overcome this by saying, "Yes, and" instead of, "Yes, but." The word "and" is inclusive, and allows for both opinions to be present and equally valid. It also allows for much more open communication to flow, instead of blocking it.

Your self-talk, too, can be either and powering or disempowering. For example, do you say to yourself a lot of the time that you "must" or "have to" do something? This indicates that you think you have no choice in the matter, when, of course, you do. This type of self-talk disempowers you. If you listen to others talk, you sometimes also can sense this feeling of disempowerment in them.

If you want to change this self talk so that you realize you have a choice in the matter and thus to empower yourself, first, keep track of how often you say the words "should" or "must." These usually instill feelings of guilt or obligation, and thus some this empowerment to a least some extent.5B2

Other more general words that also hinder communication are "never," "forever," and "always." First of all, it is rarely true that something is "always" or "never" true. There are almost always exceptions. Therefore, if you or someone else is using the words "never" or "always," you are generalizing and not truly handling the matter at hand in reality. For better communication, avoid this type of generalization when you speak with someone.

Another word it's usually good to avoid if you can is "try." Of course, if you don't know whether or not you can do something, then you are going to "try" to do something. You won't know whether you can are or not until you try something if you haven't attempted it before. However, for communication situations, it's usually best to avoid this word because if you say you are going to "try" to get a task done for someone, you are not committing yourself to it. Therefore, you should say you either can or cannot do it. By stating whether or not you can firmly, you commit yourself to an answer one way or the other.

The more careful you are with the words and phrases used, the better your communication can be. You'll find that just a little attention to these areas will greatly enhance your communications with others and may even transform your relationships in general. Watch and see what happens. You just might be amazed.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of My-Personal-Growth.com, a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development.

Our minds shape our surroundings

Journaling To Track Your Successes

Often times people will start out on projects or set goals and after sometime lose the sight of the end result. They get distracted or they just do not know where they actually started nor how far they have come. For this reason they have little idea of how far they have to go to reach the end result. Using a journal to track your successes in any project or goal can assist you in reaching your desired result. Even the experts in the fields of motivation and inspirational personal growth suggest using the writing down of your successes as a tool to keep you on track.

To write down your successes or accomplishmentsACD helps you to first of all recognize that you have successes. Sometimes when you go through your day, you do not realize that simple little things are in fact a success. This makes you more aware of the things that you do or say that take you one step closer to your desired result.

Writing down your successes creates milestones that you can look back on and see how far you really have come in your journey to your future. There are times when discouragement will get the best of us. However, with a road and markers to look back on it is easier to continue forward and with more enthusiasm than you would have had if you had not taken the time to write down the successes you had in your everyday life.

To write down your successes regularly also encourages habits of success. Once these habits are in place then you become more motivated to do more and be more in the realm of your day. In many cases people who take the time to write down their successes reach their end result and reach them quicker. This allows them to start new projects, have more goals, and dream much bigger than they thought they could.

Once you realized the value and the importance of writing down accomplishments a person can then celebrate their successes. Treat your self to something special when you complete the desire goals you have set. Cheer and applaud! It is amazing how great we feel when we get that kind of recognition for finishing what we start.

Where you have come from determines where you will go

Check out this valuable tool that can assist you in tracking your successes at http://www.365daysofsuccessesjournal.com

For more resources and to learn more about being the best you that you can be visit http://www.inpursuitofwealth.com

From Internet Entrepreneur and Writer Bonnie Holscher

Spiritual Law of Success

The Need To Forgive Yourself

You can't make progress in personal growth until you learn to forgive yourself. Many of us replay our mistakes over and over, adding more self-criticism every time we do it. It's easy to turn a minor misstep into a major stumbling block.

As much as you'd like to be perfect, that's never going to happen. Human beings do make mistakes, and you're5B4 a member of that imperfect species.

Because your life will never be mistake-free, it's crucial that you forgive yourself when you do mess up. If you don't, you'll spend too much of your life in the past rather than in the present and future. Fear of making more mistakes will intimidate you in setting and achieving new goals. You won't grow.

You did the best you could

Personal growth is incremental. We become wise gradually, not all at once. Scolding yourself over mistakes assumes that you had all the knowledge and experience you needed to make a good decision, and often that's just not the case.

Even if you did have all the facts, other elements come into play, like emotional bias and acting too quickly. The mature view is that you did the best you could at the time.

Beating yourself up won't change the past. Instead, take a step back and try to objectively figure out what went wrong. Every mistake contains a lesson, but only if you can be calm enough to dig it out. Acknowledging that you did the best you could at the time takes blame out of the picture, and that makes it easier for you to come away with something worthwhile.

Learning requires an environment of forgiveness

Picture a kindergarten room in which children are learning the names of colors. Each time a child makes a mistake, the teacher smacks him or her on the hands with a ruler.

If you find tha28t action cruel and unacceptable, realize58C that you're doing the same kind of thing to yourself when you won't forgive yourself for your mistakes. We all know that a positive, supportive atmosphere is best for learning. You owe it to yourself to take that attitude toward your own errors.

Remember that you're the teacher as well as the student. When you forgive yourself for your mistakes, you'll motivate yourself to test new approaches and try again. Give yourself a pep talk when you stumble, instead of a chewing-out. Isn't that the kind of teacher you want?

Forgiving yourself helps you forgive others

Like you, everyone else is doing the best they can, too. Maybe their social skills aren't what they could be, but they're struggling as well.

We tend to be harsher on ourselves than we are on others, but why be harsh on anybody? If there's one thing people need, it's forgiveness. You'll just alienate them by pointing out their faults and shortcomings. Chances are they're already painfully aware of them anyway.

Forgiveness, compassion and respect build other people up. They'll build you up too, if you learn to show those qualities toward yourself.

How much and how quickly you grow depends on the way you treat yourself when you make a mistake. When you forgive yourself, you'll not only have more joy in your life, but you'll also see it overflowing into the lives of others.

If you're a single person, you can live a happy, confident, optimistic life using the proven principles in Jack Zavada's new ebook, Single & Sure

James Allen

Shifting the Paradigm of Knowledge

Much is written about knowledge being power and that is still true. Yet, if individuals and businesses in todays knowledge driven economy truly wish to be successful a shift is required to being able to apply knowledge.

One of the most frequent challenges that I hear from potential and current clients whether they are small business owners or multi-billion dollar corporations is implementation or the inability to take action. These individuals have a tremendous wealth of knowledge, yet their efforts are brought to a screeching halt because of the inability to implement or to apply knowledge.

The question then arises how do you bridge this challenge. From my experiences this answer is two-fold. First, individuals nB2Feed to change their belief systems that knowledge is power to applied knowledge is power. This is not easy because of the F.E.A.R. (false evidence appearing real) of failure. No one likes to fail. . However, to improve our performance (the application of knowledge) requires us to learn from our past mistakes and to move forward. John Maxwell provides great insight into overcoming the fear of failure in his book entitled Failing Forward.

Secondly, a process needs to exist to ensure that the knowledge is applied. From my perspective, I recommend goal planning and goal achievement through a proven tool. This tool, a goal sheet, takes the knowledge and provides both a structure and a process to implement or to take action. Many individuals have a long list of dreams and goals, but far fewer consistently achieve their hopes and desires.

With the end of the year coming to an end, possibly now is the time to assess if you need to shift your paradigm to one where applied knowledge has greater power. If you havent achieved your goals or dreams from taking that cruise to increasing sales by 50%, then ask yourself is this because of a lack of knowledge or because of the inability to apply knowledge?

Copyright 2005(c) Leanne Hoagland-Smith, www.processspecialist.com

This article may be freely published. Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. CEO of ADVANCED SYSTEMS located outside of Chicago, IL, is the Learning & Process Specialist. With over 25 years of business & education experience, she helps her clients to double their performance. By uniting systems, strategies and people to create loyal internal customers, Leanne delivers ROI solutions in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth & innovation within a variety of industries including education, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services. As co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential: 7 Capacities for Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for 2005 release, Leanne speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. Please contact Leanne at 219.759.5601 or visit http://www.processspecialist.com if you are seeking to connect your passion to your purpose to double your performance for unheard of results.

Laotzu

Self-Hypnosis Recordings to Gain Confidence

Self-hypnosis recordings are used to achieve many goals, especially those that are related to self improvement. As a technique to gain confidence, self-hypnosis has remained popular. But how effective are these recordings and how will they work to help people gain confidence?

Self-hypnosis Hypnosis is not considered nor accepted as a pure science, but it is widely practiced as an alternative form of treatment for a variety of psychiatric problems. It is also used to supplement the more traditional form of treatments such as medication and is often used as a way to manage pain, attain relaxation and yes, gain confidence. By using different techniques and when administered properly, self-hypnosis can become a valuable tool in personal growth.

Will self-hypnosis recordings help me gain confidence? Before you put your trust on self-hypnosis, first learn what the nature of this technique is. For one, self-hypnosis is mainly a tool to achieve a set goal. It is not an end in itself and whether or not it works will depend on different factors, all of which contribute to the success of a hypnosis therapy.

Second, self-hypnosis is notoriously dependent on its user. Certain individuals, for example, cannot be hypnotized not because they have some physiological anomaly in their person but because they do not have the tendency to believe or accept suggestions. That is not to say that people who use self-hypnosis are gullible. It's just that they are wired differently and are more willing to accept whatever it is that they so willingly volunteered themselves to do. So if you already prepared yourself to accept suggestions that you will gain confidence, then self-hypnosis will be of great use to you.

How are self-hypnosis recordings used to help people gain confidence? The goal of self-hypnosis is to allow you to attain contact with your own emotional life. Whatever behavior regression or pre-conceived notions you may have such as fear, phobias, anxiety and conflicts are brought out and eliminated or at least minimized, reducing their negative impact on your emotional life. The result, as all hypno-therapists hope, is a better and emotionally more stable you.

Self-hypnosis is a gradual process and beginners often undergo a series of basic techniques before moving forward to the more advanced techniques. Techniques also differ and whichever you use will depend on your own personal preference.

You will, though, encounter the techniques that are commonly used for self-confidence hypnosis sessions. One is the monotonous and repetitive use of verbal commands, another is the controlled breathing technique and still another is one that may use either or both music and imagery. Choose the technique that you are most comfortable in because that has more likelihood of working for you.

Can self-hypnosis recordings change my life for the better? While hypnosis has been practiced for thousands of years, its use is still clouded by plenty of misconception and misinterpretation. Do not cling to the hope that self-hypnosis will change your life. It won't. It's how you react to it and what you will do as a consequence of using it that will determine whether you will gain confidence or not. If you use if effectively, you can definitely benefit from the result of your sessions.

Is there any danger at all in using self-hypnosis recordings? Assuming that the self-hypnosis recordings you use are prepared by a qualified and trained professional, there should be little concern on your part. However, hypnosis has the ability to confuse, often allowing memory to combine with fantasy, producing a totally different and complicated version or persona altogether.

If you want to play it safe, go to a trained professional to ensure your safety and emotional well being. This is especially important if you're the kind of person who has more tendency to be accepting of suggestions. Otherwise, simply choose self-hypnosis recordings that are provided by professionals to help you gain the confidence you so richly deserve.

A caveat: self-hypnosis is not a cure-all and it will not solve all your problems. What it will do is to help you get in touch with yourself to find out how you can best solve a problem or react to a certain situation. As a way to gain confidence, self-hypnosis will only be effective if you yourself allow it to become.

For more complete information on self-hypnosis please go to: http://www.aperfectharmony.com http://www.a-1hypnosis.com/index.htm http://www.drnathaliefiset.com

Thurgood Marshall

Ever Hear of The Socratic Method

Do you think we live in a controlling society, where the goal of bosses, parents, and teachers is to twist logic and reasoning to make others conform and do things their way?

Does the media support the economy in training society to be worker-drones and not question authority?

Is control in the eyes (and mind), of the beholder; we have independent will to choose regardless of others?

You have the ultimate volition and responsibility if you are willing to accept the consequences of your acts right?

Who Was Socrates?

Maybe he lived and maybe he is a mythical figure invented by Plato and Aristotle. He never wrote a book or put his ideas on the Internet so we are dependent on his Athenian friends for verification.

The dates given for his life are 470 to 399 BC, when he allegedly chose to drink hemlock (poison), instead of accepting exile from Athens. He was convicted of the crime of Impiety to the Gods, and corrupting Athenian youth through his teaching.

Athens had just lost the big war to Sparta the Peloponnesian War and Athens was looking for a scapegoat. The government was run by the 30 Tyrants who preferred to blame, execute or exile Socrates, than accept the label of governmental-incompetence for losing the war.

His Method

Four key elements:

a) Stimulate organized thinking through probing questions.

b) Keep the conversation focused on self-understanding leading to logical conclusions.

c) Always be intellectually fair with the person questioned.

d) Periodically summarize what has been concluded and its implications.

e) Remember the Socratic Method is skeptic1107al and questions flip answers and beliefs.

Is There Always a Single Answer?

Socrates and those present day teachers who use his method, use a conversational approach. They attempt to draw out the reasoning and correct answer from the student. They do not lecture the students, but interact through deft questioning.

The system is empirical and inductive, practical yet based on the life experience of all people. Socrates seeks to draw out the student to understand the implications of his/her beliefs, by deductive thinking comprehending its logical consequences.

One size fits all?

There is no single answer that works under varying circumstances. Change re- quires a new set of ideas and analysis. In law the judge is given discretion based on varying circumstances.

The Socratic Method is not a set of laws that we follow blindly, but reasoning leading to focused analysis and the best response.

Why Bother With This Method?

Lecturing is boring for both the instructor and the listener. The rate of speech of a professor is about 150 words per minute, while note-taking by the listener is no more than 25 words per minute. We, the listener, get lost in a flood of information and quit listening because we cannot keep up.

Question and analysis is interactive, leading to mutually satisfying conclusions.

The secret is Feedback. When we respond to questions by thoughtful answers, we invoke our basic instinct curiosity. Back-and-forth feedback monitors growing personal comprehension. It leads to an improvement in self-esteem.

Remember questions are specific and logical, and require a united effort between our left and right hemispheres. Lecturing is a reversion to childhood when your parents and teachers told you how and what to think. Q&A the Socratic method - is a joint-venture between adults.

Are There Any Rules?

a) Make the questions intriguing and mentally arousing.

b) Questions must lead someplace incremental steps to reasonable conclusions and implications.

c) Look for logical steps in thinking, not lockstep answers.

d) The goal is personal understanding, and being open to change of opinion through personal growth by logical thinking.

e) Make the student see the illogic of their own thinking, to correct it and move forward to better ideas.

We do not want to provide cues to the right-answer because the system is a matter of learning to think skeptically and find our own way to reasonable solutions.

Endwords

Speed reading is a psychomotor skill that permits us to read three (3) books, articles and reports in the time our peers can hardly complete one.

Half the students who become drop-outs do so because they cannot keep up with the assignments. There are not enough hours in the day for them, to read and learn. Daily, they keep falling further behind. They read and remember information too slowly because they have no strategy beyond reading one word at a time, sub- vocalizing, regressing, and forgetting what they read within minutes of completion called porous concentration.

The Socratic Method is a strategy to train yourself to use questions and answers in pursuit of lucid analysis. Our experience is - it produces better long-term memory and focused attention.

Personal growth a learning skill goal occurs from the consistent use of probing question and listening for ideas, through logic and reasoning. If you want to grow you want to learn. Learning consists of gathering information and cross-examining it with solid questions, and analyzing what sticks to the barn door.

See ya,

copyright 2006

H. Bernard Wechsler
http://www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org

Author of Speed Reading for Professionals, published by Barron's Educational, business partner of Evelyn Wood, creator of speed reading, graduating 2 million, including the White House staff of four U.S. Presidents.

Thomas Edison

Why Would You Hurt Yourself Like This

Everybody knows that if you stick your hand in a fire you're going to be burned. This is a fact that was branded in our minds since childhood, therefore we usually take special precautions when dealing with fire. You wouldn't intentionally burn yourself because you are aware of the pain and discomfort it will cause you.

But what if I told you that you could be causing yourself and even more painful and deeper discomfort?

What I'm referring to is the pain and suffering caused by holding on to a unforgiving spirit.

A common misconception that people believe is they have a right to be unforgiving based on the amount of pain that was caused to them. Also since they feel alot of pain every time they think about what happened it's only logical to hold on to that resentment.

It seems right not to accept the guilty parties apology and sometimes they never apologize, but I'm here to tell you today that forgiveness is for you not them! It's so you can move on with your life and not dwell in the past on things that are not E5Epraiseworthy.

Holding on to unforgiveness is very painful to the unforgiving person and alot of times causes you to experience sleeplessness and stress which in turn could make you sick.

In addition it makes you meditate on angry thoughts toward the person who did you wrong which could lead to hatred.

Hebrew 12:14 "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

Beyond a shadow of doubt, our spiritual enemy, the devil, will try to get us into a state of unforgiveness so that he can have an advantage in our life.

He will remind us of past hurts that occurred months, weeks or even years ago, if that will work for him. What he is trying to do is to get us to ponder them long enough so that we will act out on them. To "resist" these thoughts is to resist the devil.

I know first hand from my own personal experiences that the above statements are true and terrible, but the worst part of all is that unforgiveness keeps the all mighty, all knowing, all powerful, most high God from forgiving you!

In Matthew 18:21-35 The man who received personal forgiveness but refused to forgive the man who owed him a mere "hundred denarii's," was labeled a "wicked servant" because he was forgiven his debt which was far more than the debt he refused to forgive.

The power of forgiveness is immeasurable. It is a power that Jesus used often and even delegated to his followers.

Luke 17:3-4 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying I repent, you shall forgive him".

God loves us very much and is very forgiving, even when we make mistakes. God gives us chances to work on our behavior and be the best we can be. When you pray, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Matthew 6.14-15 "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

In conclusion, to be unforgiving is to: anger God (Mt. 18:34), to give the devil an advantage in your life (2 Cor. 2:10,11), to conform to this wicked generation (2 Tim. 3:3), not to walk in love (1 Cor. 13:5), to stop God from forgiving you (Mt. 6:14,15) and to negate your own salvation (Mt. 18:32,34,35;).

David Hopkins is a "Christian Article Writer" who specializes in helping people remember to glorify God in everything that they do, so they don't miss out on any of His wonderful blessings.

Visit Daily Word Of God Group to read additional articles and to sign-up for a free newsletter to learn everything you need to know about why you should be putting God #1 in your life.

Jerry And Esther Hicks

Reach Your Goals with Goal Pooling

Goal-pool with friends or acquaintances

Get together with a group of friends or co-workers and host a logistical brainstorming party where all the invitees lay out the goals theyd li5B4ke help with and make plans to meet them, with the help of the rest of the group. The result might look something like this:

Every Monday the whole crew gets together for a half-hour after work to help Barbara make fund-raising calls for her charity (and in exchange, everyone gets invited to the hoity-toity, networking-heaven Christmas party held to thank the donors and volunteers).

On Wednesdays, Bob hosts a scrap-booking dinner where he provides the food in exchange for mooching supplies, equipment and techniques from his more scrap-savvy cohorts.

On Sundays, June hosts a brunch where everybody eats high on the hog in exchange for honest feedback on her catering recipes and presentation/marketing ideas.

Continue goal-pooling until everyone involved has met their goals unless everyone decides to keep going and move on to the next batch of goals!

(c) Soni Pitts

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of SoniPitts.Com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.

She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and ove33Er 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.

Anthony De Mello

Techniques in Building Courage for Improving Self Esteem

Building courage is the very first part to improving your self-esteem. When you build up your courage, it also helps you in expanding your mind. You are more likley to take risks that will guide you to an important positive future, where if you ordinary would not challenge yourself. Fear will fall way behind you when you build up your courage level.

All Courage is taking a hold of and admitting your most important fears. But, if you take measures to discover many new ideas it will help you to defeat these important fears. You must not allow your fears to take control of your life, you must gain as much courage as possible to master all of your fears.

being Scared is acceptable from time to time. When you see a flying object heading in your direction, you develop a positive fear that tells you to move out of the way. Healthy and positive fear is also respect. This is a very good thing.

Improving your courage will help you learn to control your life effectively. You will learn new ways to take all responsible actions and accept rewards and consequences. Courageous people will often admit blame and account for, while going over his or her actions and then by using what they have learned from it. Courageous people step up to the plate, rather than jump back at what time all opportunities arrive. Courageous people will step back while taking a closer look at all of their mistakes and accept them no matter what.

At times, a courageous person will feel spontaneous. Sometimes all of your planning will lead to failure, thus you just have to certain things without any planning sometimes. Not one person can explain what happens in the future. You may plan to go to the park on Sunday. then all at once, on the day your going to the park it rains, thunder, tornado, lightning, windstorm, or anything may ruin your plans. When you plan, you failed to plan for the weather or the weather report changed without you knowing about it. This causes you to make another plan to fill in the spots from your original plans. So, you can see that planning sometimes is not in the best interest. But, courageous individuals that are aware of this sometimes take spontaneous and decisive actions.

People with willing souls are ready to make improvements in their overall lives will learn to take control and relax. These individuals will feel so relaxed even when their plans fall apart. Lets say, it rained very hard the following day a person made plans to play soccer. Rather than letting the storm cause them to become down and depressed, this individual will move to find something else exciting and fun to do. In addition, he will enjoy doing what he does because he or she will not let anything ruin there day.

A truly successful individual will make improvements their life and have a positive attitude to learn how to trust all of their own decision making. When this person puts trust in who they are, they learn to trust other individuals also. Trust is something you'll find very difficult to obtain in a world of lies and corruption. But, someone out to improve their self-esteem will see past all of the bad and lies of the world and move forward a positive situation that will bring them happiness.

People can improve your life by making your mind creative. When you use your creative mind, you can create new and exciting ideas that will lead you to improve your self-esteem. Your computer along with many other choices can give you many different options.

But, you must be willing to put forth the effort to find these resources. You may feel intimidated at times. but this is normal. And if you are willing to take these situations with an open mind, you will find it easier to improve your self-esteem.

When your self-esteem is low, its very hard to get through the day. With every day you feel like this, it becomes more stressful than you can bear. Yet, if you are willing to let go of your stress and accept the situation, you will find your way in life to be much easier with fewer hassles. And, you want to relieve your mind of negative and depressed thoughts

Author: G.Wadel Find Out More On All Your Self Help Questions. http://my--self--improvement.blogspot.com

Transformation

10 Steps To Achieving Maximum Performance Through Recognition

As a conscientious leader, you can:

Build a high performance team

Value your team members

Bring out the best in each of the members of the team

Employees will actually become a part of the team. This will happen when they feel included in plans for the future and when they feel rewarded for achieving goals. Everyone wants to be part of the team, part of the company, part of the big picture.

Being included doesnt mean being consulted or being asked for approval. It does mean taking those employees into consideration and keeping them informed of the plan and the progress.

Being rewarded for achieving goals doesnt have to include money or awards but in fact could be just high 5s and back patting as steps are achieved along the way. Show them that you understand that they actually helped achieve that goal. I read that at MDI, every time a major contract was signed, a giant gong in the entrance room was gonged loudly enough so everybody in the building heard it and knew of that success. Timing is important

The word rewarded, conjures up thoughts of money or gifts that are considered expenses or costs. Rewards can of course range anywhere from a thanks, you did a good job to Cash bonuses and everywhere in between. Promotional products fit almost every catagory except cash.

Rewards can be the success of the company and the continuance of operation or even expansion which could lead to promotions and long term employment.

Actual rewards should be considered as investments.

PLAN REWARDS

Set criteria for awards program, Present lasting, personalized awards

Standard, classy timeless awards stand the test of time

A personalized award will be kept and treasured

A functional gift will be used and discarded.

Trendy and gimmicky gifts are fun for a while

When your company name is on an award, you are in fact advertising your company while rewarding or acknowledging someone. Everyone will see the image you project.

Set clear objectives for your company

PHILOSOPHIES

Management & Shareholder needs

Company Vision and Mission Statements

PRODUCTS

Main or Key products

Ancilliary products

Possible new products

TIMELINE

Short term goal, 1 year goal, 5 year goals, beyond Year end

Expansion/merger/takeover plans

SET CLEAR GOALS FOR MONTH, YEAR AND FUTURE (in measurable terms)

Product Volume

Dollar Value

Dates

Measureability

Progress tracking

WHO IS ON YOUR TEAM???
Yourself
Employees
Staff
Suppliers
Customers
Community

10 STEPS TO ACHIEVING MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE THROUGH RECOGNITION.

1. Timing, Timing, Timing. (Not Location, Location, Location)

2. Quality (not cheap, does the trick)

3. Appropriateness (choose the award to match the event)

4. First Impression, Last Impression (there is a 'right' time to make it the best)

5. Corporate Image ( everyone sees what you project. Be good and be constant )

6. Achievability of contests or programs ( make sure you get winners)

7. Image building. Communicate/advertise the program, the winners (You want your image to travel.)

8. Reciprocation creates obligation payoff repayment (be cognizant and make it your advantage.)

9. Consistency exudes reliability ( you see this in all the major players )

10. Focus on all, one at a time
-Business
-Product
-Customers
-Suppliers
-Employees
- Families
- Community

Is it all about Recognition, Promotional Products, Awards Program and Incentives? NO!! It's about business. It's about you. It's about them.

You've heard it said 'Business is Business' but I believe more and more that 'Business is Family'. Sure there are times when bad things happen but you get over it, solve the problems and get back to business. Get the 'family' working again.

My name is Rod Winning I own and operate Winning FairWays Inc. Promotional Products for Success I can be contacted at rod-fairways@hotmail.com www.winningfairways.com

Rod Winning is President of Winning FairWays Inc. Promotional Products for Success. http://www.winningfairways.com contact him at info@winningfairways.com or at rod-fairways@hotmail.com

Wisdom Of The Ages

Two Letter Word That Is The Key To Time Management

We all know that we should be spending as much time as possible on important but not urgent activities. For example planning, preventing crises before they happen, building relationships and looking for new opportunities. However so many people seem to spend their lives swamped in urgent, unimportant things that they never get the time for the important stuff. If you have this problem, you need to learn a magic word

Creating time to control the crises

If you spend your life going from one crisis to another, or spending time on unimportant trivia, then you need to learn how to use the magic word - NO

Your time is the most precious quantity you have, you only have one chance at it and you need to use it wisely. You must allocate some of it to planning and developing your long term future.

The problem is in our fast paced world of instant communications and higher pressures at work and in the home, there are so many things that could claim some of your time. You will not have the time to do everything and you are going to have to learn to say no.

Learning to s5B4ay no

One of the key concepts of the 7 habits of highly effective people is that you should use principles to guide you. Using principles as a basis, you can develop a clear idea of where you are going in your life your life mission or purpose.

Once you know where you are going, you can work out how you are going to get there. This plan can include your job, your personal life, your life in your community Now you have a basis for evaluating each new request or opportunity as it arises. You can evaluate whether it fits in with what you plan to do and whether you can find the time to do it or not. You will know with reassurance whether to say yes or no.

Saying no can sometimes be difficult. For instance if your boss wants you to help patch up a crisis you might just have to put your other plans on hold for a while. However, you should have a clear plan that you have negotiated with your boss. If your goals will be compromised you can ask your boss which of the other things we have agreed on should I put on hold while I do this new task.

In fact, this approach can work well in lots of different situations. In other situations you are just going to have to find a way to say no as politely as possible.

The person that many people find it hardest to say no to is themselves. You will need to develop the self discipline to work on your goals rather than spend your time on unimpor5B4tant activities like watching the TV, minor interruptions from people around, you inconsequential phone calls and all the other ways that you have of distracting yourself from your true purpose.

No is the most important word in the language of time management in a world where you are bombarded by interruptions and time wasting activities.

The 7 habits of highly effective people teaches us that when you truly know what you want to do and you develop the ability to say no to anything that does not support your life purpose, you will find that you can succeed in reaching your life goals.

Do you want to find out more about the 7 habits of highly effective people

You can get a free e-course the success principle. Visit my website for more resources, articles, and support materials about success and personal growth.

Kevin John has spent many years helping businesses owners, aspiring business owners, and private individuals to develop the understanding and skills needed to achieve the success that they want.

Jerry And Esther Hicks

Reverse Adrenal Fatigue With Biofeedback

I wish to relate a remarkable story employing a new biofeedback device called Quantum Life in the last year which has surprised and delighted me and has given me hope for even greater personal growth than I could ever have imagined.

This new technology has the ability to rebalance one's physiological systems in such a way that it can help reduce stress and, in my personal experience, reverse adrenal fatigue. My personal story is as follows:

Recently my life has evolved in suc102Eh a way that I have moved out of practicing medicine and into a more holistic program. I have become a student of Naturopathy as I feel it will help to enhance my already growing interest and background in natural and energetic modalities.

Now to be honest my initial feelings about returning to a rigorous educational program at the age of 50 may have some people concerned but with the Quantum Life system I have experienced a number of remarkable things: my energy and over all health have improved, the amount of sleep I need has decreased from 8 hours down to 6 hours at night, my appetite and weight have normalized, I have greater clarity and improved concentration, my memory has improved, and my overall resilience has improved. Finally, my overall performance is such that I feel like

I'm functioning better than I did when I was in my twenties. This has made it possible for me to enjoy and get the most out of my new endeavor.

This biofeedback system operates on the principle that illness of any kind results when one or more physiological systems stop communicating with each other in a coherent and coordinated fashion. This is much like what happens in a relationship with the same difficulties. The outcome of such miscommunication is a faulty relationship system that ultimately breaks down.

Quantum Life has the capacity to detect such miscommunication at the physiological level and help "re-connect" disparate and isolated organ systems so that the entire "human system" can re-establish normal coherent function.

The concept of "stress" is effectively a state that results when communication breakdown occurs at the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual levels within an organism.

Quantum Life can re-establish coherence in stressed "systems" and individuals rapidly and effectively thereby enhancing wellness, resilience and overall performance.

Many professional athletes having been employing such technologies to enhance their performance and with great results. To learn more about this technology kindly read my other articles on Biofeedback or contact me at the email address below.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called "Spirituality And Science" (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of "Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation" (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

He is also a Quantum Life Biofeedback Practitioner. Email: drnick@telecoaching4u.com

Web Site: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

Anthony De Mello

Building Your Coaching Business - Constant Flow of More New Clients

Here is an approach that keeps new clients coming without end. Ask for two referrals every time you signup a new client. Make it a part of your fee.

When you quote your fee in a proposal, or verbally, request 2 referrals as a part of that fee. It might sound something like this.

Always state that your fee is ...whatever it is plus 2 referrals...with the stipulation that "....as long as you are extremely happy with the results you get. My goal is for you to get _________ times more than you paid, and a referral is a natural outcome. In fact, my fee is (state a higher rate, by $500 to $1000) without the referrals and $_________ with the referrals. So, be thinking as we go through the program who you know that needs help moving their business forward at least as far as you will have moved." Always position yourself that you are so confident that he will be extremely satisfied, and you have to deliver on that promise to collect on the referral. Show him how confident you are and that you'll have to deliver to get those referrals.

Remind your client every week or so to be thinking about who they know that would like to et the same kinds of results they are getting right now. That will be an easy referral if you have made a significant difference in this client's business.

Also, coach your client how to make that referral. It should never be that coaching costs $________. It should look more like, "Wow, my coach has helped me get an additional $__________", or "This coach I'm working with has doubled my [department, workgroup, business] in just weeks, what are you struggling with where you'd like for that to happen?"

Now, let's look at what this would do for your business. If, for every client you get, you get 2 more referrals, and assuming you typically close at least 50+% of your sales, then you have a steady stream of clients, one behind the other. You'll close at least one of these two, resulting in one client added for every client you already have. Obviously adjust your figures based on your typical results. I also find that a referral is likely to result in something like 75% or more closure, but under one condition....that the referral really is to someone who needs you rather than blind referrals. It is up to you to coach your client who the right referral is, and this will become a steady stream of new clients.

Although this could keep a steady stream of clients, if you are also keeping existing clients, moving them into monthly coaching programs, and other opportunities, you should be building a larger and larger base of current clients.

A word of caution: if you only have one client at a time, make sure that you have other marketing going to build your client base large enough. At one client at a time, just one time not closing a new client will put you back to zero. Just one client not making the right referral can set you to zero.

This is an extremely powerful approach, and should be used with every client. But don't bet the farm until you have a large enough client base where the overall statistics will average out over time..

================================================

Do you want to learn more about how to increase your coaching businesses? I have just completed my brand new guide to coaching marketing success. You'll also get a free invitation to join a mastermind group of other coaches as they build their business. Hear what works and doesn't work.

Get your "How to Build a Super Star Coaching Business" for free

Alan Boyer coaches coaches, who want more business than they can handle, or at least more than they imagined...before this.....The reports have been "5-10 times more clients in just a few weeks, and still growing.

http://www.leaders-perspective.com/Super-Star-Coaching-Business.htm

Transformation