Success, Power, Self-Improvement

The Power Of Words

2006-12-07T02:15:00.001-08:00

This story is so good I have to share it:

The Power Of Words

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story gives us thoughts to think about:

1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects. Be careful of what you say.

- Author Unknown

7 Ways to Go From Distress to De-stress

2006-12-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

In our continually changing environment, our bodies and minds are suffering from wear and tear. We call it STRESS. Sometimes it’s family problems, money problems, or problems at work. However, we all have to deal with it from day to day. Having stress in your life is not the issue these days, how you cope with it is more important. Living a healthy lifestyle is one way to reduce the stress levels. When you’re living healthy, you just automatically cope with stress better. Developing ways to deal with your stress makes you more resilient, more energetic, with concentration that is more effective.

The first step to determining how you handle stress is knowing what causes it. Many find keeping a stress journal very helpful for understanding not only the causes, but also for giving you insight as to how you react. Use it to record each event in your life, how you’re feeling, exactly what causes you to feel stressed and out of control, or in other words, the patterns of stress in your life.

Once you’ve determined the cause or causes of stress in your life, you can then go about finding ways to de-stress, or decompress, bringing harmony back into your life.

1) Relaxation techniques, such as music are very effective in calming your harried mind. Music helps by calming you down, giving your mind a chance to relax if only for a few minutes. Find a quiet place, where you can be alone, pop in a CD of soft sounds, such as ocean waves or falling rain. Experiment until you determine which sound makes you feel relaxed and calm. Turn on the CD, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Focus on the sound, push everything else from your mind. Let your muscles relax, one at a time. Let yourself just get lost in the sound.

2) Breathing techniques are very helpful and can be used almost anywhere, even at work. Once again, find a quiet place to sit down. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, then let it out. Take the next breath slowly, counting to five, hold that breath to the count of four, then release it very slowly. This works particularly well if you feel a bit panicky. When in panic mode, the body tends to breathe very fast and shallow, intensifying the feeling of fight-or-flight. Doing this breathing technique for fifteen or twenty minutes will be very calming.

3) Sleep is so important, especially during extremely stressful times, but stress often makes getting to sleep very difficult. The thoughts keep swirling around in your mind, keeping you awake. Let your body get used to a routine by keeping the same bedtime each night, even on weekends. In addition, several hours before bedtime, give your brain a chance to wind down. Avoid any mentally demanding work and agitation. Cutting back on alcohol and caffeine will help you fall asleep more easily. Instead of watching television, find a nice relaxing, book. Before you know it, your body will relax, your eyes will close, and you’ll drift off for a great night’s sleep.

4) Exercise is another great way to de-stress your body and your mind. It improves blood flow to the brain, bringing it more oxygen. Believe it or not, long hours of sitting and thinking cause the neurons of your brain to build up toxic waste products. If you’ve ever experienced that foggy feeling, that feeling that your brain has turned to mush, this is why. Exercise releases chemicals called endorphins, into your blood stream. These endorphins are what give you that happy feeling, a feeling of well-being. When the pressure is on, it’s the more physically fit people who are able to fight off illness. You’ll stay healthier and suffer less from burnout. Please remember to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. In addition, keep in mind that exercise should be fun. If it stops being fun, you’ll stop exercising.

5) Try and spend time with your loved ones. Relaxing with family and friends is a great stress reliever. Finding fun activities will make you feel happy, relaxed, and more able to handle the day-to-day stress. They say laughter is the best medicine, so laugh and enjoy life whenever you can. Take regular vacations. Not only will you enjoy the break from work and home duties, but just the act of planning and looking forward to the vacation will improve your state of mind. Sometimes, anticipation is half the fun.

6) Find a hobby or a sport that you enjoy. If your work is very competitive, try and find something that will allow you to relax and enjoy yourself. Reading, gardening, sewing, etc. allows your mind to focus on something besides the worries. Moreover, working with your hands and being creative is very freeing.

7) Try a little positive thinking. Use your imagination to conjure up positive images and thoughts of your desired outcome. It’s a fact that optimists enjoy increased health and long life, have less stress, and are able to move forward and succeed where others might quit. We all have to expect some failures, some sorrow and frustration, but we don’t have to let them rule our lives. Find some like-minded friends who will remind you of your successes now and then. Focus on realistic goals and remember that failure isn’t fatal. And don’t be so hard on yourself. Tomorrow is another day.

Two mental skills that make all the difference

2006-12-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here they are:

1)Getting started
2)Sticking with it

Also known as action-focus and persistence.
With these two virtues highly developed nothing can stop you. But how do you develop them?
Simple: Focus on one virtue every other month. Then, every day whenever you have a meal (this means 3 times) you remind yourself of working on that character trait. In the evening you have a little notepad or calendar and there you note on a scale of 1 to 10 how well you did today. 3 points for reminding yourself, the other seven for how well you did. Work on action-focus one month and on persistence the other month. Of course the two overlap to a great degree. The goal is to turn you into a person that can get things done.
Okay,
back to work.

Assigning Success Qualities

2006-12-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

I want to share this inspiring story about a potential failure who turned into a success magnet. Here it is:

My Dad's way of disciplining me when I was growing up could have made me a big time failure, had I not realized its consequences in time.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love my Dad very much, and I respect him. I'm sharing this story for the purpose of making you aware of things that could set you up for failure, so you can avoid them.

Now back to the story. When I was a young boy growing up, I oftentimes make mistakes (as small boys usually do). Everytime I do something stupid or something that my Dad doesn't like, he would say things like "You're not using your head", "This is common sense stuff, and you don't know it", "Your cousin is much better than you are", etc.

My Dad often made me feel like I'm a stupid person, that all other people are smarter and much better than me.

He said that it's his way of disciplining me, so that I can grow up to be a better person.

As I grew up, his words often echo in my head. In due time, his words made their way to my subconscious. I was literally telling myself that "I am stupid" or "I am a failure" every time I make a mistake.

And I indeed failed in a lot of my endeavors. It was very frustrating for me to keep on failing and being a nobody.

But because I simply cannot accept my fate, I read all sorts of self-improvement books to get out of my predicament.

And that's when I found out what's wrong with me. I've let my Dad's negative words about me become a part of my life. And because I accepted his teachings as words of wisdom, I took on the personality of a failure.

They say that people act or behave according to how you treat them. So if you treat, let's say, an average student as a genius, and tell him that his performance exhibits that of a highly intellectual person, he will indeed become a very smart person. Try it; you'll be shocked.

I have also learned how to become a human filter. To become one, you must learn to filter out negative comments or suggestions. You know yourself better than anyone else. So block out all those pessimistic views, while you absorb the positive ones.

And of course, I never listened to those who have nothing good to say. I just know deep inside that I'm fully capable of doing things which they don't think I can do. That's how I got over it.

They say that opinion is the cheapest commodity. And because different people have different opinions, you just can't simply accept the viewpoint of one person as the standard rule.

If you're a parent, assign positive qualities to your children, even if they don't have those qualities yet. Tell them they're smart, and they will indeed become smart. That's the power of the subconscious mind.

Affirmations don't work, unless..

2006-12-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Affirmation is a powerful self-improvement technique. But my friend and I are talking about some reasons why it won't work.

For example, if you're affirming, "I am a self-made millionaire," but you're in a tight situation with debts to pay, your subconscious would dismiss your affirmation simply because it's not true.

To counter this, you can alter your wordings to "I choose to become a self-made millionaire," and "I am moving forward to becoming a self-made millionaire."

You also must have the belief and the proper mindset to make affirmations effective. In order to reinforce your belief, express a little gratitude and say "thank you" after reciting your affirmation.
By saying "thank you," you made it seem like the affirmation is already manifesting or happening.

And of course, repetition and emotions are essential ingredients. Recite your affirmations repeatedly and feel them already manifesting in your life.

Stuff they Fail to Teach in School

2006-12-04T08:24:00.000-08:00

Recently I finished reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” After reading it, I realized school really doesn't prepare us much for financial life – or even self improvement. Go to college, get a job, be a subordinate (maybe get a promotion); and that's the way to get ahead. But nowadays, even that doesn't work!

With everybody here having different backgrounds, I'm not sure if your school taught these things or not, but mine certainly didn't. I'm only beginning to learn. I was never taught how to save money in school. My conservative parents schooled me on that and I still don't have it right

My question: can anybody think of other VERY important things about life and personal growth schools should be teaching? Maybe courses like Effective Entrepreneurship 101 or how to build your assets column with income producing assets – something like that...

We need a bit of laughter

2006-12-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
My kids never stop amusing me.
I don’t know if they feel that I am sitting doing my new project and scratching my head and need a break or what, but every time I am stuck in some bug searching expedition, email with a good joke from them arrived.
I am working on my new project/website and, you know story, bug after bug, tweak after tweak, few extra grey hair and …ting… email from my kids with a joke. I would like to share it with you.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush
your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always
catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held
its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber,
not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I
can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while
you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a
rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody
bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . .. . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.

Pass this on to someone who could use a laugh.

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.

Have a wonderful day with many *smiles*

Take the time to live!!!
Life is too short. Dance naked

How to Double (Even Triple) Your Efficiency

2006-12-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

To be really efficient, you must plan everything. Write down the things you need to do for a scheduled period (let's say for the coming week). Then evaluate if you're really efficient in doing all of those things.

You must practice efficient time management, which entails the delegation of your tasks. You can delegate those that you're not really capable of doing to someone else who can do them better. And if you don't enjoy doing something, the more you should assign it to someone else. Remember that you can reach success much, much faster only if you actually love what you're doing.

If you think the task requires your full attention, then find out everything you need to know and do before you start doing it. You need to adequately prepare for any task in order to do it much better.

You might think that planning and setting goals are a waste of time, that you should jump right into your tasks to save time.

Big Mistake!

By preparing beforehand, you will know exactly what to expect and accomplish when you're actually doing the tasks. You will be likened to a guided missile, fully focused in finishing anything you ought to do. You won't have to waste time thinking of what to do next.

But what if you lack knowledge in doing something? How do you prepare for such things?

Learn everything you need to know about the subject. Read books, listen to audios, attend seminars, ask advice from people knowledgeable in the subject, etc.

If you learn about something without actually applying the lesson, you might easily forget it. To resolve this, spend some time contemplating on what you've learned. Think about how you can apply it to real life, on how you can apply it now or in the future. See how you can benefit from this knowledge and imagine yourself actually applying it to people around you.

Knowledge is power, only if you apply it. You may not be able to apply what you've learned immediately; but by utilizing this technique and infusing the knowledge into your inner being, you will be able to summon it in times when you need it.

Take control of your life! 5 steps for success!

2006-12-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Do you feel like you are running in circles with your life, and you can't seem to straighten it out? Do you feel that you are doing everything in your power to succeed, however aren’t getting the results you were hoping for?

If so, you’re not alone. Many people on this earth share this feeling with you. In fact, a very large percentage of the population struggles to keep their head above water with the consistent pressures of their J.O.B., Family, Finances, and “Unfulfilled Successes”. There seems to be this unspoken force that drives people to the depths of false promises and mediocrity. An idea that we should all have to break our backs, in order to make a buck.

At one point, I too felt this force pinning me down to the point where I couldn’t stand it anymore. I started to search in hopes to find a better way. To find some kind of light that would show me the way to success and relieve this unbearable pressure.

Through my studies and development, it appeared to me that this “force”, was nothing other than my own Mind! Beliefs that I had picked up as a youngster and held on to were holding me back in my successes of today. This has proved to be a very valuable find, for I now know that success has always been there, however “I” had to be there, in my mind, before it was revealed to me.

Success is a choice, and so is failure. You have this choice everyday. Whatever is going on in your life right now is a direct result to the choices that you have made in the past. The good news is that everyday, is indeed, a new day!

Are you taking the right actions to be successful?

If you truly desire success, you’ll want to implement these Five simple recommendations into your daily schedule.

1. Daily Meditation/Visualization of Goals – Specific goal setting and daily review; visualize your Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely (S.M.A.R.T.) goals with the emotion as if you have already have attained them.

2. Daily Income-Producing Activities – You can choose to be doing something that will produce revenue right now, if you are just thinking about it or trying to get everything lined up, you are just wasting time.

3. Study Personal Development – On a daily basis too; you can get plugged into the study of personal development, if you do not, you simply become a reflection of what you are plugged into (news media, negative friends and anything else that can bring you down) you are a product of what you allow into your mind.

4. Mastermind With Other Leaders - Have mentors and a coach; people that are having success in the area you want to succeed in. This will keep you on track and focused.

5. Cultivate the Expectation of Leadership – Leaders lead by example and do not look back and dwell on their failures. Expect excellence from yourself first and do the things you need to do on a daily basis. Then you can expect the same from others; people will become successful and contribute to your success by your influence and example.

Once you start to implement these components into your daily schedule, you will find that that “force”, that was weighing you down, becomes a lot lighter, and what you desire will start to manifest. Remember, it’s your choice!

To Your Success!

Five Signs of a Great Leader

2006-12-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

When we think of successful leaders, we often think of people like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, people who have made a difference in the lives of millions.

Whether it's a leadership of millions, thousands, hundreds, or just a few dozen, there are certain attributes of a leader that shine through. Though some may assume that great leaders are born and not made, we know that's not true. With the right motives, training, hard work and persistence you too can be a great leader. It doesn't matter if your desire is to be the leader of a large company, a new church or your own little family the attributes are the same.

1. Desire:
First and foremost is your desire to lead. Leadership takes a great deal of work, so what motivates you? The prime motivator is usually passion. Passion to be the best company, the fastest growing company; the church helping more people than any other, a force in the community, or the happiest, most grounded family unit. Passion to be the biggest, the best is a powerful motivator. Ask yourself what you most want to achieve in your life and the life of others. Then guide your group to creating even more motivation. Keep in mind the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, "Nothing great is ever achieved without passion."

2. Vision:
It can be a vision of what you want your company to achieve, what difference you want to make in your community or the vision you have for your children and their future. Write down your vision, flesh it out and know precisely what that vision entails. Know how you'll get from Point A to Point B. You can't make a plan without a detailed vision of what you hope to achieve.

3. Creativity:
This is where your plan starts. You have the vision of what you want to achieve, now you set it out step by step. You know where you want to end up, but you need the road map to get there, the plan to get you and your workers, family or parishioners to the ultimate goal. This is where you ask your people the challenging questions and get them running with the ideas you've generated and inspire them to be creative as well. John Quincy Adams said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

4. Expertise:
Naturally, the more expert you are concerning your company, or community or family, the better. You must hone your information gathering abilities. Knowledge is power. It's also essential that your people recognize and respect your expertise and trust your abilities to lead them. Let your group see you as the expert, and know they can trust you to guide them to success.

5. Respect:
Respect for others is an essential attribute in a great leader. You should compliment others when they show progress. Always praise in public and condemn in private. This shows respect for your workers, family and parishioners as fellow human beings. As the leader of any group, it's your responsibility to help them sort out their conflicts. Remember, their problems are your problems. Acknowledge their strengths and their weaknesses. On the positive side, you should also help them celebrate their achievements and accomplishments. And you should listen to their ideas and suggestions, and then let them help you implement them. This will fire up their motivation in doing the required tasks.

Remember, "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." Rosalynn Carter.

How To Be A Red Hot Positive Thinker

2006-12-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

You only need to know ONE word to become a red-hot positive thinker and be an optimism magnet. You must make sure that this word stays in your vocabulary for a long time. Before I reveal to you that one single word, let me acquaint you first with the three words that perpetuate negativity.

Why do people indulge on negative thoughts? There is no need for rocket science principles here. Has it ever occurred to you that it is easier to become a negative person than a positive one? People indulge in negative thoughts mainly because IT IS EASY; and there are 3 simple steps involved here.

Finding Faults. According to T. Harv Eker, "whoever can point to as many people and circumstances without ever looking at himself is declared the winner!" When caught in a bind, some people easily point to someone else. It is the always the other person's fault. They take the easy way out instead of taking responsibility and finding solutions to the problem at hand.

They blame their parents for being the child they became, they blame their spouse for making them feel unloved, they blame their boss for the project that bombed, they blame their officemates for spreading gossip about them. They blame credit card companies for their numerous debts, they blame the sun for the uncomfortable heat, and they blame the wind for ruining their hair. What's next to blame?

Making Excuses. In this case, some people use their creativity to come up with innovative reasons and excuses just to get off the hook!

In work situations, some people would come up with excuses just to avoid doing the task assigned. Others would claim that the task is difficult or not within their line of expertise. Some would rationalize that it is hard to initiate change even before trying it out first! Their mindset is wired to give up easily. They would rather find one hundred reasons why it cannot be done, instead of finding reasons why it is worthy to purpose.

Whining Constantly. This refers to complainers who are dead set in finding the negative side of things.

Whiners have difficulty in finding happiness in life, for they focus on what they do not have, instead of being thankful for what they have. When people are complaining, they magnify and focus on what is wrong in their lives. When they complain about lack of money, that is what precisely will manifest in their lives.

There you have it, the 3 simple and easy steps for perpetuating negativity.

For a long time, people have been indulging on negativity. Many of us, in one way or another and at any point in our lives, have engaged in negative thoughts. The uncontrolled mind becomes the perfect breeding ground for pessimistic thoughts. Everyday, negative programming is being bombarded into our subconscious.

We already have lots of practice. To some, negativity is a way of life. Some infants are born to negative families. They are sensitive enough to absorb the prevailing atmosphere of the family. They easily imbibe the mental and emotional characteristics of the mother and the father since they are their first teachers. They grow up into teenagers and adults with negative mental attitudes then later on become parents themselves.

Some find comfort in the company of friends who indulge in negative thinking. "Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are." "Birds of the same feather flock together." This accounts for man's need to belong to a group. Peers have a major influence on some people's thoughts and decisions.

So now you ask me,

"What is the ONE word I need to know to become a red-hot positive thinker?"

That one simple word is STOP.

STOP finding faults. STOP making excuses. STOP whining.

The Power Of Words

2006-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story gives us thoughts to think about:

1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects. Be careful of what you say.

The Often "Overlooked" Secret of Manifesting...

2006-12-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

You may have tried to “manifest” things before in your life, and given up once they appeared not to arrive. This may have filled your heart with sadness and a loss of hope, because your mind gave in to ego’s cries that tell you this is a waste of time.

Your energy is better spent doing physical actions that bring you where you want to be, and your imagination is better off in your childhood where it belongs… right?

Not so. There are many factors that can cause the seed not to grow.

Once a seed is created -brought into form- from the Law of Cause and Effect, in order for the seed to undergo transformation certain conditions must be present.

Many prayers go unanswered because of this often-overlooked secret.

The secret lies within your emotions.

When you ask for something to be made manifest, what are the conditions from within your body?

Let’s say you’re asking for money. You’re coming to the Creator with a sincere desire for sustenance. What you must become aware of is what feelings are you fueling your prayers and meditations with?

For most people, they’re asking for what they don’t have… so they’re entering into a state of being where regardless of what they’re asking for, they won’t receive it because the fuel that’s being used to send those prayers to the Heavens are propelled by lack, grief and limitation. “I want this money because the bank is about to foreclose on my house and I need it now!”

People are motivated to pray and manifest based on, “Or else!”

How can this possibly manifest any other way? The true power is in the feeling behind the thought and intention. If the thought is to gain, but the feeling is based on fear of loss… the best outcome is for them to cancel each other out and nothing happens… otherwise, the exact opposite of what you’re wishing for may come true.

So what then can be done?

Instead of praying or creating through fear of loss… generate the feeling of wonder.

Imagine you’re a kid in a candy store and all around you is the sweetest candy you’ve ever tasted.

Your eyes remain wide open and your jaw drops in amazement.

What are these feelings made from?

The feeling of shear gratitude. Of thankfulness. You’re in awe of the manifestation you’re creating.

This is the secret — never pray, meditate or manifest out of fear. You have nothing to lose. Fear is the anticipation of pain or loss. Anticipate wonder instead. Be and feel wonderful and manifest your dreams into physical form now!