by Lesley Geller

Do you know people that seem to have all the luck in the world? Do you ever wonder what it would take to have that kind of luck yourself? Well, it may have nothing to do with luck at all, but instead, your perception.

Imagine the image of a tall glass of water. The water line meets the middle of the glass. Do you see it as half full or half empty? I’m sure you’ve heard that question a million times before, but did you know that the way you see that glass, may very well be how you live your life as well?

Let’s analyze this simple glass of water. How is it possible for someone to look at one glass of water and see two different things? Could there be anything more clear cut than a glass of water? Probably not, but that’s what makes it so incredible. If after a 10 mile run you come across that same glass of water, you might thank the lucky stars for giving you a half-filled glass of water. Now imagine that it is 10 below zero and you have just come in from outside. This time you might look at the glass and think, I should spill that out.

It is the same glass, with the same amount of liquid, but in one case you physically need it and in the other, you don’t need it at all. Does it really look any different, or has your mind simply created a different perception about the look of it? Or are you the type of person that always looks for what is missing, regardless of what the situation is?

Being sick is another great example. Some people seem to never get sick, while others always seem to be fighting something. Is it that some people never get sick, or is it that they refer to themselves as healthy? I rate myself as someone who never gets sick, yet the truth is that I do get normal illnesses: head colds, stomach bugs, and occasional fevers. It’s just that I don’t cave in to my illnesses and don’t rename myself as someone who is ’sick.’ Often I may say, yeah, I’m a little under the weather, or, I’m just not myself today, but until it is actually over, I don’t refer to myself as sick.

The point is that as human beings we feel many things: Sick, healthy, sad, happy, tired…but many of the things we feel, simply live in the way we name them. If we can name them another way, we may feel totally different.

In general, being an eternal optimist comes easy to me. I see myself as generally an upbeat and happy person and I know that others see me that way as well. Occasionally, though, like through the process of my divorce, I have hit some rough spots. Sometimes they last a few minutes, sometimes a few days, but they are all temporary ways of being. They are not who I am.

That was confirmed for me one day while at the gym. After several hours of upset, I delved heavily into the escape of my workout. When an acquaintance approached me with the normal, “how are you?” they were surprised to hear: “Tomorrow’s a new day and it’s sure to be better.”

He looked at me while raising an eye brow and said, “I would have never thought you had days like that.”
I had to laugh. Doesn’t everyone have days like that?
And then he said, “I mean, I look at you and think: damn, life is good.”

I smiled the rest of the day knowing that this was the energy I created when others looked at me and knew that that was truly how I felt. Life was good. But only because it was the perspective I chose to have.
So, the next time you look admiringly at someone that seems to have it all, start a conversation with them. I am sure you will see that he/she is human just like you….just with a different perspective.

Lesley Geller is a Business Coach. She helps successful professionals exceed their expectations of growth. She works with small business owners, as well as individuals in large corporations looking to reach the next level. Lesley graduated from the University of Maryland is certified as a Coach through the Coach Training Alliance, which is recognized by the International Coach Federation. She is also a Freelance Writer and co-author of: 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. For more information about how to reach the potential you’re capable of, visit her website at http://www.LesleyGeller.com or e-mail her at Lesley@LesleyGeller.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lesley_Geller

by Lynn Marie Sager

How powerful are words and their definitions?
I remember an anthropology book that I read in college about a Pacific island called Rotuma. This tiny island has a large mountain range, causing one side of the island to be geographically isolated from the other. Before Rotuma’s “discovery” in the 1800’s, the island was highly populated and both sides of the island got along tolerably well. Until one day, when Catholic missionaries landed on one side of the island and began translating the bible into Rotuman. Their translation might not have been a bad thing, except that around this same time, Congregationalist missionaries landed on the other side of the island and began their own translation of the bible into Rotuman. The Rotuman language has a number of words that mean divine. The Catholics chose one word to stand for “God” and arbitrarily chose another to mean the “Devil.” As fate would have it, the word they chose to mean the “Devil” was the same word the Congregationalists chose to mean “God.” Within a short time, rumor spread that the people on the other side of the island were practicing devil worship. As a result, war broke out between the two sides of the island.

People die over words all the time.
Words, and the meanings we assign them, have power. Definitions give meaning to life. Words will continue to define you unless you take the time to define them. So, if your life lacks meaning, maybe it’s because you’ve neglected to define what your life means. If you accept without question, any definition, belief, or perception handed to you, then you limit your life to the truths and beliefs discovered by other people. You kill the one thing that is uniquely your own-your perspective. Your life will become some vague shadow of something that someone else defined years ago. Or, even worse, you may never really understand what those people who defined your language, centuries ago, meant. Everything in your life will seem just as hollow as the words you take for granted.

What’s the bottom line on definitions and belief?
The most fundamental changes in life happen when we redefine who we are. When we see ourselves differently, we think differently. When we think differently, we feel differently. When we feel differently, we behave differently, and we don’t need some quick-fix technique to control ourselves, or others. So open your mind and explore your definitions. Your life will expand proportionately…

From A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating Life, by Lynn Marie Sager Copyright 2005.You can find more about the power of belief on Navigating Life’s website. Simply go to http://www.navigatinglife.org and visit boarding for links to our full lessons, techniques, and exercises for expanding beliefs.

Lynn Marie Sager has toured over two-dozen countries and worked on three continents. Author of A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating Life, Lynn currently lives in California; where she fills her time with private coaching, public speaking, and teaching for the LACCD and Pierce College. She runs the Navigating Life website, where she offers free assistance to readers who wish to incorporate the rules of worthwhile living into their lives. To read more about how you can use these rules to improve your life, visit Lynn’s website at http://www.navigatinglife.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lynn_Marie_Sager

by Kevin Sinclair

No matter where life takes us, we all need to be positively motivated in order to succeed. This is particularly true when things are not quite going our way and when we have undertaken business projects that do not seem to work out as we would have expected. It is at this point that fear can move stealthily into our way of thinking and a little irritating voice says that this is not going to work.

So, what can be done? Well, for the most part, it is important that you steer clear of negative people. These people can, at times, be your own flesh and blood. However, this is not the time to disclose any doubts and fears that you may have in them. Positive and enthusiastic people should be sought out from your acquaintances, family and friends. Assume the positive and confident outlooks on life that they have. Locate a good motivational book. Return and re-tackle the issues that are holding your scheme back, whilst you are thinking about success. It is very often a case of needing to tweak certain aspects of the operation in order to get it moving.

If research has been undertaken by yourself correctly, then there must be a reason as to why things are not going so well. Determination will pay in the long run. If you are yearning to succeed, this will without a doubt provide the inspiration and energy that is required to get you off on the right foot and where you need to go. This is personal motivation in action. Positive results will be achieved when your energy and desire work together.

When things are not going your way, it is easy for you to become down and depressed. It is simple to just give up and give in to fear and misery. However, it is this approach that leads you to less success. Depression and loss of motivation can be increased when communicating with unenthusiastic people. In a sense, we are in actual fact what we deem ourselves to be, and we need to motivate ourselves in order to achieve.

In one way, it is more difficult to remain positive since is requires a great deal of energy. However, on the other hand, being negative takes your energy away, whilst being positive will produce energy. Motivation is produced when we remain positive, and results are produced from enthusiastic motivation. Nothing is a lost cause. It is just necessary to undertake thoughtful restructuring in the worst cases, or minor tweaking at best. All that is required to carry this out is the motivation and enthusiasm.

Life can be difficult. However it is imperative that you search for the positives in everything, including situations that prove to be difficult. It is important that you enjoy life and mix with positive, energetic people. It is simple for their enthusiasm and motivation to break through the shell of depression that is blocking up your life. Goals need to be developed, followed by you gaining the amount of motivation needed to drive in your life.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of Be Successful News, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Sinclair

by Ed Bauer

“The money is in the list”.
Now if your like me and are a bit familiar with internet marketing then you will no doubt have heard that quote before. You might have probably heard it from some of your favorite gurus. You might have read it on forums, ebooks, or even articles like this. The point is that there is a reason why all these gurus claim the “money is in the list”. Because it is! Now before you go thinking your gonna strike it rich with this method, think again. The whole point of building a list is to make money on the “back-end”. This means while you won’t see any profit up-front or the “front-end”, you will see it eventually down the line once you’ve gained the trust of your list. But before you do any of that, you have to first build up a list.

The best way to build a list is to offer something free in exchange for the reader to sign up to your list.
You should give the reader some valuable information such as a well-written article, an ebook that you have giveaway rights to, or any type of information that is of value to the reader. Always make sure you have the rights to give away an ebook or report before you do it just to be safe. Once you have given the reader this valuable and well written report or ebook, they will instantly trust you! It’s amazing how this stuff works, isn’t it? This shows the reader that you have something to offer and they can look forward to getting more quality material from you. This also builds, you guessed it, trust. The reader now feels that you do have their best intentions at heart. (I mean, you did just give them some valuable info for free when they signed up for your list.) Once you have their heart then they will trust that the affiliate products that you do promote are truly worth buying because you (their friend) recommended it to them.

Make sure that you don’t flood them with offers.
This is a common mistake among newbies. They get so excited that they have just built up a decent sized list they go “offer-happy”. This means that instead of giving their list valuable and actionable info to help better their business, they just make up some worthless post, post up an affiliate link in the message, and hope you buy. This is not the way to become successful. Actually this is the fast route to a bad rep. When you are an internet marketer reputation is everything. So don’t ruin trust with your list. Now I’m not saying don’t give your list offers, just don’t go “offer-happy”. The best way to do this is to pace out how often you email your list. This way you won’t make them feel like your too “spammy” and want to unsubscribe or even worse report you as a spammer. That is bad news and could end in your account being suspended or terminated. My solution to this is just mailing your list two to three times a week. On the first or second emails make sure that you don’t offer any affiliate products, just offer solid advice for their business.I think you see where I’m going with this. Make sure to minimize affiliate offers and maximize the amount of solid advice you give to your list.

Well that should just about cover this quick lesson on gaining trust from your list. The bottom line is that you should always underpromise and overdeliver. That one method alone should make you quite a bit wealthier in the long run. This is not rocket science folks! There are people making huge money from their email lists because they know how to treat them as a valued reader first and prospect second. It’s actually quite simple to make money with your list. Just remember– “Be good to your list and they will be good to you”.

Ed Bauer is a hot up-and-coming guru in the internet marketing field. Ed runs a hugely successful site known as Ebookbum.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ed_Bauer

The piggy bank made its debut in Western Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, and replaced the clay jars that once housed spare change.

People named the pig-shaped bank after the orange clay, “pygg,” from which it was crafted.

The bank retained its name long after artisans stopped using the clay to produce pottery, and eventually the name “pygg” assumed the name “pig bank,” and then the name “piggy bank.”

The individual who formed the first lump of “pygg” into the shape of a pig either had a sense of humor, or saw symbolism in using the pig as a model. One school of thought insists that the piggy bank is fed the “leftovers” of a ones money until it is fat enough to be smashed, and the money harvested.

Years ago, in German speaking countries, craftsmen gave their apprentices piggy banks to reward them for years of learning their respective trades.

To this day, in the same countries, it is customary to give piggy banks as gifts. Because the belief that a pig brings luck still holds true, at New Years, the so-called “Lucky Pigs” are still exchanged as gifts. The “Lucky Pig,” however, cannot be found throughout the world.

One will not find piggy banks in non-pork eating cultures, because pigs are considered filthy, and it is against the peoples’ religion.

Copyright © http://www.coolquiz.com.