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Powerful Communication for Strong Relationships

I hear ya! OK, hearing doesn’t mean anything more than that you’ve registered sounds coming out of a person’s mouth. Communicating is one of the most challenging things human beings do between one another. Enhance every relationship you have by becoming a more effective communicator : Powerful Communication for Strong Relationships will teach you how to plan for more meaningful conversations, listen more effectively and keep emotion in the right context.

One of the reasons you don’t plan is that you don’t know how to plan to have a win-win conversation. You are taught by example from our parents, supervisors, friends, and family. Given our examples it’s trial by error. Sometimes it works and most times it doesn’t.

When it works you don’t know how it happened to be able to repeat it and when you don’t have successful conversations you feel defeated.

You’ll learn how to:

• 3 levels of listening to get to the heart of the matter
• Techniques for keeping your emotions out of your way
• The filters that can get in the way and how to avoid them
• 3 words to remove from your vocabulary
• Questions that help you get the information you need
• Questions to avoid
• How the language you use can be powerful or detrimental to communication

Order now and recieve the book for $7.95 (regularly $9.95) or the download for $4.95 (regularly $6.95)! Place Your Order Today!

I don’t know where I heard these or if I just made them up but they’re true. More often than not we complain about the economy, co-workers, bosses, bills, corporations, politics, everything and without doing anything to improve our lot. Don’t look to the outside for your inner fulfillment. Decide what you want and then GO FOR IT! Read this article to get ideas on how to achieve what you want.

Do You Realize The Importance Of Personal Development?

It is unfortunate that many Americans today do not pursue the “American Dream.” They get stuck working a 9-5 job for 20 plus years with nothing to show for it.

With the importance of personal development at hand you learn how to begin taking small steps towards a life filled with joy and passion.

This has become such a fast and growing industry everyone wants to learn about self help in some area of their lives; you begin to understand the importance of personal development.

So why all the fuss you ask? Well we have all be raised in a society that instills limiting beliefs, and yes you probably still possess the beliefs that you picked up when you were young and they continue to hold you back today.

Personal development will teach you techniques that have been utilized in the past and are still used today to assist individuals to begin creating and working towards the “American Dream.” The importance of personal development is not taught in our schools. (which I believe it should be)

So what are some of the techniques that are utilized by athletes, entrepreneurs, salespeople, professionals, and anyone else who decides to utilize them?

I have listed some of the techniques below:

1. Goal Setting: believe it or not this is the most important step in the whole process. Without a goal you have no direction, and you will keep going in circles.
2. Action: Okay now that you have a goal in place, take the time to write it down on paper. (believe it or not this is extremely powerful) It now becomes more than wanting, what are you willing to do to reach this goal? How much effort will you put forth?
3. Set A Date: A goal without a date of accomplishment is just a wish. However learn to set a realistic date, if you set a unrealistic goal, you can tend to become discouraged a not ever pursue an endeavor again.
4. Read, Read, and Read: Never stop learning. You must continually be open to receiving more education. You can receive this education through books, weekend seminars, or classes.
5. Mastermind with others who understand the importance of personal development as you do, and they are on the path. The more you can surround yourself with people who think like you do, it will benefit you both.

Remember the saying “birds of a feather flock together.” We become like our closest friends we hang out with.

The importance of personal development is; it is never too late to begin. However the sooner you begin your journey the sooner you can begin to let
go of your limiting beliefs.

Once you let go of your limiting beliefs you will begin to find the courage to pursue your dreams. Without dreams, we are just living without a purpose. When we do not have a purpose, We have no spark or happiness. We as humans must have something to look forward to everyday.

So why not begin your journey today? You will begin to develop a passion and begin to find out what your passions and hobbies are. You also will be able to assist your children and encourage them to “follow their dreams” and lead by example.

Remember the importance of personal development is to help you lead a more positive and powerful life. Is that not what everybody would love their life to be like anyways?

Visit [http://www.personal-development-life.com] for loads of free tips on wealth creation, meditation and other personal development techniques. Plus sign up for the free newsletter.

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

Look at the health continuum like a yard stick. The left end represents the high-fat, high-cholesterol, low-nutritional, fast, easy, and extremely unhealthy. The right end represents the, cardboard tasting, well-balanced, organic, naturally grown, and uber healthy. Now, if you want to jump from the far left-end all the way to the right-end in one step your body would go into shock, and you might as well shoot yourself in the foot, it would be less painful. However, if you take small steps from left to right you’ll accomplish your goals without stressing out. Think about it; anything you do that’s even a little closer to the right is a step in the “right” direction, if you’ll pardon the pun. Read this article and start making the right steps.

5 Simple Health and Wellness Activities That Anyone Can Easily Implement

How many of you get ideas when taking a shower?  I’ve heard a number of people say that creative ideas come to them when they’re “all wet.”  I’m no exception.  I’ve realized that people enjoy short, doable bullets that they can easily begin to implement when making changes around their health and wellness.  So, last week I had a few bubble to the surface while in the shower.

1. Five days a week eat an organic apple.  We all know that eating apples are a good thing for us to do.  What can you do to become more diligent about eating an apple a day?  Since apples are one of the highest sprayed crops in terms of pesticide use, I recommend eating organic apples.  Most supermarkets are now carrying some organic produce and apples are usually one of the most popular items.  Buying them in two to three pound bags is usually more economical.  Apples contain fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients, all of which benefit our bodies.
2. Seven times a week eat a large leafy, green salad.  (Iceberg lettuce does NOT count here.)  Use organic spring mix, mixed baby greens or romaine lettuce.  Include spinach and lots of other fresh vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, colored peppers, onions, tomatoes and avocados.  Many nutritional experts advocate eating a fresh, green salad with lunch AND dinner.  In case that’s a bit much for some of our readers, begin with eating one seven times a week.  We enjoy walnuts and or sunflower seeds on our salads as well as a few dried cranberries.
3. At least three times a week have eggs for breakfast instead of cereal.  I don’t recommend eating cereal at all but if you’re beginning to make a shift here, then begin with eating eggs a few days instead of cereal.  Eat the entire egg, the way God created it.  Soft boiled, scrambled, or over easy are all acceptable.  I recommend using coconut oil for cooking.  By the way, eggs do NOT cause elevated cholesterol.  That’s a huge myth and a topic for a future article.
4. Five nights a week get to bed before or by 10:30.  Your body will thank you.  Again, most wellness gurus say to be consistent every night of the week with the bedtime, most maintaining that 10:00 is optimum.  However, if you’re accustomed to staying up until 11:30, then begin by backing up your bedtime to 10:30 at least five nights a week, then optimally 10:00 each night.  The body repairs, restores and recharges itself while we sleep.  Inadequate rest and sleep contributes to many health issues and may even shorten life span by eight to ten years.
5. Decrease your intake of fried foods to…ZERO times a week.  Seriously, there are no acceptable numbers for eating fried foods.  If you’re currently eating fried foods, then may I challenge you to examine how many times a week you’re eating them, and decrease that number starting today.  Fried foods are one of the worst health robbers that we could ever eat.  Why risk eating them?

And now I’d like to invite you to get your free instant access to the first chapter of our wellness eBook which explains the six basic principles of wellness when you visit http://wellness777.com/freebook

You’ll receive information on the major wellness factors which everyone can implement and which will quickly and reliability improve one’s quality of life.

From Sharon Graham, R.N. – the other half of The Coaching Pair
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Graham

Being a parent is hard so is being a kid. Children don’t know how to be a child, especially your child. Children need training, understanding, and encouragement.  Does your child know what’s expected of him/her? How do they know? What are you training your child. Just because you aren’t “talking” doesn’t mean your child isn’t “listening”. What are your actions telling your child what is acceptable / unacceptable. Read this article to see how to get the best out of your child.

Parents and Teachers – Supercharge a Child’s Motivation at School and at Home

If you’re like most parents, you’ve probably wished that your child would do more of what you asked and do it well, on time, and with a sweet attitude.

In this article I’m going to share four things your child needs to develop excitement and motivation, both in studies and around the house, and some unwitting mistakes parents and teacher sometimes make in trying to boost the unmotivated child. These four elements are encouragement, a conducive environment, example, and balance.

Encouragement

When a child does what he should, everything works smoothly, so it’s easy to forget to compliment the behavior. When a child forgets, or just isn’t very good at something, it causes some level of disruption, so it needs to be addressed a fair amount of the time. The challenge is to avoid imbalance. Compliment the good, and you’ll get more of the good, as long as the child isn’t secretly getting away with something! It’s hard to keep balance, but if the balance isn’t there, discouragement sets in. I’ve seen smart, eager-to-please children give up because this natural tendency to notice the error more than the success makes the child misinterpret the behavior to think she isn’t appreciated. In more advanced cases, a discouraged kid will stop caring what anyone thinks. For a parent or teacher, losing a child’s desire to please and seek your opinions and wishes has disturbing consequences. A parent can lose considerable influence to guide the child in the right direction, in any area of life. The good news is, this can often be reversed, since most children are very resilient when conditions change.

Another important asset of encouraging your child is that it prevents negative attention-seeking. Many children figure bad attention is better than none, so they misbehave on purpose just to hear from you. So quality time together is important, and it’s important to make a permanent habit out of looking for the good and commenting on it. Rewards are nice for spectacular achievements, but too much of that can create an expectation of entitlement that will ultimately disappoint the child in life, or the temptation may crop up to substitute quick, convenient rewards for the quality time and encouragement that any child needs, no matter how full a schedule is, for healthy development.

Besides too much or too little praise, other encouragement killers include setting expectations that are too high or too low, promising rewards for performance and then failing to give them for any reason, and comparing children to others (including yourself) in either a positive or negative light.

Conducive environment

In order for a child to obey or succeed in anything, he has to have what he needs to do the task. If you fail to notice and provide too many things, your kid won’t explain his sub-par work after a while. It’s possible you believe he’s just making excuses to get out of work, and eventually that may become the case, even after he receives what he needs, because a negative association has developed between work, and the possibility of achieving it. Imagine the consequences of a child thinking that work and tasks never work out to anyone’s satisfaction, so he might as well not even try. Imagine the consequences when the child becomes an adult and needs to work for a living! This is especially true if he gets an earful for not living up to his expectations and no one believes him when he explains why. Sure, some kids do it to get out of work, so it’s important to determine with absolute accuracy whether his laziness is his fault, or if there are other factors involved.

To succeed in his studies, then, your child needs a clean, well-lit, quiet study area with a comfortable temperature, freedom from hollering and other distractions, time to do the work, regular hearing, vision, and general health checks, an assignment notebook, communication with teachers, tutoring if there’s an area where he’s struggling, transportation to tutoring and the library, all necessary school supplies, proper diet, exercise, rest, and motivated friends who aren’t getting into trouble. Too many household chores, and he won’t have time to study. Too few and he’ll develop an addiction to entertainment. If there’s marital discord being expressed withing his hearing, he’ll be thinking about that rather than his studies. So, it’s important to develop a system with your spouse to handle disagreements in such a way as to maintain a calm, supportive, quiet atmosphere so your child can avoid associating his studies (and more importantly, the home) with fear. Fear is unpleasant, and can cause her to develop an avoidance attitude toward anything she associates with it.

Instead, create a strong association between work and enjoyment. Why not turn off the television at dinner time and keep some encyclopedias by the table? Have fun quizzes and entertaining facts during dinner to encourage a love of learning. The child has to agree it’s fun, which will take some creativity on your part.

Also, you can leave a healthy but particularly favorite treat on your child’s desk at the beginning of study time. It’s best to avoid sugar, which can make your child tired and moody. Honey or Blue Agave are much healthier sweeteners. Alternatives to food can include fun pencils, cool assignment books, tickets to educational events like science centers with good programs for children, etc. Of course you can’t leave little presents every day, but the idea is to get a child to feel pleasure whenever he thinks about work…fun things associated with work. Leaving toys will only create another distraction.

Example: Children who love to read often have parents who read a lot. Children who enjoy work not only have parents who make it pleasant, but who take pleasure in working themselves. I know-this can be a challenge if your boss is unreasonable or your job is stressful and the tasks you face at home only add to the complete exhaustion you already face. Sometimes treating yourself to some well-chosen morale boosters can have a big impact on your kids as well. This also helps prevent the exhausted parent’s temptation to have the kids do everything, from making dinner to fetching shoes and glasses, taking care of the baby, bringing everyone drinks, and doing all the housework when guests are coming. If the kids are doing too much around the house, they’re not studying and it may lead them to the wrong impression about what you think of work. They need to see you enjoying being busy, too. If it means cutting down on activities, that’s fine-in the end you’ll feel better and more rested, too. For single parents, this can be tremendously difficult. Some ladies swap help time with close, trusted friends, each taking care of the kids after school on a specific day of the week while the other parents get a chance to rest.

Balance

Too much of a good thing can be bad. Praise for a child’s success is good, but too much praise for very small accomplishments can diminish the impact of the praise. Unduly withholding praise in order to increase its value can discourage a child, too. Too much of anything isn’t good. Time to study is important, but if it robs a child of family time, that will impact your kid’s development and attitude. Chores teach a child to keep a neat house, teach him the value of work, prevent him from having time to get into trouble or developing an addiction to video games or entertainment. Too many chores, or chores that are above a child’s development level, and you can end up with a child with a bad attitude or even health problems.

The bottom line is, if you make it easy for a child to do what you ask, he’ll develop inner motivation and rely less on parental policing to get things done to the best of his ability. This is the key to creating positive, permanent habits that won’t disappear as soon as he heads off to college and into the real world.

Jana Ortiz has an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Philosophy of Education. She is also the founder of Kosmar Enterprises, LLC. Visit Kosmar Enterprises, LLC at http://www.kosmarenterprises.com to optimize your child’s health for the coming school year.

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

Do your employees feel valued? How do you know? What are you doing to make you think they feel valued? What are they doing to make you believe they feel valued? If you don’t know how to answer these questions you’ll want to read this article. Don’t just assume your employees are happy, help them to be happy and productive. Your bottom-line will appreciate it.

Workforce Sustainability – How to get the most out of the employees you have!

We’ve heard it over and over: A happy employee is a productive employee.

It’s not like I can cut you from the bottom of your left earlobe down to your forth rib pull that out and go: “See there, that’s your work. Or that’s your personal life.” It doesn’t work that way. We are all like a fine tapestry and when one thread is tugged it affects the others.

Whether you work for a large corporation or for a small mom–and–pop shop you spend a considerable amount of time at work.

That’s why it’s so important to consider the whole employee when determining and providing ways of showing appreciation.

When an employee feels valued they will focus more on the positives of the Company / Management / Task rather than the negatives.

With a more positive outlook people have feelings of being honored and appreciated for not only what they do but also for who they are. This helps to develop an environment that gives people freedom to be their best and to do their best.

We talk about the sustainability of our environment. Our employees are part of that environment. It’s very difficult for a person to concentrate on work, deadlines, and going “above and beyond” when they are unhappy, unhealthy, or have feelings of being unappreciated and over worked.

The workforce today has to accomplish more with less. More work with less people and resources. If employees are using precious mental energy on worrying about their work environment, they will have less of that energy to devote to accomplishing the work.

Employees, people are our greatest resource yet we don’t always treat them as valuable.

Tips for creating a valued workforce:

Health and wellness programs

Health and wellness programs help to cut the costs associated with poor employee health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity, and poor work quality. There has been a 25% jump in corporate interest in providing Employee Health and Wellness programs.

A healthy and happy person will be more productive in the workplace. Employers are discovering that providing programs and resources directed for the benefit of the employee is good for the health and happiness of the company’s bottom line.

Coaching

Coaching is a hot topic among Fortune 500 companies and a recent Fortune magazine article showed executive coaching yields a return on investment of almost six times its cost. According to Fortune, benefits to executives who received coaching included improved working relationships, productivity, quality, organizational strength, customer service, employee retention, cost reduction, bottom-line profitability, and reduced customer complaints.

You don’t have to be among the Fortune 500 or an executive to realize improvements in productivity, organization strength, and customer relations. In fact, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own office. Coaching is provided through a telephone, at a fraction of the cost of executive coaching.

In one company that had launched a coaching program they were able to identify specific financial and intangible benefits that came as a result of their coaching.

The two things most significantly impacted by the coaching process were:

• productivity
• employee satisfaction

These two items alone demonstrate just how valuable a good coach can be to your business.

Additional benefits derived from the coaching program were:

• work output
• work quality

Happy employees are not only more productive they are more creative and more willing to go “above and beyond”. They are also more willing to “think outside the box” which is where the most lucrative innovations and creative problem solving originate.

Imagine how even a ten percent increase in work output by you and your employees could impact your bottom line! That alone would more than reimburse you for the costs associated with a quality coach and coaching program.

Training

More companies are starting to realize that it’s smart and profitable to invest in training for their employees. Technical training for specific job requirements has always played a part in the corporate world.

Now, training is being considered for the improvement of the employee for the employee. Employers are  recognizing that this improvement will also benefit the company’s bottom line.

A few training topics that companies are finding particularly beneficial are:

• Stress reduction and management
• Goal setting and achievement
• Communication
• Nutrition
• Fitness

Training can take many forms. Depending on the employee’s learning style, it can be on-line, in a traditional class room setting, one-on-one, on-site or off-site.

According to a Gallup Poll, 80 percent of employees said the availability of company sponsored training programs was a factor in deciding whether to accept a new job or stick with a current one.

Mentoring

Mentoring programs are classic. The focus of a good mentoring program will be on the development of the employee.

Initiatives to recognize and reward staff can improve an employees’ feeling of being valued, but even a simple “thank you” from management can dramatically improve the extent to which staff feel like key contributors to the organizations’ success.

Don’t mortgage the future of your company by ignoring your employees.

TJ Helm, Certified Professional Coach and founder of Galileo Professionals Services, Inc., provides training programs and coaching services to help you achieve the very best you, you can be. Visit http://www.DoLifeBetter.com, email tj@DoLifeBetter.com, or call 503-846-9228.

Before you started a business you had no business work to do. Now that you’ve started one, you have more than enough work to do. But is it the right work? You’ll want to spend time working in your business and on your business. Eighty-percent of the time you’ll be servicing clients, wooing prospects and 20% of the time you’ll be plotting, scheming, and planning. Make sure you know what you are planning for by reading this article.

Successful Businesses Begin With the Basics

Who to believe? Some say that the economy is great, others say the sky is falling. Honestly, I don’t know who to tell you to believe, but I do know that when the economy gets this way it is a perfect time to start a small business. Have you, or will you be one who takes that step and start a small home-based business this year; possibly joining some network marketing company? If so then you MUST read on.

Business Failure Statistics
Not to start out negative, but… The small business failure rate is initially very high; the chance for a small business to succeed increases after the five year mark. According to a report in the May 5, 2004 issue of USA Today, the failure rate of small businesses is as follows:

• First year: 85%
• Second: 70%
• Third: 62%
• Fourth: 55%

Why Small Businesses Fail and What You Can Do to Avoid the Statistics

You just read the statistics, but what are the reasons? More importantly, what can you as a small business owner do to avoid becoming one of those dreaded statistics? In this article, the basics of your business will be briefly discussed.

The above statistics are, of course, reflective of small businesses in general. There are many important aspects to running a successful business today. Such as: financial requirements to get the business started, generating/developing revenue, managing and controlling growth.

But there are a few questions that you must examine and ask yourself first.

• Passion – What is your passion, and why do you want to start your own business?
• How do you find your passion? A question we all should ask at least once in our lifetime. The three questions below will get you on the road to finding your passion.
• What would you do if you could do anything and not fail, and money was not an option?
• What people-group touches your heart?
• What story in the news causes you to take action?

The answer to these three simple questions is quite possibly your passion.

• Vision – What is your vision, and do you know how to communicate it?

To communicate your vision it must be:

• Crisp – you must be able to share it while on an elevator ride
• Clear – when the people walk off the elevator they should be able to explain it to others and
• Compelling – those same people on the elevator will want to get involved with you to help reach that vision.

If you are like many who are asking, “How do I find my personal vision or a vision for my organization?” the following questions will help you on your quest:

• Look within you: What do you feel?
• Look behind you: What have you learned?
• Look around you: What is happening to others?
• Look ahead of you: What is the big picture?
• Look above you: What does God expect of you?
• Look beside you: What resources are available to you?
• Understanding that you no longer have a job, you are the boss. What is the difference?

Are you really good at what you do, so good that people continually complement you on your products, services, and/or your attention to detail? Then one day you decided (or are planning) to leave the world of getting a W2 and entered the world of being an entrepreneur. All of sudden everything is up to you; you are the boss. A boss now working more hours than ever before, getting paid less, and carrying more responsibility than when you were an employee. The good news is there is hope – your business can be all that you dream it to be. A business that provides you with a great living and utilizes your talents and skills. However, in order to reach this plateau you must have a plan of action, operational systems and a great business coach to help put your business on the right track.

• Systems run successful businesses, and people run the systems. What systems are needed in every business?
• Profit Analysis – Increasing your bottom line by analyzing your prices, margins, and costs.
• Marketing – Understanding how you attract your customers, and how to attract even more.
• Time Management – Maximizing your time by working more “on” your business.
• Organization – Without structure you will never be able to build a long-lasting business.
• Staff and Leadership – It has been said before, but it is true, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
• A well equipped team will result in a thriving business? How are you developing leaders in your business?

Not only do you need to be growing your leadership skills, you need to be growing your staff’s too. But you must first hire them, and how you choose them is critical. What should you look for in a team player? The list below was provided to me by Pat Williams of the Orlando Magic.

Assess ability – Choose team players well, according to how well their strengths and skills fit the goals and tasks of your organization. Ask yourself, “Why does this person want the job? Ambition, a love for this kind of work, a sense of calling, an eagerness to succeed in our organization? Or has this person simply failed in three or four previous jobs?”

Choose coachable people - Coaching keeps a team synchronized, harmonized, and growing together. A team without coachable players is not a team. It’s just a collection of flying egos.

Think “Chemistry” – Talent sticks out; chemistry is harder to see. It’s the magic ingredient of a winning team. What we call “chemistry” is really a combination of a lot of factors: ability and skill levels, drive and ambition, personality, emotional makeup, values, communication, and people skills.

Strive for balance – it is very important to balance skills in order to generate effective team success. No team is full of Michael Jordans, therefore, you have to find people with specialized skills to fill the positions on your team.

Recruit the best - build a quality team out of quality people who are always reaching for the next level of excellence, both individually and as a team. This will help you work smarter rather than harder.

The final – and perhaps most important – think about acquiring top talent to build a successful team: Invest for the long term. Make today pay off tomorrow. You have to plow some ground, plant some seeds, and do some watering if you’re ever going to reap a harvest. You must invest in your team.

I have been coaching and training people for over twenty years. I have coached multi-millionaires in areas such as business and personal finance, business operations, personal growth, time management and goal setting.

In today’s business world you either do things right or you get eliminated. Examples can be found in some of our nation’s largest and oldest institutions. Don’t be one of these statistics.

Visit http://www.helpmybusinesstoday.com if you really want to grow your business. Sign up for a FREE e-course to aide in taking your business to a new level today.

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

Beliefs are very important and need to be honored. However, nothing stays the same. It’s important to be open to new information and ideas.  When your beliefs no longer serve you maybe you want to reevaluate them? There is nothing that says you can get yourself a new belief. What are your beliefs leading to? Read and find out.

Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?

One of the most commonly held superstitions in our so-called civilized, educated society is that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, and since, in this equation, each is held to be unlucky, added together, their sum can only equal double trouble.

The modern basis for the aura that surrounds Friday the 13th stems from Friday October the 13th, 1307. On this date, the Pope of the church in Rome in Conjunction with the King of France, carried out a secret death warrant against “the Knights Templar”. The Templars were terminated as heretics, never again to hold the power that they had held for so long. There Grand Master, Jacques DeMolay, was arrested and before he was killed, was tortured and crucified.

Superstitions swirling around Friday as being lucky or unlucky have existed since ancient times, beginning with the northern nations. Ancient Romans dedicated the sixth day of the week to their beautiful, but vain, goddess Venus, so, when the Norsemen adopted the Roman method of naming days, they naturally adopted Venus as their name for the sixth day of the week. Their closest translation for Venus, Frigg, or Freya, eventually evolved into Friday, a day they considered to be the luckiest day of the week.

From a religious standpoint, Muslims tout Friday as the day Allah created Adam, legend has it that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple, on a Friday, and later died on a Friday, and Christians consider Friday as the day on which Christ was crucified by the Romans.

The Scandinavian belief that the number 13 signified bad luck sprang from their mythological 12 demigods, who were joined by a 13th demigod, Loki, an evil cruel one, who brought upon humans great misfortune. The number 13, in the Christian faith, is the number of parties at the Last Supper, with the 13th guest at the table being the traitor, Judas. When Christians combine this day and number, the combination can only hold special significance.

Whether or not a person considers Friday the 13th as unlucky, he or she must understand that this superstition, as well as others, merely stem from beliefs or practices man used, and continues to use, to explain, and to protect himself, from events beyond his control in his complicated world. He worked, and works only with the bag of knowledge he has on hand.

Only when factual, scientific bases for these beliefs are unearthed, and people do not dispel the beliefs, but instead cling to them, the beliefs become superstitions. Today’s beliefs may very well be tomorrow’s superstitions. Until then, however, don’t step on a crack!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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During the holidays you took care of friends and family, possibly to the exclusion of you. Now’s the time to think of you and keep yourself in the equation of your life. A high self-esteem allows you to risk and the more you risk the more you get. So, read this article and get ideas on how to build your self-esteem so you can have the year you want and the life you deserve.

Loving Yourself – Learning And Practicing Behaviors Necessary To Build Your Self Esteem

This is your gentle reminder of your continuing work on your self-esteem, and positive self-image. You really have started on a path of “healing from your source”. Everyday we have opportunities to bring in positive thoughts and messages about ourselves and our lives; We just have to learn how to be conscious and aware of these opportunities.

The purpose of this message is to bring to you an affirmation/meditation that you can utilize throughout your day, and throughout the week so that your thoughts, your energy and ultimately, your feelings about yourself become more positive and your life will reflect these changes. Remember, you really are “Well Within”; you are simply accessing it consciously now.

This week we are focusing on Loving Yourself.

I am not talking about egotistical love. I am talking about the kind of love that is compassionate, understanding, and nonjudgmental. The kind of love we all look for in life; the kind of love we all wished for as children growing up; the kind of love we hope we’re giving to our children and people closest to us. I am talking about the kind of love that is unconditional; that feels warm and tender and safe and secure within our hearts and souls. So, what does it mean to love yourself this way? Loving yourself stems from the belief that “Who I am is enough”; that the qualities I possess as a person are worthwhile, special, and unique. This is the center of what it means to love yourself. The question everyone always asks is: “Yes, but how do I get there?!”

Allow yourself to take a slow deep breath, in through your nose, and release gently with a sigh through your mouth. — As you feel your body relax and become open to receiving a new message, I want you to picture yourself. Imagine that you are looking at yourself in the mirror. — Who do you see? — (Not what do you see?) Let your judgments pass by (you know the ones I mean: I’m too fat, or my hair needs washing, or I look tired, or old or I have too many wrinkles, or I need a hair cut.—) Just allow these judgments to pass by. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply— and look again at yourself in your mind’s eye. Now see who you really are. Focus on your inner qualities. Are you a good friend, a good listener, kind, understanding, compassionate and caring to others, sensitive, witty, fun to be with, someone who enjoys a good laugh, someone who is helpful, intelligent, a hard worker, reliable, etc. You know what I’m talking about.

Maybe it will help to think about your best friend, (or spouse, or close family member, or your spiritual leader, or colleague) and what you like and admire in him/her. What would this person say that they like about you? What makes you their best friend, &/or special in their lives? Stop for a moment and really allow yourself to ponder this thought. Take another deep breath and sit with what these qualities are. If you are struggling with this part, please, take a break from reading this and pick up the phone and call this person and ask him/her to tell you what they love about you. Let yourself hear what they have to say. Write down the qualities that they tell you. Look at the messages and allow yourself to breathe them into your body, your mind and your soul. You know the words are true because they feel so good. Please, admit it to yourself that way down deep inside you, you enjoy knowing these qualities that you possess feel good to you, because you know they are true. Let the good feelings flow through you and around you. Take a deep breath and picture yourself in the mirror once again, and allow yourself to REALLY see who you are! That’s it, breathe and stay with this warm, loving feeling. Take a deep breath and say: “I am lovable, capable, worthwhile and special and I deserve to be treated as such, by myself & others in my life!”

Take another deep breathe and really let the message sink in. Say this statement again allowing yourself to breathe in slowly and deeply and feel where it goes in your body. “I am lovable, capable, worthwhile and special and I deserve to be treated as such, by myself & others in my life!” Does it flow freely or does it get stuck. Just breathe— and repeat the statement again, out loud. Hear the words resonate in your room, not just in your head. This is a statement, along with “Who I am is enough!” that must repeated over and over again as you go through your days and your week. Finding your self-esteem and bringing it forth is what this work is all about, and we’ll journey together as you uncover and discover how lovable you really are!

Loren Gelberg-Goff loren@wellfromwithin.com journey to self-esteem and self-empowerment to live authentically self-esteem

For more information about our services and self-esteem products for your journey to self-esteem, visit http://www.WellfromWithin.com

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February, the time for love. Love and health are connected, specifically your health. For the love of a great and happy year read this article to get tips on how to increase your happiness.

Health, Wealth, and Love

What is happiness? The dictionary defines it as “a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.”

Like many dictionary definitions, this may be accurate, but needs to be more specific to be of practical use. How do you experience this “state of well-being?”

One of the best practical definitions of happiness that I have come across is provided by Charles Haanel in his classic work “The Master Key System.” According to Haanel, there are only three things that can be desired in the “world without.” They are health, wealth, and love.

I have heard a number of people talk about the desirability of health, wealth, and happiness, but I don’t believe that is as accurate as Haanel’s observation. That’s because the three components of happiness are health, wealth, and love. And just as you can create virtually any color of the rainbow with the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue, you can create any shade of happiness by learning how to control these three areas of your life.

The people who are the happiest are those with the most abundant health, wealth, and love. It’s true that exceptional people can be happy without the exterior manifestation of these qualities, but most people need some level of each in order to “feel” happy.

Those who have poor physical health due to an accident or illness, but who attain happiness, have learned to compensate their physical condition with superior mental, emotional, and spiritual health. A shining example of this is Christopher Reeve. But note that he also had an abundance of financial wealth and an enormous amount of love from his wife, family, and friends from around the world.

There are those without massive amounts of wealth who are still happy. But a close examination of their situation often reveals that they at least have sufficient wealth for their needs and good health and lots of love in their life. For every person without a lot of wealth who is happy, there are many more who live in unhappiness and fear. Being able to manage and increase wealth in a positive and peaceful way certainly increases a person’s happiness.

And what happiness can possibly be complete without love? Love, true love, is the most important quality of all. Not just the love between husband and wife, parent and child, but love for all human kind. But it is the love of those closest to us is necessarily deeper and brings the greatest levels of happiness. No one can be truly happy who does not have a heart filled with love and gratitude. There is no one quite so miserable who lives a life of indifference or in some cases hatred toward others.

The fantastic news is that each of these three components of happiness have their starting point in “the world within.” The world within is your heart, mind, soul, spirit. To improve in any one of these areas of happiness, the first place to start is with the world within. That means that every person of sound mind has the capacity to improve each area regardless of their current condition. If you have enough mental capacity to read and understand this article, you have every resource you need to create happiness for yourself.

You want excellent health? First, improve the overall quality of your thoughts. There is a mind-body connection that is undeniable. Positive thinking actually creates chemistry in your body that improves health. Second, use your mind to create excellent health habits (the right foods and the right exercise for your situation). Create the right causes, and the right circumstances will follow.

You want abundant wealth? It has long been established that all wealth ultimately flows from thought. Study and take advantage of the laws of wealth. Improve the use of your imagination so that you are able to create new opportunities for yourself. Take control of your financial habits and increase your awareness of how you use your money. If you use your mind to use your money wisely, more money will flow into your life.

You want more love? Love, being the one complete intangible of the three, ultimately comes entirely from within. To increase the amount of love in your life requires only an improvement of attitude. To receive more love from others only requires that you give more love to them.

It is this intangible quality of love that makes love the greatest value of all. Without some measure of love, of what real value is health or certainly wealth? This is why those who truly love are the happiest of all people.

“…and the greatest of these is love.”

Copyright (c) 2005 Bill Marshall – All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article provided you include the copyright information and the weblinks where possible.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com. Get my new free e-book, “Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind”

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