The Coach and Ideas For You

Manipulating Bible Verses - Thou Shall Not Murder

2009-10-02T12:15:00.001-07:00

If you're a Christian, you've probably heard of this Bible verse. Thou shall not murder. If you've heard of it, you probably know that it's one of the 10 Commandments or one of the original laws from Moses. However, most people don't know about its application to Christianity.

If I was to tell my children, not to lie and always tell the truth but I was a liar, would this be considered a good example for my children? If my children seen me lying and then I told them not to lie, would they consider that a lie? Does this example make sense to you?

As the parent, I'm the example. As the children, they are my disciples or followers. By lying to my children, I am showing them that it is okay to lie or stretch the truth or even manipulate the English language for my personal benefit.

How much different is this example from the example of the way some Christians use the Holy Bible? "Thou shall not murder," to me translates into," you should not kill." That's pretty simple and easy to understand, wouldn't you agree.

I could easily manipulate this Bible verse into, thou shall not murder, only applying it, to killing someone without a reason or you can kill someone in the name of God. You can change the meaning of anything if you really want to.

The point I would like to make here, is that the truth always comes out in the end, once the lying and the manipulation becomes visible. Do you have the ability to tell who's lying and twisting the Bible scriptures for their benefit or personal gain?

Bible verses that are clearly written, shouldn't have any hidden messages. "Thou shall not murder," is easy to interpret, once you understand what all four of these words mean and this task can easily be accomplished with a dictionary.

Thou - refers to you, the person being addressed or written to.

Shall - it will happen in the future or is intended to happen.

Not - is often used to express refusal, denial or the negation of the statement, just made.

Murder - the crime of killing another person deliberately and not in self-defense.

With the definition of these four words sitting right in front of us, you could still interpret this Bible verse in the few different ways. I'm going to take a stab at it and interpret it as I see it.

"You should not kill another person deliberately or outside of self-defense."

This means that I am not allowed to kill anyone, in the name of God, during war, or for any other reason except for defending myself.

When it says," Thou shall not murder," how does this apply to animals or anyone who is involved in a death sentence. Judges, lawyers, prison guards and other individuals who are directly involved in the murder of someone else.

How many other Bible verses have been manipulated for the benefit of Christianity?

God Said What

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Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Click here if you're interested in Basic Christianity.

Imagine Jesus' Children Reporting Directly to God

2009-10-02T01:10:00.001-07:00

Now what if, Jesus actually had a son, and his son followed the Old Testament rule of being fruitful and multiply. Each one of Jesus' kids had at least 10 kids and by now there's thousands of his descendants all over the world and these guys are watching everything that's going on around them and reporting everything directly to God.

Imagine this, every one of his kids have down syndrome, are handicapped, blind, deaf, homeless, homosexuals and the worst of all, atheists. They have been strategically positioned all over the world to gather information on how, Christians actually treat other people.

Every time that a homeless person has asked you for spare change and you haven't given them anything, this would count as one black mark against you, on the great chalkboard at Judgment Day.

Every sign you held up, rejecting gay marriage or abortion, would count as five black marks. Each one of these people or any other person, who you had intentionally hurt their feelings, would be 15 black marks.

Every time that you lied to another Christian, this would be 50 black marks. If a Christian lied to a nonbeliever, especially when trying to convince them that the Bible is the written Word of God, this would be 150 black marks.

Jesus' children would be reporting directly to him on a daily basis, through the use of the Internet, God's Internet that is. Every Christian who thought they were doing the Lord's work, could actually be in grave danger.

You only get a thousand black marks and if you're 150 black mark short of entering heaven, you will have plenty of time, as you burn in eternal lake of fire, forever. Think about it, the next time that you lie to someone, refuse generosity, or try to convince someone that the Bible is actually the written word of God.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:
Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, You Can Have It All

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Thanks for reading my articles

Mysteries of the Bible - Advanced Bible Study Techniques

2009-10-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wanted to really know what the mysteries of the Bible really are? Was Jesus more important than God? Why were the Jewish people considered to be the chosen ones, even though they don't get to go to heaven, because they don't believe that Jesus Christ was their Lord and Savior? I would like to help you solve some of the mysteries of the Bible.

Whether you're a Jewish or believe in Christianity, each if you share an interest in the Holy Scripture. Jewish people obviously don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah and are still waiting for their Messiah to come and free them. Christians obviously believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah and fulfilled all the prophecies.

One of the mysteries of the Bible that I would like to share with you, is that your actually going to need to read the Bible to find them. The biggest mystery of the Bible is actually reading it. You don't need to read the entire Bible, to figure out, what it's actually saying.

Start reading certain sections that interest you. Two of the most read books in the Bible are the books of Genesis, which is the first book in the Old Testament and the book of revelations, which is the last book in the New Testament. Both of these books are extremely popular reads.

The book of Genesis is about the beginning and the book of revelations is about the end of times and this seems to be the biggest interest for Christians. In other words, you're not going to be able to find the mysteries, within the Bible if you don't at least start to read some of it.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

If You're a Christian Woman, You Had Better Watch This Video on Problems With Women Speaking in church. Are women really allowed to speak inside the church, you won't believe what you're about to see.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, You Can Have It All

Thanks

Is the Law of Attraction Crap

2009-09-14T23:45:00.001-07:00

The Law of Attraction is a universal principle. You can apply the law of attraction on many levels and in all aspects of your life. The law of attraction even works in the after life, but that's another subject. It is a principle that is universal and timeless. It works weather you consciously or unconsciously apply it. It works weather you consciously or unconsciously know it. It can be and has been stated and articulated in many different ways. It is a principle that Jesus Christ was teaching to his disciples.

I can hear you now, whatchu talkin' about reginaldc? Everybody knows that the law of attraction is an invention of the devil by the people that came up with the secret! How can you say our beloved Jesus was teaching the law of attraction? So how can you make such a blasphemous statement? Baloney!

This is how I can make such a blasphemous statement. The Law of Attraction states ; you will attract, into your experience, all things that vibrate in harmony with you. In other words, like energy attracts like energy.

As stated before there are many ways that this law can manifest itself in your life. It is universal. It works on any level of existence. Jesus was attempting to teach universal laws and principles. But because of how he spoke people were confused. How can I say people were confused by what Jesus taught? Let's go to the bible.

In the NIV bible John 16:25 Jesus states, "though I have been speaking to you figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will speak to you plainly about my father."

This scripture says Jesus spoke in code in many instances. He spoke figuratively and in parables. Because of this people of the day did not always understand him. There are scriptures that the disciples would ask Jesus, what do you mean? In the NIV bible John 16:18, "they kept asking, what does he mean by a little while? We don't understand what he is saying." This scripture is but one example of the disciples not understanding what Jesus meant after he made a statement. Therefore, my statement about disciples not understanding is not blasphemous, it says in the bible they did not understand.

You may be skeptical about the Law of Attraction. However, when you realized that the bible and Jesus Christ was trying to impart these same concepts you may gain another level of faith. I wanted to learn all I could because I realized that if these new age concepts were actually real they would change my life. When I realized that many of the statements that we spout these days are really universally based, I gained another level of faith. What was even more extraordinary for me was that science has proven the Law of Attraction. I can be as skeptical as anyone. However, if science, religion and spirituality all agree on the same principle then skepticism has to be blotted out.

Unfortunately too many people believe that the Law of Attraction is simply hocus pocus. Many self help books and gurus give you the words but do not take into account the underlying reasons why things are the way they are. In the bible instructions were given that people are just now beginning t understand. In the NIV bible:

Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

These directions are telling you that you must visualize the end result before you have the result. You will attract what you think about.

I love the way Wayne Dyer puts it, "you must surround yourself in the conditions in which you wish to produce."

The bible is not the ultimate dissertation on how we should live our lives. Religion wants to make the bible the ultimate choice for direction. But in many instances there are much deeper meanings behind the words. The bible does not go into detail. But you do have other resources that do go into detail. You have to fully integrate the universal laws. If you do not like how things are then you have to change. It is not simply New Age hocus pocus. The Law of Attraction is a scientific fact. You do not have to believe me, but you can now be aware that Jesus new something years ago.

Reginaldc is me

U Create All

http://reginaldc.me

The Two Worst Words in the English Language

2009-09-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

Do you know the two worst words in the English language? No, they are not naughty words.

They are two simple words that most people use everyday and they are holding you back. I guarantee you that if you stop using these words, then you will be able to change your life for the better.

So what are these two little words that are holding you back?

Try and Maybe

This is where you are saying, "You have to be kidding me. Who do you think you are...Yoda?"

No, but the wisdom of Star Wars can be applied in your life to help you become a better speaker or person.

Think about the power that these two words have when you use them. How often have you told someone that you will try to do something or that maybe you will be able to help out? How often have you said try or maybe with no intention or even worse, use the fact that you said try or maybe as an excuse for not doing something. Using those words gives you an unlimited number of ways out of staying committed to a task that you wish to accomplish.

I encourage you to change you language in order to change your life. Turn try into will and maybe into definitely in order to give you the language you need to be successful. Continuing to use limiting language will continue to limit your growth and success. As you change your language, which is one small step you can take to change your life.

How to do it

The best ways to overcome using try and maybe is to get an accountability partner. Tell someone your goal of not using the words than have them remind you when they hear you using them. As you are reminded more and more, you will catch yourself using those words and being to eliminate them from your life. This is similar to how they catch ums and ahs in Toastmasters.

What this will do is move you one step forward to eliminating your language of failure. Removing the language of failure will allow you to structure your beliefs for success, which will make you a more reliable and successful person.

Don't try...do. Don't say maybe, say I will. Change your language and you will change your life.

Chris Elliott is a professional speaker and blogger. In his presentations and articles on personal success, employee morale, technology selection, and supply chain issues, Chris Elliott brings a unique perspective to help you solve the problems that affects your business. Contact Chris Elliott today so he can deliver the results that you need to be successful.

To get a copy of Chris' new Special Report, "Make Money? You're Not a Mint: Suggestions For Earning Money Online and Offline." Sign up for his newsletter at http://chris-elliott.com

For more tips on how you can become a better speaker or go from free to fee, check out his blog at http://mytoastmastersblog.com

What is the Winter Solstice?

2009-09-13T21:07:00.001-07:00

In ancient times, the Chinese people celebrated the Winter Solstice Festival (Dong Zhi) by visiting relatives and friends, in much the same way as the Chinese Lunar New Year. There is customary feasting, and businesses will close up for the day. Glutinous floor balls known as "tang yuan" are consumed as a symbol of family unity and harmony on this day.

But what is the winter solstice, exactly?

A solstice is an astronomical term used when describing the day of the year when the sun is furthest from the equator. Two solstices exist, consisting of one solstice during the summer, which lengthens the day to the maximum, and another solstice during the winter, which shortens the day to the minimum during the year. Timing of these vary depending on which particular hemisphere you are focusing on.

A solstice is created when the earth tilts away from the sun for a particular hemisphere. While the earth is orbiting around the sun, it is also spinning on its axis. This tilting results in one hemisphere being nearer to the sun, causing the summer while the adjacent hemisphere is further away, causing the winter.

The word solstice is derived from "solstitium", which is a Latin word. The word solstitium is derived from the Latin word "sol", or sun, and "stitium", which translates to stop. When the solstice occurs, the sun looks like it has done exactly that. It reaches nearly the same elevation at noon every day during the several days prior to and following the solstice.

In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice falls on either December 21st or 22nd each year when the sun appears directly above the tropic of Capricorn. For the southern hemisphere, the 20th or 21st of June is the winter solstice, which takes place when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Cancer.

The winter solstice marks the day of the year that has the shortest amount of daylight and the longest amount of night. This is the midpoint of winter for many culture's calendars. Amazingly, in over three thousand years, the date of solstice has been moved by only a single day.

Since the bright part of the day starts to lengthen, seeming to signify rebirth of the sun, winter solstice is celebrated by various cultures as a time of new birth.

This was generally seen as something good when the change happens to eliminate the darkness of evil from the world and light up the world with goodness. At this present time, some people still celebrate light festivals. Similar to the Chinese Dong Zhi festival, the Germans observe Yule and Hindus revel in Diwali, a festival of light.

Henry Fong
Feng Shui Consultant.
Feng Shui Absolutely

Our Sweet Love of Caffeine

2009-09-13T08:01:00.001-07:00

It is generally believed that approximately 90% of adults living in North America consume caffeine on a daily basis. That being said, there are many different ways to consume this highly addictive stimulant. You could get your caffeine through tea, energy drinks or the most popular coffee. You can even get a small amount of caffeine simply by eating some chocolate as well. When it comes to those who are addicted to caffeine, they can't seem to get enough of that yummy cup of joe and praise the many coffee distributors. Caffeine seems to have an effect on all of our lives in some form or another.

Caffeine is highly addictive. Nobody knows this better than someone who has tried and failed or tried and succeeded for that matter, in quitting their coffee. For someone who merely drank one cup of coffee each morning for several years, giving up that morning cup of coffee might be harder than they think. Although they may not realize it, they are hooked on that morning energy rush. The first morning that they give up those wholesale coffee beans might not actually be too bad. It is the next day that is the killer. There is nothing quite like the headaches that go along with caffeine withdrawal. This can make any person crabby and extremely irritable. A good piece of advice if you are trying to quit caffeine is to not go cold turkey. Try brewing weaker and weaker coffee until it no longer tastes good to you. Or you could also try alternating between the days that you drink the coffee and slowly adding more days in between. Then there are some of those people who can simply quit drinking their morning cup of coffee and never feel a difference. You just won't' know which type of reaction you will have unless you give it a try.

For those of us who simply can't or won't give up our daily caffeine kick, there are many fabulous ways to enjoy it. There is nothing better than those wholesale coffee products brewed up nice and hot by our local barista on a cold day. If it is rather warm outside, you could even choose to have your coffee poured over ice for a nice refreshing blast of cold caffeine. If tea is more your thing, you can choose from many different flavors for your pick me up. You can even have your tea poured over ice and mixed with some refreshing lemonade. Whatever your daily routine is, enjoy your little indulgence. Think of it as your own little slice of heaven on Earth!

If you are looking for a fresh selection of wholesale coffee products, be sure to click on Intelligentsia Coffee today. They have a wide variety of wholesale coffee beans to choose from. Intelligentsia Coffee is a great resource when it comes to looking for some coffee distributors as well. Your guide to great coffee is just a click away!

Healthy Snacks Will Keep You Pumped Throughout the Day

2009-09-12T18:37:00.001-07:00

Portable healthy snacks are the latest trend in the snacking industry. Wrapped stringed cheese, Go-Gurt (portable yogurt), individually packaged vegetable portions with low-fat dip and 100-calorie potato chips or cookies are helping us to eat healthy, even when we feel we have no time to do so. To maintain a healthy weight and reduce our risk for heart disease or cancer, we have to be more mindful of eating a balanced diet packed with nutrients and controlling our calorie count. Luckily, manufacturers are responding to our needs with more products and offerings to help, and blogs are spreading more food snacks tips for packing the best lunch possible.

Do you rarely have time for a pleasant sit-down breakfast? Luckily, there are a number of morning-friendly, healthy food snacks to wake up your metabolism and provide you with the nutrients you need to get a fresh start. For a quick solution, try half a peanut butter sandwich on whole-wheat bread, low-sugar whole-grain granola bars (with at least 3 grams of fiber), 4-6 ounces of low-fat yogurt, some high-fiber cereal with dried fruit or a bowl of instant oatmeal with sliced peaches, if you've got five minutes.

Throughout the day, nothing kills our motivation like a heavy 30-minute lunch. Instead, healthy snacks can keep us pumped throughout the day. Dietitian-recommended options include a handful of unsalted or lightly salted dry-roasted nuts, a single serving pack of unsweetened applesauce with a few dry-roasted walnuts, a small apple with two tablespoons of peanut butter or one ounce of low-fat cheese, half a string cheese with a few pieces of fruit or whole grain crackers or pretzels with low-fat cheese. Raw foods, like vegetables, can be jazzed up with nacho cheese, low-fat ranch or no-fat veggie dip. Lunch snacks manufacturers have been making portable individual packets of carrots, celery, apple slices, nuts, low-fat cheese and other goodies to promote eating healthy.

"Look for snacks that contain protein with healthy carbohydrates and fats, and eat your snacks slowly so they fill you up," advises Baylor nutrition Professor Suzy Weems, PhD. There are many healthy snacks to choose from, so it can be easy to lose track of how our diets are stacking up throughout the day. A free community website, "Sparks People", allows users to enter the food they've eaten during the day into a database, which tallies up protein, calories, fat and other statistics to help keep track of weight loss goals.

Educate yourself further about healthy snacks from Mike Selvon articles portal and download your free audio gift on snack foods.

Using Shape in Feng Shui Gardening

2009-09-12T05:22:00.001-07:00

If you have taken the time to learn the basics of feng shui, you know that you need to incorporate all five elements of nature - fire, water, wood, metal, and earth - to achieve and restore balance within your living space. However, incorporating these elements in their natural states can prove a bit difficult, especially if you live in an apartment or other environment where others have a significant degree of control over what you place around your living area.

Instead of using the natural elements to balance your energy, try using the shapes associated with each element to help improve the balance in your home. Shapes can be powerful substitutes for the actual elements, if they are used in an appropriate manner. Here's how you can represent each of the elements through shape:

Fire: This element is represented by cones, pyramids, and triangles. You can use stone or ceramic pagodas, which have pyramid-shaped tops, to represent fire in your yard. Also, you may be able to convince the owner of your apartment to let you plant small pine trees, which have conical shapes that will create a warm and vibrant atmosphere.

Water: If you can't have fountains or ponds, consider using flowing shapes to represent water. Flags, banners, and mobiles will create the flowing shapes necessary to create water-like flowing energy. Also, you can use thing like hanging plants and wind chimes, which have downward-flowing shapes, to bring water into your environment. Water shapes will help increase the flow of positive, invigorating energy into your home space, and improve the relationships within your home.

Wood: Columns and striped objects represent wood. If you can't use plants or trees to bring the stabilizing qualities of wood into your living space, try using striped pillows on your lawn furniture, or a bamboo fence, to create this energy. You will find that this is particularly useful for bringing balance and harmony for city living environments, where cars and motorcycles may vastly outnumber trees and shrubs.

Metal: Round, octagonal, and arched objects can bring the element of metal into your environment. Gazing balls and circular stepping stones are great for adding metal to an area of your yard. Arched trellises can also help to bring in this element to balance your home's energy. You can use these shapes in areas where wood and earth elements are dominant to bring balance to your space.

Earth: Square and octagonal shapes can help you incorporate the element of earth into your surroundings. Square stepping stones, rectangular paving bricks, and flower boxes can all help you use shape to bring the earth element to your landscaping. This is particularly important if you live in a very urban environment where natural earth is not visible in great quantities.

As you can see, there are many representational ways you can use shape to help bring the balancing effects of the elements to your living space. Find what works for you and what is pleasing to you visually, and let that be your guide for creating a harmonious, balanced space for you and your family.

Linda Binns shows you how to be more successful in all areas of your life by working with your environment. Sign up for her free 9-step E-course at http://www.HarmoniousLifeChoices.com

Linda Binns is author of Feng Shui for Your Relationships: Changing Your Environment to Create Better Relationships. She has been a Feng Shui Practitioner, Author, Speaker and teacher for over 10 years. She has appeared internationally on television and radio and in local publications. Linda is also the founder of The Feng Shui Success Institute - which teaches in-depth Feng Shui training and practitioner certification.

National Foods of Honduras - Tamales

2009-09-11T15:26:00.001-07:00

Some of the greatest cuisines come from other countries and one of those countries is Honduras. This small and poor country produces some of the healthiest and tastiest food, it is impossible for Americans not to pick up on some of the national foods of Honduras. When you start cooking from this ethnic country you will probably take notice that a lot of the dishes are very similar to Mexican dishes and that is exactly where Honduras takes their cue from! Mexican dishes are known for their flavor, spiciness and the exotic ingredients that are used. Honduras recipes are known for the exact same things, although their recipes usually include a lot more coconut and are healthier than Mexican food. One of the greatest national foods of Honduras is the tamale. Tamales consist of steam-cooked corn dough that is filled with meats, cheese and chilies.

Tamales may be one of the national foods of Honduras, but they have made their way over to America. But let's face it, most Americans have never had a real tamale in their entire life and once you have one, you will understand and know the taste of it. Tamales are a staple in all Honduras cuisine and are served all over the country.

A real homemade tamale is a corn meal dough sandwich (basically), stuffed with meat and cheese, then wrapped in plant leaves or corn husks and steamed until it is firm. These were back in the olden days the closest thing to a sandwich that most people had. Nowadays, this is one of the very traditional and great tasting national foods of Honduras that can be made for a big family or just for one person.

Tamales are great for family gatherings for they do not take all that long to make and you can make up a big batch of meat, add in a lot of cheese and then load them on up to steam. They can also make great appetizers for you can make mini tamales which are great for all sorts of dinner parties where you are featuring national foods of Honduras. You can also add your own twist on tamales, they can be all veggies, or some rice - it is all your choice!

So as you can see, the tamale is not only popular in Honduras, but it can be made in a variety of different ways and for all sorts of different crowds. If you live by yourself, do not fear! You can make yourself a single tamale, or make a bunch of them and freeze them so you can eat them at your leisure. No matter the occasion or the crowd, tamales are always a great hit for anyone or anyone.

To start cooking tamales straight away grab some Honduran recipes.

Margaret Assor is an enthusiast of ethnic cookery and an advocate of boredom free kitchens. If you want to try out some of the exotic Honduran recipes, visit her website at http://www.RecipesForHonduranFoodsInEnglish.com.

Cotton Candy

2009-09-11T01:39:00.001-07:00

This delicious dessert made of sugar and food coloring was first introduced during St. Louis World fair, in 1904 by William Morrison and John C. Wharton. It's also known as fairy floss. Unlike the olden days, today there are improved and better machines used in making candy cotton. Generally this machines are made up of a small ball in the middle where sugar is poured and food color added. This mixture is then melted through heating, after a few steps of spinning it's solidified and ready.

Traditionally, candy cotton is pink in color. However, it's also available in other colors such as orange,white, yellow, blue or purple. Carnivals,amusement parka or circus are some of the places where we can easily get it. Have you ever watched it when it's being made? If you've, then you'll agree with me its quite interesting. Actually what's funny, its as big as an adult head in the first stages when making it.

I know you don't buy that story of how it can cause cavity in your teeth, well am not saying your folks are wrong but it's not as bad as some make it look. Did you know that there 130-170 calories in a can of soft drink compared to only 100 calories in candy? Well, you do the math. The most important thing is to take care of your teeth.

Generally, most of us think that cotton candy is only for children. To be honest, if you enquire from your grand parents, you would be surprised when they first tasted it's sweet taste. They might even wonder around in their mind just reminiscing of the good old days.

Peter Gitundu Researches and Reports on Candy. For More Information on Candy Cotton, Visit His Site at CANDY COTTON You Can Also Add Your Views About Candy Cotton At My Blog here CANDY COTTON

Chilly vs. Chili - Cooking for Winter Comfort

2009-09-10T11:52:00.001-07:00

When Winter strikes in all it's icy glory and the temperature outside is frigid and Springtime seems like it will never arrive what is there that can bring a little cheer and warmth. The comfort of a good home cooked meal with your family and friends comes to mind. Good Company and Comfort Food. What are the best Comfort Foods to warm up your Winter. A Bowl of Home-Made soup like Minestrone or a plate of Home-Made Stew or - the King of all Comfort Foods - A big helping of your favorite Chili. After all, who ever heard of a Stew Cook-off.

A great bowl of Home-Made Chili makes a great meal any time, but in the dead of Winter it is the perfect food, a hearty, warm, stick-to-your-ribs great meal.

Chili is easily the most personal of all foods. There is so many ways to make it and almost nothing is off limits. You can use the traditional beef but it is equally perfect with turkey, lamb, chicken or pork. The meat can be ground or cubed or you can make it with no meat at all. You can make it with or without beans. It can be mild or so hot as to make you sweat, depending on your tastes and preferences and for whom you may be cooking.

There is almost nothing that can not be used in a pot of chili. I have either made or been served chili with everything in it from beer to raisins to mangoes. I have had sweet chili and hot chili, chili served over rice or spaghetti or with the traditional oyster crackers and served over hamburgers or hot dogs..if you have never had a chili-dog or chili-burger you have missed a couple of lifes simple pleasures. Sharp cheddar cheese is always a plus. Chili can also be made in quantities to meet any need, from a family of four to enough to feed an army of guests. All you need is the right Stock Pot and cooking supplies to make it happen.

The point of all of this is simple. I am not trying to teach you how to make Chili. I am trying to get you to have some fun and make chili your own. Find a couple of good chili recipes to try like ones you will find at CHILI COOKS.com and once you know some things that you will always want in any Chili, basics like chili powder, cumin, beans, no beans, what ever variety of peppers, meat, no meat. start experimenting. This time add raisins and a little cinnamon to sweeten it. Next time add a little cayenne or jalapenos or habaneros to spice it up. Make your chili your own.

Quality Cookware makes Better Home Cooking

I make Chili several times every Winter and I have no written recipe although I do occasionally try out an intriguing recipe I have either found or been given. My Chili is never exactly the same twice and It is always the right Chili at the right time and it is always a warm comfortable experience, at least that is what my friends and family tell me.

You can find a link to ChiliCooks.com on my Links Page at Cookware for Home Cooking.

Surviving As A Contractor In California

2009-09-08T06:18:00.001-07:00

So you want to make big money making a living as a contractor in the state of California. Well now I bet you have seen contractors on TV or maybe you know someone who is a contractor. You see these men and women playing the part as Mr. or Mrs. Money bags. If you have the slightest thought that becoming a contractor will provide you with a life of riches think again.

Most contractors that I know and have worked with over the years don't think of there jobs as easy. They have to work everyday and a lot into the night doing estimates or meeting with potential clients because they are to busy during the day. The life of most contractors in the beginning will be difficult to say the least. But if successful you will make a great living for yourself and your family.

Now that we got the false illusion of the contractor answering his cell phone all day at some nice golf course having lunch talking about the money that he just made selling his oil stocks. We can start on reality. If being a contractor was that easy everyone would be a contractor. Right..... Well maybe not everyone.

I have been a contractor for over 22 years and in construction for 30 year. I have seen a lot of changes over the years. I remember when a few contractors that I worked for made a lot of money during the late 1970's. These guys had Ferraris and money to burn with one exception they had no idea how to save any of it. These guys went on vacations and bought extravagant toys for them selves. Out of most of the big framing contractors I worked for about 10 percent are still in business or actually saved their money during the good times so that they could make it through the bad times.

These contractors never thought it was going to end. Life on easy street that is. But it did and most went by the way side. I guess that is the nature of business. Especially the current economic business cycles that we seem to go through over the years. If you don't have the money to advertise or carry a payroll. Your business is going to suffer during the bad times. Sure there is credit and bank loans but you still have to pay that money back. IF you can't save your money stash some away for advertising.

Some of the best advice I can give a contractor anywhere especially in the state of California is " Don't Think The Great Times Of Easy Money Will Last Forever". Save some of the money you make just in case you need to get through the bad times. You will thank me for this latter, Some time down the road. Take this advice and put it into action starting right now.

Greg Vanden Berge has over 30 years of experience in residential home building and remodeling. This provides you with the comfort of knowing that you have a professional with the knowledge and skills to complete your construction projects in a timely manner.

Our low overhead along with our new online estimating system will provide you with the most competitive construction pricing in the area. We continue to educate ourselves about the new home improvement books and building systems in the construction industry. If we have any doubt that something might not work we don't use it. We have found some of these products to be the root of some major home building problems.

Click on the Home Remodeling Ideas to get more information and a possible online estimate for your home improvement project.

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

3 Keys to Personal Self Help

2009-09-08T00:48:00.001-07:00

Personal self help is one of the greatest ways to reach your purpose and achieve your goals in life. The more you grow and increase personally the more you will succeed in your life. However, its not always easy to know where to start or what to do. Here are 3 keys to personal self help.

1. Read.

One of the simplest ways to start your personal self help is to read books, magazines, and articles on the topic that you are wanting to grow in. There are so many books in the world today that you can find a great book that will help you. This is one of the ways that I first started my personal self help. Its not always possible to sit down and get the knowledge and wisdom from someone personally but you can get it first hand in a book that they have written.

2. Get a mentor/coach.

Probably the most powerful way to grow is to get a mentor or a coach. This will allow you to learn directly from someone that you respect as well as get hands on experience. Another great thing that you will get is the gift of accountability. This may not seem like something you want but it will do wonders for your progress in life. If you really want the most personal self help, you need to have a mentor or coach.

3. Be honest with yourself.

I have talk to many people that say all the right things but arent honest with themselves. They deny that they have certain areas that they need to change and are always sidestepping the real issues at hand. For you to truly change and be all that you can you have to be more honest with yourself then with anyone else.

Is there greatness on the inside of you but you don't know how to achieve it? Jason has just completed his brand new 7 part e-course, 'Find Your Greatness'

Get it free here: Find Your Greatness

Do you want to learn how to create successful habits and goals? Download Jasons new FREE ebook here: Goal Setting

Jason Osborn has dedicated himself to changing thousands of lives by helping people find their greatness and true potential through his Find Your Greatness Newsletter.

Hiring a Contractor For Bathroom Remodeling - Remodeling Contractors

2009-09-07T22:48:00.001-07:00

Well here's the age old question, how do we go about finding a decent bathroom remodeling contractor.

Here's some things you will be looking for in a contractor.

1. Is Your Contractor Fair and Honest?

2. Does Your Contractor Have Experience Remodeling and Designing Bathrooms?

3. Can You Actually Find a Contractor Who Will Complete the Job in a Timely Manner?

4. Do You Think the Workers Will Be Able to Clean the Job up Daily?

5. Will the Contractor Show up on Time?

6. Is the Contractor Going to Work At Least Eight Hours a Day?

7. Does the Contractor's Crew Have Experience?

8. Is Your Contractor and His Crew Courteous?

If you find a contractor for your bathroom remodeling project that has answered yes to all questions above, hire that person immediately. Most contractors can sincerely answer yes to half of the questions above. If you're looking for the ultimate bathroom remodeling contractor, you could be searching for quite a while, you're looking for some one that is competent and you feel comfortable with.

When hiring a contractor, look for someone who has your interest in mind first and not theirs. Find someone who is willing to help with the designed process of your bathroom and the remodeling. If you find a contractor to be arrogant or controlling, there is a good chance, your bathroom might not turn out the way you envision it.

When hiring a contractor for your bathroom remodeling project or any home improvement project, the most important thing to keep in mind is, whether or not you feel comfortable with this person or not. Never hire a contractor you're not comfortable with.

If a contractor is referred to you by someone you trust, this does not guarantee you will be happy with the bathroom remodel. Most referrals that I have gotten over the years are like rolling the dice, I believe I would have done just as good picking a name out of a hat.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

Thoughts To Ponder

2009-09-07T17:09:00.001-07:00

These little known quotes from a variety of well-known philosophers, authors and professionals bring a perspective worth contemplating.

"Russia on its path has oftentimes discussed and over discussed what had happened earlier, instead of moving forward. The result is always the same: It is very difficult to move forward when you're looking backward. - Mikhail Khodorkovsky

"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." - Vince Lombardi

"It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner." - Vince Lombardi

"Part of the issue of goals is to be able to set realistic goals, but that's one of the hardest things to do because you don't always know exactly where you're going, and you shouldn't." - George Lucas

"Basically, our goal is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful." - Larry Page

"I've been blessed to find people who are smarter than I am, and they help me to execute the vision I have." - Russell Simmons

"You will encounter many distractions and many temptations to put your goal aside: The security of a job, a wife who wants kids, whatever. But if you hang in there, always following your vision, I have no doubt you will succeed. - Larry Flynt

"Leaders need to be optimists. Their vision is beyond the present." - Rudy Giuliani

"One of my goals is to inspire people to be all that they can be and, hopefully, be a good example and teach some useful, interesting principles. Perhaps I can be the key that turns on the engine in their life, and then they can take their car where they want." - Mark Victor Hansen

"Perhaps my most important goal is to create a million millionaires." - Mark Victor Hansen

"How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?" - Anthony Robbins

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

Surviving As A Contractor In California

2009-09-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

Click on the Home Remodeling Ideas to get more information and a possible online estimate for your home improvement project.

Meditating On Religious Scriptur

Improve Your Life This Year

2009-09-07T09:37:00.001-07:00

We have a tendency to put off improving ourselves. We know there are things that we can improve in our life and even things that we should improve, yet many people procrastinate. Next year will be the year that they make the changes that they need to. Next year will be the year that they make their life better. Why not make next year this year instead?

When we put things off it can be because of many different things. The two most common ones are fear and the feeling that we do not know how to change. But the truth is that we can whenever we want. There are countless resources that you can use to help you to improve your life. You can further your education so that you make many improvements along the way.

When we are afraid, we are powerless. Take the power back and put it where it belongs. With you! You don't have to wait for anything to come along for you to decide to make your life what you want it to be. The better equipped you are and the more resources that you use to improve your life, the better off you will be.

Learn what you can do and what steps that you can take to make the life that you are living right now everything that you want it to be. Make this year a year of action and stop putting things off. Attract what you want and make sure that you do indeed get it!

Learn how to attract love, money, or happiness or all three in YOUR LIFE NOW! Go to http://www.successfulfather.com and SIGN up for the FREE newsletter and BOOKMARK the site and return as often as you can!

You can attract the life that you truly desire! All you have to do is learn HOW!

Bryan Appleton is an investor/entrepreneur who has dedicated himself to teaching others how to achieve their dream life. He is also a proud single father with one son.

You can publish this article as long as you leave it intact and in full as well as keeping the URL link clickable.

Dangers Using Wood Stair Cleats - New Stair Construction

2009-09-07T08:06:00.001-07:00

I would imagine most people don't even know what it wood stair cleat is, in construction we have so many words that describe the same thing. A stair cleat is another word for a thread bracket. In other words it's the part of the stairway that connects the stair stringer to the stair step. These have been used for years and over time, most of them will develop the same problem.

Most wood stair cleats loosened up and create a safety hazard. If the stairs are located outside in extreme weather conditions, for example, if it rains or snows a lot, extremely humid humid weather, or extremely hot and dry temperatures, your staircase might not last that long, if it is or isn't maintained properly. It's not a bad idea to use steel or concrete for stairways in these climates.

If you're ever walking up a set of stairs with wood cleats and the stair steps feel a little loose or wiggly, make sure you examined the stair cleats for safety. It's not uncommon for someone to be walking up or down a set of wood stairs and having the stair step or tread giveaway because the wood cleats has loosened.

If the wood stair cleats are nailed to the stair stringer, the nails can loosen up, causing it to become loose, as you walk up and down the stairs applying pressure to the stair cleat, this will create movement in between the stair step and the stair stringer. This could cause the cleat to crack, break and separate the connection between the stair step in the stair stringer.

I would suggest using metal brackets instead of wood cleats. The metal brackets will not crack or disintegrate like some wood cleats. Stair building brackets of course can loosen up and should be maintained regularly.

If you decide to use wood stair cleats, I would suggest using screws instead of nails and drilling holes in the wood stair cleats, most of the time this will prevent cracking the cleat. Try to use a thicker material for the stair cleat, for example using a 2 x 4 with lag screws and washers would be better than using a 1 x 4 with nails.

If you're walking up a set of stairs and a stair step feels loose, contact the owner of the property and let them know, they have a problem with their staircase.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more stair building books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Ask And You Might Receive Or Ask

Higher Self

2009-09-07T02:14:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you might allow your emotional input to dictate your choices, which could be an indication that you are acting compulsively. The best way to make a distinction between intellect and emotion is to engage with your higher self to hear the wisdom of your spirit.

Your higher self (a.k.a. subconscious or collective unconscious) is connected to the universe, and also has access to your thoughts and feelings. Consider your higher self (subconscious/collective unconscious) as having a helicopter view of your actions, reactions and goings on in your life. It has the ability to weigh all the factors from a neutral place of peace. Even before a sudden impulse can be triggered, you can go within the space of your higher self by taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly-quieting your mind-to access the wisdom within. Meditation or yoga are also highly effective in helping to connect with the higher self.

When you practice connecting to the wisdom within regularly, you will learn to discern quickly which voice is advising you. When you notice it is the ego mind or an emotional aspect, you can stop it in mid-stream.

To learn which aspect is in control you can look back to learn from previous choices and recall what your inner guidance was advising you-albeit you might not have followed it. You will learn when you have listened and when you have gone against its direction, and this information is helpful for your learning and growth. Every choice you make is an opportunity to learn about life and about yourself as you co-create with the universe.

There is no right or wrong, only choices that take you closer or farther away from your goals. Growth is a process of trial and error; experimentation. The 'failed' experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately 'works.'

When you use your higher self you know you have your best interest at heart, you can listen and trust you will be on the right track. The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life." Dr. Dorothy has the unique gift of connecting people with a broad range of profound principles that resonate in the deepest part of their being. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one's daily thoughts and feelings. http://www.drdorothy.net

Need Help Remodeling In Carlsbad

2009-09-07T00:47:00.001-07:00

What you are thinking about remodeling your house and you live in Carlsbad. Let me give you some advice about some local contractors and some of the people involved. I used a company called Service Magic to find a local heating and air conditioning contractor. All I had to do was go on the internet , type in some information about my self and what I wanted to have done to my home. This didn't seem that bad of a idea at the time. But look what I found out.

I went to their web site, filled in my information and with in minutes I had received the names of at least 4 contractors. Wow this is neat. I didn't even get to start calling any of them when my phone rang. It was one of the contractors secretaries. She introduced herself and asked what would be a good time for someone to come out to look at the work I wanted done.

I was surprised at the speed things were taking place but in a way glad that I had a reputable contractor from one of the largest construction referral services on the internet. I told her 10:00 would be fine. I got a call shortly after that from one of the other companies. He wanted to meet me that mourning at 8:00 if it was Ok with me. I told him of course, let's do this. Then the next one called and I thought great you can come at 1:00. Well you guessed it the next one was coming over at 2:30.

The first contractor showed up as scheduled at 8:00. We talked about what I wanted done and he whips out his note book and starts figuring out a price. This took place around 15 minutes into the meeting. This guys good I thought. Being a General Contractor in Carlsbad myself, for a job like this I would go back to my office and figure out a price and then double check my figures for a accurate estimate. It took this guy less than 5 minutes to create a proposal of around 10,700 dollars for every thing.

Well I was thinking to myself, the job should be around 7,000 dollars but what do I know about construction. I informed him that I would think about it and that I was going to meet with a couple of other contractors that day. He ask me who the other contractors were. I proceeded to tell him that I probably shouldn't tell him who they were. Well your not going to believe this. He put on his physic hat and told me who was coming over. The only thing he didn't know was what time they where coming over.

Oh I forgot to mention before he left he told me he would knock ten percent off the job if I signed the contract right now. I pretended like I was excited just to see his reaction. He looked at me like he had won the gold metal in sales. I told him thanks but I bet your new offer with the ten percent discount will be good for the next few day. Right I asked. He wasn't looking that excited any more as he replied with a Yes it will be good for a while. I thanked him and he went on his way.

My 10:00 never showed but his secretary gave me the old, " He had to go do a emergency job and could he reschedule tomorrow at the same time. I said that would be fine. As a contractor myself I have always put the work I had to do first and foremost.

About 12:30 I get a call from my next heating and air conditioning contractor. He is running late but will be there at 1:30. I appreciate the call and I will see you then. The only problem now is that I have another contractor coming at 2:30. That give the next contractor less than one hour before the next guy shows up. I never liked going over to someone's house and running into another remodeling contractor.

The next contractor was very informative and knew his stuff. I listened and learned. He told me he was going to have to go back to his office and would have a price back in the mourning. Great I told him as I hurried him out the door.

The last contractor of the day shows up and wants to know whose been over to the house, was it these guys or those guys. I told him I wasn't going to tell him who was over. Now this guy was a salesman. He did a little more probing before he let me in on the fact that his company doesn't do complete home installations. He made up some story that his company only replaces the forced air units. I could tell he didn't want to do the job once he found out I knew what I was talking about. So I said my good byes to Mr. Salesman.

The bad part about him was latter on that week his company sent us some mailers. The kind that doesn't have your name on it and everyone in the neighborhood get's one. I couldn't believe my eyes when I started to read this letter. It said we would be glad to give you an estimate on all your heating and air conditioning needs or services. " We Do Complete Installs". I told my wife we could have used this a few weeks ago. Then I recognized the name of the company and now knew that the salesman had lied to me for sure.

That night I started to think about what was going on here it seemed like I was being set up. Everyone knew what was going on but me. It seemed clear to me that these people knew each other.

Well as time went on we ended up hiring the first guy that came over. He seemed to have the best product at the most reasonable price. His company also did a great job. Keep one thing in mind here out of five contractors that I gave the opportunity to bid the job. Only three showed up and from them I only got two bids. Why didn't I get more bids? Quite frankly I was to busy working at the time and of course the other two guys were always going to show up and that kind of strung me along. My mistake.

Here's the kicker to all of this. Service Magic calls me up one day to tell me they would like to start sending me construction leads as a General Contractor.

I listened to what they had to say and was almost ready to sign up with them again. That's right, I was signed up with them when they first started until they changed the rules on me. The salesman that originally contacted me said if I paid them the 100 dollar sign up fee they would let me pick what jobs I wanted to do. That lasted about 5 months before I noticed that they were not sending me siding referrals to pick from. I called them up only to talk to someone who didn't understand the State Of California Contractors Licensing Board.

Well I wasn't about to reinvent the wheel. I simply told them that I should a least get my money back, right. They said they would look into it further as I never heard from them again about my 100 dollars. Well things have changed at Service Magic since I was with them when they started.
As a home owner you don't think you are paying Service Magic because all you do is fill out a simple form giving some information about yourself.

I found out that Service Magic sent all four of these contractors my original information. Each contractor then had to pay 55 dollars each to Service Magic for a total of 220 dollars. All I have to say is how are they getting away with charging this much money for sending a out a simple referral to these contractors.

The contractor unfortunately passes this expense on to his customers. You as the home owners end up paying these fees as a cost of doing business with them. Some contractors think this is a great way of doing business but you might think differently in the future if you start paying over 100 dollars for a simple construction referral.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

When Do We Get To Meet God

How Harmful Can Some Words Be

2009-09-06T18:44:00.001-07:00

Could you imagine someone telling you that if you don't do something, you're going to suffer a horrible punishment and possibly death, because you chose to ignore their message. Can simple words create powerful beliefs, isn't this what some religious doctorines create? Even the media does it, think about it the next time you turn your television on or read the newspaper.

You seem to believe something because someone told you that's how it is and when you go to question them, they simply repeat the simple statement, that's how is. It's hard to imagine a few words, articulated almost perfectly can create an overwhelming emotion in someone.

The Germans used propaganda to create fear with a few of these words. It's not just a few of these words, there's more power behind these words if their repeated often. These words can build up someone's hopes and dreams or tear them apart.

Is there a quote that you're fond of? You probably memorized it and it has some sort of significance or creates a certain feeling when mentioned. Quotes are organized words that create powerful beliefs in some people.

If I mention the words," I have a dream" you probably think of Martin Luther King. These four words meant a lot to people that were struggling for their freedom, not only in America but around the world. These words are a example of powerful words that have created a wonderful feeling.

When these powerful words create fear you know it. If you watch the news, night after night and they keep telling you how bad the economy is, it doesn't take long before you believe it. You tighten up your budget and stop spending money, because you are now fearful and don't want to lose what you have. When everyone starts holding onto their money, the economy actually does become worse over time.

Can simple words create powerful beliefs? Yes obviously they can and they do, so be careful when listening to words that create fear and try not to spread this fear around to others. Fear can be turned into relief if the right words are used, I would suggest using happy words to create a happy world. Have a nice day.

Greg is currently working on a self improvement articles filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Change Your Thinking About Life

2009-09-06T17:12:00.001-07:00

What do I do when I get down and out. Well that use to happen to me often and I seemed to suffer with some minor depression. It would seem like time would stand still. I would look at the clock and notice the time. Let's say 2:23 in the afternoon. I would look back to see what time it was about fifteen minutes latter and it would be 2:26. Wow what in the heck is going on with this clock.

I just couldn't believe it seemed like the day would never end. I would just sit there and think about all the stuff going on in my life, good and bad of course. This seemed to last until I was in my early twenties. I just didn't want to feel like this any more. I made a Conscious design not to get depressed period. I never wanted to feel like that again.

I read a book on ESP and in the book it described visualizing a rose as you went to sleep. I started doing this every night and while I was doing the exercise it seemed to make me feel relaxed in a way I never had felt before. The reason for the exercise was to teach you to visualize something peaceful. This in turn would put you in a peaceful state of mind.

Then a thought came into my noggin. What if when ever I start to feel bad or seem to be going into a sort of depressive state of mind I change my thoughts. It worked... I would start to visualize something else that made me feel comfortable and give me a peaceful feeling. Man was I surprised with my results.

Keep in mind I didn't think of this all on my own but I did put the pieces of the puzzle I needed to together that I needed to change my life. It seemed like I could use this form of self control in different parts of my life. If I was at work and someone made me mad.... Well this didn't work all the time... I still got mad. Let's pick something else OK.

I would worry about something on the job that wasn't going right. Then I would get irritated over something else that wasn't even related to what I was worrying about. Why did I take it out on the other person when what I was really mad about was something else. We do this all the time in our lives. We seem to get mad, get even or give up. Why do we do this and what can we do to stop it.

My main point to all of this is we can change our thinking and change our lives. We can learn new things to change our thinking. We don't need to give up hope that we will always be like this. Change the things you don't like about yourself. Do it today. If you need some help there is a great book that will help you change your life for the better.

You can find it at http://www.live.spiritualideas.com This book has a lot of tools to create the change in your life you want to have a more full filling life.

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. Ross Perot.

Start Living Your Dreams Today and Create a Wonderful Life For Yourself And Your Family. Greg Vanden Berge is one of the best inspirations on the planet. You will be hearing a lot about this guy in the future. You can count on it.

When Do We Get To Meet God

50 Secrets of Blissful Relationships

2009-09-06T11:12:00.001-07:00

Bookstores have been full to bursting point with self-help books for relationships for years, thousands more marriage counselors seem to be setting up shop every year and of course the internet is also cluttered by a million pages about how to have a perfect relationship or marriage. So how does 50 Secrets of Blissful Relationships by Oprah expert Michel Webb differ from the crowd?

Let's have a look and see:

Firstly, it is good to see that this guide is based on real life examples rather that hypothetical scenarios where the author has complete control of the events in his own mind. Michel Webb actually provides real life examples from his own life to illustrate the points and solutions he makes with a warts and all approach which is refreshing.

Secondly, Michel Webb practices what he preaches and claims to have never had a fight with his wife Athena in 15 years which is remarkable. If you doubt this which I did at first you have to read exactly how he achieved this because it is riveting stuff that comes from real experiences and practice. After reading the book I can now see how this amazing 15 year streak can definitely be possible.

Thirdly, the book itself is simply set out with about one tip per day and just continues like this until the end of the book. Just about every tip had me shaking my head in agreement, as it gave me real-life solutions and several of those "a-ha" moments of profound understanding.

Thirdly, the book is well set out which is an undervalued thing when people are reviewing books. While the content is absolutely vital poor layout and poor written communication skills can turn any book no matter how good in advice into a confused clutter. Michael Webb takes a simple approach you can use in a couple of ways by having one tip a day for the whole book. You can read it one tip at a time one day at a time or you can read it through in a single sitting but the division of advice works well by not overloading the reader and still giving great advice and many a "a-hah!" moment when a p-particular tidbit leaps out at you and strikes a chord of new understanding of relationships.

There are however a few niggles with the book that we found. It is a bit TOO formulaic in its approach which might be a side effect of their layout system. They always have a story or unrelated example, followed by how that information ties into relationships and the topic at hand.

However, if this become annoying or you are impatient to get through a long winded story you can skip down to about halfway down the section to find the point he is trying to make without going through every tiny detail.

Also, instead of the tip titles providing a clear "how to solve X problem" or a clear topic description, it simply has a phrase that ties together with the information. Now while this is no big deal, it would have been nice to be able to skim the book to exactly the advice I wanted. Although if you read the information on the sales page, you can work out what information belongs where in the book. So it's not too bad.

Another small issue is that the titles to each section do not give you a clear idea of what problem this tip and story associated with it is suppose to solve. There is a phrase that ties in with the information which you can hazard a guess from but no "This section solves or covers this problem". This makes it hard to skim for the exact solution you may be looking for but it is not too bad as you can guess from the title often.

It is definitely a better book for those who want to read from cover to cover as this seems to be it's design philosophy, but those that want to skip around will also not be left cold either.

All in all, this is one of the best relationship books I've ever seen and it definitely deserves a read, especially if you have serious problems in your relationship.

So, after all this is taken into consideration 50 Secrets of Blissful Relationships deserve a read if you are interested in making your relationship better especially if you are having some serious issues that need to be sorted as this could turn things around for you quickly.

For more book reviews and links on how to create a happy and successful marriage click below to find out more!

http://www.loveiscomplicated.info/marriage/relationship-tips-secrets/

The Bible's Power Over One Child

2009-09-06T09:31:00.001-07:00

I mentioned Sean in another one of my articles, the story of a young foster boy that we were taking care of. Sean's father was my ex-wife's uncle, and they were going through some tough times for a while and their three children ended up as wards of the state. We eventually ended up taking the oldest child because he was the hardest one to place and another home. His brother and sister ended up with a family that wanted to adopt them and eventually Sean went to live with them and I believe all three of them were adopted by this family. I don't know this for a fact though.

Sean was a emotionally damaged child. His parents would punish him with some strange and bizarre punishments. They weren't really physical punishments but seemed to leave the emotional scars on him and I often think about where he is and what he is doing.

We watched him for about a year and I learned quite a bit from this young man. He was in the third grade but was still at the first grade level for reading and math. I would spend a couple of hours each night during the week helping him with his schoolwork, I seem to have created some sort of allusion that I would be able to bring him up to the third grade level within a short period of time. Wrong. He must've had learning disabilities and of course I don't think I was that good teacher.

Sean was easy going, polite and extremely obedient. He would do anything to avoid getting in trouble and often blamed others for his mistakes. His punishments must have been more than he could bear before he arrived at our home. I think you're getting the picture about what kind of a child Sean was.

One day I found myself in a dilemma with Sean, I couldn't get him to tell me the truth, even though I knew he was lying. I forget what the problem was but I remember a hollow look in his face. It was almost like he wasn't really there. It was almost like he was just doing time, sitting on the bed, listening to me asking the same question over and over again, "Sean are you lying", but he wasn't even paying attention.

I normally would not punish my children for accidents, and never tolerated lying. I was trying to explain to him that he wasn't going to get in trouble, I just wanted to know the truth. He wasn't budging at all and stuck to his story. I remembered that his mother and father were Catholics and feared the church, almost as much as they loved it.

That's what I came up with my evil plan. I don't know where I come up with these ideas, but every once in a while one pops up in my head and I run with it.

I told Sean that I was going to bring the Holy Bible in, and if he could swear on the Bible that he was telling the truth, I would accept that and this would be the end of our conversation. I couldn't believe my eyes, as he started crying and screaming, frantically and excitedly as a yelled out, I did it, I did it, don't bring the Bible in, I won't do it again.

I couldn't believe that was all it took to get information from him. I have always been a pretty good interrogator and found myself gathering information from those people easily, but this was amazing. His fear of the Holy Bible got me thinking about how powerful this book actually is to some people. I remember when I looked upon this book, pretty much the same as Sean did.

It's just a book, like any other book. It's not made at a holy factory or a secret monastery in the Swiss Alps somewhere, it's made from paper and ink and can be damaged and destroyed like other books. I would be surprised if I threw the Bible into the fire, that it wouldn't burn. I would be even more surprised, if I seen three men standing in the fire, wait a minute that's another story in the Bible.

Is it possible for this book to actually control the lives of people. It seemed to control Sean, I wonder if I, could have actually been driving a nail home that his parents started. Could I have added to his belief, that the Bible is a book from God the creator of everything.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion. Simple Words Create Powerful Beliefs.

Are Christians Really Interested

Religious Education

2009-09-06T03:32:00.001-07:00

I started out as a Christian and lived the first 17 years of my life as one. When I started doing a little research on Christianity, this soon led me to other religions. I started to research other religions, I soon found myself having problems with the religion of my birth, Christianity. I believe that Jesus was special and for some reason, thought that he was an only child. While reading one book, I found out he had 11 brothers and sisters. I don't know if this is true but this is what the book reported.

The stuff I had been taught in Sunday school and going to, what I would like to call adult church. Listening to the sermons and of course never reading the Bible, because my main concerns at the time were playing with my friends, sports and as I entered my teens, became extremely interested in cars. I didn't have time or a desire to verify anything that I had heard about Christianity.

I read one book and that led to others and pretty soon I was confused and chose not to be a Christian anymore, because I couldn't verify if this was a religion made by God or man. Everything I was learning pointed towards man and control and money and power. The more I learned, the more forgiveness I could have towards others who belonged to other religions throughout the world.

We all want the same thing, love, compassion and understanding. Buddhism seems to represent this the most to me and I started to study it a little more diligently. I kind of became fascinated with the Dali Lama and the country of Tibet. We tend to get caught up in stuff that sounds good and makes us feel good but often can't see the problems. This happens in our daily life with work, family and fun.

I never really fell out of favor with Buddhism but soon learned enough to save this religion wasn't exactly for me either. I like some of the principles, especially the principle of compassion which tends to drive this way of life forward.

I have studied quite a few religions and still have plenty of more to educate myself on. I understand that most people don't have the time or interest to pursue this path. That's fine, but at the same time don't make fun of these religions, if you don't know anything about them and don't tell others that your religion is right if it isn't.

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility . It's based on overindulgence.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Planning Your Bathroom Remodel Budget - Home Improvement Ideas

2009-09-06T01:58:00.001-07:00

As a bathroom remodeling contractor, I get calls from people, that have no idea what they want or how much anything is going to cost. Here's some simple tips that can be very helpful when planning a bathroom remodel budget.

Bathroom Remodeling Investment

In 2008, the average mid-range bathroom cost around $16,000 and you could recoup around $12,000 of your original investment upon the sale of your home. According to a popular remodeling magazine, larger bathrooms using expensive fixtures, tile, bathtubs, woodworking, toilets and showers had an average of $52,000. Upon the sale of a home, you could recoup around $36,000 of your original investment.

Finding out How Much Things Cost

My first suggestion, would be to visit your local home improvement center, lumber yard or plumbing supply warehouse. Larger stores like Home Depot and Lowe's, seemed to provide you with value pricing but don't have a large selection. While doing some research on the Internet I noticed that some of their pricing is outrageously, outrageous. Some plumbing supply warehouses can provide value but beware others won't.

Create a List of Bathroom Remodeling Parts

You can get a good idea of your bathroom remodel costs for your budget by making a list of bathroom parts with pricing and then adding them up for a grand total. If you're a total bathroom remodel budget is $15,000 and you have a $6,000 bathtub with $4000 worth of tile, you could have a budget problem.

Figuring out the Labor

You will have to contact a contractor to get an actual cost for the labor. Sometimes you can double the cost of your bathroom remodeling parts to get a rough idea. If you have a list or a couple of lists and a few pictures of some sample bathrooms, this will make the contractor's job easier and often they can give you a labor price within a few days.

Give Yourself a Cushion

I would suggest leaving yourself a small financial cushion for any additional remodeling items. For example, you could see a different toilet, or instead of painting the walls, you now choose to wallpaper, you could incur additional expenses that you haven't planned for. If you know exactly what you want and stick to the original bathroom remodeling plan, you shouldn't need the cushion.

Financial problems often transfer into construction problems, so spend some time figuring out, how much money you want to spend on the bathroom remodel and try not to go overboard on the budget. I hate to see homeowners struggling with home improvement loan payments. Try to create a bathroom remodeling budget that is realistic and will not create a financial burden upon you or your family.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more bathroom remodeling or home building ideas.

Effects Of False Prophets

You Are a Beautiful and Important Person!

2009-09-05T19:52:00.001-07:00

I am a mother of 5 children and we all known how difficult it is sometimes to raise them when they are teenager. They have to fight against the entire beautiful girl in their class that are looking like model, or even dress like if they were rich. Believe me, there is one thing we should always remember is to make sure that everyone knows they are worthy. I woke up in the morning and see myself in the mirror and tell: Hey good morning gorgeous, you look beautiful this morning'' yes and I believe it! Why?

So many reasons, we are looking at our exterior, what is inside is much more important than the other. Your soul, heart, thoughts, qualities, talent and much more are important. In a minute looking at myself in the mirror I can see all that different things. Of course some of us will see the hair not fix; the face not make up, the mark of the pillow... never mind that is not what is important. I saw in my life someone handicap, she was not able to use her arms or even talk she was paralyzed, but this person was so worthy to know she was so brilliant, she was beautiful inside and outside of course cause her happiness were reflected to the outside.

Today I challenge every one, look at yourself on the mirror and find at least 5 great things about yourself, you are a beautiful person, you are worth to be known those are the first part of a self esteem. Being able to love our self!

Suzanne Carpentier, mother of 5 children and grand-mother of one precious little girl. Have dedicated myself after my big depression to change my attitude and to help others find the beauty in this life. May my article could give you some piece of comfort. We are the only one who could change this world by changing and improving yourself.

Finding Homes Using the Internet - Home Shopping

2009-09-05T18:21:00.001-07:00

You can simply type the words real estate or homebuying into any search engine on the World Wide Web and you will come up with hundreds, maybe even thousands of websites that are extremely helpful and full of great information. Like the one you're on right now.

Finding homes with the internet, combined with a skilled real estate salesperson, provides you with the most effective technology available today. Most websites start out, having you select a state you would like to search in and then, select a city, with your price range.

By answering their questions, this narrows the search down to all of the homes available in the area. The internet has made home shopping very simple. Considering what you had to go through in the 1970s. You found a realtor or by looking in the yellow pages, sometimes you found a good realtor and if you are lucky, maybe you would find you a good home.

Most of the time, the first homes you would look at, were owned by the real estate professional you were working with.

There are however a couple of problems with using the internet to find your dream home. Some of the verbage used and photographs taken can create a wonderful illusion of a tropical paradise but the reality, it's a regular home in a decent neighborhood.

Some of these photos are taken by skilled photographers who take advantage of every angle and tend to give an illusion of grander. When you actually start driving around and looking at these homes, only then will you get a reality check, of what the home actually looks like. You'll get used to it.

After you've looked at a few of your future dream homes, you will get a better idea of what I'm talking about with these wonderful pictures and the extraordinary home descriptions like "Beautiful Three Bedroom House with an Ocean View." When reality it's a two-bedroom house with an extra closet for the third bedroom and the ocean is 45 miles away, but you can see it on a clear day if you actually climb to the top of the largest tree on the property.

Take your time when searching for your dream home and don't let any one push you into making a decision if you're not ready. If you find your real estate professional a little too aggressive or pushy, get out of your contract, if you've signed one and find another, more helpful real estate salesperson to help you with your home purchase.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

Find other real estate tips and great advice, from another one of the Internet's best website creators.

What Happens To Nonbelieving

Designing Inspiring Environments

2009-09-05T12:00:00.001-07:00

The influence of your personal environments on your health, creativity, and well-being is often subtle, yet profound. You can use the environments you live in to support you in feeling good about yourself, to experience less stress, and to be more productive.

Personal environments can include your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues, your work environment, networks, ideas, learning environments - and your physical environment - such as your home, the community you live in, nature, your garden, the technology you use, the information you absorb everything that you surround yourself with. It can also be the foods you keep in our house, the beautiful objects and colors around you, the books, magazines and newspapers you read, the movies you watch, and the thoughts you think.

Personal environments can also include your internal surroundings your belief systems and thought patterns. As you work on raising your awareness of your inner thoughts and eliminating negative or unproductive thoughts, you might notice increased levels of energy and focus.

Its possible to revitalize your surroundings or environments and design them so they bring out the very best in you, so that they evolve you toward a successful, inspiring, struggle-free life. As you develop your personal environments, you develop yourself and your capacity to be creative and to receive ongoing inspiration and support.

The goal is to design supportive environments that will inspire you to be your best and do great things. Success and personal development are more sustainable when there are environments and failsafe structures which support it.

ASSESS YOUR PERSONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Being fully alive calls you to play a much bigger game in life...evolving to your optimal potential or greatness. Do the environments around you bring out your best? Do you receive enough creative inspiration? Do you know what sparks your muse? Is there enough intellectual and spiritual stimulation in your life?

1. When you are feeling fully alive, what is going on for you?

2. How do you feel as you walk into your workspace? Into your home?

3. On a scale from 1-5, with 5 being the most desirable, how much would you say your environments are supporting you in living the life you most desire?

4. What is something in your environment that you are tolerating that could be removed?

5. What is something that is missing from your personal environments that, if added, would inspire you to do and be your best?

6. What methods do you use on a daily basis to raise your energy level?

7. What beliefs most profoundly affect your way of thinking?

TRY THIS
If inspiration is an energy that flows through the spaces we inhabit, it is wise for us to remove any items that might block its path, and add items that would increase its presence.

Choose one physical environment in your workspace or home to concentrate on. If you could change one thing in your surroundings starting today, what would you change? Each day, do one task in that environment to establish order, create space, remove items that block your creativity, add items that you love, perhaps add color - and design surroundings that will inspire you to be and do your best.

Creating an environment that truly supports you in being your best can be a very worthwhile long-term project. Envision what an inspiring, stimulating environment would be for you, and have the patience to build that vision a step at a time. It's worth the work!

FINAL THOUGHT
"If you have not used something in the past year, regardless of how attached to it you are, pass it along. You have used up its usefulness to you... letting go of attachments is a rewarding way to feel positive about yourself, and to keep things flowing back into your own life as well." ~ Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Copyright 2005 Jan Marie Dore. All Rights Reserved. Newsletter publishers are most welcome to reprint this article provided it is published in its entirety, without change, including contact and copyright information. Please send an email to admin@janmariedore.com advising the ezines name & URL, and the date the article appeared.

Jan Marie Dore, Professional Certified Coach, Speaker, and Writer, publishes articles like this one in her free ezine 'Living From Intention', designed to inspire, challenge, and support you in creating a life that is meaningful, authentic, and a joy to wake up to every day. You can sign up for your own subscription by sending a blank email to subscribe@janmariedore.com . For free resources and programs on living a purposeful life, visit Jan Marie's website: http://www.janmariedore.com.

Installing a 32 Inch Back Door

2009-09-05T10:43:00.001-07:00

In some older houses you will find a 30 inch back door. Have you ever tried to move a refrigerator or some large furniture through a 30 inch door? Keep in mind most bedroom doors are 30 inches wide and are in 36 inch hallways. 30 inch doors and bedrooms make it tough to move some furniture in too.

Let's start with the price difference between a 30 inch door and a 32 inch door. The cost difference is usually going to be around $20. If you are building a hundred homes this could become quite an additional expense. So we can understand why the home builder installed a 30 inch door in the back of our home.

He got the extra money in his pocket, you got a headache.

Here's the big problem. If you ever want to install a larger door you will need to replace the structural door framing. Now this is where you could run into a little bit of an expense. Changing the framing for a wider door could become quite costly. It could actually cost over $1000 in some cases.

Now if the homebuilder would have originally installed a 32 inch door in your house it might have ran him as high as an additional $45. How can this be? I will give you the first clue. There is a good chance the homebuilder will not be moving into any of these houses. If for some strange instance he did move into the house, he would learn the same lesson whenever he needed to move a large item into the house.

I'm a contactor and learned this lesson in a long time ago.

If you are building a new home you might even want to consider installing a 36 inch back door. This door will give you plenty of room when it comes to moving large items in or out of your house. The cost difference between a 36 inch door and a 32 inch door is usually around $20 also.

When building a new home most people don't give very much thought about their interior or exterior doors. Here's a simple chart I made to help with some basic door decisions.

Bathroom Doors Should Be 28 Inches Wide Minimum.
Bedroom Doors Should Be 30 Inches Wide Minimum.
Front Doors Should Be At Least 36 Inches Wide
Back Doors and Garage Doors Should Be At Least 32 Inches Wide

If you are a professional football or basketball player don't use these numbers above.

If you have large sliding glass doors or French doors throughout your home and can use them to move large items into the house you can install whatever size doors you choose that are comfortable to walk through.

Give some thought when installing a new door on your next project and keep some of the above tips in mind..

If you are designing a home give some thought to the stairways and hallways in the home as well.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Bay Window Ideas

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

Flowing Through the Universe

2009-09-05T04:28:00.001-07:00

We live in an electromagnetic sea of light which is flowing through the universe. This sea of light is a part of our human consciousness.

The many millions of Lightworkers in the world have now brought enough conscious awareness into the level of the light on earth to start and connect the whole underlying field of light to become integrated and conscious in its own right, like a huge supercomputer.

Everything in the universe has this sea of light at its core. Physical matter is a hologram of light which has condensed; a thought-form where light has slowed down and changed from a wave into the fine particles which cluster together to form the finest building blocks, the atoms, that make up matter and everything in the Universe.

When we are relaxed, happy and going with our soul's purpose, we flow in this sea of light; guided and supported by the universe, we feel pleasure when we go with the flow.

Everything around us now has this same conscious awareness which formerly was experienced only through the human system. Our body's energy field, the human aura, reaches out and connects to the underlying lay lines and magnetosphere belonging to the planet.

Connect the earth to the sun and the other planets in a web of light. Gamma ray bursts flow right through the Universe, creating a superhighway of integrated conscious connections.

We are now becoming increasingly aware of these more subtle levels of energy which have become Self-aware and conscious, creating a matrix of intelligent communication throughout the whole universe.

Astrology has proved over many centuries that the heavenly bodies have an influence on our lives, emotions and feelings.

When we are driving our car, we feel guided and if we listen to our subtlest emotions, feeling and inner voice, we can transmit and receive messages to and from the underlying field of the intelligent light matrix, which keeps us safe and free from danger.

All the various control systems seem to link into our emotions and feeling; if we are feeling in tune and supported, we get green lights all the way when we drive. Parking spaces are free in the perfect place for us.

As we drive we seem to pick up messages from the things around us. We may notice synchronicities occurring, like the numbers on the dashboard clock being similar to those on the mile counter or temperature gauge or the number plate of the car in front.

We may start to notice messages in billboard signs which seem to be meant just for us.

It is as though what is outside of us is also inside, like we have a built-in satellite navigation system. It is unusual to go far astray when you are connected to your internal navigation system; it is as though you can drive on your emotions and feeling and be guided to the right place.

When you use your subtle energies while driving, it goes without saying that for safety's sake, you need to stay consciously aware of the five senses and your connection to physical reality. All I am suggesting here is to allow the awareness to expand a little by gaining depth as well within the subtle energies.

New book - "A Journey into the Self - The Multi-dimensional Nature of Being Human" by George E. Lockett, visit the Website for details: http://www.healergeorge.com

If you would like HealerGeorge to send healing to you or someone else, please click the link:

Request Distant Healing

What is Distant Healing?

Distant Healing is similar to prayer and its advantage is that it allows patients to receive Healing energies just as effectively as if they were in the presence of the Healer. Patients receive Healing equally well even when they are too ill to know that it is being sent. Distant Healing is equally effective whatever the patient's beliefs, although a desire to get better intensifies the effect of Healing. Any aspect of the body, mind or spirit can be reached by Healing.

Hiring a Contractor For Bathroom Remodeling - Remodeling Contractors

2009-09-05T03:07:00.001-07:00

Well here's the age old question, how do we go about finding a decent bathroom remodeling contractor.

Here's some things you will be looking for in a contractor.

1. Is Your Contractor Fair and Honest?

2. Does Your Contractor Have Experience Remodeling and Designing Bathrooms?

3. Can You Actually Find a Contractor Who Will Complete the Job in a Timely Manner?

4. Do You Think the Workers Will Be Able to Clean the Job up Daily?

5. Will the Contractor Show up on Time?

6. Is the Contractor Going to Work At Least Eight Hours a Day?

7. Does the Contractor's Crew Have Experience?

8. Is Your Contractor and His Crew Courteous?

Wrong With Bible Verse

Reality Creation Secrets

2009-09-04T21:04:00.001-07:00

Reality bites, now that's a phrase that you must be familiar with. How often have things started to go wrong for no reason whatsoever? From your boss promoting your lazy sub-ordinate to committing traffic violations at no fault of your own, there are those 'days' when nothing happens the way that it is supposed to. Sure, if you believe in fate, you can console yourself by saying that it probably is happening due to karma or something akin to that. But let's face it; sometime things happen even when you know that you are in the good. Take for example, the current president of United Sates, George Bush - he managed to beat his opponent against all odds, good for him but not so for his opponent. There is a reason why the reality can be quite different from what you expect it to be, it can be changed for the better depending on the energy level that you resonate in. Wait a minute, did I say energy and use it in the same sentence as the word 'resonate'? Yes! I did so and I am sure that statement sounds like garbage to some of you. But here is the catch, whether you believe in energy levels or not, the fact is that each and every one of us are attuned to it in our own respective manner. Did you realize that you are actually made from stardust; that you are made from the same matter as the stars in the sky? So is it that hard a stretch to believe that you can resonate energy just as the universe does? Just take a look at some of the e-books on reality currently online and you will see that it is possible to make things happen just the way you want them to. Books on the Reality Creation Secrets as well as a few alternative kind of books will by provide you with all the info that you need to know in order to tap into the massive energy flux inside you.

Sure, manifestation has been a subject of ridicule as well as a crutch for the many cuckoos walking out there amongst you. But the manifestation covered here in these books is not about creating things out of mid-air and is more to do with making things happen by resonating positive energy levels. Such books do enable you to modify the energy levels that you resonate in so that you would be able to achieve your goals. It naturally follows, that with positive energy flowing out of you, you should be able to focus better and as a result, be in a much better position to achieve your goals.

Books on the Reality Creation Secrets as well as any other alternative ideas may not be everyone's cup of tea but then again, manifestation of this kind is a new subject altogether so there are bound to be a few disbelievers out there. Either way, you should know that these products are not related to any magic gimmick and at the very least, it should enable you to tackle issues, which you would have avoided earlier on. In a sense, these books are alleged to do wonders to your self-confidence.

These products do make it possible for you to see reality in a different way altogether. From providing you with information on how to achieve Total Self Actualization to making it possible for your dreams to come true, these books are more of a half and half - as it deals with both spirituality and manifestation of material things. Either way, if you are on the lookout for a different take on reality or currently seeking innovative methods to achieve your goals, you may want to take a closer look at such products.

Reuben Wallis has reviewed the Reality Creation Secrets. As usual, his review is to the point and can be read here at the Reality Creation Secrets reviews.

Structural Framing Beams

2009-09-04T19:34:00.001-07:00

Let's start with the beams. They can be Glulam, Parallam, Microlam or even wood beams. What are all of these and why do I need them in my house. The beams are used to hold up parts of the house and are located in your walls, roofs and floors. Beams are used to transfer a load from one point to another.

Structural framing beams allow the architect to create large openings, floors and roofs in your house. The beams are also used to support the weight over the doors, windows and other openings in your home. These beams support massive amounts of weight in some cases and are even made of steel if needed.

Another growing problem is the lack of old growth trees in the forest. If we just used wood beams with out using the new engineered beams we would have to cut down a lot more of the bigger trees. So you can add these guys to your Christmas list. The lumber or wood engineers have come up with all sorts of alternatives for new building products. These new beams are just some of them. Keep up the good work guys...

Glulam is a engineered wood product comprised of wood laminations, or 2 x 4s that are bonded together with strong, waterproof adhesives. If you use a Glulam beam on the buildings exterior you will have to order a exterior Glulam beam. In this case the manufacture will use special exterior rated glues for the beam.

When ordering any wood engineered beams specify to the lumber yard what you are using the beam for. Exterior or Interior of the building. If you use a interior glulam over time there is a good chance of the beam delaminating or cracking apart.

Parallam is made from almost all of the wood on the log using veneer strands that are aligned parallel for maximum strength. The end product is a rectangular beam; which is longer, thicker, and stronger than solid-sawn lumber. They are often used as beams, headers, columns, and posts, among others uses.

Microllam is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood assembled with adhesives. It offers several advantages over typical milled lumber: it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform. It is much less likely than conventional lumber to warp, twist, bow, or shrink due to its composite nature. Made in a factory under controlled specifications, Microllam products allow users to reduce the onsite labor. They are typically used for headers, beams, rim board, and edge-forming material.

These beams come in all sorts of different lengths, widths and heights. They are engineered to hold amazing amounts of weight. They really are great engineering marvels.

Tip: I have had to replace almost all of these types of beams over the years due to some form of damage. Like anything else in your home if it is used improperly there is a good chance your are going to have some sort of failure. I have seen people add weight to these structural beams with no thought of them ever failing.

If you are planning on building a room addition, rebuilding your roof, adding a floor or any other type of construction where you are adding a addition load to your house. You might want to consult with a building contractor or structural engineer.

Thanks Greg For Another Super Article On Home Building. For more great articles visit Greg at http://gregvan.com/

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry. Causes of Structural Failure

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

Religious Fanaticism and How Jim Jones Impacted on My Life

2009-09-04T13:33:00.001-07:00

"To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass suicide, it is one of the largest such mass suicides in history, and the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001. One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who became the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States."

This is a quote from Wikipedia, you can find out a little bit more about Jim Jones by searching Wikipedia or the Internet.

It was November 18, 1978, I was in the 11th grade, living and Anaheim, California when I heard the news about a man and a group of followers that I would think about often throughout the rest of my life. I didn't know Jim Jones or any of the followers but their impact will leave a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life.

As a teenager, during a critical part of my life. I was always trying to understand things that the government, religious and world leaders were doing. Often very confused. I was confused about the life of Christ and couldn't quite get a grip on evolution and creation. I could always count on getting one thing from every person I had ever met, and that was an opinion, with very little factual information to back it up.

It was hard for me to imagine, that anyone would follow another mortal being the distances that Peoples Temple's followers had followed Jim Jones. I guess I could understand this in a supreme being or supreme race extraterrestrial beings, with magical powers and supreme knowledge of the universe. But a regular person, I don't think so.

I rarely watched the news on television and gathered most of my information from teachers and other students who I went to school with. There was an English teacher whom I was fond of and she let the class express how they felt, about what had happened and only then did I realize, this had actually happened. It was real.

I couldn't believe that people were this stupid. How could anyone commit suicide like this? I could understand something like this happening 500 or maybe a thousand years ago but in 1978, it's not possible. I started to get a better understanding as I learned more about Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple based in San Francisco, California. I could understand, that religion offers people hope and we all need a little bit, if not a lot of hope. Hope helps us get through our humdrum and boring everyday lives.

These people were hoping for a better life and when there was no more hope in sight and these people would be going back to live in America, with nothing (most of the people had given everything they owned to The Peoples Temple) I could understand this a little bit better but not clearly enough. When people have no hope or they feel like they're at the bottom of the valley, looking up at an impossible hill to climb, I could see where suicide becomes a viable option.

Looking at 9/11, most of the people that died, had hope. What happened in Jonestown Guyana was a lot different, most of these people did not have hope but all had a reason to live, but chose death. Was this actually their choice or were they so caught up in someone else's dream that they couldn't see reality anymore. There are still fanatical leaders today, causing pain and grief all over the world. Jim Jones was not the first and he won't be the last, make sure you're not one of the victims if this ever happens again.

Over 900 people died that day and I hope we never have to see something like this ever again.

Sir Winston Churchill - "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

Here's a question I would like you to think about, winning or losing with Christianity. Fanatical groups like Jim Jones are not a thing of the past, make sure that, what ever religious organization you are following is not leading you down the wrong path. Use common sense and if that doesn't sound right, it probably isn't

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

2009-09-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Question: I have a floor that every single time I step on it I get the most annoying sound. I don't know what it does to me or why it bothers me so much. My kitchen floor squeaks and actually moves up and down if you are standing on it. The whole floor moves. How do I stop it from moving and squeaking. Help Me Greg!

Answer: It sounds like you have a broken floor joist. You are going to have to go under your house. If you have a basement this will be a little easier to fix. It is my guess that you don't have a basement or you would have seen the broken floor joist by now.

Have someone stand on the floor in the spot that squeaks and have them move up and down while you are under the house. Don't have them jump up and down while you are under the house. This could cause more damage to the structural framing of the floor. Once you are in the right position under the floor you can have them start moving slowly. What you are looking for is one of the floor joist that are moving.

If you see one of them moving. Look to see where the damage is. Is it a split, crack, wood rot or a big knot in the wood that has loosened up and fell out. Once you find the damaged floor joist you can now think about repairing it.

If you don't see any floor joist moving. Have the person on top start moving a little bit more and you can even have them jump on it a few times until you see something out of place. If you still don't see any broken floor joist. Start looking at the sub-floor, this will be plywood of some form, 1 x 6 or 2 x 6 materials.

What you are looking for is movement of any kind. Is there a separation or movement between the sub-floor and the floor joist. If you still can't find the problem maybe it is time to call in a professional.

The main thing you are going to be looking for is movement of any kind.

Most squeaky floors are caused from the sub-floor rubbing up and down on a nail. If you have carpeting and you have a squeaky floor you can do your best to locate a floor joist and screw right through your carpeting into the floor joist.

For more help on fixing squeaky floors visit http://gregvan.com/wood_repair.htm

Thanks for the great question. I hope it helps.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

Freedom to Finally Enjoy Life

2009-09-04T06:02:00.001-07:00

What do you most want in life? There is a way to get it. Imagine having the time and money to do what you enjoy most. Whether it is spending more quality time with your family, enjoying long weekends with your spouse, spending more quiet time at home or having fun with your favorite hobbies.

Yes, all these ideas are what we all have in mind when asked what would we do if we had the time and money.

In order to make this happen we must have a definite plan of action. First, make time in your daily schedule to set aside 1 hour where there will be no interruptions, no phone calls and no one around to disturb you. Sit in a quiet place, somewhere in your home or apartment.

Now start thinking of what is most important in your life. Put things in prospective. Family, grandchildren, freedom of time, financial security, health, etc. Once you have them on paper, start with the first one and think of ways you can improve your time or work habits to better your relation with the person or project. Then go to the #2 on your list and do the same.

There are always ways to improve our daily performance related to work habits, family time, play time or any other activity which we do on a daily basis. Have you ever said at the end of the day, " What a wasted day, I didn't get nothing done. " Always have a plan for every day, make it the best day of your life. Remember, Life is a gift, don't waste it!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this article, Please check out the following link to view online Video Tutorials on how to make the money to be able to enjoy life to the fullest.

http://FreedomMoneyMakers.com

Home Selling Tips - Best Real Estate Advice Ever

2009-09-04T04:23:00.001-07:00

One of the most important things to remember when selling your home is to keep it as clean as possible. If you need help or don't have the time to organize your stuff, you can hire a home staging professional in your area. Ask your real estate professional for more information.

1. Remove any clutter from the home and place it in storage. Do not store this stuff on the property if you don't have enough room. Storing clutter in closets or in your garage, will often make these areas look smaller. By removing clutter or even large pieces of furniture, the rooms will look larger.

2. Disconnect yourself emotionally from your home. This is a big problem for people who have lived in their house for long periods of time. If you've raised a family here, the children could have emotional ties also to the home. Some home sellers are looking for someone special to buy their home, if you've got the time and money to wait, you can be selective but be careful, because the longer you wait, the market could go up or down.

3. When your real estate professional is showing the house, it's always a good idea to leave the home until the potential homebuyers are gone. One example of this would be if you were in a bad mood or didn't have a good day and were a little upset at the world. Your mood could cause potential homebuyers to lose interest in the property. I've seen this more than once.

4. Make sure everything is operating properly. This would include doors, door knobs, windows, kitchen appliances, garage door openers, cabinet drawers, bathroom fixtures, toilets, faucets, lights, switches, electrical outlets and anything else that moves, slides, turns or rotates that is part of the home.

5. The Interior and exterior walls of the home should be in good shape. Make sure there's no termite damage, wood rot, peeling paint, broken windows or holes in the walls.

6. Make sure the flooring is in good shape. Some real estate professionals will suggest, replacing the carpeting with a neutral color. This method often works pretty good but I have seen plenty of homes that were re-carpeted and after the home was purchased the carpeting was replaced again, by the new owners. Just make sure the flooring is in good shape.

7. Here's a trick that definitely works a little magic when selling a home. Leave some cookies or a nice fruit bowl on the dining room table. There is no need to leave a sign that says "Eat Me". It gives the home a warm feeling, almost like a country atmosphere.

8. Even better than home selling tip number seven would be baking some cookies just before the perspective buyers arrive, it's not the cookies, it's the smell from the cookies that most people cannot resist.

These are just a few home selling tips but the most important is to keep the inside and outside of the home clean.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

Don't buyers sell a home without checking how the problems with poor home repairs.

What Happens To Nonbelieving

Spirituality Information - Murder Your Motivation

2009-09-03T22:21:00.001-07:00

For ten years i made the same mistake again and again.... I cannot recall a single morning when i got up full of energy and raring to go. There was nothing which motivated me. I used to work for the best companies across the world but they mattered very little deep down within me. I wanted to do something else, something so big and so unique that has never been done before. The biggest mistake i made was I thought that i can achieve all my dreams only if do it full time and quit my job.... I did not have the guts to quit my job and so i just thought and thought about my dream and did nothing else about it ... One fine day however ....

It was Jan 12th 2004. I was doing very well as an employee. Great salaries,top position and it was all looking very good for me from the outside. But my deepest intention of being a full time motivational writer remained only a thought and nothing more.... I can still recall that day . I was so frustrated that i locked myself in a room and screamed to my dreams within" Never again bother me . Get out of my life and let be be the ordinary man i always was.Get lost right now !" I stabbed my dreams a dozen times and murdered it so that it never troubled me again....

By evening of that day i was feeling very light as if a huge responsibility had been taken away from my shoulders. I killed my dreams and now i was free.. I had no pressure. It seemed to me that I was carrying a mountain of dreams for the last seven years without fulfilling any of them. I felt as if it was the best thing to happen to me.. Now watch what happened during the next two weeks...

Jan 13th 2004.... I get up at 4.30 am . I am so happy . I dont know why.... I listen to my favourite music and then I sit for meditation. I head to my workplace after having breakfast..

Jan 14th 2004.... I get up again at 5.00 am and am feeling very calm within. I dont know why....

This continued for two weeks and then on ....

Jan 28th 2004.... Something very strange happened in my morning meditation. It was as if someone entered into me from outside and was not willing to go out..... The experience was very strange....That someone i later realised was my Inspiration, my real goal, my dream, my life and my purpose in this world.That was my real intention and God was kind enough to reveal it to me. From that day on a voice within spoke continuously to me that my real purpose in life is to build centres where Life changing thoughts are preached and that help will come as i gain strength and momentum in my internal world... This experience did not leave from then on... It caught me by the neck and reminded me of my real intention every day.... Slowly but surely i made progress in my internal world. I did not experience any frustration.... Now i had a great dream, and the plans for achieving those dreams were revealed daily to me from a source far greater than me which was genuine. These plans did not come all at a stretch but they came in bits and pieces as was necessary . I was warned from that day on that i will listen to two voices and i should be capable of recognising the force of God...

Within one year i quit my job. I did not try hard to quit my job . My job disappeared all by itself.. I am still far of from reaching my goals but i have a dream and it just does go out not even if i scream or stab it a dozen times. This dream is genuine and rock solid .....

The two most important definitions you have to learn in life are Motivation and Inspiration. Motivation is when you go after a goal,or a dream and set plans to achieve it.... This could be many times frustrating and on most occassions even after you achieve your so called dreams you are not happy. But inspiration is something totally different... In the case of Inspiration the dream gets hold of you instead of you going after the dreams. It works its way inside of you and just does not leave you. You are forced to take action.... Inspiration is genuine and is the force of God ... Motivation is good but is man made...

Don't go after things in circle. Murder your motivation today to allow Inspiration to take over. It could be the best thing that could happen to you.... Motivation is cheap, inspiration is genuine. When you are motivated you have to run after things, when you are inspired things work in your favour. Both good and bad events take you to your dreams... It might take a while for you to experience all this but this knowledge should be nailed at the back of your mind....

There are three basic steps you could take starting today as you proceed to murder your motivation.

Lecturer, entrepreneur and Fortune 500 business consultant, Vish Writer is the author of the Amazon No 1 bestseller, "The Joy of Becoming God" For more information, visit: http://www.spiritual-simplicity.com http://www.vish-writer.com

Attic Odors and Strange Smells

2009-09-03T20:56:00.001-07:00

If you've ever opened up your attic access hole, only to find one of the worst odors you have ever smelled in your whole life, I've been there too. What causes these horrible smells and what can you do about them?

Let's start with the cause of these smells, moisture, dirt, mold, mildew, dead animals, animals that make their home in your attic and the biggest problem of all is normally poor ventilation.

Poor ventilation is the biggest problem with musty smells in the attic. These smells are often caused from moisture accumulating in the building materials over time. If there is enough moisture in the attic, the wood will start to rot but this wouldn't be a normal situation, unless there was a roof or water leak.

Roof leaks can cause a constant supply of water to one part of the attic. This constant supply of water will eventually rot the wood and damage the ceiling. Water leaks from pipes can provide a steady supply of water and the situation can attracts termites and mold. Not a good thing.

One of the worst possible smells or odors in your attic would be a dead animal. Don't under estimate the size of some of these animals, they have found dead raccoons, cats, snakes, large birds, squirrels, rats and mice in some attics. These animals usually enter through damaged access holes or vent blocks, roof vents, large gaps, holes and even fireplace chimneys.

Once these animals die, their bodies start to decompose and produce one horrible odor. Once the body is completely decomposed, the smell usually goes away if the attic is ventilated properly. These smells can seep into the homes living area, often creating a room that no one wants to enter.

Home peststhat make their home in your attics, often create smells from urinating and defecating in the areas around their nest. Large birds like owls can become a problem over time.

Now that we've figured out some of the causes for attic odors and strange smells, what can we do to prevent this from happening and if it's already happened, how can we get rid of the smell.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your having problems in your attic, find out more at pest control books and home building ideas.

Religion Articles

Primal Leadership - A Book Summary

2009-09-03T14:38:00.001-07:00

Primal leadership takes center stage in this book. This concept goes beyond the set of conventional competencies on the making of a leader. Beyond bottom line figures, this book takes a leap forward with the concept of primal leadership through a keen and in-depth understanding of emotional intelligence and its link to leading and building emotionally intelligent organizations.

The authors explore the idea of leadership as an emotional
function. They propose that the fundamental task of a leader is to create resonance at work, thereby unleashing positive traits and attributes in people. Emotionally intelligent leaders bring organizational success to the fore because they inspire, motivate and foster commitment in people.

Harness the power of primal leadership in this book and bring out the emotionally intelligent leader in you.

Primal Dimension of Leadership

The use of emotion in leadership functions is a primal task that sets leaders apart. Great leaders move people by channeling emotions in the right direction, whether it is in formulating corporate strategy in the boardroom or a series of action items in the shop floor.

Resonance Effect

The positive channeling of emotions that empowers people to be top performers is called resonance. The culture of resonance brings out the best in people. On the other hand, when leaders negatively drive emotions dissonance is created. Dissonance is not conducive to harmonious working relationships as it can undermine peoples potentials.

Key to Primal Leadership

Emotional intelligence is the foundation of making primal
leadership work. An emotionally intelligent leader knows how to handle himself and his relationship with the people he works with in order to drive up performance.

Good Moods, Good Work

A good mood is essential for a team to function effectively. It is crucial for a leader to foster positive working relationships because emotional conflicts in a group can hamper a teams performance.

A study of CEOs from Fortune 500 companies revealed that
positive overall mood of top management people leads to better cooperation and better business performance. This argument takes the view that it is top management that creates the conditions for workers to work well.

Resonant Leader

For emotionally intelligent leaders, resonance comes naturally in their dealings with people. Their actions reinforce synchrony within their team and within the organization. The strength of an emotionally resonant leader lies in the emotional bond he forms which allows people to collaborate with each other even in the face of change and uncertainty.

Four Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence

The creation of resonance is a hallmark of primal leadership that can only be fostered by emotionally intelligent leaders. For a leader to promote prime resonance in a group, it is important to understand the four EI competencies. Interestingly, these competencies are not innately inherent but are learned abilities. According to research, an effective leader typically demonstrates at least one competence among
the four dimensions.

1. Self-Awareness

2. Self-Management

3. Social Awareness

4. Relationship Management

Approaches to Leadership in a Nutshell

1. Visionary

2. Coaching

3. Affiliative

4. Democratic

5. Pacesetting

6. Commanding

The Five Discoveries of Self-Directed Learning

1. First Discovery: My ideal self Who do I want to be?

2. Second Discovery: My real self Who am I? What are my strengths and gaps?

3. Third Discovery: My learning agenda How can I build on my strengths while reducing my gaps?

4. Fourth Discovery: Experimenting with and practicing new behaviors, thoughts, and feelings to the point of mastery.

5. Fifth Discovery: Developing supportive and trusting
relationships that make change possible.

Final Notes

Primal leadership is anchored on emotions. These emotions have underlying neurological explanations to them such as the open loop system. Thus, a leader must work hard to obtain emotional intelligence competencies that will make him a resonant leader
because resonance is the key to primal leadership.

A resonant leader builds a culture of resonance by emonstrating emotionally intelligent abilities that permeate throughout the organization. A resonant leader aims to live a resonant life for him and his people in order to make resonant work. It is this kind of work that builds an emotionally intelligent
organization a kind of organization that can survive the changing business climate because it has built-in processes that can sustain change.

By: Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla

Regine Azurin is the President of BusinessSummaries.com, a company that provides business book summaries of the latest bestsellers for busy executives and entrepreneurs.

http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs

Mailto: mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com

BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.

Putting God on Trial

2009-09-03T13:26:00.001-07:00

I was listening to something interesting the other day when someone mentioned putting God on trial for some of the atrocities in the world. If God is the creator of the universe and all that is, or all that ever will be, how can we put him on trial, he's our creator. We can't put our spiritual master on trial can we, he'll just escape anyway if we convict him, won't he. He's got to be smart enough to break out a prison.

As a child I often thought about God and why he would allow such suffering throughout the world. It never made sense to me when I was child and it still doesn't make sense to me today. Why would the creator, want us to suffer, with even the littlest of problems. Other religions have explained it as if God was teaching us a lesson and that's why we have hardships in our lives.

Do you think God ever went through these hardships? Did God have problems finding a job or gathering some food? Does God even eat? Okay now I'm getting off the topic here,(I wonder what God does eat)... if children do something wrong, most of the time their parents will discipline or correct them. If adults to things wrong, the government will discipline and reprimand them. Sometimes these punishments can be severe. It depends on the crimes committed.

If man has to be put on trial for committing crimes like murder, genocide, and general atrocities towards mankind, should God also be put on trial or is he above man because he's God. I can't imagine the creator of the universe ever being put on trial for man's crimes against humanity or other men, but it seems like someone who is all powerful and all knowing could help his children out of this little mess that we're in today.

Couldn't God help us like we help our children. We as parents might not have all the answers, but we do not claim to have them. We are not all powerful and all knowing, like we would assume God to be. When is God going to help us solve some of our major world problems, like genocide and starvation.

Putting God on trial might not solve all of our problems today but it would be nice to have some help with our problems. If he created us to please him, do we have to go on trial one day, for all the things we did or ignored while we were alive. Something to think about isn't it.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing and personal development. Check This Out What Happened to the Wise Men's Gifts

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Does God Make Mistakes

Why Smart Goals Don't Work

2009-09-03T07:07:00.001-07:00

Each year, I receive at least half a dozen identical articles touting the benefits of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. SMART goals are increasingly seen as the secret to personal and business success. Unfortunately, it's a pretty safe bet that most of these goals will go the way of the proverbial New Year's resolution. Why? Because none of these articles actually tell you how to make SMART goals work. In fact, most people who try the SMART approach for any but small and relatively easy goals frequently find themselves frustrated and disillusioned.

Well-constructed goals are extremely powerful tools for getting things done, increasing concentration and motivation. Successfully completing a well-constructed goal builds self-confidence. Unfortunately, creating a well-constructed SMART goal is not quite so simple as the average article makes it out to be.

To begin with, a specific goal is only useful if it's something you can control. Although this may seem obvious, the fact is that far too many people set goals that appear to be under their control, but really are not. For example, consider the athlete who sets the goal of winning an upcoming tournament: it's specific, it's measurable, it has a time of completion associated with it. Is it achievable and realistic? Depending on the athlete's level of skill, very possibly. However, the athlete has no control over the difficulty of the competition. He may simply be outplayed by a more skilled opponent.

Furthermore, although the goal is measurable, in that the athlete will know whether or not he accomplishes it, the measurement is not particularly useful. At no time will he know how close he is to accomplishing the goal, where he needs to focus his energies, or what else needs to be accomplished. The athlete is far better served by setting the goal of exercising certain key skills in the competition, skills that have a high probability of leading to a victory. Not only will he gain the self-confidence boost of accomplishing his goal, he may just win the tournament.

Another problem is that a goal is simply too big. If a goal takes years to accomplish, it can be extremely difficult to maintain motivation. Big, ambitious goals are wonderful, but they need to be carefully structured. It is vital to break them down into subgoals that can be accomplished in a much shorter period of time. The perception of progress is critical to maintaining motivation, whether for an individual or a team.

Having too many goals is another common problem. Well constructed goals are great, but if you have too many of them at once, they become a distraction. Many people can focus on three to five unrelated goals without a problem, but not ten or twenty. Keeping in mind that each goal might generate numerous subgoals along the way, it's easy to see how having more than a few key goals can easily balloon out of control.

Is the goal something you really care about? Many people have goals that they don't really care about. Perhaps they've been told it's something they ought to do or they believe they should do, but they don't really care about the outcome. If you don't care whether or not you accomplish a goal, it's hard to find the motivation to do it.

Used properly, SMART goals can be a very powerful and effective tool. Well-constructed goals can increase motivation, improve focus, and build self-confidence. Used improperly, they can decrease motivation, and destroy self-confidence. If you're using SMART goals, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Do I control the outcome?

Can I measure progress in a meaningful way?

Is my goal too big? Can I break it up?

Do I have too many goals? Is there enough time in the day/week/month to work on each one?

Do I really care about my goal? Is this something I genuinely want to accomplish?

Good luck!

Stephen Balzac is the president of 7 Steps Ahead (http://www.7stepsahead.com), a consulting firm based in Stow, MA. He can be contacted at 978-298-5189 or steve@7stepsahead.com

Luck is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity

2009-09-03T05:58:00.001-07:00

You must be ready when an opportunity comes before you, opportunity often comes in the form of work and that's why most people seem to miss it. Most people are too busy looking for the easy path through life. They seem to lay around waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime,... to simply fall at your feet.

Why would you want to spend so much time complaining about something, or someone? Other people can help you along the way, if you let them, but it's up to you, ultimately, to become the most you can possibly be. I have had plenty of opportunities in my life and have took advantage of some, while letting most of them pass by.

I'm no different than most people but now seem to be aware of my surrounding opportunities, all the time.

How many times do you wish for an opportunity to come along? It's probably one that you missed already, at some point during your life. Are you going to be prepared for the next opportunity when it comes along? These opportunities seem to repeat themselves throughout our lives and if we're not in the right state of mind, we often overlook them and let them pass by, time and time again.

You need to prepare yourself in advance for the next opportunity. If you are prepared and have your eyes open, you will be able to see the next opportunity that comes your way. Preparation will increase your chances for success and good fortune always.

Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Be on the lookout, when you're walking to the grocery store, taking a break at work, reading the newspaper, talking to your neighbor, walking down the street or even while you are sitting alone, letting your mind wander away. Your chances for success could come while your in your quiet places, or relaxing. Be prepared.

Effects Of False Prophets

Energy and Life Work Effectiveness - What Are the Factors That Matter?

2009-09-02T23:36:00.001-07:00

In a recent survey with working woman from all over the world I wanted tofind outhowtheyare able tomaintaina healthy levelofemotional, physical and spiritual energywhile living and working in an environmentof constant exposure toever increasing demandsfor speedand an ever increasing flow and exchange ofinformation?

The results are varied,interesting and speak for themselves.

Question 1: At what age did you experience the highest level of effectiveness both in life and work?

35 to 40

Question 2: At what age did you for the first time become aware of a lack of energy?

20 to 30

Question 3: Describe how do you recharge your energies?

Highestscore:sleep

2ndExercises in form of walking, swimming

3rdRelaxation, music, retreat

4thReading inspirational books, positive thinking

5thFamily and friends

Question 4: Think of the last time you felt your energy being drained. In which areas did it happen? What was the trigger?

Work87%

Family69%

Colleagues/friends 52%

Other20%

Question 5: In which area do you possess a higher energy capacity?

Mental 73%

Physical 26.1%

Question 6: At what age did you start to practice self-care on a regular basis?

Between the age of 30 to 35

Question 7: How much time do you currently spend onwhat type of self-care/exercises, etc. on a regular basis?

Average time for self-care per day: 1-2 hours

Highest score:Walking

2ndSwimming, biking, yoga, meditation

3rdNutrition

4thPositive affirmations, reading, planning, alone time

Question 8: Imagine that at the age of 45 you have already sufficient savings for a comfortable retirement. Would you prefer to -

A) continue working full time in the same job until the retirement age of (for example) 65, or

B) work at a reduced rate in your current career and spend more quality time with your loved ones now, or

C) re-fire and change careers and do what you had always been dreaming of doing on a full-time basis, or

D) re-fire and change career and work on a part-time basis

The answers were:

A) Work full-time until retirement age 0%

B) Work at reduced rate in current job 17.4%

C) Re-fire full-time in dream career21.7%

D) Re-fire part-time in dream career 60.9%

Question 9: In which are(s) of your lifewould you love to achieve a higher degree of joy and satisfaction right now?

Highest score:Relationships

2nd Self

3rdCareer

4th Leisure

5thFamily

90% of the participants selectedthree and more areas where they wish to benefit from a higher degree of joy and satisfaction!

It is also clear that there is no magic formula that works for all. You need to define and create - for yourself and nobody else - your personalformulafora well-balanced life. You are the master of your life, and it's all up to you.

Let'slook atthe three basicfactors that influenceour emotional, physical and spiritual well-being:

The Emotional factor - only the wholesome approach works

Emotional harmony is an essential element in health. Mind and body are connected, and what affects one part will eventually affect the other. Your health practices (exercises, adequate sleep, the nutrition you take), positive and negative emotions - all these influence your energy levels and your life work effectiveness.

The physical factor - make your well-being prioritynumber ONEin your life

Well-being and good health are totally personal to everyone. You will want to create a personalized self-care program that serves your needs and fits into your lifestyle. Once you have successfully integrated self-care in your daily routine, you will soon experience lower stress, higher energy and increased effectiveness in all areas of your life.

The spiritual factor - keep living in balance, purpose and joy

What resonates with your heart and inspires your soul? Focus on what works for you. You are a unique and special person and you deserve to live your best life! What leisure activity do you enjoy? Remember, in the game of life, emotional and physical health is wealth, and lifeis about thriving and not just surviving.

Thank you for reading this article. If you have any questions you are welcome to contact me.

About the Author, Ursula Goh, Life and Career Change Coach:

Providing professional coaching with a holistic approach that centers around you as a unique individual and as a whole person with your life in context, I will help you rediscover that central connection with who you really are.

I have helped my clients learn to expand their vision, take the action that resonates with their heart and create meaningful changes in life and career, so they could spend more time doing the things they are passionate about, and live and work with greater purpose, joy, and fulfillment.

Based in Switzerland, I offer one-on-one coaching to clients across the globe. Languages - English and German. For further details and to get started with a complementary introductory coaching session please visit http://www.newhorizoncoaching.net or contact me at Ursula@newhorizoncoaching.net

Stair Lighting Problems

2009-09-02T22:41:00.001-07:00

Walking up and down the stairs in the dark could become a safety issue. If the stairs in the house are not that old, there should be a light switch at the top and a light switch at the bottom of the stairway. This is a three way switch and is designed to allow you to turn the stair lighting on as you walk up the stairs and then turn the stair lighting off, once you've safely reached the top of the stairway. And vice versa as she walked down the stairs.

If you don't have a light switch, there are motion sensor lights that are battery operated and can be installed easily in the stairway. These lights can provide you with peace of mind, while protecting your family from accidents.

Stairway accidents are nothing to joke about, I lived in a two-story house with four other people and was the last one to fall down the stairway. None of us got seriously injured and the stairway was built to meet local building codes and was inspected by a building and safety inspector. The stairs were built correctly and the stair lighting was no problem, but people still fell down the stairway and it always happens in the evening.

During the day time there were two windows that let plenty of light into the stairway and in the evening the stairway became quite dark, rarely was the stair lightning ever turned on. This could have been outright laziness but nevertheless, it was rarely used and eventually became a safety issue.

Lighting your stairway might not end all of your problems but it can and some of your problems. There are plenty of stair lighting systems available on the market today and some of the battery operated stair lighting systems can be installed by most homeowners.

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Does God Make Mistakes

Is Only 24 Hours in a Day - Time Management Tips

2009-09-02T16:16:00.001-07:00

We only have 24 hours in each day, if we're working 12 hours each day, six days a week, planning the time required to create a habit will be a little more difficult, than someone who works four hours a day three days each week.

If you're one of those overachievers and can't seem to rest or sit down for even five minutes a day. This tells me, we need to change this habit first. Most people that tell you, they just don't have any time during the day, for anything. These people usually have a lot more time than others.

Their time is normally unstructured and they often find themselves running around like a chicken with its head cut off. They are not organized or very efficient at most things that they do. Keep in mind that there are some extremely successful people that only work four hours each day and some of these people take vacations every other month.

Structuring your time will allow you the extra time you need during the day.

If you have a daytime organizer, use this to figure out, if there is any wasted time during the day. Pay strict attention to any wasted time and make a list you can evaluate at the end of the day. Do this for one week and at the end of the week evaluate your weekly activities.

If you don't have a daytime organizer, carrying around a scrap piece of paper to keep track of your daily activities. If you don't have a daytime organizer or if this is too much work for you, simply pay attention to any time you might feel, has been wasted during the day.

If we can create better time management habits, it won't be long before we have more time than we ever imagined.

Have you ever thought about Getting up Earlier.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Success Starting in Your 40s

2009-09-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

You're going to find it hard to believe, but very seldom does an individual peak with creativity until they reach the age of 40. The average individual usually makes the most money between the age of 40 and 60. This doesn't have anything to do with retirement. Most highly creative people keep producing until they die.

If you're 55 years old and looking for a new career or can't seem to find a job in the profession you have worked at your whole life, don't be alarmed or fearful. Do you think you could start your own business? Is there something, you have always wanted to do but have put it off until retirement, or until you had enough time to do it?

Why wait, if you can't find a job in a business you never truly enjoyed, maybe you can find a new job doing something you love.

I have worked in construction for 30 years and at 44 years old started to pursue a career in writing and plan to create award winning websites and best selling books, for the rest of my life. This doesn't mean, I won't work in construction ever again, but I will become a best selling author within the next 20 years.

Most people don't take the time required to learn a new profession. If you're sincerely interested in another career, and you're 50 years old, there is plenty of people out there to give you hope and inspiration.

If you would like some proof, here's a couple successful American businessman who succeeded after the age of 40. Henry Ford is probably one of the most popular and became extremely successful after the age of 40. Andrew Carnegie, an American industrialists who transformed the steel business and did not start reaping the rewards of his efforts until he was well past the age of 40.

I gathered this information from the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. There is a section in the book where he talks about people after the age of 40 with phenomenal success. Anyone who's interested in gaining wealth through spirituality or finances should read this book.

I've often heard the statement, "People Often Over Estimate What They Can Do in a Year and Often Underestimate What They Can Do in a Decade." If you want to accomplish something after the age of 40, I would advise you to start with a plan and then put that plan and the action. Your plan could take five to 15 years to achieve or longer but think about the rewards, whether spiritual or financial.

Gregory Vanden Berge is working to promote personal development ideas and spiritual reform. He has started a web site for videos and articles based on current information about subject he is very familiar with.

"Education has freed me, to pursue other ideas and release me from the bondage and fear of organized religion."

Gregory Vanden Berge

Should The Bible Be Edited

Top of Mind Awareness

2009-09-02T08:56:00.001-07:00

Top-of-Mind Awareness (TOMA) simply means that your business is at the top of a potential customer's mind when they think of the goods or services you have to offer. Your TOMA objective is to make sure that customers think of you first and foremost when they are ready to buy.

So how can you stand out more than others who offer similar goods or services? Here are five sure-fire ways to create the TOMA your business needs.

Use repetition to breed familiarity
Use unique, unusual ways to market and to serve your customers
Use the best practices in your industry each and every time you work with a customer
Get the point that familiarity with you breeds confidence in your business
Follow up

Repetition. Repetition means presenting yourself consistently to those you network with. You are dead wrong if you fall into the trap of thinking that because you know everyone in a group and they know you, there is nothing left to say to them and no reason to attend the next event. There is always something new to say and always something new to ask. Show up, be present, focus on meeting and listening well, don't come late and leave early, make it your goal to talk to someone you haven't had time to speak with before. Every single week the people you know have changing needs, and one day what they need will be what you have to offer. Repetition puts you in the right place at the right time.

Unique marketing and service. How can you introduce your business in a way that will stick in a person's mind? How can you provide your product or service in such a way that your customer is completely delighted? Your goal after the purchase is to have your customer think you are absolutely tops. Here's what Sleep America, a seller of mattresses, does. They gained a reputation early on for sending their customers a "Breakfast in Bed" basket after the sale. How fun and unique! You can bet their customers mention that to family and friends.

Know and follow your industry's best practices. Join the associations that exist to serve your industry, and take advantage of their credentialing programs. Displaying your industry's symbols of credibility will help your business stand out. Industry associations often offer packaged training for you and your staff, too. Take advantage of this benefit and make sure you advertise that your staff meets the standard of training for your type of business.

Familiarity breeds confidence. Customers like to see and know the "face" of your business. If you are not the face they see, make sure that a very trustworthy staff person is standing in your place. Customers don't feel confident if there is a new face at the helm every time they contact you or walk into your brick and mortar store. Make sure the voice on the phone is familiar and that you don't have a revolving door receptionist. Physicians and dentists often don't get that their receptionist IS the face of their business. Pay what you need to get someone with great interpersonal skills who will not leave after 6 months on the job.

Follow up. This is where 90% of businesses fall down on the job. For the past decade or so, research has consistently shown that a potential customer has to hear from you about 12 times before they will buy. That's 12 individual incidents of calling, mailing, visiting or being seen in advertisements by prospects before they're ready to do business with you. 90% of businesses quit following up after the fourth contact. Success comes from being the 10% who follow up more than 4 times. Amazing, isn't it?

Think about what you can do to build Top-of-Mind Awareness for your business. It is fun to play with, and gives you a chance to be very creative in your business.

Sue Painter

Sue Painter, the Confident Marketer, works with small business owners in marketing, visioning, and extraordinary customer service. Her website is http://www.confidentmarketer.com

Moisture Against Gravity - Destroying Walls

2009-09-02T07:51:00.001-07:00

Well I'm going to start this article with a little information on a job I did once.

I had been repairing a rental house for one particular homeowner for about three years when all of a sudden I got a phone call from him telling me the rental house was destroyed and he had never seen nothing like this. He sounded so upset over the phone I told him I would meet with him immediately.

On my way to the house I was trying to get an idea in my head what the house was going to actually look like. Since I have been repairing rental properties for over 20 years at this point of my career, nothing really shocked me. I had pretty much seen everything that could possibly be done to rental property by the tenants that lived there. There is a lot to be said about taking care of it as if it were your own.

He was waiting for me at the front door and he looked thoroughly disgusted. As I approached him he was shaking his head and yelling at the same time can you believe these people, can you believe what they did to my house. I was expecting to see the front door ripped off and all the windows broken out of the house but this wasn't the case.

As he led me through the home and I could see the usual clothing on the floor, broken cabinets, a few holes in the walls and of course that awful smell of mold and mildew. All of this stuff was nothing new to me because I'm the guy they call to fix it when a renter moves out of the property.

As I entered one of the bedrooms I got my first glimpse of something I had never seen before but heard stories about and could not believe my eyes. Looking at the walls in the bedroom about 3 feet from the floor all the way around the room, the plaster was soft. It actually looks like someone shoved popcorn into the wall somehow.

The homeowner wasn't even looking at this because of the rest of the damage in the home. I started to explain to him I'd never seen nothing like this but I could guess it was water damage somehow since the plaster was soft. I could actually stick my finger into the wall, that's how soft the plaster was.

My first thought was to examine the carpeting a little closer to see if it was wet. Well it was damp but it wasn't as wet as I would've expected it to be with the amount of water in the walls. With a little more home inspecting I had found the culprit, it was a broken water bed. The water bed was now in the backyard looking innocent.

I couldn't believe a broken water bed could do this much damage so I looked around for broken or leaking water pipes and could not find any. The other bad news I had to inform the homeowner was that the water had damage the bathroom and closet walls also. These walls of course were on the other side of the bathroom walls that were damaged.

Well the point of this story is that water will actually wick its way up or worked its way up into a wall. I had to remove 4 feet of drywall all the way around the room. The plaster or drywall actually acts like a sponge pulling the water into the walls. Hard to imagine that gravity in this case seems to reverse. I would've never thought that water would've traveled so far up the walls creating that much damage.

To repair the rental property I had to remove the damaged drywall, remove the carpeting, dry the wood framing out and put the whole thing back together.

I'm still amazed and will remember that project for as long as I live.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on House Water Damage

Spiritual Dictionary

Don't Let Goals Overtake Your Life

2009-09-02T01:11:00.001-07:00

You know, one of the worst things that anyone can do is to allow their goals to run their life. One of the keys to living a really and truly successful lifestyle is to achieve balance and if your goals become too much of an obsession, it can be easy to let them take the place of your family and your relationships. And when this happens, it can become easy to lose sight of what really matters.

Why do we set goals in the first place?

It is to improve our lives AND the lives of those around us. Our families and our friends as well as our community will benefit when we improve upon our lives. But, they will lose any of those benefits if we become so narrow minded as to only see what we are not trying to achieve and not the entire world around us as well.

There are many people who will use goal setting and achievement to make themselves feel better about only themselves and that will only ensure one thing. You may achieve your objective but you will also lose something as well.

Set goals and do what you have to in order to achieve them. But do not forget that as humans, there are other things that are just as important. You cannot hug a goal, but you can hug your friends and your family. To live a truly successful life, you must allow yourself the time and the freedom to enjoy life as well.

Law of Attraction Secrets

Bryan Appleton is an investor/entrepreneur who has dedicated himself to teaching others how to achieve their dream life. He is also a proud single father with one son.

You can publish this article as long as you leave it intact and in full as well as keeping the url link clickable.

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

2009-09-02T00:31:00.001-07:00

I am not one to feel sorry for most people. They seem to have a unique ability to cause themselves the most damage during certain parts of their lives. I have met some pretty self destructive people in my life. Being raised by a mother that lived in misery and love.

My mother had a difficult childhood. It seemed as if every corner she turned there was a obstacle either right in front of here or waiting just around the corner. Her father died when she was 12 year old. He was a farm laborer and didn't make much money. In other words they were poor...... She got sent to live with a few foster families and according to her she was molested by one of the fathers she lived with.

Soon her older sister invited her to live with her. My aunt was married to the owner of a pottery business and had 2 children about 10 years younger than my mother. My aunt soon realized she had a live in baby sitter that allowed her to stay out drinking most of the day.

My Uncle was what you would call a drunk back then, now we call these people alcoholics. Well any way I think you are starting to get a picture of my mothers life up to this point. It is probably safe to assume that this isn't the ideal life for a young woman.

The next event to happen in my moms life was for my uncle to fall in the shower one night after tying one on that night. He died soon after but my aunt seemed to make a another good choice and ended up marring the owner of the bar that they spent most of their time in.
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Allan K. Chalmers

By this time my mom was in High School and met my future father. It wasn't exactly a marriage made in heaven. My dad was always an easy going man. He seemed to let most stuff go in one ear and out the other.

As you guessed it they had a few children. Nice one Dad and Mom. According to the books I have read on Angelic beings. People that believe in the after life and angels. They tell me I had a choice and was able to choose my parents....... What was I thinking...... I should have choose someone with some money and a couple of parents that were deeply in love .

How did I end up here in this situation.

I ended up loving my parents like most of us. They seemed to be doing the best that they could possibly do raising me, my bother and my sister. My mom and dad ended up getting a divorce and I went to live with my father.

My Father is remarried to a wonderful woman that seems to bring him a lot of happiness.
I haven't seen my mother for a while now. She lives with a life of excuses and misery. Her childhood was not the greatest but that doesn't give her the right to bring misery into other peoples lives. She has made a conscious choice to live what seems to be a painful life. Maybe her choices in life have made me choose happiness over misery.

I have always wondered what it is that motivates someone to live a life of true unhappiness when it takes the same amount of energy to live a life of joy. Life is meant to be full of joy and happiness so start today by making the right choices to live a fulfilling life of happiness.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Greg Vanden Berge will help you create a new approach to life and discover talents you never knew you had. We can help you get the most out of yourself all the time. Start developing your innate strengths and abilities to start enriching your life TODAY !

Greg Vanden Berge Quotes

Need Motivation? Olympian Reveals the Number One Key That Will Ignite Your Motivation Forever

2009-09-01T17:40:00.001-07:00

Every four years, millions of people around the world are enthralled by the athletes of the Olympic Games.

But as a spectator what you may not know is that Olympic athletes discover keys to success THAT CAN HELP YOU! True, you may not be able to relate to their god-like physical attributes, but if you're like me, you can relate to their desire to achieve, to reach a goal.

So whether you are a fan of the Olympics, and especially if you're not, you will want to take advantage of the number one key learned by all Olympic athletes. This key will build your motivation, ensure greater success and boost your self-esteem.

Powerful key revealed: THERE ARE THREE OUTCOMES TO EVERY RACE!

We all can agree on the first outcome, and that is TO WIN! Winning means that you achieved better results than anyone else on that day. That's good. The downside of winning is that only one person can win. So where does it leave everyone else?

Most people would say that if you don't win, then you lose. Losing is much rarer in the Olympics than you can imagine. But let's talk about another outcome.

You can BE BEATEN. This is not the same as losing. Being beaten means that you did your very best, but someone else did better than you. Of course everyone wants to be number one, but there is honor in being beaten. How can you possibly do better than your very best?

Think about it. If your very best isn't good enough, then only the impossible will do. What are your chances of achieving the impossible in your life? If there is only win and lose, you are setting yourself up for failure. How much motivation can you muster to continually try and fail? So the key is to include "being beaten" as an honorable outcome.

The final outcome is TO LOSE. In the Olympic world "to lose" means giving up or quitting. It means taking yourself out of the race, or not even trying. How motivating is that? Many people have this all-or-nothing attitude. If they can't win, then they don't try. Over time this attitude is the biggest killer of motivation. How do you operate your life?

To succeed we need a different attitude; we need to believe that doing our best is honorable.

A great story emerged from the 1968 Olympics. John Akhwari of Tanzania, brutally injured his leg during the marathon. The winner had already been declared an hour earlier when John hobbled into the stadium. As he crossed the finish line, the few remaining spectators roared its appreciation. A reporter asked him why he had not retired from the race, since he had no chance of winning. He seemed confused by the question. Finally, he answered: "My country did not send me to start the race. They sent me to finish." Was John a loser? No. HE WAS WELCOMED HOME A HERO.

Another great story you will never forget is about Nick If this story doesn't strengthen your motivation, nothing will!

It's true. The Olympics just come around every four years. And your life, your fitness, (or lack of it) is very, very real. However, if you are like me you appreciate guidance from whatever direction it comes. And this key learned from the Olympic athletes can (and will) insure you emerge from your particular challenges with stronger motivation, greater success, and increased self-esteem. So go ahead! Set high goals for yourself; just remember to celebrate EVERY time you do your best!

Linda Schaumleffel, Olympian and head injury survivor, guides people worldwide with faltering memory or head injuries, by teaching them how to thrive again, strive for peak productivity, and build a hedge against dementia. Get a jump on your own brain health with free special report, "BRAIN FITNESS: The Top 17 Activities That Will Revive Your Brain at Any Age!" at http://www.PowerBrainFitness.com

DIY Bathroom Remodeling Or Hiring a Contractor

2009-09-01T17:07:00.001-07:00

The first question you need to ask yourself when remodeling a bathroom is can you actually do the work yourself or do you have someone that can help you with the remodeling. If you don't know anyone and can't do the work yourself, I would suggest hiring a contractor with experience remodeling bathrooms.

If you can do the work yourself or think you could do the work yourself, why not give it a shot. Any experience you have in construction or home remodeling, is going to be beneficial to your bathroom remodeling project. There is plenty of information on the internet or in your local libraries on bathroom remodeling and these often prove to be great resources for do it yourselfers.

As an experienced contractor I have gathered a great deal of information through books, at work and watching local home improvement shows. The biggest problem with the show's and quite a few of these books, is they don't provide enough information. Most of the time they provide you with the basics of bathroom remodeling and you could soon find yourself in trouble or seeking the advice from a home improvement professional.

The largest benefit for doing the bathroom remodeling project yourself, could be the money you save, along with the satisfaction of completing the project. It makes homeowners feel good when they've completed a large home remodeling project, like a bathroom remodel.

If you don't have the time, lack the experience or a combination of both, I would suggest hiring a contractor to relieve you from the stress and frustration of your bath remodeling project. The more complex your bathroom remodeling project is, the greater the degree of difficulty, the longer it will take to complete the project. Some of these projects can take up a lot of your time.

If you're working on galvanized water supply pipes or old cast iron waste pipes, you could find yourself hiring a plumber to install your bathtub and fixtures. These old pipes create problems for most do it yourselfers and I would suggest hiring a professional, whenever you run into a problem you don't feel comfortable with.

Choosing to tackle some of these difficult problems yourself, could lead to water leaks and more damage to the home eventually costing you even more money than the original cost of hiring an experienced plumber in the first place. When it comes to water, structural framing and electricity, think twice, especially if you're not experienced in these areas.

My advice to do it yourselfers is to hire a professional if you're not comfortable or seek the advice from a contractor or someone with considerable experience bathroom remodeling.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more House Remodeling Pictures or home building ideas.

Nothing Will Be Impossible

Christianity Saved Me From Something

2009-09-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

I would like you to think about something for a minute, have you ever met somebody who has been saved in a Christian church. There's a good chance you know quite a few people if you live in the United States of America. Over the years I've heard people tell me, "I've Been Saved," it can be a new beginning for some or lead to a life of frustration and pain for others.

If you don't know what being saved is, or have never heard of it, let me give you a brief description of a saved Christian. This would be someone who accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior, it's not that difficult and you really don't have to go to church, this ritual can be performed anywhere.

If you're reading this article and would like to be saved, here's how you do it. Get up out of your chair, run outside the building you're in and start running up and down the streets yelling, I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, 1111 times. Be careful because if you missed this by one number, in either direction, you have to start all over again.

Okay I'm just kidding about the running out of the house, and yelling at the top of your lungs, oh yeah and the 1111 times. Anyway the truth about being saved according to the Christian church, is quite simply saying the words to your self or out loud, "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior."

That's it, it's really quite simple and your saved.

The problem becomes a little bit later in your life and this could be within a few days or even a few hours, if most people don't see a drastic change in their life, they quit their newly founded Christian religion and go back to their old ways.

I hope you have a pretty good understanding about being saved in the Christian religion and you can do it anytime of the day, at any period of your life. If you're going to die and you been a liar, committed adultery, murdered or raped another person, lived a life of crime, ruined the lives of others or even been part of another religion you're whole life, simply state the words "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior," and you're instantly a Christian. That's a pretty good deal for anyone.

Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, this simple statement gives you a one way ticket to heaven and spend eternity in one of the grandest most beautiful places you could ever possibly imagine, even though you might not have been, what most people would consider a decent person. Now this is looking pretty good isn't it.

Being saved can provide you with a lot of benefits if you're a believer but I forgot to tell you one very important thing about this whole process. There is no hard evidence and most Christians will tell you that they base their whole life on faith and a book written by a man but inspired by, one unbelievable, supernatural and incredible entity.

I've seen a lot of people live their lives tormented from the decisions they've made throughout their lives. If you choose to believe in Christianity, I would suggest you spend some of your time reading the Bible but most of your time gathering information about other religions also. Don't take someone else's word, that this is the way to eternal salvation. I beg you to at least, find out where the Bible really came from, always question your religion.

Education has freed me, to pursue other ideas and release me from the bondage and fear of organized religion.

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

2009-09-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

How did I end up here in this situation.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Another Crappy Rule In The Bible

The Magical Power of Gratitude

2009-09-01T03:00:00.001-07:00

I remember when Oprah began encouraging everyone to write their own gratitude journal. I started one but it just felt like one more thing to do. Instead I tried to experience feelings of gratitude by simply thinking about 3 things I felt grateful for every day, either upon awakening or just before bed. Naturally, there were lots of mornings and evenings when I forgot to do this.

Flash forward 7 years and "Wow! What a difference!" Today, I'm surrounded by beauty, space, privacy, and other forms of abundance I couldn't even have imagined before. And now I find my gratitude comes naturally. I can't even open my eyes without feeling an amazing sense of appreciation for all that I've created in my life.

Is there a connection between all that I have and the depth of gratitude I feel?

Obviously, this didn't happen overnight. I wonder, when did gratitude become so effortless? Gradually, for sure. And how did it become such a natural state of being? Profound, genuine, effortless gratitude is so powerful in creating anything your heart desires, it's well worth doing whatever it takes to get to that place in your life.

Like anything else, you start small. You consistently exercise that "muscle." Over time it gets more powerful. As your efforts are rewarded with less and less effort, the use of gratitude becomes second nature.

Sometimes, I still find myself wondering whether such deep and genuine gratitude will be enough to sustain this exquisite lifestyle? Will simply feeling genuinely grateful for all the beauty and abundance that surrounds me now lead to a mindset that thinks differently and acts accordingly?

It's truly a grand experiment at this time. Stay tuned to find out if my happily ever after is self-sustaining. My blog will keep you posted with interesting and inspiring audio clips, video and super short articles to jump start your mind so you too can easily create a life of radiant health, deeply fulfilling relationships and permanent prosperity.

At http://www.stressfreepersonalfinance.com we specialize in inspiring tools to set you financially free. Plus there's free articles and audio to continually inspire you on your path towards financial freedom, radiant health and healthy, fulfilling relationships, because when you have enough money you can easily have all that!

While you're there be sure to download the FREE special report, "The 7 Affirmations That Took Me From $10,000/Year to $10,000/Month and the Powerful Techniques I Used to Synchronize Them with My Body & Mind" when you sign up for our free inspirational newsletter, Pathway2Abundance @ http://www.Pathway2Abundance.com

Moisture Against Gravity - Destroying Walls

2009-09-01T02:09:00.001-07:00

Well I'm going to start this article with a little information on a job I did once.

To repair the rental property I had to remove the damaged drywall, remove the carpeting, dry the wood framing out and put the whole thing back together.

I'm still amazed and will remember that project for as long as I live.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on House Water Damage

Personal Development

Is Workplace Conflict Destructive or Creative?

2009-08-31T19:33:00.001-07:00

Whenever you work with people, conflict is inevitable. The tension created by daily conflict either results in wasted time, decreased productivity, and poor decisions or the sort of internal competition that pushes each individual to do their best, if for no other reason that convince their coworkers that they can do it.

This inevitable conflict is either destructive or creative. The destructive conflict is toxic to relationships and hurts people and organizations and this is the one that needs managing. In my experience creative conflict seems to be cultural in nature. It's how the people themselves react and address each other and the situations they face together.

If you've ever seen "American Chopper" on the Discovery Channel you know what I mean by creative conflict. There is a lot of yelling going on. These guys are not shy about sharing their opinions when they disagree with one another. If you were a stranger who walked into their shop you might think WWIII had broken out.

In fact, that is how they relate to one another - there is no ambiguity, they tell it like it is in the moment. Imagine how much more they accomplish because they use the tension to air their different opinions, right now - and then get on with it. It's possible that this is just a TV show and these guys have nice quiet meetings in the board room, listening to various committee reports, before the speak up, but that's not likely. I bet they are who we see them as being.

In three decades working with family businesses I have seen dozens and dozens of companies who harness conflict creatively, and in so doing get the most out of everyone as well as optimum results overall. They don't waste time on what's not working just because it was the bosses idea. They stop what they're doing and point out the other person's mistake then show them how to fix it. Nothing and no one or their opinion is sacred - it's all about getting the job done.

Sadly I have seen experts try to get them to change their behavior, be more polite to one another and offer more politically correct input in an ever more constructive manner. In other words they (the experts) want other people to be more like them.

So instead of helping their clients manage the destructive conflict that exists, they are offering suggestions on how to fix what isn't broken.

I am talking about the conflict that distracts employees and managers from otherwise productive use of their time. Studies reveal that up to 30% of a typical managers time is spent dealing with conflict. And that 42 percent of their time is spent reaching agreements with others when conflicts occur.

Sometimes destructive conflict is simply because the people don't like each other. In the universe of family owned companies sometimes brothers, sisters, cousins, and in-laws are thrown together in ways none of them like. Conflict is the only way they have of displaying the frustration they feel about the situation they're in.

It is no wonder that an estimated 65% of performance problems result from strained relationships like these. Between employees who are not happy with each other - not from deficits in their training, skill, or motivation.

The most common way that destructive conflict shows up is about "how" a certain task should be accomplished. I met a farmer once whose son (age 50) refused to do things the way he wanted them done. He sited an example by driving me on the back of his four wheeler (you could not get there any other way) to a field that illustrated his point.

He and his father before him had always plowed the field north to south - his son was plowing it east to west. I am not making this up. It didn't have anything to do with soil erosion, conservation, or the environment - he was doing it this way against his dad's wishes, just to get his goat. And it was working.

I bet you can think of things at your company that are being done a certain way because that's the way they've always been done. And if you're the one who wants to change history, good luck!

Destructive conflict about how things are being done, what things are being done, and whether or not a certain thing should even be done can paralyze the organization.

Wasted time arguing about things that don't matter, an unwillingness to consider another person's point of view based on their experience, and the blame game when the results are in all cry out for a self-help process you can use to manage your differences so that all conflict is creative.

The end result of a successful self-help mediation process is that you (as a group) turn together and focus on the challenge or opportunity you all face. You see the problem as the stumbling block and not your coworker.

Self-help mediation tools allow two individuals the opportunity to discuss their assumptions about the other person's motives. In many conflicts the simple process of testing these assumptions face to face using active listening skills will resolve the issue entirely, because the parties realize the conflict is simply a misunderstanding.

Self-help mediation tools pave the way for more effective decision making. Obviously decisions made under conditions of conflict are going to be inferior to decisions made when cooperation prevails. If ongoing conflict (even a low grade resistance to cooperation) is present between people who share decision-making authority, the resulting decisions are likely to be flawed by the power struggles between those people.

As business owners we know that good decisions must be based on an optimum quality and quantity of objective information. So when information is withheld or distorted by those we are depending on to provide it, the decision cannot be the best one possible.

There is now doubt, workplace conflict resolution strategies - especially those that will allow you to do it yourself - will save you money, time, energy, and enhance your workplace by helping you make better decisions, retain your best employees, and design a future course for the business everyone will actively support!

Wayne Messick's web site http://www.iBizResources.com has many additional conflict resolution articles and strategic planning resources to help you grow your business. If you are a small business advisor and want to maximize your professional and financial potential, here are the resources we are using to systematically multiply our new business, our revenues, and our client's satisfaction.

Stair Lighting Problems

2009-08-31T18:38:00.001-07:00

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Religion Articles

10 Humorous Quotes to Help You Get Over Difficult Situations

2009-08-31T12:09:00.001-07:00

It's easy to think about how someone else's situation is more difficult then the one you are currently dealing with. I mean, you could be starving in a third-world country, working at McDonald's, or even getting shot at in Iraq.

That doesn't necessarily help you though, does it?

What's really important is to get through whatever you're going through the best way possible. You can't just make a statement and hope your problems go away. One great way to deal with difficult situations is to face them head on with a very powerful weapon:

Humor.

Who better to assist you than one of the most iconic humorists of his time, and even today, Woody Allen. These 10 quotes should help you face your problems with a lighter heart and a less stressful attitude.

1. "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."

2. "I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government."

3. "There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?"

Love is complicated, to say the least. While it's easy to attribute the word love to many things in our lives, do we really know what it is we're talking about when we say we "love" things? Let's see what Woody says.

4. "Love is the answer, but while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions."

5. "A fast word about oral contraception. I asked a girl to go to bed with me, she said 'no'."

When it comes to the practicalities of life, Woody has a way of making it all go by with a lot more laughs

6. "Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats."

7. "I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

8. "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."

9. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."

10. "The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have."

I can't say your problems are worth laughing at, but maybe if you looked at them in a new light, one that involves humor, you might be able to deal with them better.

Claudia Johnson is the editor of Daily Affirmations (http://www.daily-affirmations.com), a website dedicated to providing positive affirmations each day along with self improvement tips and product reviews. Sign up to receive free affirmations and site updates via email by visiting http://www.daily-affirmations.com/ now.

Repairing a Leaking Toilet

2009-08-31T11:00:00.001-07:00

Let me explain how a toilet works. First when you go to flush the toilet a little arm pulls a rubber flapper up and lets the water drain into the toilet bowl. The water draining into the toilet bowl forces the old water out along with the number two or number one waste and extremities.

If the toilet sounds like it is running there is a good chance that the seal between the rubber flapper and the plastic rain at the bottom of the toilet is broken somehow. The sound you are hearing is water running around this ring and in to the toilet bowl.

This leak is actually causing no damage to the toilet itself but is wasting water. Hence the water bill will be a little higher if you don't fix the leaking toilet. The best way to find out if this is actually your problem is to take the toilet tank lid off. Then stick your hand down into the toilet bowl and press gently on the rubber flap.

If the water stops leaking or starts running faster this is your problem. Turn the water off to the toilet. There will be a shut off valve on the wall under your toilet bowl in the bathroom. After you turn the water off removed the plastic flap and examine it.

You will be looking for a warped toilet flap or of some sort or grooves on the flapper itself. Take the toilet flapper down to your local home improvement store and buy a new one. Go home and replace the new toilet flapper and this should solve 90% of your leaking toilet problems.

There is one more thing it could be. With the toilet tank lid off, check to see if water is overflowing into the little round plastic pipe. This plastic pipe should have a small hose running from the float valve assembly into it.

If the water is over flowing from the toilet tank into this little plastic pipe you will need to adjust the float.

First thing you will need to do is while the toilet is running lift up on the float lever arm. If the water stops you can simply bend the metal arm of the float lever. The purpose of bending the arm will force the float deeper into the water there for stopping the water from rising over the small tube in the center of your toilet.

There are few parts to a toilet and most parts can be purchased at your local hardware or home improvement centers. Toilet repairs like this can be made simple and the parts used to replace are inexpensive.

Happy Toilet Repairing.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more House Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Some Great Plumbing Ideas

Personal Development

The Aging of Relationships

2009-08-31T04:32:00.000-07:00

"Yes, I will marry you.....and they rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after." If only it were that simple. Most of us have visions of our relationships turning out this way, but that is often not the case. Somewhere between the "I do" and "happily ever after" problems arise. Over half of all marriages end in divorce. Of those marriages that stay together, a large percentage are not necessarily happy. What happens? Why do the majority of couples find it so difficult to stay together and remain happy? Just as individuals go through identifiable stages (infancy, childhood, adulthood, old age) so to do relationships pass through distinguishable stages. There are many different ways to name the stages of relationship. We prefer to use the following three stages: Romantic Love (also known as the honeymoon stage), the Power Struggle Stage, and Mature Love.

Many people are familiar with the romantic stage. This is where our lover is in our thoughts 24 hours a day and every moment apart seems like an eternity. We live for the moments that we can be together. We are aglow with love. Everything in our life seems to go well. Colors are brighter, sounds more distinct, foods tastier. We find that we need less sleep. We can stay out with our loved one dancing the night away and still be up early the next morning, energized and ready to tackle the day ahead. If we have disagreements with our partner, we are willing to listen and even let them win. We are in a state of bliss. Then something happens. Instead of continuing along happily in this state, our eyes (and our hearts) begin to shift their focus and we enter Stage 2.

Stage 2 is the power struggle. Most of us are familiar with this stage as the majority of relationships stay here a long time. It is the stage in a relationship where two individuals try to live together harmoniously while still standing up for their individual differences. This is the time when we try to combine two different ways of being and two different backgrounds into one workable relationship. It includes but is not limited to such things as combining two distinct ways of handling money, keeping house, and juggling time schedules with regard to work, hobbies, family, recreation, etc. It involves consideration of differing personal habits and parenting skills, varying degrees of sexual desire, different ways of communication, and more. Is it any wonder that Stage 2 brings to light what we perceive as flaws in our partner's character? She/he charges too much on the credit cards, puts recreation before chores, does not understand why I need to spend so much time with my parents, or has little desire for sex. Differences are difficult to live with, especially when we assume that we are right and our partner is wrong. Our reasoning is: "I've done it this way all my life; can't you see that this is the way it should be done?" Learning how to collaborate with a partner while at the same time maintaining our individuality is the lesson of Stage 2. It can be a lengthy undertaking and usually makes or breaks the relationship.

Some relationships will never go beyond the second stage. The power struggles that occur during this time put the "relating" in relationships to the test. Just as a teenager learns how to become an individual and relate to a world outside himself and his family, an adult learns how to become a partner and be in a relationship. We learn how to get along with others at work, in our community, our state, and in our ever expanding world. Most of us learn skills to go out into the workplace and perform at a job, but few of us learn the skills to communicate and be in relationship. Basic relationship skills can go a long way to move us through this difficult stage of power struggle. Tools such as "I" messages, reflective listening, and a basic understanding of the differences between men and women are an important start. We feel it is equally important to have an awareness and understanding of two basic concepts about relationship: 1) that we alone are responsible for our feelings as well as our actions; and 2) relationships can be used to either heal or rewound the individuals in that relationship.

Marilyn: Having been in a twenty year relationship that I now recognize was one continual power struggle, I can appreciate the flow of my present relationship. Chuck and I both have an uncompromising desire to be in a relationship that works, a relationship that we can use as a path to our spiritual growth. Dr. Wayne Dyer in his tape series Freedom Through Higher Awareness comments: if you have a choice between being right and being kind, always choose to be kind." This is a choice Chuck and I are consciously trying to make in our relationship. When we disagree, we make every effort to deal with those conflicts in the moment. We try our best to go inside and discover how we feel and what our part was in the upset. This is not an easy task, especially since we have been programmed to value being right over being loving. We are used to looking outside of ourselves and blaming the other party. My automatic response to an upset used to be "why can't he understand this, it's so simple!" For the life of me, I could not understand why my partner was so dense; why he could not appreciate that this was the way it was for me. What a world of difference it makes when I can take responsibility for myself. All the blame and frustration disappears. I no longer feel that sinking feeling of disappointment and frustration that I used to feel.....that hole in pit in my stomach that asked the same questions over and over: "why am I in this relationship," and "is it as hopeless as I feel it is at this moment?" In contrast, when I can come from the understanding that I alone am responsible for the emotions that well up within me, then I can look inside and examine those feelings. This is usually easier said than done, especially when those emotions remind me of unpleasant memories about how I was treated in the past. I try very hard to share those feelings with Chuck. Sometimes, the only word I can get out is "ouch," but that is enough to get us started. This effort pays big dividends. It allows us to come to a resolution about our misunderstandings and prevents the build-up of resentments. It is also a path to healing the old wounds and building a new relationship based upon the trust of self and each other.

Chuck: The difference between my relationship with Marilyn and my previous relationships is my willingness to look at what parts I play in our upsets. It wasn't long ago that I felt I was right during most of my arguments with women. I can even remember the times that I knew I wasn't right but still couldn't give in. This power struggle was a pattern I had followed for over 30 years and I don't really know how it started. It has been a slow progression of small realizations that has led me to the point where my relationship is usually more important than my being right. Notice I said usually. There are still times when I know I'm not right or realize that I am hurting Marilyn and our relationship by staying mad, but cannot break out of the old pattern. Fortunately these times are diminishing.

How did I begin on my road to recovery? It began with very intelligent women calmly questioning me about my reasons for staying angry. They wanted to understand what kind of benefits or rewards I received for this behavior. Even when they questioned me during a fight, it was done in such a way that I felt their concern. It was clear that they truly wanted to understand what was happening within me. There was no blaming or ill will.

This process led me to begin to question myself. I went to therapy. I learned techniques I could use during a fight such as active listening, taking responsibility by using "I" statements, fair fighting rules, active listening and more. Finally I decided that I wanted to have a GREAT relationship. Now I work on trying to let go of my need to be right and consciously make the choice to be loving. Believe me, it takes a constant effort within the relationship to maintain that awareness, but it is worth it.....and so is Marilyn!

Marilyn and Chuck: The final stage of relationship is mature love. We have traveled the long road of power struggles to get here and learned what we need to learn from that path. We have completed a 180 degree turn, back to the peace and harmony that we felt with our partner when we first met. Our heart (and mind) has shifted away from finding fault and instead is focused on the specialness of our partner.....the uniqueness that attracted us to them in the first place. We have come full circle. We started out in the Romantic Stage seeing only the good, went through the Power Struggle Stage seeing mostly the negative, and now we are able to hold both. This is an expansive state. It is at this time that we make the conscious choice to put our relationship first and give up the need to always be right. This does not mean that we become less of an individual. It is at this stage that we become comfortable with who we are as individuals so that we no longer feel that we are losing a part of ourselves or our needs in order to have our relationships flow smoothly. In reality, we become more fully alive as we have expanded within ourselves to accept both the positive and the negative in another person.

Many of us have had the privilege of experiencing the rare couple who just seem to flow together. Their love and appreciation for one another glows from their very being. They fit together and feel right and everyone can see it. There is a calm and radiance about them that makes others want to be in their presence. This state of being did not happen over night. This couple has done a lot of work to get where they are. There is a deep level of commitment and understanding between them. For us, knowing that this depth of relationship exists gives us hope for our own relationship. When the power struggles seem overwhelming, we let the vision of this couple give us the strength to stay on our path and just let go. It is our belief that it is within all of us to have this type of relationship. It is a merely matter of choice.

Great relationships don't happen by accident. Learn the secrets to having successful one. Marilyn Hough and Chuck Schmitt, the Relationship Specialists, are licensed Marriage and Family therapists in the Portland, Oregon area. Visit their website at http://www.relationshipspecialists.com for tools and tips on how to improve your relationships. You can also sign up for free bi-monthly relationship hints.

New Home Buyers Beware

2009-08-31T03:41:00.001-07:00

Ican't believe how many homebuyers purchase a house, with very little information and a Lotta hope. I'm a general contractor and often work on these homes, after they have been purchased and a homeowner has their money, the real estate professional is no longer involved in the transaction and the new homeowner is starting to experience the pitfalls from buying the home, that they sincerely believe was in good condition.

It's usually somebody like me that gets involved with the new homeowners after everyone else is out of the picture and chooses not to return their phone calls or explains to them quite simply, it's not our responsibility, you're the new homeowner and we really feel sorry for you, please call us again if we can help you with anything.

You couldn't even help me with that, why would I want to call you again if I had a problem. I never could understand this thinking but have ran into it often. It sounds like an oxymoron when someone refuses to help you but offers you help in the future. What ever!!!.

If homebuyers had something else to rely on besides their real estate salesperson, home inspection service, mortgage or insurance professional, I believe they can eliminate some of these problems. Where do you start and how do you get the information. You can gather information from reputable people, books, the Internet and so on.

The problem is how do you know these people are reputable and the books on the Internet have good information. This brings us to another problem, but I've got the solution that will help eliminate some of the grief. I'm not going to remove all of the grief from your life but have a suggestion for you that will eliminate some of the pain when buying a home.

Arm yourself with a good home inspection checklist. You can search the Internet and they have quite a few good home inspection checklist to work with. These checklist can provide you with things you might not have thought of, and this is where you can eliminate some of the problems.

If you took one of these checklists with you while you were shopping for a home, you would be aware of some of the problems with the home. You might not find all of the problems but these checklist will help you with some of the problems.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more home inspection or home building ideas.

Using Words In The Bible Effecti

The Purpose of Dreams

2009-08-30T21:11:00.001-07:00

Dreams have been somewhat of a mystery to man for a long time. Dreams hold many captive at night wondering if it is reality or simply the imagination working overtime. We have all awoke from dreams upset that it wasnt reality and on the same hand, we have woke up thanking God that a terrible nightmare wasnt a reality.

There are many different theories about the meaning, origin, or purpose of dreams. Some believe that dreams are an extension of our subconscious. In other words, we may dream about things that we think about, whether we are aware of our subconscious thoughts or not. Others believe that dreams are a part of REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep, which helps to restore our minds and bodies while we sleep. Finally, some people believe that dreams are one mode of communication that God uses to send us messages.

I believe that there is some truth to each of these theories of dreams, but I will focus on the theory about God using dreams as a mode of communication with us and what I believe his purpose in communicating with us through dreams is. Although I do believe that God communicates with us through dreams, I dont believe that every dream that we have is from God or even God attempting to communicate with us. Since I believe that some dreams are from God and others arent, this poses the question, How do you know which dreams are from God and which ones arent?. This is a difficult question to answer because there is no scientific answer to this question. My answer to this question is that you will know in your spirit. In other words, the inner voice will say this dream meant something.

Your spirit may even be troubled when you wake up like Nebuchednezzar was in the Bible after he had a dream from God. In the Bible, in Daniel 2:1, it says Nebuchednezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. I believe that this was his spirit communicating to him that there was a message in the dreams for him and maybe others. Also, in the Bible, in the book of Daniel 7:15, Daniel states that after having a dream, that he was troubled in spirit and the visions that passed through his mind disturbed him. When I have had dreams that I believe are from God, the same thing has happened to me when I have awoken from a dream from God. I usually will first remember the dream or many parts of it very vividly. Next, I feel unsettled in my spirit, as if something needs to be resolved or settled.

After establishing that God does in fact, communicate with us through our dreams just as he did with Daniel and Nebuchednezzar, and Joseph in their dreams, you may have been wondering why. Why would God choose to communicate with us through our dreams? I believe that God has 6 purposes for communicating to us through our dreams and it is up to us along with our communication with the Holy Spirit to discern which purpose he has for communication with us.

The first purpose that I believe God uses dreams for is to call us to pray or intercede for ourselves and/or others. Sometimes God gives us dreams to call on us to pray about a situation or for a person. If we have a dream about someone or something that we know is not positive, even if we dont know the interpretation of the dream, we can pray and intercede about the situation or for the individual(s). Prayer changes things, so if we are obedient, we can change someones outcome for the better.

The second purpose for our dreams may be to warn us. God may want to warn us about a direction we are headed in or a decision that we are about to make that may be outside of his will and that may lead to destruction. In the Bible, in the book of Daniel, chapter 4, God gave Nebuchednezzar a dream to warn him. King Nebuchednezzar was warned in his dream, that if he didnt acknowledge that God is more powerful than man and things, his power and riches would be taken away from him. Nebuchednezzars warning was to acknowledge and turn to God or lose his earthly privileges. Having this dream and having it interpreted by Daniel, a Godly man, gave Nebuchednezzar the opportunity to take action to avoid disaster and calamity in his life. God gives us this same opportunity if we heed and are obedient to God.

The third purpose for God give us dreams is to give us hope. The Bible says in the Book of Proverbs 13:12 that "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." You may be experiencing a dark time in your life and you may be tempted to throw in the towel and give up. God may give you a dream to show you the light that lies ahead and to give you hope in your future. Having a visual image of a dream that he births in us gives us the opportunity to think about and hold onto that vision when things arent going the way we hoped or planned.

The fourth purpose for dreams is to encourage us and encourage others. This goes along with hope, but it may be a bit more subtle. God may want us to share a positive dream with the person we dreamed about to encourage them, or he may just want to encourage us that he is with us and hasnt forsaken us.

The fifth purpose may be to give us confirmation about something that he has either already tried to communicate to us either through our spirit or through someone else. Also, if we asked God for confirmation for something, he may give it to us through our dreams.

Finally, I believe that God communicates with us through our dreams sometimes to let us know that he is God. It is hard to forget or disbelieve in the power of God when he is using something like dreams to communicate with people and ordinary people like Daniel and I to interpret dreams.

If you believe that God has been communicating to you through your dreams, do the following : 1. Pay close attention to them; 2. Write them down in a dream journal as soon as you wake up from the dream, so that you capture all of the important details; 3. Obey his instructions and heed to his warnings, in other words, pray for yourself and others immediately when he calls on you, act when he gives you confirmations that require action, always hold onto hope, and always give God all of the Glory!

If you are interested in having a dream interpreted, sharing your dreams with others, or simply being a part of a discussion group and learning more about dreams, please visit my website at www.dreamsinterpret.com. Try it out for free.

Written by : Lisa M. Kohut

Stair Lighting Problems

2009-08-30T20:10:00.001-07:00

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Effects Of False Prophets

Find Out Why You Believe in Your Religion

2009-08-30T13:47:00.001-07:00

Whenever I ask someone involved in a religious organization, the question, do you really believe in your religion? Most of these people will often answer would be yes and start their religious conversion. Some of these people can become very intrusive if I don't stop them soon, very few of these people listen with an open mind.

I have talked to quite a few men and women about their beliefs over the years and still find it hard to believe that most of them live a life of faith with very little understanding or education about their religion. Now some strong believers might take offense to that statement, while others will listen to what I said and start doing a little more research on their religion.

Most of these religions throughout the world make perfectly good sense to their followers and I understand the reasoning behind some of them, it's all they know, everyone around them believes in the same religion and they get some sort of happiness and joy from it.

It's not hard to imagine a young child, walking around with strong religious beliefs if their parents are strong believers in it also. These children grow up and eventually train their children to follow the same path of their parents. Our children should be able to choose, what they will believe in, by the time they are adults.

This is a natural process of life, your parents learned from their parents and whenever someone asked them a question that they really couldn't answer or were uncomfortable answering, they can always reply with, I'm living a life based on faith or you just have to believe. You have to believe that someone is looking out for you and taking care of you. Most of these people think that something else is responsible for the events that take place in their life.

Is it possible for people that live a life of faith to educate themselves about their religion, to find the origin and maybe the destination of their religions. Could these people actually assume responsibility for their choices, whether they're good or bad. It's often hard to listen to somebody tell me that some evil entity made them do something bad. These people are easily convinced by others who agree with them and support them with their statements and beliefs. This seems to be where the biggest problem lies.

Once the people around us support our beliefs, they soon become realities in our lives. These realities will be transferred to others around us and give them support eventually about their beliefs. It's like a vicious circle that never ends. One believe supports another belief, until it's a fact.

Education is the path to freedom and will soon deliver the students from religious bondage. Someone a long time ago said," Seek and You Shall Find, Knock on My Door and I Will Open It.

Greg is currently working on a religious education also visit our article library, filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

Finding Something You Don't Like About Yourself - Creating Habits

2009-08-30T12:37:00.001-07:00

Finding something you don't like about yourself is usually very easy for most people. Most of the time you don't even have to ask your family or friends because you have heard them complain about the same thing for years. How many times have you heard someone mention, I need to lose weight?

Here's a list of things people don't like about themselves. If you're one of those people that has a hard time finding something wrong with yourself, you could always ask one of your friends for some suggestions. I'm sure they would like that.

1. The need to lose weight. This of course is one of the worst problems with Americans. Most people need to lose weight and let's not forget there are some people that need to gain weight.

2. The need to stop gambling. As more Indian reservations are allowed to build gambling casinos and of course as the Internet gambling gets larger, I've noticed some people with gambling problems.

3. The need to stop drinking alcohol. The abuse of alcohol has been going on for many years. These people have an excuse for why they drink and most of the time it doesn't make sense.

4. The need to stop smoking. This could be one of the most difficult things I've ever seen my friends and family deal with.

5. The need to stop excessive behaviors. For example, gossiping, cruelty, bullying, lying, cheating, stealing, partying etc. You get the idea.

6. Don't forget the dreaded shopaholic. Most shopaholic's seem to have large credit card debt and can't seem to stop this vicious circle of buying and owing money to their creditors.

7. Working long hours or the workaholic. Sometimes this is a necessity but I would suggest that you change your lifestyle if possible. Reevaluate your reasons for working so hard.

8. Religious fundamentalists. People that spend too much time at their place of worship and soon find themselves feeling guilty if they're not doing something spiritual.

9. The need to be on time. This would include people that have problems giving themselves enough time to get ready for work or school.

10. The need to stop doing drugs. I thought by now, approaching my 50s, that drugs would no longer be a problem in the United States, but it is. It's one of the most damaging things people can do to their lives.

There are plenty of things that people would like to stop doing or start doing. If you're a smoker and you seem to shop excessively near the casinos, I would advise you to start with something small and work your way up to the big stuff.

What are you going to change today about your life? Make a list of things that you're not happy with about your life and start making the changes today that you need to create the life you deserve and desire.

Greg is currently working on a personal development video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Nothing Will Be Impossible

Developing Real Psychic Power

2009-08-30T06:29:00.001-07:00

In this article I'm going to cover a great tip for developing psychic powers and the magical and mysterious skill of practical clairvoyance. Many of us LONG to tap into the same stream of sensational skills that so many famous psychics, mediums and clairvoyants REGULARLY seem to access, and in my PERSONAL experience, ANYONE can learn how to cultivate these very same skills. So continue reading as I share my top tip for developing psychic powers of your own. Read on..:-)

Timeline Intuition

This is a great tool for learning to "map" your future by simply intuiting the past. It's a bit complex to describe in one short paragraph, but the essential theory is this: Our lives are, for the most part, pre-determined along a series or sequence of possible choices, and their consequential outcomes. Much of this is laid out as part and parcel of your "karma" so to speak, and the choices you make a long the path are fundamentally yours, and yours alone. (which lead to either soul development or regression) By looking back at your past choices, the IMPORTANT ones...you can map out a series of 7-10 important crossroads that you met, and you can track your current state of awareness (or life situation) DIRECTLY from which choice you made at each of those seemingly odd forks.

Future Extrapolation

You then take the very same thought process and apply it to the mapping of FUTURE forks that are upcoming (some schools teach that there are 21 major decisions we will each make in this lifetime) and by doing so, you are able to effectively intuit, or "see" (and feel) a very predictable future. It sounds harder than it is...trust me, it's not only a BLAST to do, it's very accurate, incredibly entertaining, and truly ILLUMINATING as a lens by which to look at your own higher purpose, and how to get there in a hurry! (even if it means BACKTRACKING a bit to get there..:-)

And of course there is SO much more....More that lies possible in YOUR life if you only open yourself up to the possibilities. Simply START by opening your mind, spirit & enhanced AWARENESS and ride the supernatural surfboard into the wild, wacky and wonderful world of the unknown..:-) It WILL rock Your WORLD...I promise..;-)

Who Else Wants to Experience Radical Inner Peace & Magnificent Well Being?

Read on...to discover how to experience almost MAGICAL psychic POWERS blissful meditation and SO much more.......quickly, easily and magically even if you are a complete novice and have no idea what you are doing!

Installing a 32 Inch Back Door

2009-08-30T05:09:00.001-07:00

He got the extra money in his pocket, you got a headache.

I'm a contactor and learned this lesson in a long time ago.

When building a new home most people don't give very much thought about their interior or exterior doors. Here's a simple chart I made to help with some basic door decisions.

If you are a professional football or basketball player don't use these numbers above.

Give some thought when installing a new door on your next project and keep some of the above tips in mind..

If you are designing a home give some thought to the stairways and hallways in the home as well.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Bay Window Ideas

Will All Men Ever Hate Jesus

How Positive Visualization Can Improve Your Life

2009-08-29T23:00:00.001-07:00

Positive visualization is seeing in your mind's eye your life unfolding in a way that pleases you. It's taking charge of your life and creating your own reality by engaging your own God-given power.

Positive visualization helps you break from of outside influences and circumstances. You're no longer a helpless victim, being tossed around by the events in your life. Instead, you're in command and control by seeing things working out through the power of imagination. Wayne Dyer wrote "whatever you think about expands." If you find yourself in a situation that is negative or unhappy in any way, visualization can help you turn it around by placing yourself mentally and spiritually in an environment that's more positive, productive, inspiring and joyful.

Let's face it, the world we live in has many outside influences that can drag you down and leave you feeling tired, frustrated, angry, or worried. Just turn on the evening news, or pick up any major daily newspaper and the gloom and doom seems to be everywhere. Many people buy into this negativity and are only too quick to spread it around. It takes internal strength and the use of your imagination to break the cycle and free you of the doomsday thinking that's often prevalent in today's society.

You need to be mentally strong to ward off the effects of this widespread negativity that's being spread around like manure on grass. Positive visualization is the tool that helps you reverse this focus. Think about what you want, not about what you don't want. Stay in that wavelength with positive visualization and you can emerge from the surrounding negativity unscathed.

Envision the results and the reality you want. Stick with that image. That's the power of visualizing at work. Find a peaceful place where you can get away from it all. Relax and then imagine in detail what it's like to have things work out exactly as you want. A few moments enveloped in a positive visualization can work wonders in improving your mental state and raising your vibration.

Anyone can use positive visualization at any time. It's the secret to engaging the Law of Attraction. You attract into your life that which you think and feel repeatedly. Your dominant thoughts and feelings become your reality, so it pays to use positive visualization on a daily basis.

How long does it take to manifest your visualization? The time it takes to realize your vision often depends on what that vision is and your effectiveness at visualizing it consistently. You plant the seed the first time you engage in positive visualization. And you water, nourish and let the sun shine on that seed by visiting your vision over and over again.

You can start benefiting from the power of positive visualization by beginning to spend more time focusing on the things you do want, instead of focusing on what you do not want.

Ready to rise above frustration, disappointment, or worry? Positive visualization can work for you automatically to give you whatever it is you really want. Just pop in the CD of your choice and follow along. You'll be gently led on a guided visualization, designed to take you from where you are now to wherever you want to go. Click here to visit http://www.visualizationfx.com today.

Old Versus New Construction Adhesives

2009-08-29T21:53:00.001-07:00

When I first started building in 1978 as a young carpenter and an apprentice to my father. I had the grand illusions of becoming what they call on the east coast a master carpenter and on the West Coast a journeyman carpenter.

Part of my training in construction was learning to use the proper adhesive and caulking for different parts of the building project. We used to use a standard solvent-based construction adhesive when we were building our stairs and they would also use this adhesive on the floors to eliminate squeaks.

This glue dried extremely hard and everyone thought the harder the better. This construction adhesive was great when I started using it in 1978. There wasn't the polyethylene super elastic expandable multi-use glue and caulking construction adhesives at that time.

We used this brittle glue and it always seemed like a waste of time. As the wood dried and started to shrink the brittle hard glue would crack and break away from the wood it was glued to. Normally the glue was breaking away from plywood floor sheeting. I have seen 2 x 12 shrink 3/8 of an inch before in as little as a few months during the summer.

Now as time went on the old construction adhesives were replaced with a new window sealant made by a company called TOPS. This stuff was the hottest and best product of the decade to me. I used this stuff for everything.

This new urethane glue was now being used for sub floors, stair treads, sealing the windows flashing and siding. This stuff is still in use today and is a great choice for all of the uses I mentioned above. The price for this sealant is about double that of most water-based or solvent-based glues. But it's worth it.

So there you have it I like the urethane glues because of their flexibility, elasticity, their ability to adhere to wood concrete or metal and their performance in the years ahead.

There is one thing to keep in mind when using construction adhesives. Most construction workers seem to ignore the fact that the wood needs to be dry and clean before applying the construction adhesive. There have been quite a few times I have witnessed carpenters working with me and ignoring my advice.

Don't put yourself into this category. Doing quality work and following the manufacturers recommended installation instructions for their product will decrease your liability if there is ever a problem. Read the instructions carefully on all of the building products you use.

The manufacturers of these construction adhesives have thoroughly tested them. So use them properly and follow all safety warnings.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Carlsbad Structural Repairs

Personal Development

The Future of World Religions at the Cross Roads

2009-08-29T15:36:00.001-07:00

The Catholic Pope is now under fire from Islam for comments made during a speech, which was like a history lesson about the wars between religion of the past and why they should be reviewed and prevented in the future. Unfortunately, it was misinterpreted by the Islamic Clerics and now we have yet another issue akin to the cartoons that offended the Muslim World. Is it the Catholic World we should scold for the comments of the Pope or should we scold the Muslim World for blowing it up out of context?

This clash of religion and wars has gone on too long. Who is at fault? Well we all are for allowing these conflicts to permeate our minds, TV sets and the World Mass Media, but really all-religion is problematic, Mankind needs to grow up, ditch religion and experience a little acceleration in forward progression of this species.

Some say we are moving too close to WWIII others say it has already started. Yes we are in the midst of WWIII; the conflict in Israel and cease fire and then the attack on US Embassy in Syria, kind of says it all, negotiation is not possible, so action must be taken Carl von Clauswitz style. Meanwhile if Islam does an international terrorist attack on Vatican, then the Italians will indeed strike at the heart of Islam. Do we really need to destroy human culture and history or can we agree to ditch religion without the scattering of human sacrifice across the desert sands? Consider this in 2006.

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

Slow Market Home Pricing Advice

2009-08-29T14:27:00.001-07:00

Homes are going to be sold in good markets and bad. When times are good, people often forget that bad times will be coming eventually. During good times, people often get caught up in the hype of the real estate boom. During tough times, houses will be sold eventually, or taken off the market and sold later. If you need to sell the home as soon as possible, for financial or other reasons, you will have to adjust your price with the current market and don't get greedy.

This is the hardest thing for most people to do, lower the price of their home in order to sell it in a slow real estate market. Don't get caught up in the value of your home, six months or even a year ago. Last year's prices are not going to be this year's prices and you need to get that through your thick skull. If the average homes in your neighborhood are selling for $250,000 and you have a swimming pool or done some upgrades, maybe a room addition. Your home is going to be worth more than the average selling price.

Most real estate professionals will price your home according to the length of time you have to sell it. If you're in a hurry to sell, they don't have time to test the market. The price of your home would need to be competitive or lower than homes selling in the area. Whether homes are selling fast in a good market for selling slow in a bad market, if you have time, you can ask a little bit more for your home. If the market hasn't reached the bottom, waiting could actually hurt you, because the prices of the homes in the area would still be dropping.

Listen to your real estate professionals advice when pricing your home. That's what you're hiring them for, they are in the real estate business. Your neighbors, relatives, friends and people you work with, will probably be guessing if you asked for their opinion on pricing your house.

Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Finding that person is the key to selling your home, finding that person as soon as possible could give you the illusion that you sold your home to cheap. Don't worry about it, your final objective is to sell the house.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If you really think your home is safe, check out these pictures about home water damage.

What Happens To Nonbelieving

The Good People Get to Go to Heaven

2009-08-29T08:07:00.001-07:00

I found a website that was recommended to me and it had the comment, is Jesus the only way to heaven at, Gotquestions, seems like your typical Christian website that replies with biblical quotes and simple to follow information. If I was lost, they will help me find a way. There's even a button at the bottom that states, I have accepted Christ today. I guess if I was to push that button, I get to go to heaven and be with Jesus. Hard to imagine, avoiding a life of burning in hell could be as simple as pushing a button and uttering a few simple words.

I found this question and began reading their comment. The first comment is from somebody answering as a nonbeliever in Christianity. It states something like, if I'm basically a good person and live a moral life, I get to go to heaven, right, only the bad people like murderers go to hell.

Now the answer that the website gives, seems to create fear if you do not belong to Christianity and provide you with hope if you join the group.

It mentioned Satan as the ruler of the world, and he can plant these thoughts into your head if you're not a Christian. He also controls your mind and let's you believe, that it would only make sense to any rational person, they get to go to heaven if they're good.

Now this is what makes sense to me but according to this information, I am doomed to rot in hell for eternity, even if I am a pretty good person. All I have to do is accept Christ as God and I get to go to heaven. That seems pretty easy and I wonder why more people don't do it. Just push the button.

I wonder if Satan is controlling, non-Christians minds and that's why there's brutality and war throughout the world. If everyone was a Christian, would our world be better.

Here's a quote from Wikipedia The Crusades were a series of religion-driven military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents. Crusades were fought mainly against Muslims, though campaigns were also directed against pagan Slavs, Jews, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, Waldensians, Old Prussians, and political enemies of the popes.

These Christian Crusades killed thousands of people. To give you an idea how many people were killed, all I had to do was type the word crusades into a search engine and it took me to the Christian Crusades.

I guess that rules that out, it seems like the Christians a long time ago were pretty aggressive towards their enemies, I wonder if most Christians would refer to these people as enemies today or are they just being controlled by Satan. Do these Christians from the Crusades get to go to heaven? If people like this get to go to heaven, may be hell is a better place anyway.

Here's something to think about, go to heaven

What Does a GFI Do? - Electrical Problems

2009-08-29T07:10:00.001-07:00

In your bathroom you should have a GFI electrical outlet. Most new homes or newly remodeled homes require you to have GFI electrical outlets in the kitchen. Most older kitchens do not have GFI electrical outlets. GFI stands for ground fault circuit interrupter.

Why not call it a GFCI instead of a GFI electrical outlet? Well it is called a GFCI in some instances. GFI is short and is the most common name used by most electricians and builders for this type of outlet.

GFI 's come in 15 amp and 20 amperage outlets. GFI outlets must be wired properly. Make sure you're using the proper wire size when hooking up the GFI outlet.

How do I know which size wire to use? This all depends on how far away you are running it from the electrical panel. There are charts you can use to figure this out. If you are not running the electrical wire more than 80 feet from the electrical panel you can use 12 gauge electrical wires for a 20 amp GFI. This is a general rule of thumb for most electrical house wiring.

If you're going to be using a 15 amp GFI and you are going to be less than 80 feet away from the electrical panel you can use 14 gauge electrical wires. Again this is just a general rule of thumb for most electrical house wiring.

A GFI is a light duty electrical plug used in bathrooms, kitchens and the exterior of your house. The sole purpose of the GFI is to shut the breaker off faster if there is any moisture or light load problems.

Let's say for instance you have your hair dryer plugged into the GFI outlet. The hair dryer somehow falls into the sink while it is on or plugged in. The GFI outlet will instantly shut off because of the sensitivity of the breaker inside of the plug it self.

The GFI plug has a test button and a reset button on it. If you are continually resetting the GFI you will wear it out eventually. I have had GFI plugs after resetting the button about 10 times break and no longer able to use them.

The GFI electrical plug is a great idea and if you don't have them in your bathroom or outside of your home it would be a great idea to have an electrician install them for you.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Home Building Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

San Diego Termite Damage

Should The Bible Be Edited

Kundalini Activation - How Self Hypnosis Helps Kundalini Enlightenment

2009-08-29T00:39:00.001-07:00

If you ever hope to access the Kundalini energy that lies hidden within your chakras you may need more than a little Kundalini activation help. This power is hidden within you laying dormant until you either find the mental clarity to tap those resources for yourself or experience moments of great need that bring them, unbidden, to the surface. If you seek to make these chakras do your bidding you are going to need to devote some time and energy into learning to control them so that they work in unity and on demand. This is much easier imagined than accomplished.

What is the Kundalini Path?

The Kundalini path is literally the path to enlightenment. Followers of this path believe that there is a living power within each of us. Enlightenment is the ability to unify various chakras within us so that they will work in harmony with one another. The path to enlightenment is a journey in this belief and one that is well rewarded. Kundalini activation help is not the easiest help to find though there are a few excellent resources that will provide insight and guidance.

Unifying the Energy Within

Through conscious effort, it is often difficult to unify forces that are generally opposed or work independently of one another. To do so on a subconscious level is an even greater feat for those who accomplish this. Once you learn to unify the energy within yourself there will be little you set your mind to that you cannot accomplish.

The Kundalini Awakening

Many people experience some degree of let down when their Kundalini first awakens. No matter how often you are told and expect there to be no unity there is still an initial sense of disappointment that follows that initial thrill of excitement. Don't allow yourself to dwell on what didn't happen. Choose to focus on the positive and realize that you managed to wake your Kundalini. This is an accomplishment to celebrate even without control.

Tantric Kundalini Awakenings

Couples will want to explore tantric Kundalini activation help for an amazing experience that defies all others. There are stark differences between Kundalini awakenings that are achieved through yoga and those that are achieved through tantra. If you get nothing else from this, understand that to experience this awakening with a lover is an experience that defies words.

Hypnosis Help With Kundalini Awakenings

Listening to recordings and self hypnosis can help you train your subconscious mind to awaken your Kundalini. If you need Kundalini activation help you will probably find that self hypnosis is an excellent source of assistance not only for the actual activation but also when it comes to gaining control.

Begin an Amazing Journey

Are you ready to leave the shell of yourself behind and find a completely new plain of existence? Are you ready to experience more of everything than you've ever imagined possible? If so, today is the day to seek Kundalini activation help and begin exploring life on an entirely new and exciting level.

J. Seymour is a writer with Self Help Recordings. 'Discover Kundalini Activation' is an excellent recording by Steve G Jones, who offers twenty years of experience through these recordings. To find out more, visit Kundalini Activation Help. A range of other self hypnosis products can be found here - Kundalini Self Help. All of the recordings on Self Help Recordings are backed by an impressive sixty day guarantee, so to find out more simply click on the links.

Success Starting in Your 40s

2009-08-28T23:49:00.001-07:00

Why wait, if you can't find a job in a business you never truly enjoyed, maybe you can find a new job doing something you love.

"Education has freed me, to pursue other ideas and release me from the bondage and fear of organized religion."

Gregory Vanden Berge

Was Jesus A Good Example

Law of Attraction Self-Help - How to Create Powerful Visualizations

2009-08-28T17:00:00.001-07:00

Have you heard of people who've changed their lives completely for the better using Law of Attraction self help? You can do this too, when you learn how to create powerful visualizations.

Start by deciding how you want your life to change.

1. Make Three Wishes

Once we reach adulthood, we stop using our imaginations. Can you remember the games you played as a child, and how much fun they were? When you use Law of Attraction self help, your aim is to get back to this happy, carefree state of mind.

Pretend you're in a fairy tale, and your fairy godmother has asked you to make three wishes - these wishes will all come true.

Write down your three wishes. Writing them down ensures that you remember what they are. Date the piece of paper, and put it somewhere safe.

2. Create Scenarios for Your Wishes

Next, create some scenarios for your wishes. A scenario is just an imaginative scene - a visualization. For example, let's say that one of your wishes was for a house with an ocean view, which is yours, and completely paid for.

Imagine the house on a huge movie screen, at least 30 feet long. See the house as clearly as you can. Move from room to room. See the garden. Then step into the scene, and enjoy your house.

Create at least one scenario for each of your three wishes.

3. How Do You Feel?

Your emotions power your visualization. Step back into your visualizations, and now take special note of how you feel. Are you happy? Excited? Relaxed? Remember how you felt in each visualization.

4. Day-Dreaming Each Morning and Evening

Next, spend a few minutes with your visualizations every morning, and evening - before you get out of bed in the morning, and just before you fall asleep are great times.

5. Releasing and Allowing

Keep enjoying your morning and evening visualizations, but release any attachment to how they will manifest. Let them go in your mind. They're your creations, and the universe will bring them to you - it's inevitable - but the "how" of manifestation isn't up to you.

Before you know it, the Law of Attraction self help will bring your three wishes to you. Here's the best part: you can make as many wishes as you please, so make three more.

Are you ready to change your life and use the law of attraction to create what you want? Start with Julia Denham's law of attraction reviews, and then visit her law of attraction blog at http://loa-prosperity.com/

DIY Bathroom Remodeling Or Hiring a Contractor

2009-08-28T16:03:00.001-07:00

My advice to do it yourselfers is to hire a professional if you're not comfortable or seek the advice from a contractor or someone with considerable experience bathroom remodeling.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more House Remodeling Pictures or home building ideas.

Religion Articles

My Walk With Farrakhan - Can Righteous People Sin and Can Wicked People Do Righteous Deeds?

2009-08-28T09:25:00.001-07:00

I have written 7 articles detailing different aspects of my faith walk with my spiritual guide, The Hon. Louis Farrakhan. I have been blessed by God during my time of being a student of God's word under his direction to make some amazing changes in my life since my acceptance of Islam on March 20th, 1996. However, I don't want anyone, for one second, to think that my life has been perfect for the past 12 years since walking in the path to become a Muslim. I have made an equally fair share of mistakes and yes "sins" since becoming a Muslim.

Sometimes, many religious people let their supposed new righteous life give them the false arrogance that they are better than others. But, I take the view that I am on a journey in the path of God striving to be qualified to be one of his righteous servants. I don't look down on others, but rather try to encourage others to reach for the best everyday.

I, after 10 years of being a Muslim, during the year 2006 had a major fall in my personal life that tested my faith and made me reflect on my journey deeper.

I will be exploring this sensitive subject of my fall to sin during the 8th part of my article series, My walk with Farrakhan. I won't give the specific instances where I fell, but I will say that I went from the highest of high to the lowest of low in my personal life.

Before we get into exploring this subject let's define a few words to ensure we have the clearest possible understanding of the words used in this article. One of the things both The Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad and his student The Hon. Louis Farrakhan teaches us as students is to get definitions of the words we use. Also, Minister Malcolm X began his journey to enlightenment just by reading the dictionary and learning the meaning of words.

The word Righteous, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is defined as,
"1: acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin 2 a: morally right or justifiable righteous decision> b: arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality 3 slang : genuine, excellent"

The word wicked, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is defined as,
"1: morally very bad : evil 2 a: fierce, vicious wicked dog> b: disposed to or marked by mischief : roguish does wicked impersonations 3 a: disgustingly unpleasant : vile wicked odor> b: causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble wicked storm> 4: going beyond reasonable or predictable limits: of exceptional quality or degree throws a wicked fastball.

The word sin, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is defined as,
"1 a: an offense against religious or moral law b: an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible c: an often serious shortcoming : fault 2 a: transgression of the law of God b: a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God"

Now with a clear definition of the key words used in this article, we will now proceed to explore this subject of righteous people, wicked people and sin.

Understanding Adam, Sin and falling from grace

"And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot; and We found in him no resolve (to disobey)." Holy Qur'an 20:115

Both the Bible and The Qur'an speak of ALLAH creating a new man, giving that man specific instructions and that man ultimately falling from grace. This is the daily story of the human family of the earth that is striving in the path of God. Whereas both the Bible and Qur'an relate the same story there are differences in understanding of meaning. The Holy Qur'an takes the position that human beings are created in a state of Islam(natural submission to God) and are pure until our parents, environment or our own deeds take us from the path of righteousness.

The story of Adam and Eve has been used to promote the position that it is natural to sin or the "human" thing to do. In one sense yes humans inevitably make mistakes, but we are not created in the image and likeness of Almighty God to act less. Also, the Holy Qur'an doesn't blame the woman for leading man into temptation. We learn from reading Sura(chapter) 20:125 that Adam didn't intend to disobey his Lord, but rather he forgot. We are taught in Islam that all deeds will be judged by our intentions while doing the deed. Some people do good deeds for wicked intentions. Likewise, some people do wicked deeds while feeling the pangs of their conscious.

Yes, Adam fell from his great glory, but did Almighty God give up on him or turn his face from him? The Qur'an teaches that ALLAH turned mercifully towards Adam and "reminded" him of the promise of divine guidance.

I will use the biblical story of the prophets to make the next points in this analysis of righteous people and wicked people. Before I proceed I must make a clarification. The Holy Qur'an accepts all of the prophets mentioned in the Bible as true men of God. However, The Holy Qur'an doesn't accept the stories attributed to them of unrighteousness. The Qur'an teaches that for the prophets to be examples to purify others they must be pure themselves.

The Bible teaches us of man named Noah who was chosen by God to be a fulfiller of his will. The story further teaches us that Noah was a "righteous and "just" man(Gen 6:8-9). He was chosen by God to build the Ark and be a savior of his people. After Noah had fulfilled his mission from God and survived the flood, the Bible teaches that the sons of Noah found him in a drunken state. One of the sons of Noah saw the drunken state of his father and told the other brothers. We then learn that the two brothers refused to look at the nakedness of Noah and covered him.

Later, when Noah awoke he cursed (and God upheld the curse) the son (Ham) who looked and blessed the sons (Shem and Japheth) who covered him. The point to this story (from the biblical perspective) is that Noah was a righteous man who did an unrighteous deed, but that didn't stop God's favor on him. As for the sons, their refusing to look at their father naked could mean: they chose to look at the good of their father instead of the bad or they refused to judge this aspect of his life.

Another biblical story teaches us of a great king named David, who was the father of Solomon and a forerunner of the Messiah. The Bible teaches that David had a heart after God's own heart. Yet, despite these great qualities the book informs us of several misdeeds of David. Some scholars have suggested that David violated about 9 of the 10 commandments. However, David is still held up as an example of a true man of God and his kingdom set a standard for all others.

Travelling (travail) on the path of God

I like to describe my faith walk with God as being a journey. I have been on this journey for 12 years and will be on it for the rest of my life. I want you to think about something related to a journey. Imagine if you lived in Pensacola, Florida and you decided to travel to Chicago one day. You would find yourself travelling up I-65 N for a long period of time. Let's also say this is your first time travelling to the destination, so you are checking your map closely trying to stay on course. Yet, you made a mistake and took a wrong exit, therefore ended up in Kentucky. What fool would sit on the side of the road, give up and never try to make adjustments (checking the map) to get back on the interstate towards your destination. Likewise, in our journey to godliness we may find ourselves making some wrong exist Ex. drugs, alcohol, adultery, lying, stealing etc...

However, we don't have to stay on these wrong exists. As one would get back on the interstate to continue travelling to a city, we should, if a wrong exit was taken, get back of the path to continue our journey to God.

The Bible perfectly illustrates this point in the following words
"For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity." Proverbs 24:16

If you notice that while the above scripture describes a man (or woman) as falling he still has righteous attached to him name. Why is this? Though we are taught that all have fallen short of the glory of God; is there a difference between righteous people who sin and wicked people who sin? As I wrote the last sentence, I thought how it could sound like a major paradox or contradiction. I think people can make unintentional departures from the right way and still be righteous. Yet, other people live a lifestyle of sin and are blatantly ignoring the will of God. This is what I think is the difference between righteous people and wicked people.

The example of The Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan

Brother Farrakhan, to me, is a great example of a Muslim, because of his strong insistence that me must submit totally to ALLAH's will, fear no one but ALLAH and his ability to be honest about his short comings. After the Nation of Islam "fell" in 1975, Brother Farrakhan said that he became "disillusioned" with religion and fell from his former resolve. After reflection on his life, the condition of our people and the teachings of his spiritual father, The Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad, Minister Farrakhan recovered from his "fall"

Concerning this The Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad, ALLAH's messenger to us, reminds us

"So this is the thing that you must remember, that trials, sometimes, are so terrific that they will weaken the most strongest person sometimes." (The Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad 1964 Laborer meeting)

His example teaches me that the true strength of a person is not that you wont get knocked down from time to time, but can you get back up from a fall, make adjustment and go on to shine.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I had a major fall in my spiritual life after 10 years of striving to be a good Muslim. Yet, after much reflection and the help of God, I am now returning to the path of God and am seeking to be qualified to be called by his name. The Bible teaches us: "All things works for the good of those who love the Lord." It is important when you are having a down moment to have the "right mental attitude", which will determine your response to a down moment.

I want to encourage you to examine Minister Farrakhan and his example of being a servant of Almighty God.

Thank you for reading these few words!

Mustafaa Muhammad is an "African American" who is a follower of the Islamic faith. Through independent religious studies developed an ecumenical view of the world's religions and the people of God. And while he is devoted to Islam as his faith he is at home in the Church(or other religious institutions) as he is in the Mosque.

He has been featured on the Radio, Newspapers, public speaking events and at Mosques/Churches telling his story and offering his understanding of Almighty God's plan for salvation.

Mustafaa is involved in community activity. He believes that our faith must inspire us to greater service to humanity or we may be making a mockery of the purpose of faith. Contact him @ http://brothermustafaa.com

Dog Creates Remodeling Nightmare

2009-08-28T08:31:00.001-07:00

How many homeowners normally leave their dog in the backyard or they have full time access to the backyard through a doggie door. You're probably wondering how can a little dog create a remodeling nightmare for any contractor.

This wasn't the case this dog was a large Labrador retriever and tore up everything in the backyard constantly. The house remodel we were working on was a two story room addition over a single story house. This job lasted around six months and the dog was a daily reminder of how much attention a large dog actually needs.

Let's start with the first item of value the dog actually destroyed. It was my favorite tool bags of course that I have taken care of for over five years and deeply appreciated the fact that they were broke in just the way I wanted them to be. Kind of like a baseball mitt that doesn't quite fit right because of how stiff it is until you break it in.

While the homeowner of course apologized and never even offered to replace them. Oh but after that he did mention never to leave anything lying around in the backyard. Lesson learned of course and never forgotten. Well to make a long story short this large dog could chew up tools, lumber, plumbing pipes, electrical wire and was even able to destroyed the plywood fencing we would use to keep him away.

I'm going to stop right there with the remodeling nightmare created from this dog in hopes that other contractors can learn from my valuable lesson. As a contractor you should never assume that a homeowner will replace any damaged or broken tools and materials.

As a homeowner with a dog reading this article, think about having a place to enclose the dog if necessary while remodeling work is done on your home.

I love being around dogs and other animals but sometimes a problem like this can make life extremely miserable for both parties.

Greg Vanden Berge has been building and remodeling for over 30 years and his information has proven valuable to most contractors and homeowners all over the world. He usually tries to write at least two articles a day on home improvement or remodeling problems.

Greg is in the process right now of working on a home inspection website that will revolutionize the home inspection business. He is also working on a book to help homeowners and contractors as well as other home related professions in dealing with the home inspection process.

You can visit the home inspection website currently under construction at Home Inspection Help

Greg Vanden Berge Quotes

Estate Planning - The Life Estate

2009-08-28T01:22:00.001-07:00

The life estate is something every first year law student learns about when they study the arcane and often bizarre history of property law that harkens back to the days of English knights, lords and serfs, and the transfer of property through the ceremonial throwing of dirt clods with oaths of duty to accompany. The life estate is about as old as they come as instruments of wealth transfer go and students love it, because it is relatively easy to understand. Apart from what students love and what is easy to remember, however, the life estate still has practical value today in your estate planning and assets management schemes.

The basic idea of the life estate is that a person can be left a piece of property for life, and upon their passing, the property in question can go to whoever is designated to receive that property afterward. The individual or group who receives the property after the life-tenant passes is called the remainderman or remaindermen, which is useful only in that it helps one to remember that the person who remains gets the property. If, for example, one wants to leave a family estate that has been with the family for many generations to their spouse and then have it immediately pass on to their children or another relative who will maintain the estate for the generation to come, then a life estate might be the perfect vehicle to do so. Another example is the same family estate, left to a surviving spouse until the surviving spouse either dies or remarries. Again, the aim is to ensure that the estate stays in family, a contingency which is threatened by the remarriage because that creates a new marital joint-tenancy, absent any other provision. Often the life-estate was used to keep assets, like the family home, headed down a single line of familial ownership.

However, the life estate has other uses, for example, it can leave an asset to be owned by one person until the death of third person. If an older relative has become incapacitated, such that it is difficult for them to make decisions for themselves, then the asset can be left in the care of another for the incapacitated person's lifetime. An example might be, that Blackacre (the fictitious name for a piece of property used in law schools everywhere) is left in the care of cousin Tilly, until great aunt Nelly's death. Thus, Tilly is allowed to make Nelly comfortable at Blackacre (the family home) until Nelly passes on. In this instance, Nelly's life is what is called, the measuring life of the life estate, and Tilly's ownership ends when Nelly is gone.

On the whole, the life estate may be falling out of use for a number of reasons and being replaced by the much more fluid instrument of the trust. But, the life estate still captures, from time to time, our instincts regarding how property is to pass from one generation to another and that is why it is still relevant even for an estate planner who uses it very rarely. It helps us to ask and to get the answer to very difficult questions, which is part of the act of estate planning. Both the client and the attorney must face tough questions, and the life estate (even if it is sometimes regarded as a legal relic of the past) tells us how people used to answer questions of intra-generational wealth transfer and why. We may use different instruments to bring about our legal ends (or we may not), but even if we do, the life-estate still has relevance in helping us think about the questions that underlie the choices to be made in estate planning.

Ronald Hudkins is an advocate for consumer awareness. He has noted that more than 70% of the American public fails to make appropriate estate plans prior to death or incapacitation and as such; authored an Ebook "Asset Protection and Estate Planning for All Ages" It is available for free download at http://stores.lulu.com/rhudkins

Home Selling Tips - Best Real Estate Advice Ever

2009-08-18T15:42:00.001-07:00

5. The Interior and exterior walls of the home should be in good shape. Make sure there's no termite damage, wood rot, peeling paint, broken windows or holes in the walls.

These are just a few home selling tips but the most important is to keep the inside and outside of the home clean.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

Don't buyers sell a home without checking how the problems with poor home repairs.

How Did You Choose Your Religion

Ethics in the Workplace

2009-08-17T04:03:00.001-07:00

We've all heard these rules to live by: Don't hurt, don't steal, don't lie, and the more famous "Do unto others as you would have done to you." In our personal lives most people try to follow these rules. Ethics are often thought of by many as something that is related to the personal side of life and not to the business side. In some businesses, having ethics may actually be frowned upon. This is usually due to the fact that business is about doing what's best for the bottom line and not always about doing the right thing.

It is commonly understood that there are ethics and then there are workplace ethics. Often we don't stop to realize that there is no difference between personal ethics and ethics in the workplace; ethics are the same whether at work or in personal life.

After all, ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you. Ethical choices are the "right" choices to make and are examples of rules to live by.

Practical Impact
Executives typically want the answers to two key questions about ethics in their offices: "How do workplace ethics apply to practical goals of my organization and the work of my employees?" and "Is there reliable data to support these assertions?" The Ethics Resource Center (www.ethics.org), a nonprofit organization, assists leaders to impact their organizations by identifying ethical risks and establishing systems to emphasize higher standards for business conduct.

The Ethics Resource Center annually conducts a National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) - a rigorous telephone survey of 1,500 U.S. employees. The NBES findings are encouraging for organizations that have an emphasis on positive workplace ethics. For example, employees have high expectations for ethics within their organizations. Nine in ten respondents say that they "expect their organizations to do what is right, not just what is profitable."

This suggests that most employees are not cynical about ethics at work, encouraging news when considering the implementation or development of ethics initiatives as the long term success of any program rely on the active support of employees.

Formal ethics programs and informal ethics practices were shown to affect certain key outcomes. Employees who work in companies with active ethics programs who observe leaders modeling ethical behavior, and also observe the application of values such as honesty, respect and trust applied frequently at work, report more positive experiences that include the following:

Less pressure on employees to compromise ethics standards
Less observed misconduct at work
Greater willingness to report misconduct
Greater satisfaction with their organization's response to misconduct they report
Greater overall satisfaction with their organizations
Greater likelihood of "feeling valued" by their organizations

Findings of Concern
The NBES uncovered a substantial gap between senior and middle managers and lower-level employees. A consistent finding with management was the perception that their organizations have a positive ethical environment. This conflicts with the perception of lower-level employees however. This suggests that executives may underestimate the importance of specific ethics issues and concerns facing employees.

This disconnect may also position executives to fail to address these issues adequately within their organization's ethics programs. Therefore it is important for executives to include input from employees at lower levels in the development of ethics programs and to continue to seek out their input and feedback on a regular basis.

In addition to the communications gap between employees and executives, one in three employees believe that their coworkers will perceive them as "snitches" if they report misconduct. This is roughly the same proportion of employees who believe that management will see them as "troublemakers" for reporting ethical concerns. A key element to take away from this discovery is the need to address and eliminate retaliation systemically, at the management and peer levels throughout the organization.

Questions Answered
Let's go back to our two key questions: "How do workplace ethics apply to practical goals of my organization and the work of my employees?" and "Is there reliable data to support these assertions?" There are a variety of practical reasons for executives to focus on workplace ethics and reliable data that supports these efforts. The NBES findings consistently link ethics programs to more positive organizations outcomes and increased employee satisfaction.

It would be nave to suggest that an emphasis on ethics will improve the work environment and solve the company's problems overnight. In many cases a well developed and organized effort to target key ethical issues sends an important message. It tells employees that your organization is moving in a positive direction, one that is positive for them as individuals.

Establishing an Ethics Program
Establishing an ethics program is not an exact science. As with any organizational program, it will involve the input and cooperation of many people. The effectiveness of any organization's approach will depend on characteristics that are unique to its culture, the leadership styles, proper planning, and so on. Since some people may be uncomfortable talking about the issues of ethics it can be helpful if management first asks, considers, and then responds to the following questions:

Why might good people in this organization do unethical things?
What are our organization's values?
Have we adequately articulated these values internally and externally?
Does our organization have written ethics policies, procedures, or structures?
To whom is our organization accountable?
What do we mean by "success"?
Does the leadership of our organization support the idea of an ethical workplace?

With the feedback obtained by discussing the questions above, management will have a better idea of the perceptions their employees have on how the company is performing ethically.

In the end, it's all about beginning with our personal and collective understanding of ethics. The second step is awareness of, and solutions to, questions concerning ethics as applied to the workplace. Many universities are now heavily applying the teaching of ethics to their curricula. Graduates of these programs take this information into the workforce with the understanding that solid, positive ethics need to be applied there as well as in the private sector.

In a perfect world, corporations will be better able to avoid embarrassing scandals that appear and reappear in both national and world-wide news scandals. Small businesses will be able to keep and attract more clients and customers. Negotiations between businesses could be accomplished with increased consideration for the other company. This is something for which we can all strive.

Christian Del Monte: creator of iBlogMarketing Internet Marketing Blog and Director of Operations for TMA E-Marketing has a B.S. degree in Marketing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. In addition, Christian has over 10 years in personal sales experience and has directed the operations for TMA for the last 4 years

He has directed and worked on Internet marketing projects for mid to large-scale clients including several fortune 500 companies. Christian continues to head up the operations for TMA as well as lead research and development on vertical search markets and business blogging

Joshua R Jacobson

How to Greatly Improve Your Manifestations

2009-08-15T19:12:00.001-07:00

Chances you are familiar with: The Power of Intention, Think and Grow Rich, The Secret, The Law of Attraction, or Ask and it is Given. Let's face it, these methods for manifesting your desires into reality teach much of the same methods, through different angles.

What makes up their bulk of their messages (instead of focusing on the important mystic essentials for one to directly change reality to their will) are hours of self-help, spiritual inspiration, and tools for personal and inner transformation. May just be me, but that sounds like another subject matter. Yet supposedly these are the real issues behind your ability, or lack thereof. It boils down to surrendering negative thoughts, re-remembering positive elements of life, and going through self-therapy until the results in your life follow the changes in your outlook. Once you can hold a positive outlook, the petty psychology that fueled what manifested in your life until now, will fade away, replaced by positive changes. Some schools even use generalizations in quantum physics to support their methods. The bottom line is by changing your thoughts, you will change your reality.

Why then, is it so impossible to achieve for the mass majority!?

If you are like thousands of others, you may be thinking sure it sounds logical, but why (despite how much you understand positive thinking), behind all the applied optimism, does it feel like everything is still a luck of the draw situation? That much like a domino effect, your destiny seems to have been set in motion by cosmic dice thrown at the moment of your birth? Pretty fatalistic right? What if there was a way to alter those dominoes? That is what Manifesting or co-creating is all about right?

It doesn't matter how many authors out there can explain away the logic, it doesn't automatically make them qualified to teach how-to achieve it. Sure, in order to teach how, you must do so from experiential success, but the other side is understanding the mind-state (not just the intentions) of the student learning it. So let's get to the heart of this article.

Most people automate. They are not in control of their thoughts. Hindu yogi's call it the monkey mind. The Higher Balance Institute calls it your "Babbler". The bottom line is, if you don't know how to control it, then it won't matter how much you grasp, your brain will still play thoughts like a broken record. No matter how clearly you've traced where your negativity originated from in childhood, figuring that out will only change "the content" your babbler uses to dilute your focus while manifesting.

Put positive and negative aside. If your mind is undisciplined, your attempts at manifesting won't generate enough "fuel" or energy to alter the cosmic dominoes beyond your awareness. But, if you somehow had enough fuel to "broadcast" your intentions out to God or the Universe, call it what you will, I guarantee it would add the missing link!

So how can you build this kind of fuel? There are several easy ways. No, I'm not trying to trick you, they really are easy if you put one daily foot in front of the other.

1. Learn how to control your thoughts. Learn an effective meditation and make it a daily practice. Never mind enlightenment (for now), just train your thought control. (make sure it's not a mantra technique, you don't want any triggered spoken or structured thoughts at all) I highly recommend the methods that focus on a chakra. Once you can hold a state of "non-thought" for 1 minute, you are VERY close to your goal.

2. Use this new skill in your manifestation sessions. Relax into a clear state of "nonthought", and instead of a ton of babbled-thoughts representing your intention, or representing what you are asking God, you will use your new meditative skill to isolate the emotional texture (behind the words) of what it is you desire. It cuts to the chase and amplifies the fuel!

3. Hold that emotion! Focus solely on broadcasting the feeling to the universe. Then broadcast it to the deepest part of your heart and mind. Use this fuel technique to program yourself too. Our bodies are electrical, programmed from birth by reality itself. This works far better than spoken or 'babbled' affirmations.

Having more fuel makes all the difference. But if you still have an undisciplined mind, just forget about it. Sure, your desires have an emotional fuel in themselves, but if your mind can only last 5 seconds before another thought comes in diluting it, it basically just evaporated whatever fuel was building.

Train your non-thought skill. Use it to enhance your manifestations and achieve the success you know you've earned. That's Direct Manifestation!

Matt Struve

Higher Balance Institute offers tools for meditation, spiritual development, enhanced intuition and sensory awareness in the world. Our mission is simple - to awaken the world one mind at a time. For more information and a free 1 hour Q&A Audio recording on Manifestation visit us at http://www.higherbalance.com

Joshua R Jacobson

Questioning Old Testament Stories From The Bible

2009-08-15T16:19:00.001-07:00

What Is The Secret Of Life
Experiment With Your Waitress

Passion + Purpose = Action or How to Light a Fire

2009-08-14T09:24:00.001-07:00

Wanna really turn up the heat in your life? Then use the crucial ingredient essential to turning dreams into reality thats action. Without placing a cake in the oven, all the mixing, folding and combination of ingredients wont get you a finished cake. Its ACTION that produces the final results. Lets focus in on taking the action steps necessary to live our lives full of passion and purpose.

Talk is Cheap

A little less conversation, a little more actionwell they didnt call Elvis the King for nothing. He knew about action (in more ways than one, but thats not the point). He understood talk and action were different. It can be easy to get caught up in the what if syndrome. I used to have a bad case of the what ifs myself. What if I wrote a book? What if I took this class? What if I pursue my passion? What if it doesnt work? We all do it. Its human nature. We talk to our friends, annoy our co-workers, and wear-out our families! Talking about something isnt getting us any closer to the finish line than we already are. In fact, talking about it keeps us stuck.

What keeps us talking? FEAR. In The Aladdin Factor, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen remind us, If you keep on doing what youve always done, youll keep on getting what youve always got. This is otherwise referred to as the definition of insanity. They also refer to the wise words of Stan Dale, Comfort zones are plush lined coffins. When you stay in your plush lined coffins, you die. Lets stop the chitchat, step out of our cushy coffins and get busy living.

Dream vs. Do

So you say Im a dreamer. Well Im not the only one. John Lennon was a dreamer, but he also understood that living our dreams requires action. Honestly, if you can dream it, you can do it. But dreaming alone can find us in Fantasy Land. We sit and spin the story in our minds. We envision living a life of grand proportions. Waking up each day and stepping into the perfect life. There is no perfect (Im a recovering perfectionista too, so I speak from experience), only an original screenplay written and directed and starring our im-perfect selves. The beauty of dreams is that we CAN manifest the things we see in our minds eye. We just need to get over the Yeah, but how?

In Good to Great, Jim Collins shares, Weve allowed the way transitions look from the outside to drive our perception of what they must feel like to those going through them on the inside. From the outside, they look like dramatic, almost revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely different, more like an organic development process. Lets stop freaking ourselves out with negative self-talk and how could I? scenarios. Change does require action but its not our job to know exactly how well get from A-Z. Set your intention on the goal and trust that the Universe wants you to have everything your heart desires and then some. Dont worry about the details - just set the wheels in motion.

Do vs. BE

Multi-tasking has become the norm. We get so caught up in the doing of everyday life. We get up, rush to eat, fly out the door, get to office, more multi-tasking ensues, race home, whip up or pick up some food - if we eat at all, spend some quality time with a friend, spouse, partner, kids, the TV, or the Internet and then hit the haybeat down!

Doesnt sounds like the secret to success, huh? Lets flip that switch. Were human BEINGs not human DOINGs. How might we re-frame our lives to start BEING the unique, and creative individuals we were designed to be? First, we must SLOW down. I knowcrazy talk, right? Youre sayinghow can I slow down? Ive got too much on my plate as it is. Well you really CANT do it all. So clean up your stuff, commit to what you really want and take the required baby steps to get there.

Grab a notebook and start asking questions. What three things would I like to incorporate into my day that I am not doing right now? What three things could I eliminate in order to do those other things? What do I really want my days to look like?

What would you do with 30 more minutes a day just for you? What if you got up just 30 minutes earlier? If youve got kids and a spouse, let them know that you are off limits. Would you read? Journal? Work out? Meditate? Have a conversation with God? Take a walk? Have coffee outside and listen to the sounds of a new day dawning?

I understand were not all morning people. But are those extra 30 minutes youre hitting the snooze button, quality sleep anyway? Lets stop complaining that there arent enough hours in the day and re-arrange the 24 weve already got. If living your life your way requires getting up 30 minutes earlier, wouldnt it be worth it? How could it NOT be? Beers become who they are intended to be. Doers die with overflowing in-boxes. Each and every day we have a choice. Which path do you choose? (Yes, sometimes I choose to snooze, but more often than not, I choose to nurture myself).

Imperfect Perfection

According to Deepak Chopra in, The Book of Secrets, There is no limit to how far your influence can reach, but to find that out you must engage life with passion. When you do anything with passion, you express every aspect of who you are. Passion releases all the energy you posses. At that moment you put yourself on the line, for if you throw everything you have into a pursuit, weaknesses are also exposed. Passion brings up everything.

This inescapable fact discourages many people, who dislike the negative parts of themselves so much, or are so intimidated by them, that they hold their passion in check in the belief that life will be made safer. Perhaps it will, but at the same time they are greatly limiting their understanding of what life can bring. The willingness to reach inside every part of yourself opens the door to total understanding. When you hold some part of yourself in reserve you deny it exposure to life; you repress its energy and keep it from understanding what it needs to know.

Wow! Have you ever experienced feeling like that? I have. I was a mess as I was about to launch my website. I was worried about being judged and over-exposed. That people would see all of me. The dark and the light. The good, the bad and the indifferent. The highs and the lows. Me at my finest, as well as, imperfect. I have reached a new level of understanding regarding perfection. I now know that we are ALL whole, complete and perfect AS IS. Right now. It doesnt get any better than this, only different. I appreciate the ebb and flow of my moods more and dont freak out when Im feeling funky (OK, I still freak a little, but Im working on reveling in my funkiness).

My clients have found greater success when they allow themselves to be whole and not just good. One of my clients recently got over her good girl complex, and her world just opened up! Try watching babies. Theyve got this down to a science. One minute they are peaches and cream and the next oil and vinegar. Are they any less beautiful when they are crying than when they are laughing? No. Simply different. Go ahead, revel in your imperfect perfection, its your birthright.

Karma-chameleon

Taking action requires being flexible. You might set out to move forward in one way and then events fall into place and opportunities knock on doors you didnt even know existed. Be flexible and open to the synchronicities that play out in your life. If you open up your heart and ask the Universe to help guide you to your higher purpose, or your desired goal, you have to be open to the way these opportunities will arrive. Dont be so fixated on It has to look like this, or It needs to play out like that.

Synchronicity is the Universal communication system. Example, yesterday I was in a colleagues office and noticed the book, Good to Great on his desk. I commented that Id heard about this book in an article Id read recently. Picked the book up, gleaned it over and went back about my business. 10 minutes later, I received an e-mail from a friend with this book listed as a great resource. Hmmm, lets countthats three times that book came into my awareness in about a 3-day window. I decided the universe was trying to tell me something. That book had a message for me and it was time to investigate.

Im still reading it, but I gained a valuable and relevant quote to share with you all. Maybe thats all I was supposed to get out of it. Im not sure. Either way, I got the tap on my shoulder and interpreted it as, Hey Kam. Time to pick up this book. Had I been completely fixated on the copy Id written prior to finding that book, this article might not have had as big of an impact. Moral to the story, stay flexible and chameleon-like. You never know when intuition will ask you to make a right instead of a left. That voice could save you from a traffic accident and it could also get you to where you need to be easier and more efficiently than you could on your own.

Jump

Theres only so much you can learn in one place. The more that you wait. The more time that you waste. Ahhh, that controversial genius Madonna. She is the perfect example of being chameleon-like. If shed gotten stuck in the same sound, same look, same accent, she never would have had the successful career thats spanned decades.

Ask yourself what youre willing to do to move forward. Are you willing to jump? What would it take for you to courageously leap forward? What action is necessary for you to live life by design instead of by default? To live out loud and passionately and on purpose? To BE present and trust that from moment to moment youll get there. As Peter N. Zarlenga said, Action conquers fear. What are you waiting for? Get busy!

Kammie Kobyleski has been having coaching conversations her whole life. After working in corporate communications, marketing, training & development, and higher education, Kammie made the shift into life & career coaching and consulting. Her lifes mission is helping people fall in love with life. The integration of mind, body, spirit and personal empowerment are Kammies passionate focus. For free resources, articles and information visit http://www.passionmeetspurpose.com or for a complimentary 30 minute call, e-mail kammie@passionmeetspurpose.com

Sigmund Freud

New Thinking About Noah's Ark and Family

2009-08-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

Stop Feeling Guilty Part 2
Pleasure Based Motivation

Dream Big - Self Help Tips

2009-08-13T00:33:00.001-07:00

If you are going to dream you might as well dream big. Too many people want to play it safe. You have to have enough confidence or belief in yourself to take a chance. No one ever became successful by playing it safe. Playing it safe will get you just that, safe. If you want the big pay off you have to take the big risks. You have to be able to dream big and plan to fail. Everywhere you look there are examples of this. Let me share just one story of many. We all know who Rocky is or should we say Sylvester Stallone.

If you don't know his story it is one to be respected. Rocky/Sly as most people call him, had a dream. He wanted to make it in Hollywood. He wanted to be a famous movie actor. So he wrote this thing called a screenplay about this kid named rocky that had a dream to make something of his life. Sly packed up everything he had into his broken down station wagon and headed off to Hollywood. When he arrived in Hollywood he started to shop around his script. Everywhere he went people turned him down. Many even scoffed at him. Then one day a big movie producer said they would buy the script and offered Sly a million dollars for it.

The only catch was they were going to hire someone else to play the part of Rocky. He turned it down. At that time he had no money, was living in his car and someone just offered him a million dollars and he turned it down! Why, because it wasn't his dream. It wasn't about the money. You see he wasn't just dreaming, Sly was dreaming big. He could've played it safe and took the million dollars but fast-forward a bit. Someone eventually did buy the script with the conditions he wanted and he did play the role of Rocky. He was also the 1st actor to demand 20 million dollars a movie and the rest is history.

Oh, by the way I had a small role in the movie Rocky V so I did get to meet him and Sylvester Stallone, in my opinion, is a true leader, difference maker, and a Champion.

And by the way, he really does talk like that... "Yo Adrian" LOL

Sylvester Stallone wasn't afraid to dream big, he wasn't afraid to fail.

Are you willing to dream big?

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"THERE IS NO SUCH WORD AS CAN'T!"

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Wealth Building Habits and Tips

2009-08-11T00:36:00.001-07:00

If you want to be successful, you need mentors or in other words find people that have succeeded. These people can include the ultra rich like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, but don't forget about the people around you that have created good wealth building habits.

Some of the people have great advice and will need to be listened to very intently, while others need to be put on a list and never spoken to again. If you're going to be developing wealth building habits, you're going to need some advice from wealthy people. Let me make myself clear, when I'm talking about developing wealth building habits, I'm not talking about spiritual, knowledge, Biblical or religious wealth. I'm talking about making money, as much money as you desire or feel you need.

Wealth building habits start with you. Ask yourself this question "how bad do I want or desire wealth?" Really, really, really bad or are you the kind of person that would like to be rich, but that's as far as it goes. Developing any of these habits does not include sleeping in until 11 o'clock in the morning and then complaining the rest of the day about your finances.

Bill Gates used to work 16 hours a day. How many days a week did he do that? These are the questions you're going to find the answers to. If you're interested in making $50 million, you need to find someone who can teach you, how to make $50 million.

It won't be necessary to contact Warren Buffett but I would advise you to gather as much information about him as possible. Wealth building habits start with learning about wealthy people. If they get up at four o'clock in the morning and read the newspaper until six o'clock, then exercise for 30 minutes and start working at seven o'clock, you need to start doing this also. Developing good wealth building habits over time are what most successful businessman and women have been doing for years. Study their habits and start changing yours.

If you do something every day, it will usually become a habit within 30 days.

Greg is currently working on a self help video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Non Physical Conscious Awareness

2009-08-09T15:15:00.001-07:00

Human Consciousness can be measured with an Electro-Encephalograph (EEG) machine. What we do not see is the non-physical aspects in the Aura of the person - the electromagnetic field of energy that surrounds the Human Body.

The Human Aura is multi-dimensional; it is not just a shell-like field of energy which is like an egg around the body. It has different layers, which correspond to the different layers of the physical body: the Whole Body, Organs, Cells, Molecules, Atoms, Finer Particles, Light Body and Core Being or Vacuum.

As well as these layers we have the Energy Centres - Chakras - coming out like cones. As the colours of these cones merge with each other we see different colours of light being formed to give us a point in the Aura of each shade and hue.

You can watch the Aura having different shades of points of light, acting like radio tuners receiving similar frequencies from our environment; the Human Body can tune into all frequencies at the same time and we can interpret these with our emotions and feelings.

When we smile we can feel the energy in our cheeks extending out from our body like angel's wings or like a magnetic field; this is created within the body, as would happen in a bar magnet. The field of energy which our physical body creates extends out into the non-physical Aura and beyond, like the force field surrounding a magnet.

Our body is sensing the astrological influences from the planets, as we exist in the Earth's Magnetic Field. All these different electromagnetic levels of energy and force have an influence on our consciousness and our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

We notice how we feel happier on a bright, sunny day than we do when dark storm clouds are over us.

We live in an invisible field of Electromagnetic Energy which covers the full spectrum: Gamma Rays, X-Rays, Ultraviolet, Visible Light, Infra-red, Radio Frequencies, etc. We are connected as One with this field of Energy and it is part of our Conscious Awareness.

As well as this natural electromagnetic field from our solar system, we are also influenced by the electromagnetic smog of mobile phones, TV and radio and all the other methods of man-made communication using this underlying field of energy in which we live.

Human consciousness can use the underlying electromagnetic field to send messages telepathically, and to get premonitions and dj-vu insights.

The Universe uses this field of Power and Force in an effortless way, to bring about synchronicities in our life; our vibration draws to us the things which are patterned in our being; something magical seeks us out and happens in our life.

As more humans become aware of this non-physical electromagnetic field of energy, it grows stronger and the synchronicities happen more often. The accident rate is declining as everything acts as part of the whole and moves in a frictionless flow of life in Conscious Awareness.

By George E. Lockett SSHA, IIHHT -- HealerGeorge(C) Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved. Tel: +44 (0)1286 882701 Visit HealerGeorges web site to experience the power of Distant Healing or listen to HealerGeorge Radio giving Questions and Answer advice mixed with Spiritual Music. You can also enjoy many free benefits on HealerGeorge, like listening to Free Guided Meditations. Why not order HealerGeorges Latest book entitled A Journey into The Self The Multi-dimensional Nature of Being Human By George E Lockett. It is all available off the web site. HealerGeorge Web Site and New Book Description: What is this book going to do for YOU? For those who are seeking a complete energetic makeover, as you read it you will feel a stirring and awakening in the depths of your heart. For those who have questions about Shifts in Consciousness, Energy Balancing, and Healing within the body, you will find clear answers.

Learn Something About Time Management From the American Indians

2009-08-08T06:46:00.001-07:00

I don't consider myself an expert on the American Indians but I would like to share a thought about their lifestyle. I was listening to an audio book on the American Indians eating habits, when it got me thinking about something the author said. This might not be a topic of interest for most people but I found it fascinating.

While listening to the audio book, the author made a statement about the American Indians I will never forget. He said "American Indians spend about four hours each day working, gathering and preparing food." If you think about it, that's not too bad of a lifestyle.

I would imagine that we have a better selection and larger variety of food to choose from than they had. This of course would be a benefit to living in our society instead of theirs.

American Indians often spent a lot of time outdoors and for some reason, spending time in nature seems to be a good thing. I know a lot of people that would rather be outdoors than indoors, walking, jogging, hiking, camping and even gardening. It almost seems more natural for us to be outdoors than indoors.

Now with the Indians working about four hours each day, this is a little bit different then our standard workday. Most people spend at least 9 to 12 hours each day driving to and from work and actually working. I would imagine our standard workday would actually be easier than that of the American Indian. I can't imagine some of my friends or family members chasing after a Buffalo with a spear.

Does this mean the American Indians had it right, just because they worked four hours each day and spent more time in nature were doing what they truly wanted to. Know I can't truly say that they had it right, but I can say that they seem to do just fine living with nature.

Some of these civilizations lasted for centuries.

Something to think about, on your daily travels to and from work as you desire to be at the beach or hiking in the mountains. The philosophies we often associate with a good life, could actually be better instead of progressively adding unneeded stress and frustration to it.

Attitude - Life is Good

2009-08-06T22:55:00.001-07:00

Is it really true that a certain attitude can affect our lives in a significant way? Let's think of it as a scientific study. Say we hypothesize that a positive attitude deems success and a negative attitude deems failure. We could stratify the study -- see the differences between men and women, old and young -- but is that really necessary, aren't we just looking at the obvious?

Success is definitely more of a mental attitude -- it's not how much money we make, if we're male or female, or how skinny we are -- it's our perceptions, how we see ourselves fitting into this world. Rich people are not always at peace, beautiful people are not always happy, and why is that? Think of Victor Frankl and the Pursuit of Happiness -- the incredible trials -- but yet he still found peace amidst the unbelievable circumstances he had to endure.

Let me share a true story to illustrate my point -- one that a good friend shared with me. My friend was browsing in a bookstore one day when in walked two women. One was absolutely stunning -- you couldn't help but stare. Her features, manner, and clothing were swiped off the cover of a glamour magazine. Next to this beauty was her friend in a wheelchair -- kind of plain looking, maybe a little chubby, and with no real amazing sense of style. My friend thought they were an odd pair to be out together, but didn't think about it anymore and went back to her browsing. A few minutes later, she could hear the pair talking in the next aisle. One was gently coaxing the other. It's just your attitude, you can do anything you set your mind too. Life is wonderful, it's all about how we choose to see things. My friend was transfixed, the words and the voice were so powerful that she almost believed them. I mean, she was listening to the words of an obviously beautiful, successful woman. But then my friend snapped back to reality, almost slightly angry. So easy for her to say when she has everything. My friend rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks. The encouraging voice, the powerful positive message, came from the woman in the wheelchair.

That story has always stuck with me and illustrates my point perfectly.

So how does an attitude really cause our success? Here are some pointers.

Gratitude: When we are able to be grateful for even the smallest things, our thoughts and actions focus on the good of the situation.

Grounded: If you don't allow the craziness of everyday ups and downs get to you -- remain gracious and kind, focusing on the good -- you will better be able remember your priorities and work towards achieving your goals.

Attraction: As we are gracious and grounded, we attract other positive people. Put simply, do you prefer to hang out with grumps or happy people?

Opportunity Knocks: Your mind will be clear, and negative thinking won't affect your perceptions so you're better able to recognize an opportunity that aligns with your goals in life. And many times those opportunities may come in the form of happy, successful people that you've attracted into your life.

So to answer our question at the beginning -- yes, our attitudes can significantly affect our lives. Just as we focus on the positive aspect of life, focusing on the negative can have the same effect in the opposite direction. We'll attract negative-like minds. But we must remember that living in a fantasy bubble with our blinders on is almost as bad as wallowing in our pessimism. So as in everything, life is about balance. Let's have a good attitude but be aware with our eyes wide open.

Jaycee Fox writes on health and family related issues, and the pursuit of achieving a balanced life. She has a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters degree. She's happily married and the mother of three. If you're interested in finding that balance and the many resources that can help you achieve it -- even her recommended books on improving attitude -- then check out Jaycee's resource website at http://jayceeliving.com