Self Improvement Digest

My dear heart I thought of you today while lying in bed and began to cry because I realize how much I have not spend time talking to you or thanking you.

Thank you for all the wondrous gifts that you bring to me each day that I take for granted.

Sometimes you are closing yourself to protect me and you are sending me some messages from a little voice saying "stay away from this".

I realize that when I listen to you it is usually much better for me, thank you.

Sometimes you open yourself so much that I even got scared but with time I realize that is your way to say "go forward you are ready for this," thank you.

My dear heart you are always beating without fail, whether I notice you or not, you are much closer to me than my mother, thank you.

You who without my conscious awareness beats when I am asleep or wake, whether I am thinking of you or not, beats ceaselessly, thank you.

I thank you for your service each and every day of my life.

You help my blood circulate, you help my emotions circulate, thank you.

My words seem to fall short to my gratitude I feel within when I think of you, thank you.

I love you my heart for all the joy and happiness you give to me as experiences, thank you.

I want to sing praises to you for your unconditional devotion, thank you

Now I realize that you are always here for me, knowing of your love and devotion may I now in this moment and many others to come be eternally grateful.

Birthday celebrations are interesting aren't they? When you're a child, you look forward to them and they are so much fun. But the older we get, the less we look forward to celebrating another birthday. Why is that?

Have you been to a 30th birthday party recently? "Oh no, I'm not young anymore! I'm getting old! I've hit 30!" Those are some of the things you might expect to hear.

When was the last time you were at a birthday party for someone turning 40? You know they have special balloons for that occasion. They are black balloons. When you hit 40, life is just about over, so they say.

And then there's the big 50th birthday party. Yes, you hit the big "Five-0." Welcome to old age. So they say.

But on the other hand, there are people who don't subscribe to that way of thinking. I don't. Why would I want to focus on and dwell on how "old" I am getting?

A lot of what most people associate being old with is pretty negative. Why think that way? Why not be excited to be alive? Life has so many possibilities! You can live life to the fullest each day by enjoying every moment!

Who is the oldest man to climb Mt Everest? As of this article, it was Yuichiro Miura. On May 22, 2003 Miura, a professional skier and a high school headmaster from Sapporo in Japan, became the oldest man to reach the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 70. He was among 31 people who reached the summit as part of the Miura Everest 2003 Expedition.

On October 29, 1998, John Glenn, at age 77, became the oldest person in space when he and six other astronauts orbited the Earth for nine days aboard shuttle Discovery. His mission was to test the effects of space on the elderly.

James Van Allen was the physicist who discovered the Van Allen belts. He was asked and accepted to take part in the Galileo Mission to Jupiter, when he was 83 years old.

In July of 1999, Fred Whipple, the noted Harvard astronomer who fathered the phrase "dirty snowball" to describe comets, was named to serve on a NASA space mission team. He became the oldest researcher ever to accept an active role in a NASA space science mission, at the age of 92.

In March of 2006, Arthur "Deke" Winston, at the age of 100, retired after 75 years of cleaning and then supervising the maintenance of both the Los Angeles trolleys, and then their buses. But don't think "Deke" is taking a break!

The 100-year-old surprised nobody at his retirement party by announcing that during his retirement, he'll stay busy - volunteering, he says, helping old people. He now goes to senior citizens homes and facilities to talk to them about enjoying life.

Then there's George Dawson who had his book published when he was 101. The book is titled, "Life is So Good." Why did he wait so long to write a book? George had never learned to read until he decided to take an adult literacy class when he was 98 years old! He went on to get his GED at the age of 103.

So the next time you feel like you're getting too old, don't believe it. Yes, of course we are a day older today than we were yesterday. But, life is so good. Life is full of so much to see, do and learn!

I do not like to think of myself as getting older. I like to think of myself as getting wiser. And with those few examples that I just gave you, compared to them, I am still a youngster!

Life is truly a gift from God, and He desires that we enjoy the life He has given us to live.

Due to globalization, the lives of people have become monotonous. There is no family and social life left. People don't even have time for themselves. With this, they have become frustrated with their lives and are always in search of some ways that would lead them for the development of the self. To attain self development in true sense, it is important to work on some of the areas, which are self-control, self-awareness, self-esteem and self-identity.

If you don't even know yourself completely, how can you challenge others if they raise a finger on your identity or character? To know one's strengths and weaknesses is very crucial. When you come to know about your shortcomings, you can easily face anyone without any fear. You can maintain a diary in which you can note down the areas where you need to improve. In addition, one of the safest methods for development of the self is not to get trapped easily by influential people. It is observed that the famous celebrities often delight young people. This hampers their development and leaves the person in the state of ignorance. Very often listening to everyone around which acts as an obstacle in the path of rational thinking frustrates us. When you really want to go with self development process, you should start listening to your inner voice. This helps a lot in the growth of a person's self and he or she starts having faith in them. One should never run away from the vices. Instead, you should bring out your virtues so that you become as a role model for others.

In today's world, people are becoming selfish. They act as if they are the well wishers but, in actual life, they misguide even their closest friends and loved ones. So, it is advisable that one should always follow his or her insight so that development of the self is made possible in easier ways. One of the best options to listen and follow to your inner voice is to adopt the method of meditation. By doing this, you will be able to shed off the notions that are caused due to external factors and your inner voice will be heard properly.

Positive thinking and practical understanding are very vital for the growth. If your mind is not filled with pure thoughts, you will always remain frustrated and quarrelsome. This will not aid as having a pessimistic outlook never helps anyone. Sometimes while listening to your inner voice, self-doubt arises. Make sure that this self-doubt never comes in your way as it is a negative force that draws you away from your own self. Moreover, the development of the mind is also important for the overall development of the self. For example, if some people have the habit of taking alcohol or tobacco, wants the assistance and help of the spiritual learning or of God. By doing this, they become totally engrossed in the beliefs of spiritual acts and starts trusting the God. These notions act as an obstacle in the journey to attain self development. Therefore, people should try to quit their bad habits on their own as this will bring out their willpower and strength to give up the evil practices.

In addition, thought awareness and rational thinking are very important to come out as a perfect human being. Just as the butterfly manages hard to come out of the shell in which it is born, similarly, people should help themselves on his or her own for self development. Therefore, to live for sport and life, one needs to work out on one's own self and its development.

It's that time of year again, time for giving ourselves a report card for the year that's coming to an end, and creating long lists of goals and New Year's resolutions for the coming year.

All too often, what starts out as a positive exercise in forward thinking, becomes an energy draining exercise in agonizing over past failures. How many times have we tried and failed to make these same changes? This year, why not try something a little different? How about shifting your focus from what you didn't do, to what you actually did do and start building from there?

Many people have a hard time giving themselves credit for what's working in their lives. We are so in the habit of beating ourselves up and blaming ourselves for what's not right and what's not working.

All that negativity requires a huge amount of energy. It tires us out, drains us of joy, and blocks out any sense of hope and well being for the future. It completely obscures a great deal of the good we have going for us.

Here is a seven-step process you can follow to support you in beginning this New Year with a joyous new attitude.

1) Make a list of all the things you did right last year. Think about all the things you are proud of, all the areas where you moved forward in your life, even in small ways. List the things you are grateful for about your life and how you contribute to those around you.

2) Add to your list what you appreciate about the things you have accomplished. Congratulate yourself for these noteworthy accomplishments. We get caught up in focusing on what we failed to accomplish and often forget to give ourselves credit for the many more things that we did check off our list!

3) Take inventory of your negative thoughts and feelings. What are you hanging on to that is draining your energy? What resentments are you holding? What are you angry about? Who are you angry with? What are you angry with yourself about? What are your regrets? Write down all the specific negative emotions you can identify on as many pieces of paper as it takes.

4) Make a conscious choice to release these negative emotions. Declare your intention with clarity of conviction by stating out loud, "I release my anger, resentments and regrets. I forgive myself, and others, for our past mistakes and imperfections. I open my heart to a more positive outlook on life"

5) Solidify your resolve by conducting a "burning bowl" ritual. If you have a safe (and legal) place to light a fire, you can toss the pages of thoughts and feelings you wish to release into the fire; watch all that negativity shrivel up and turn to ash. Otherwise you can tear your pages up into little pieces and toss them in the trash. Better yet, slide each sheet of paper into a shredder and enjoy the sound of your negativity being sliced and diced into unrecognizable bits of confetti.

6) Decide how you'd like to feel about yourself, your life and the people around you. Sometimes we are mightily attached to our negativity and after such a release it might feel a little awkward. That's because nature abhors a void. The next step is to fill that void with positive thoughts about your life and positive feelings of anticipation for a new start in your new year. Notice how you feel just thinking about your life in this new way.

7) Create an energizing life plan. Instead of making a laundry list of New Year's Resolutions, spend some time taking a broader view. What kind of quality of life would energize you? How can you create more time for the things you value the most; what things can you say "no" to? What do you want to do to take care of yourself that would be nurturing and soul satisfying? What could you do to bring more intimacy or sense of connection to your important relationships? What things could you make a part of your life next year that would create more satisfaction, balance and well being? Take a holistic view of your life and create a written plan that will energize you to take action.

Answering the questions and doing the activities outlined in this seven-step process will guide you to make changes from the heart. Changes that come from a place of heart-felt desire, along with clarity of your desired outcome in terms of the quality of life you are seeking, will naturally give you greater momentum for success than changes motivated by harsh recriminations.

As you enter the New Year, treat yourself with kindness, acknowledge and celebrate the good in your life and the important things you have accomplished, let go of negativity, and enjoy your new year with a new attitude!

Where Did New Years Resolutions Come From?

On the 1st of January, millions of people around the globe start working on New Years resolutions. Chances are you have tried them yourself in one way or another. They are one of the fun things about the New Year. But have you ever wondered where they came from?

Who first started setting New Years Resolutions?

Well, here is a brief history of the origins of the New Years resolution for you:

The Babylonians
The first recorded New Years resolutions were made by the Babylonians around 4000 years ago. Most commonly, it revolved around returning any borrowed farm equipment, as their New Year coincided with the start of their farming season.

The Romans
Not long after, the Romans would start the new year by counting the stock of the previous year and setting a goal to accomplish more in the coming year.

It was not just western countries that set resolutions either.

The Chinese
The Chinese set a special New Years resolution - house cleaning. Most people nowadays would relate this to Spring-Cleaning. At the coming of the New Year, the Chinese would clean their house from top to bottom. What a great way to start the year, with a beautiful clean house!

The Modern World
Today we still set New Years resolutions, and try to achieve them. They are almost always based around self-improvement resolutions and goals. They are a way to mark the beginning of changes in our habits and lifestyle. The most common resolutions include losing weight, quitting smoking and/or drinking, and improving your finances.

As mentioned earlier, millions of people make these resolutions but unfortunately only 10% ever manage to achieve them. It is a sad fact, but many of these resolutions do not even last longer than a few weeks. By July, most have been completely forgotten and no real progress against the resolution has been made.

It is amazing what such a long history the New Years resolution has had. You may be thinking of creating on yourself this coming New Year. And why not? It is a tradition practiced around the entire globe. Above all though, we should remember that the most important aspect of a New Years resolution is to take action and stick to it.

Now that you know the History of New Years Resolutions it's time to grab some free information on how to plan and set your New Years resolution in order to maximize your chances of achieving it, be sure to visit:

New Years Resolutions Help

Most of us are partially contented with our lives the way they are, but it's hard to think of anything else when there are so many other issues to be considered.

Still we should aspire for something better.

We are all attacked by problems. But it should not bother us or even slow us down to becoming all we should be. Our dreams as children should continue to stay with us, short-lived though they may be or as long as we could keep hold to the dream. The old saying that you can not teach an old dog new tricks does not apply.

#1 What is it that I really want?

This is the age-old question. All of us have so many things we want to do with our lives yet so little time to even get through the day. Finding one thing that you are especially good at will help make that first small step to improving yourself. Conscientiousness is how you will know it is worthwhile.

#2 Does it make sense to really change?

The current generation has taken another approach in defining "self", at least that is what the youth are saying. If you are lucky enough to have teenage grandchildren or nieces or nephews, you will quickly find there are worse things they could have than acne or maybe loose morals. So how does that mesh with your lifestyle?

History has taught us one thing... it is the life that we have already experienced. If you used to party in the Seventies where dancing was a big part of the party scene at that time, watch the younger generation clap their hands after showing them how to "really" dance rather than risk breaking bones while break dancing.

#3 Is there a bright side to all of this?

With volumes of things happening around us there doesn't seem to be any room to even think about the proverbial light at the tunnel's end. We can look at it as being something positive without undertaking a detailed investigation. So if the light turns out to be a train at the end of the tunnel, try taking it for a ride and seeing what's happening in this world!

#4 Am I totally comfortable with everything that I'm doing?

There are always two ways, the easy way or the right way, when it comes to how you decide what goes with your pants, dress, tie, purse, or whatever. You don't need to be a genius to make yourself unique. It is not necessary nor desirable for us all be the same in everything we do. Variety brings about many exciting and interesting questions to be experimented with.

#5 Have I done everything I could for myself?

Well, have you, or are there more things you want to do? Being discontented in all aspects of your life can be dangerous in big doses, but in smaller doses you'll be able to identify and do things you may never imagined doing.

#6 Does where I am today make me happy?

This is not a fair question so let's let it be an answer. If you love being a loving mother, father or grandparent to the kids, then ratchet it up a notch! The children will remember and love you eternally. The same hold true with everyday life.

#7 Do I appeal to members of the opposite sex?

There is no easy answer to this. However, if you get into shape, change the way you dress, change the way you wear your hair, or especially change your attitude towards people, you should know it will always be to your benefit in the way the opposite sex perceives you.

#8 How much better can I be?

Truly, in this case one can not have too much or too little, but the focus should be on how badly it is really needed. Unquestionably, every one would like to have tons of money, but the real question is how much would you be willing to work for it?

#9 What things motivate me?

Do you know what motivates you? This is an answer you will have to find for yourself. Since there are a number of things that can make us all happy, the hardest part is to choose just one. The very best way is to simply try it piece by piece.

#10 What, in actuality, makes you tick?

OK, really, what makes you tick? We all can be just pretty much anything we always wanted to be, but to think that reaching something we want is very difficult is already giving up before the journey is even started. We should remember that self-improvement is not only about the philosophical or physical change you need to undergo, but it is also about something that you truly want.

Feng Shui is based on change, the ebb and flow if life. An acceptance and understanding of this enables us to move through life's challenges with a greater sense of comfort and ease. Just as the river adjusts and shifts to the shape of the land. A sense of flexibility and the ability to 'go with the flow' allows us to move through our hectic, busy days and lives open to new opportunity and relationships.

Is there a place in your life where you're feeling stuck, immersed in old energy or thought patterns? How are these past experiences and patterns serving you? Does remaining in old patterns and ways of thinking enable you to remain in a job you don't like? A relationship that doesn't nurture you? Are you choosing to stay with the old because it's familiar or because it helps you be the best you can be?

I believe that everything that happens to us provides us with the opportunity to grow stronger, wiser, more creative and more diverse. Often our needs for safety, predictability and controlled outcomes prevent us from fully experiencing all our life has to offer. I believe that we can all truly learn to experience the perfection of each and every moment by simply letting our days unfold, letting each moment propel us to the proper action. We can chose to act rather than react.

Life is experienced in the moments, in the now. If we are too focused on getting through our list of things to do, intent on 'doing' versus 'being, life has a way of slipping by us. We are too busy to 'see' opportunity, to see and experience life before us. It is the unexpected moments that bring us synchronistic opportunities.

Feng Shui Tips for Living in the Moment

1. Stop filling your days with tasks and activities that don't serve your highest intention.

Do you define yourself by how busy you are? Do you think being busy is proof that you're successful? Are your days all about quantity rather than quality? Slow down, don't fill every moment with activities, experience your life. Living is in the moment, not the past, not the future. Living is now.

2. Do what you really want to do.

What activities would you do right now if there were no obstacles in front of you? Take one small step toward doing something you like but haven't given yourself permission to do. Start small, and stay consistent. You deserve to love the life you're living.

3. Stop trying to control everything. Let it go.

Is it important to you what others think or do? By learning to release being stuck in the outcome of what others do or do not do, you free yourself up to focus on you.

4. Tell the whole truth, all of the time.

Most of us don't realize how much energy we waste by not being entirely truthful with ourselves. Stop trying to live up to someone else's idea of how you should be.....just be who you are. Who you are is not only enough, it's perfect!

5. Slow down and breathe.

Reflect on where you are and where you're going. Quiet time is a way of checking in with yourself as well as a way of connecting to those around you.

Going 'with the flow' requires that we change our mindset, that we let go of the need to control every aspect of our days and lives. This doesn't mean we can't set goals, it means surrendering the need to forge ahead at all costs, it means trusting that what you've accomplished is enough; that what you've accomplished is what was meant to be. If you can learn to incorporate the principles and spirit of Feng Shui into your daily life, not just your living environment, you will find you accomplish more than you can imagine-it just may not be on your list.

How do you know if you're on the right path? The same you know if you're not. You feel it. Your life is speaking to you every day, all the time, and it's your job to hear it. Pay attention to what makes you feel energized, connected and stimulated. Let go of the need to control your life and begin living it instead.

Copyright ? 2007 Harmony Life, LLC. All rights reserved.

A growing need for psychologists and coaches who specialize in performance has been experienced over the last several years. Performance Psychologists emerged first among elite athletes to seek the assistance of sports psychologists, now many seek the same sort of training for their own activities and their careers. Professionals assist clients in realizing their peak performance by helping them control the variables involved. These variables are wide reaching but generally the following issues are addressed:

Mental Health: Before any effective therapy can begin performance issues must be identified. Mental Health is evaluated as are current life stressors, history and personality, and mental health history. It is important to identify any mental health variables that are causing problems in performance.

Physiological Health: Like mental health, all good professionals should evaluate the overall physical health of their client and identify any medications, supplements, etc...that could be a factor in performance. It is also a good idea to include lifestyle information to fully understand your client.

Diet: Numerous studies have shown that diet plays an important role in performance. Athletes have long utilized carbohydrates before big matches for energy. Diet is also very important in maintain energy and our needs change throughout our lives.

Exercise: Endorphins make you happy and happy people perform better. Simple, but still most of us have a problem maintaining a good program. The most important thing when planning an exercise program is to be realistic. Most of us make change slowly over time. We do not go from eating and sitting on the couch every night to the gym 5 times a week. Consistency is more important than the energy input to single sessions.

Support Systems: What do support systems have to do with performance? Support systems are those people, organizations, and institutions that provide comfort and support to us such as the church, our family, our friends, etc...The quality of our support groups can make a big difference in our ability to manage stress, maintain mental strength, and perseverance.

Practice: Yes, you must practice anything you want to be good at including communication skills, networking, and job performance. In your practice also think about growth. Though repetition is important, so is new experience. For athletes it is called cross training but the same is true in your career and personal success.

Routine: When you are training in sports you work on muscle memory and trying to do things the same way every time whether it's swinging a golf club or throwing the ball on the pitch. It also helps to reduce the stress of a large event if you have an automatic process that you go through. In your career and personal life this comes in the form of setting boundaries and rules that you consistently follow.

Relaxation: As mentioned above, routine is very helpful. Routines relax us and comfort us. Other forms of relaxation include breathing techniques, guided imagery, meditation, and other personal methods developed by you and your professional coach or therapist.

There is not a one size fits all therapy to improve performance. Everyone needs something different and do not go to a professional who uses the exact same plan for everyone. There may be main methods but each client needs an individual plan.

Have you aborted your dream? If you have, I guess there are two problems. Most likely number one, you don't see a way financially of getting there, and number two, you've lost the faith to follow through with your dream.

First, let me address the financial problem with a few more questions. Are you working a nine to five job? Do you trade dollars for hours? If so, I have a solution. Why not begin to look for a financial vehicle to get you to your dream, and can you make the decision to commit your time to finding a solution?

What if you could find a way to make money from home and use that money to begin to accomplish your dream? Are you a person who's always known they would be great? That you'd own your own company some day or head up a new invention, be the biggest singing star since Michael Jackson, are you someone whom everyone has always called "sir" or "maam" and you don't know why?

Don't you realize that you are a leader? Are you a person that others gravitate too? Are you someone that has always succeeded big at everything you've ever done? You're a leader!

Have you thought about why so many people got rich by being one of the first to buy Microsoft stock? Was it really that they had the financial prowess that so many others lacked? Or was it that they were willing to take a risk and try something new and bank their money on this new guy with a straight smile and a geeky genuine intelligence named Bill Gates?

I submit to you that these people, many of them, simply saw Microsoft (remember when it was new, it was just like any other company) as a "potential" goldmine. Are you aware that there are several online businesses right now that are flourishing to the tune of new enrollees signing up at the rate of 10, 20, and even 50,000 people per month?

Are you also aware that many of these new opportunites are legitmate, backed by Fortune 500 companies and wealthy leaders like Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and more? My word, even Warren Buffet has purchased over five multi-level marketing home businesses in the past decade. Why? Because multi-level or network marketing works! Home business works!

Who does it work for though? The super salesperson? The trendy entrepreneurs? Nope. Don't you think it works for those who are willing to "go to work?" Yes! All of the better home businesses have systems in place that if you follow them you could end up getting wealthy over time.

Do you think that home business is get rich quick? You better think again. Why do you suppose that if you put 8 hours per day in at your job you will get X amount of dollars at the end of the week? Is it because you are such a good worker? No! Don't you think it's because the company has figured out that when you work 8 hours, they make $1000.- or more in net profits, for example, and that you are nothing but a peg in that profit machine?

Why then are people not using a home based business to help them achieve their bigger dreams? Well, did you know that over 90% of the people that start a home based business quit within the first year? Home business is not get rich quick, but it is get rich over time.

What if you could find a home business opportunity that works, and you were provided a tailor made system that you could follow to increase your profits at home? Wouldn't that be awesome?

Am I trying to make you into an online business person? Yes and no. I want you to find a vehicle you can use to make money from your home so that you can become that rock star, company owner, evangelist, car maker, toy producer, record producer, movie director, and whatever it was you said to yourself as a kid that you wanted to be when you grew up!

Are you willing to dream big? If so, would you do yourself a favor, and quit waiting to hit the lottery, or to find that perfect job? Can you do a self-analysis and ask yourself this: "If I have the opportunity to work with the truly wealthy, learn their systems, their way of life, and to also be myself and have a business opportunity that provides me with extra money, is this something I'm willing to do? Are you willing to take a small risk for the next few years, to completely accomplish the dreams you had when you were a kid?

If so, now you have solved the case to your financial future: Dream Big!

The Nature of a Human Being is to be creative. We create with our every Thought, Word and Deed; we are connected within to an infinite source of Energy and Creativity, which in reality is the whole Universe.

So why do human beings feel lack? Is it because the money in the world is in the hands of 5% of the world's population? Are we selling ourselves short in real terms by focusing so much on money and not enough on our own creative powers?

It is time to look within and to learn to work with your own source energy and your dreams and passions to mould the subtle energies and bring that through to this physical reality.

A good analogy would be that of the potter.

A person who works with clay takes the Earth element; using his or her creativity and creative knowledge, the potter shapes the clay, adding a little of the water element. He or she creates the space within the pot for the air element, and focuses on removing as much as possible of the air element from within the clay; otherwise the pot will shatter during the firing. The firing is the time when the potter brings in the fire element, which transforms the clay from being pliable to being solid and fixed in shape.

This is a perfect example of how the subtle energies within - working through the five elements - transform an idea into physical reality. We see this process taking place all around us, with architects' ideas appearing as all the buildings within our village, town or city.

Money has no reality beyond that which we assign to it; it is just a concept, a medium of exchange, and it has no value except that which we decide to give to it; yet it causes us to feel lack (even those of us who have a lot of money, who nevertheless often are not aware of having enough of it) - when, in reality, we are connected to an abundant source of Energy and Creativity. At some point in the creative process we give our power away to financial institutions (with the exception of those with strong codes of ethics), as we think we need this stuff called money.

Let's all reconsider our top-heavy beliefs about the importance of money and stay centred in our own power source, our own creativity. This is all about changing our belief system. Let's re-introduce some very ancient concepts into the mix of ideas from which we fashion our beliefs: if we are made of energy and everything else in the Universe is also made of energy; if energy cannot be created or destroyed as it is eternal in nature; where, then, does lack come from?

Whence came our belief that there is not enough of the stuff of life - so that we feel we have to fight each other to acquire that which is lacking, when it is there all the time and there is an infinite supply of it?

How do we change our belief systems to focus on creating from within ourselves and using the five elements to fix those creative thoughts into physical reality? How do we invent another set of beliefs that releases the hold which money has over us?

Let's all be free thinkers, using our creativity to manifest that which we choose.

It is good to do this responsibly, in creative ways where we create beauty and abundance for, and all around, ourselves.

Let's look for ways that we can live in peace with each other and share our creativity to transform our world into a beautiful, loving place to live, where we all feel abundant and empowered to create and manifest our dreams, and to live life in fulfillment.

Now girls and boys we have a story about the Habit.

Habits are invisible creatures that grow in the maze of the magical Synaptic Mind Forest, a very spooky place that's always growing and changing until it can't find any more Stimuli, which it feeds on.

Stimuli wander in from the outside and are gobbled up by the Synapses to make more tentacles. They like their tentacles because they can 'shake hands' or make contact with other Synapses. When they do this; they get stronger, like a big social network. And that's good.

The world wide web and internet is a big social network just like the Synapses built, but they did it first. And we couldn't have done it without them. In fact, we can't do anything without them. Synapses rule. OK.

Now, the Habits come from the land of Potential (a very, very strange place). When Synapses join up they open the rabbit hole to Potential just a teensy bit. And every time they do, the Habits grow stronger.

Now, Synapses and Habits both have a stupid side to them. They eat any Stimulus that happens to be there. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, they don't care. So if you put bad Stimuli into your Mind the Habits will grab them and help make the Synapses stronger. And that's not really wise.

"How come?" you say. That's a Question and they're great to have on your side but sometimes hurt when they're thrown at you. Hit them with an Answer and they go away. Oh look, there's some sitting on the keyboard so have this one.

Good Habits make life easier by helping you do, or get whatever you want. Get enough of them and they'll help you achieve anything that is possible. Yes, anything. You know they're working because life is fulfilling and you feel happy and smile a lot. You also help other people achieve this. The more Stimuli you put in to strengthen the good Habits, the better you make your life. And the lives of those near you change too.

So what is possible? It's very easy to say - far, far more than you know is possible. Honest. Nobody knows how much is possible.

The bad Habits work the same way and they make you feel good for a little while, but then turn on you to make you feel bad. They're nasty critters. Some people don't even get to feel good at all because the bad thinking Habits have taken over the Mind. Good thinking Stimuli don't get a chance. They may come in but there are not enough of them to make a difference. Some people actually think being unhappy is normal so they make the most of it by feeding Complaints to the Habits.

They continually complain so people get annoyed and don't want to see them, which is good for them because that's something else to complain about. People who don't want to see them sometime complain about them, which is making THEIR bad Habits stronger.

The best idea is to delete them from your life and continue to associate with good Stimuli.

What can we do about this? We can starve the bad Habits and make the good Habits stronger. It's easy to say but the bad Habits will fight back. The trick is to ignore them. When they come in say, "I know what you're doing but I don't want this bad Habit anymore." That's when you make a Stimulus for a good Habit. "Thinking makes it so". Just by thinking about good Habits, you're making Stimuli for them to grow. The more often you do it, the more effective they are. Keep reinforcing good Habits.

Visualize yourself bashing the bad Habit and turning to the good Habit to shake hands. Good Habits really are your friends.

What form do bad Habits take? Well Habits are invisible until they show themselves. The obvious ones like addiction, aggression are easy to see and come from unresolved conflict. Habits like low self esteem, saying "can't", demeaning other people, keeping nasty secrets or wanting to hurt people, and a lot more are slower to recognise but they're just as bad. The trick is to see them.

Part of an athlete's practice involves visualizing the event they're training for. In essence it's making the act of winning a Habit as much as the physical training. Practice involves repetition until it becomes a strong Habit.

Use Habits because they're powerful, but make sure you make the right ones.

What are those unique qualities we call bravery; those almost subconscious qualities that we can't readily put our fingers on whenever we see a hero in action, but somehow recognize every time someone does something out of the ordinary? It's almost as if what they do is superhuman, yet their qualities are far from that, they are qualities we all have to one degree or another - it's only a matter of perfecting them.

The most important quality of heroes is being present. Not much is going to get past them. When it is time to act, a hero can't be lost in personal thoughts or concepts; he or she must be street smart, which is the opposite of being academic. Being intelligently and fully in each moment protects the hero from missing what is going down and making false assumptions, because false assumptions are followed by flawed actions.

A hero questions things, all things, and is not one to believe blindly or be easily fooled. A hero is never a sheep, and although he or she might act like one to fit into society somewhat, down deep, they are fiercely independent.

A hero is always involved. There is a certain power and energy about them, and an untiring resolve because of their passion, which is justice, fairness, and truth.

If there is one other thing that defines heroes, it's delight. They find great delight and joy in doing what in their hearts is right, regardless of their own safety. And what is right for a hero never involves hatred, resentment, fear, or jealousy in their hearts. They would never find delight or joy in harming anyone in any way, and only think of helping. If their duties involve harming others to protect the innocent, the harm done is always regretted.

Their actions exhibit a certain internal stillness in the face of grave danger. This can only come from a deep understanding of what they are and a coming to terms with that. Afraid of being hurt or making a mistake does not resonate with a hero -- they will act as if they don't even exist. All that exists is the challenge before them, and because they see so clearly, there is no reason for nervousness or hesitation. There is only the direct action that involves them fully. As far as a hero is concerned, to die one death completely, right now, is far better than worrying about dying a thousand cowardly deaths over a lifetime.

Common distractions, such as fear of death or fear of danger never distract a hero. A true hero concentrates intently on only what they are facing now, and nothing else, and is never concerned about the outcome.

A hero's composure takes attentiveness a step further. Not only is a true hero calm, but unattached to the results of his or her actions as well. Worrying about losing or winning would take a hero's eye off the ball and could prove deadly.

Watchful, inquiring, energetic, joyous, internally still, attentive, composed-- these are attributes of a hero, and qualities that we, ourselves, can develop. The most direct way to develop them is to conquer our own minds, because until we conquer our own minds, we can conquer nothing else of consequence.

What is the Law of Attraction secret that everyone is talking about? According to Abraham (a collection of spiritual beings channeled through author, Esther Hicks) the Law of Attraction is defined as "that which is like unto itself is drawn". In other words, like attracts like, or you attract everything that you're in harmonious vibration with.

You are the cause of all that occurs in your life. According to the Law of Attraction, you attracted into your life all things, circumstances and events. So whatever happens, you had at least some role in it. Now that's a bitter pill to swallow for most of us initially until we understand that we truly are the co-creators of our lives. This means without exception, we brought it upon ourselves through our thoughts, feelings and actions. Nothing merely shows up, without cause. You attract it all like a magnet. That's the Law of Attraction secret. No one else has the power to attract what comes to you. Whatever you think and feel repeatedly will manifest in your life by the universal Law of Attraction.

Whatever you think about you bring about. Your thoughts and feelings attract back to you people, circumstances, events and "things" that correspond with those thoughts and feelings. If you feel like you're living in poverty, you cannot attract riches. If you feel lonely, you cannot attract an abundance of friends. If you feel overweight, you cannot a slimmer figure.

If you don't like your results, change your thoughts. That's where it all begins. That's the great Law of Attraction secret. If you don't like what you have, change what's creating it. Change your thoughts and feelings and everything about you changes. You project a higher vibration, which by law will return to you all things that are in alignment with that vibration. Create the life that you want and allow others to do the same.

Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. Since you attract the essence of what you're thinking about and feeling, it's essential that you monitor your thoughts and how you feel at any moment in time. Are you thinking about what you want... or what you don't want? Are you feeling good or bad? It all starts there. Whatever you're focused on, the Law of Attraction secret is responding accordingly.

Focus intensifies the strength of a thought. The more you think about what you want -- the more power you give to your goal and the faster it tends to materialize.

You are the Power. Raymond Douglas Stanford said "You are the only problem you will ever have and baby, you are the only solution." The Law of Attraction states that you determine your experience in life. Take responsibility for it. Set your intentions and stick with them. Begin to look for evidence of their arrival and you will find them. That's the Law of Attraction secret.

When I was sixteen years old a stranger tried to rape and murder me. I was walking home at night past the Brigham's restaurant where I had my second job, as a stranger came out of the shadows and tried to strangle me. I tried to fight him with my physical strength, but he was 6'1' and I was just a 5'6' teenage girl, no matter how physically fit I was. I tried to fight him with my mind, telling him the legal implications of what he was doing and that just got him mad. As he dragged me into an alley and started beating me, I realized I was powerless and prayed to the God I had never been raised to believe in to help me choose my life.

God said to me, "If you are going to live, you must agree to do what I have put you on this earth to do. You must follow the mission you know deep down inside your heart. You must come out of your introverted closet, open your mouth, use what you know and speak." I said yes to God and chose my life. A moment later, a little voice in my heart said, "Tell this man you forgive him." Without any thought or understanding of what forgiveness means, I opened my mouth and spoke from my heart, "I forgive you." This rageful stranger stopped beating me for a moment, almost in shock, and burst into tears.

"I don't want to be doing this," were the first words that emerged from his mouth. I lay there in the alley on my back, naked, present to the moment and in shock myself. I gave him the space to pour out his life story. And what a story he had to tell. He had been in jail before. He had raped and murdered other women. If he was ever caught, he would put a gun to his head and take his life. "This man was so broken-hearted and powerless and in his rage, he seized me not as a person, but as an object for his aggression, and in doing so, could have easily taken my life. My heart asked who was really the victim here.

Just as he was done catharting, he seized his hand into a fist as though he was going to start beating me again. God was with me, and a car came down the alley. The man grabbed his pants and ran away.

My friend Brenda shared an image with me recently of a traumatized little boy sitting at the control panel for a nuclear bomb. The little boy had been briefed fully on the meaning of pressing the button and all the horrible consequences that would come from such an action. He had been told in minute detail why it was important never to push the button. But because of the deadness in his own body and heart, all the words were like raindrops, falling beyond him, of no consequence. So he pushed the button, blew up the world, and even then didn't really understand the magnitude of what he had done.

Defended Against Love: The Tectonic Heart

In fifteen years of clinical practice, I have discovered that there are some people who have experienced such deep and profound emotional and often physical trauma that the heart literally cuts off, numbs out and freezes, becoming essentially dead in relational matters. A person whose heart is so traumatized can be cold, cruel and careless in relating - untouched and untouchable in any lasting way. In the presence of a skilled and devoted lover, s/he may experience an intimate moment briefly, but the moment is soon forgotten and not integrated into their experience. They have no relational memory of the person who touched them. The moment is just that, an isolated moment. They are essentially defended against real, healthy love.

For most of my life I believed love would heal all. I have learned painfully through my own experience that love can only heal when it is felt for what it is. The traumatized heart is like a tectonic plate, protecting its soldier from the energetic experience of love. And so, the person lives in an altered state of consciousness, dissociated from their emotional body and perhaps even dissociated from their soul.

Having worked to build relationships with feral cats and feral humans, and succeeding with many in taking them off the literal and emotional streets, I have found myself often asking why some people don't seem to respond to even the purest, most patient, loving gestures. And why, in fact, do loving gestures feel like threats to people who live with a traumatized heart?

Familiar Is Safe

Rollin McCraty from the HeartMath Institute in California offers scientific data that helps explain the neurophysiology of a person with a traumatized heart. Our fear of change, our resistance to new experience is literally wired into our bodies.

"We can get cut off at the heart, but the loop starts in the perceptual mechanisms in the brain," says Rollin. The amygdala is the part of the brain where our emotional memories are stored literal patterns, literal circuitry. The amygdala is looking for associations and pattern matches. Certain emotional patterns become familiar, "and therefore comfortable, even if the emotional pattern is a maladaptation. We can become comfortable with being cut off from our feelings or being fearful of having emotional relationships. We can become comfortable with living with anxiety or guilt simply because living with anxiety or guilt is familiar.

"In the case of the traumatized heart, for a person who has been hurt in the past, not being emotionally open has become the familiar pattern. When any new person appears, all external sensory input to the brain, including hearing, sight and touch, is compared to the familiar pattern stored in the amygdala and its related circuitry. A change from the familiar pattern we are used to triggers an emotional response. The brain tries to make changes to get our internal experience back to the familiar. Returning to the stable baseline feels good. If we are not able to return the pattern back to the stable baseline, then it results in anxiety, fear and often projections into the future," says Rollin.

This helps explain why a person offering healthy, present love to a person who has been emotionally traumatized is perceived as a threat rather than a comfort. The unfamiliar experience of the healthy, loving person disturbs the maladaptive status quo that has been established in the traumatized person's neural circuitry. And the traumatized person's circuitry seeks to remove the discomfort of the unfamiliar healthy, loving person, and return to the comfort of its maladaptive but familiar status quo.

Love, Neglect and the Ability to Take in Love

Another window on the traumatized heart is provided by the work of Linda Russek, Ph.D., from the Human Energy Systems Lab at University of Arizona. In the 1950's a Mastery of Stress Study was conducted at Harvard University with its then all-male student population. The study looked at the ability to cope with stress and adapt over time. In conducting 35 and 42 year follow-up studies, Linda Russek and her husband and colleague, Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., wished to explore the relationship between one's perception of parental love or neglect and health later in life.

Bio/psycho/social/spiritual interviews were conducted with study participants. The results were quite conclusive. At the 35 year mark, only 25% of participants with high positive reflections of parental love had illness in contrast to 87% of those with low perceptions of parental love. Results at the 42 year mark were similar. The study concluded that the perception of parental love is an independent risk factor in illness and one that may influence all other risk factors. For instance, the perception of love was independent of family history of disease, the subject's smoking history, the death and/or divorce of parents and the divorce history of the subject himself.

What was equally important was what Linda discovered about the relationship between love and neglect and the ability to take in love. Rollin McCraty from the HeartMath Institute notes that the electromagnetic field of the heart is the strongest field in the human body. "You can literally measure one person's heartbeat in another person's brain waves even when they are not touching. You can measure another person's heartbeat eight feet away from them." Linda and Gary were aware of this fact, and studied "interpersonal heart-brain registration" with their research subjects. They explored the degree to which Linda's electrocardiogram registered in the subject's brain. In simple language, how open were the participants to recognize and receive love? Linda comments, "We discovered that those people, now in mid-life, who perceived their parents as loving, just and fair when in college, were more open to loving energy and were more able to receive my energy. There was more of an energy registration of my electrocardiogram in their brain, because they were not defended against receiving my love. In contrast, those participants who came from backgrounds they perceived as neglectful were more defended against receiving love.

"All disease today has been identified as having a lowered heart rate variability association," notes Linda. "That refers to the beat change in heart rate, particularly as it increases and decreases with each breath. So, people with a high heart rate variability have beat to beat changes that increase with inspiration and decrease with expiration. This is considered healthier. In essence, these people are more engaged in and connected with life. The flexibility of the heart's variability is what is healthy. This directly relates to a person's emotional capacity for love. A healthy heart has a lot of space to feel and process whatever emotion is necessary to be alive and present to flow through all experience."

People who have a lowered beat to beat ratio, which is connected to most diseases, are less engaged and connected to life. People whose hearts are ill are crippled and limited in their ability to respond to and take in what is offered in life. Before they die they have a heart that beats like a clock, rigidly. That is very dangerous.

A person whose heart is rigid has less space to feel experience in any moment or to process and output emotional experience. Experience or relating hits a wall, and there is a limit to the degree that person can engage in aliveness in themselves or with someone else at any moment in time. The pain and stress of hitting the wall can be life threatening.

While perhaps this is like a chicken or the egg situation, there is certain correlation between heart disease and defenses against love.

Meeting Emotional Needs Influences Our Health

We all have needs and to truly love someone is to meet them where they need to be met. This means meeting a person at their level of experience, which may be different than your concept of what is good in your own mind. Even if someone has a good intent, if their action doesn't actually meet the other at their level of experience, the other person doesn't feel they are getting their need met. So, the other doesn't feel love, and in some ways it doesn't really matter what the intent is. Linda comments, "One person's concept of love may have nothing to do with another person's experience or needs. A mother may feel like she is doing all the right things. She is home for the food and the homework, but when the child wants to talk about feelings that have to do with friends, mother doesn't want to hear it. In our culture we often want to conceive of a child as a "perfect child" without emotional needs.

"In the Harvard Study," Linda continues, "we found that people were economically privileged but not necessarily emotionally privileged. People go to great schools and have all this chance to achieve so much, yet they can be from the most emotionally barren homes in the world. Emotional deprivation runs rampant in the culture. We value a materialistic lifestyle where we are giving people things in place of emotional time. We are living toxic success with more information overload and less time to enjoy and be alive. "To be truly responsive to your children, ask them what they think of you. Ask your children what they need in order to feel loved."

It Takes a Village to Heal a Heart

What I have discovered in working with people suffering with severely traumatized hearts is that a one-on-one relationship is part of the healing process, but it truly takes more than that to heal a heart. People need homeopathic doses of love, receiving little bits often and consistently over time. And they need to receive them from many people and places. Linda Russek comments, "We are all traumatized in our society. We can't trust our doctors and our lawyers. It's all business." As a society, we have forgotten how to stay in relationship. Is someone with you because they really care about you or are they reminding you that in our culture you can't have a relationship without paying for it? In this sense we all suffer from a sense of cultural abandonment. This is often most marked for people who are vulnerable due to financial or health crises, and shows up painfully often for the elderly population in our culture.

It takes a village to contain the traumatized heart. It requires an extended community, an ongoing community with both people and pets. I have found that people who have been traumatized always turn to nature for comfort, safety and salvation. Human beings seem to be the only species that has forgotten the importance of daily connections and unconditional love!

?2007 Linda Marks

WHEN the neighbor's dog drank his baby's milk, a man in Nicaragua demanded compensation. But his neighbor became enraged and a knife fight resulted. The two men cut each other severely-all just because of the loss of a little milk.

This is typical of what can happen when people blow a small thing completely out of proportion. Often this leads to far greater loss to those concerned than if the original demand had been granted, or withdrawn peacefully.

Yes, many very serious problems would never develop if people were more willing to follow the principle of going 'the extra mile.' This is what the Bible encourages: "Do not resist him that is wicked; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him. And if a person wants to go to court with you and get possession of your inner garment, let your outer garment also go to him; and if someone under authority impresses you into service for a mile, go with him two miles." (Matt. 5:39-41) Consider how this counsel given by Jesus Christ could prevent difficulties over comparatively minor things.

A slap on the face is insulting and designed to provoke the one slapped. But would it really be to your advantage to retaliate? Rather, would not retaliation mean playing right into the hands of the one who wanted to start a fight? The wise course, then, is to 'turn the other cheek,' to disregard the insult. Generally this would end the whole thing.

You may know people who are bent on getting every personal advantage regardless of the expenditure of time and money. They make issues over trifles and insist that they must be vindicated. Would it be wise to get involved with them in lengthy and costly legal battles? Often it is better to take a loss and thus avoid getting embroiled in a maze of legal problems.

As far as an official or a supervisor is concerned, he may have the authority to request the performance of a particular service. Instead of protesting, the individual asked to do something usually is farther ahead by being willing to do what is required of him and even to do more than that. He thus avoids needlessly incurring the displeasure of those in authority.

Now, in the case of the two men in Nicaragua, likely neither one of them would have been scarred for life had there been a willingness to make compensation or to take a small loss. This is well illustrated in what happened to two women attending a seminar in the same country. One of them accidentally knocked over a bottle of milk that the other woman had bought to feed to her baby. She quickly cleaned everything up and, when the other woman returned to her seat, offered to pay for the spilled milk. But the owner had no interest in compensation, and the two women soon were engaged in pleasant conversation.

Truly, the person who gains is the one who avoids making issues over trifles and really goes beyond what is asked of him to settle matters peaceably. There is real wisdom in being willing to walk that 'extra mile.'

Have you ever met someone who seemed to be fearless and wondered how that was possible? Sure, there are a few brave and fearless ones, but the majority of us definitely experience fear.

Sometimes we are afraid of failure, of not looking good, or of saying the wrong things. Sometimes, even when we can sell ourselves out of a paper bag, we fear that someone will discover that we are not as bright as we appear. The truth is that most people experience fear every day, yet have different ways of coping with it.

A friend of mine recently said, "I look at you and see a brave woman. Someone who is never afraid."

Not trying to be mean, I had to laugh, but only because it couldn't have been further from the truth. I would have loved to have said, "Fear? Why, I laugh in the face of fear!" But I would have been lying.

While I was flattered by his impression of me, I was clear that this wasn't what was going on inside of my head. Surely there were times I plunged forward confidently, but it was not due to a lack of fear. Why it appeared that way, though, was simply because of the what I did once the fear occurred for me.

When the little voice in your head says, "I'm too afraid to do it," you usually stop right there, right? It isn't the fear that has stopped you, though. The fear is merely an emotion and what you chose to do with it, is what stopped you. Fear, is simply a way to avoid something uncomfortable.

What if fear didn't control your actions? How would that change what you did next? What if you could envision fear as something different than you have known it to be all of your life? What if you could just see it as an emotion, no different than being happy or sad? If you could do that, then perhaps you could choose to act differently.

There are other choices you can make when faced with fear:

1- Acknowledge the fear as a legitimate emotion. Okay, so I'm afraid. So what?

2- Ask yourself if the fear is based on actual harm coming to you. If so, you may want to reconsider whether it is a good idea or not.

3- Ask yourself: What is the worst thing that can happen?

4- Rename your fear. Maybe it isn't fear at all, but energy going through your body to make you even stronger. Make it up, but make it good!

5- Picture your fear as a positive surge of energy.

It's healthy to feel afraid, so go ahead and feel it, but instead of letting it stop you, let it move you forward by repeating these words: In the face of fear...I will be courageous. Then go do whatever it is you're afraid of...with courage!

The Wheel of Life is one of the fundamental coaching tools the new coach discovers when they start their coach training. There's no doubt it's a useful tool for coaching one's clients and it has deservedly stood the test of time for life, business and executive coaches. However, you may not yet have considered how adaptable a tool the Wheel of Life is.

As you know, the Wheel of Life allows your clients to simply, quickly and intuitively assess their lives in eight areas, usually career, health & fitness, family & friends, finances, home environment, spirituality, personal development and leisure & hobbies. Many new and experienced coaches alike find the Wheel of Life a fabulously easy way to get a coaching series off to a strong start.

The great thing, though, is that it's easily adaptable. Here are five ideas to get you started...

Health and Fitness Wheel

Your client wants to lose weight and / or get fitter. Help them brainstorm the options and log their top six or eight possibilities on a Wheel which they rate to measure their interest or commitment levels

Home Environment

Perhaps your client wants to carry out a complete de-clutter or redecoration of their home. They divide up the Wheel according to the number of rooms in the house and assess them from most important (or easiest to complete) to least important (or longest to complete)

Business: Entrepreneurial Characteristics

Your client is a new business owner, or perhaps considering leaving paid employment to work for themselves. Help them come up with what they consider the most important characteristics for a business owner. They then choose the eight they consider most vital and log them on a Wheel, assessing them according to their current skill level

Finances: Income Wheel

If a client has an income goal ie to earn $100K (or ?100K) in the next year, ask them to draw a blank wheel which represents that total amount. Their task is then to divide it into segments depending on where they see that income coming from. If they want to make $25K in property investment they section off a quarter; if they intend to make $10K from their writing they section off a narrower segment - and so on. This visual representation can help clients see their income goal as much more achievable than they believed

Team Coaching

In an organisational or executive coaching setting, you could be coaching a manager or their team in a team-building context. Get the individual or group to discuss the characteristics of a strong team and assign each one to a segment of a Wheel; they then assess how effective their team is in each area.

By the way, if you are working with a group of people make sure each member first has time to assess each area individually before discussing their scores in the group so as not to be swayed by the more vocal -- or senior -- people!

These are just a few ideas to show you how you can adapt that mainstay of the new coach's toolkit, the Wheel of Life, to any number of different situations. What a client may have difficulty putting into words can often be illustrated graphically and quickly using that simple Wheel of Life as a starting point.

My Dad was an interesting man, an entrepreneur, a professional and a hard worker. He worked hard, real hard. I guess he worked at least 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year. Even with that time working he found time to teach me to fish and develop my thinking that impacts my life today.

Years ago my Dad started me fishing with a bamboo fishing rod. Eventually, I graduated to a spinning reel and then to the ultimate skill of handling a fly rod. He also taught me the importance of being aware and understanding the water, trees and the land around me. Basically, the environment!

Some of the best times I had with my Dad were fly-fishing at the 4 Mile Straight in the South East of Placentia, Newfoundland. During those days my Dad spouted his life philosophies, his work ethic and his keen eye for business. Today, as a middle-aged man, I keep these things in mind while I am on my life's journey. I have realized that my Dad's simple life rules are a key to living a good life and being a leader at whatever it is you do. I share these Dadisms with you in the hopes that you too have some insights into your life and the things you wish to pass on to the people around you.

Dadisms: The Path to the Trail

1. Pup for the path, old Dog for the trail (listen to those who went before you).

2. Choose your friends wisely as they can make you or break you.

3. Watch your back and the backs of those that care about you.

4. No matter what is going on in your life the tide will always come in.

5. People appreciate being appreciated, make sure you appreciate them.

6. Take a complement well, be thankful and grateful, it is a blessing.

7. There is nothing you can't do in this world if you put your mind to it!

8. Make a decision, make a plan and make it happen!

9. A strong belief in yourself will take you far, be focused on the outcome.

10. Do something useful, don't just sit around, make things happen.

11. Don't spend all your money. Save your pennies! You will need them.

12. Make sure you work! Work is important. Work!

13. Some people will envy what you have, be jealous and put you down. Don't listen to them, it's a waste of time.

14. Always look for someone to replace you, teach them, as you should always move on.

15. Keep your wits about you at all times, you need them.

16. Drunk man's words, sober man's thoughts, stay sober!

17. Change happens! Change with it! Change all the time.

18. Being successfully self employed is the best thing you can do in life.

19. With people it is as simple as like you, know you, trust you and buy from you.

20. Always tell them that business is great and you are looking for more.

In my Dad's spare time he liked to fish. Fishing was a time to get out into the country, hike and spend time with the water, the trees, the land and reflect on life. He would walk, stop and turn around and look at me and say one of these statements and then continue on his path, a path that with time and age he blazed into his trail.

As a boy, I followed his path and watched as a trail was blazed. As a man I have followed my own path and blazed my own trail. In reflection; as if looking at the water, through the trees and into the land- I see that these moments have purpose and meaning- they grow young boys and young men into maturity. The wisdom of those gone before us can turn followers into leaders. The life lessons that we allow into our lives forge the path, the trail, the journey of our lives.

As a man, I am grateful for those days at the 4 Mile Straight, the lessons that I learned and the time that I spent with my Dad fly fishing. I realize that these words are about a journey that unfolded over a lifetime. They are statements of leadership in the way we live our lives and the path that was walked and a trail that was blazed.

BraveWorld Inc. ?2007