Self Improvement Information

“Character is power.” -Booker T. Washington

Do you want to build an army of outstanding leaders in your organization? What are you doing to make it happen? Mentoring is an effective way to accomplish that goal. While discipling involves character building, the focus of mentoring is skill
development. Chip Bell, a mentoring expert, defines mentoring as the “act of helping another learn. Mentoring is about teaching through consultation rather than placing restrictions. According to Hackman and Johnson, authors of Leadership: A Communication Perspective, mentors often become sounding boards for their protégés. Why should you waste time mentoring employees? Let’s analyze the mentor-discipling nuances. Discipling and mentoring can compliment each other.

According to Organ and Bateman (organizational behavior gurus), close mentor-protégé relationships can be invaluable to younger people seeking professional competence. Allen and Poteet, mentoring experts, further that state mentor relationships are used to teach the protégé about his job, provide organizational insight, and address personal issues. Discipling is usually conducted to a broader audience. Mentoring can be seen as advanced discipleship. The primary emphasis in most businesses is career/skill development, not character building.

If you follow my logic, let’s explore a mentoring application. Do you remember the hit TV series Dallas? It showcased the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family. You have J.R, a greedy oil tycoon. Can you imagine J.R. instructing his protégé about advancement? Stab your co-worker in her back. Get ahead by any means necessary. Is this character building? The focus of most organizations is not character building. Discipling is not perfect either. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, his teacher (John 18:1-8). Where are the process flaws? The infallibility of mankind and individual choice! Mentoring/discipling are only tools. Here are things to consider what discussing any mentoring for your organization:

· Do you feel that mentoring is beneficial(if not,move on)?
· Will mentoring employees help you compete?
· Do you have the right people for mentoring others?
· Are you going to have a formal mentoring program?
· Are you willing to survey your employees for interest?

Sadly, many managers are missing out on building effective relationships with followers. One veteran worker explained that no one had every mentored her; she felt she could have benefited from the process, however. Her managers simply did not care. This generation of young workers are concerned about a caring organization. Mentoring can be a positive effort toward leadership development. Rev. Isaiah Blackman, the founder of mentoring organization for addicts called the Strength & Recovery Program, sees mentoring as a vital ingredient in growing young leaders. Selecting the right mentor for each person is critical. Rev. Blackman argues, “Young people often gravitate toward adults who take an interested in them. That’s why it’s important to have the right people mentoring.”

In summary, discipling and mentoring are both vital for life transformations. Don’t get caught not using it. Start today.

References:

Adsit, C. (2005). Go and Make What. Disciplemakers, International, Retrieved October 4, 2005, from milmin.com/resources/discipleship/gomakewhat.htm

Allen, T. & Poteet, M. (1999). Developing Effective Mentoring Relationships: Strategies from the Mentor’s Viewpoint. The Career Development Quarterly. Vol. 48, pg. 59-73

Bell (2002). Managers as Mentors. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler’s Publishers, Inc.

Organ, D. & Bateman, T. (1991). Organizational Behavior. Homewood, IL and Boston, MA: Irwin.

Johnson, C. & Hackman, M. (2000). Leadership: A Communication Perspective. Waveland Press.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. He is a columnist, lecturer, professor, and management consultant. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in strategic leadership. For more information, visit his website at darylgreen.org darylgreen.org

“Any committee is only as good as the most knowledgeable, determined and vigorous person on it. There must be somebody who provides the flame.”
Lady Bird Johnson

My friend works for a local church as an office manager. Initially, he was zealous about making changes to antiquated church systems. Unfortunately, the church leaders didn’t want to progress as quickly. He was discouraged and disempowered. How could this happen at a church?

Let’s discuss the liberating aspect of empowerment. After Jesus’ death, we find His disciples demoralized and frightened (John 20:19). They had looked for Jesus to restore Israel. Didn’t Jesus promise them a new kingdom? In Luke 24:1, the disciples meet the resurrected Jesus, and they celebrate. However, in Luke 24:51, Jesus departs again. The disciples are left with only a promise. They wait.

In Act 2, we find the Holy Spirit equipping the disciples, encouraging their hearts, and empowering them to preach the Gospel. The disciples learned to follow the Holy Spirit and allow Him to liberate them from their fears. Miller, author of the Empowered Leader, maintains every Christian who desires to become a leader must first know how to follow. Malphurs, a value-based guru, argues that every organization must have committed values and must passionately stand for something. Likewise, organizations need to be passionate about their followers and empower them so that they can be successful.

References:

Malphurs, A. (1996). Values-Driven Leadership. Grand Rapids, MI: Bakers Books.

Miller, C. (1995). The empowered leader. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. He is a columnist, lecturer, professor, and management consultant. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is a doctoral degree in strategic leadership. For more information,visit his website at darylgreen.org darylgreen.org

Stress is amazingly persistent, even seductive. We get used to feeling tight and tense. Though positive thinking has its place, unless it is backed up by practical wisdom it tends to get overwhelmed and fade away.

Here are seven proven ways you can get a new handle on stress.

1. Control your REACTION with these 7 simple words.

The first step is to remain alert when people try to weigh you down with their nervous comments and attitudes.

The next step is to reply to the attempted attack: “I have nothing to say to that.” This cuts off the contagious effect of the stressful assault. It blocks the tendency to accept and imitate depressing words from others. Your nature does not fall down to the level of the anxious remark, but remains high above it.

Negative people WANT to get you involved with their defeat, and this is a major method they use to do it. Your reply: ‘I have nothing to say to that’ prevents them from drawing you in as their victim.

Inner life author Vernon Howard writes, “An attitude of defeat in another person cannot touch you unless you carelessly accept it as yours. And there is no need at all for you to accept it. A quiet refusal to enter the battlefield is the perfect reply.’

2. Let go of painful grudges by living in the present moment.

Hating someone is like drinking poison yourself and hoping the offender will die from it. We must grant to others the same opportunity for change or we shut the door on our own development. Therefore, it is our responsibility to release those who have caused harm to the providence of a higher power, while simultaneously realizing they will be held accountable for their actions.

The secret to success without stress is to realize your newness in the present moment many times each day. NOW is so alive and energetic, so tangible and real, that painful grudges cannot “live” here. Grudges can only stay around when fueled by unaware and unproductive mental visits to the past.

3. Observe negative thoughts with the aim of understanding them, instead of trying to suppress them.

Self-Observation is a master key to stress-free living. Instead of claiming stressful thoughts and feelings as our own, we can observe and understand them. This understanding sets us free!

Self-observation is practical spirituality at its best. Marcus Aurelius, the ancient Roman Emperor said, “Those who do not observe the movement of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy.” (Marcus Aurelius)

4. Pause often and enjoy a deep breath.

People are often so tense with stressful thinking they barely breathe!

We can do something highly beneficial and intelligent. We can take brief breaks many times a day, even if for only 30 seconds! We can pause, take a deep breathe, look around and relax.

Suppose you feel tempted to give in to someone when you know you should not. Instantly fall into internal relaxation. Breathe away your tensions. Your habitually anxious and resentful attitudes will fall away like leaves from a tree. They will be replaced by a clear mind that reveals what is best for you.

5. Realize you have far better things to think about!

The old way of thinking has its favorite grooves; for example, negative mental film clips that pull you away from the present moment. When you detect yourself involved in one of these internal movies, pause and say to yourself, ‘There are better things to think about.’ This instantly snaps the spell and moves you to higher ground.

You’ll feel much less stress and an abundance of new vitality as you reclaim the energy once consumed by these negative mental film clips. Suddenly wake up and come home to yourself by enthusiastically declaring, “There are better things to think about!”

6. Stay clear of negative zones of influence.

Our society is rampant with negative influences. They come from so many places, like frantic people, advertising and untruthful politics. Never forget: Unaware people want you to vibrate on their stressful level.

It is your duty, your noble mission in life, to live in harmony with your Heart — YOUR AUTHENTIC AND INTELLIGENT SELF. Though physically you may be in a stressful place, once you connect with your Heart you have the spiritual power to stay free inwardly. No law says you must fall under stressful zones of influence.

7. Refuse to make stressful or angry comments.

Stress spills out into the world. It is like a snowball rolling down a hill that starts small then gathers size and momentum. Therefore, we must stop stress in its infancy, and the best place to do so is BEFORE it leaves the mouth.

Here’s a wonderful way to dissolve stress in your life:

This insight exercise is called SELF-SURPRISE.Here’s how it works. You are about to say something angry or hurtful to another person. The statement has left the dock – it is traveling at the speed of light toward the mouth. Your AWARENESS steps in and a higher choice is made; a switch is thrown and you do not say what you were about to say. You say something helpful and cheerful instead!

You’ll instantly feel the trueness of practicing this exercise. Anger or stress did not succeed in dictating your speech. Your power of choice lifted you above its arrows. This is not the practice of phony niceness. It is the expression of true strength and authentic self-command It can only occur when your awareness is active, like the presence of a lighted lodge in the dark forest.

Conclusion:

The one supreme power that guarantees personal happiness is personal right thinking. This “right thinking” is based on practical wisdom. Try these seven methods and you’ll see a huge difference in your life. You’ll have LOTS of energy!

About The Author

copyright © 2004 by T.H. Russell

Bio: Tom Russell is the author of several eBooks, including ‘The Power of Vertical Thinking’ and ‘7 Secrets to Light Up Your Essence.’ He is the host of SuperWisdom.com” target=”_new SuperWisdom.com and the editor of the SuperWisdom E-zine, read biweekly by more than 20,000 people in 42 countries. He assists professional salespeople and entrepreneurs to live with greater energy, focus and spiritual insight. He has been interviewed on more than 200 radio and TV talk shows.

Are difficult people making you feel incompetent, frustrated, angry, stressed, depressed? It’s estimated that about one person in ten is hard to cope with. Luckily, there are ways to deal with these obstructive or damaging people without bringing yourself down … AND get what you want from them.

We often just put up with difficult behaviour, telling ourselves it doesn’t matter, excusing it or trying to pretend it’s not happening. We can end up losing our temper. Or complaining to friends and colleagues, which means you’re still suffering from the difficult person … and everyone else now sees you as a powerless victim as well.

First, accept the way the person is. Don’t hope they’ll change. Second, you need to assess things objectively, to give you a chance of spotting ways you’re contributing to the problem, perhaps, or factors which trigger the difficult behaviour or fuel it. To help feel detached, pretend you’re advising a friend, or that you’re a therapist or consultant.

Often difficult people are trying to gain attention, approval or recognition of their status. Realising that, and giving them that as far as you can, can work wonders. A smile, looking them directly in the eye, a brief touch on the arm (if it’s natural in the situation), saying the magic words ‘You’re right,’ (even if it’s just, ‘You’re right, it IS raining!’), staying in joint problem-solving mode (’How can WE deal with this?’), achnowledgement of their problems, rephrasing what they’ve said back so they know you’re attending to them … all have their place.

Here are some tips for dealing with common pains in the neck:

* The steamroller is loud, bullying, angry. It’s easy to be cowed, or lose your own temper — specially because they often WANT you to shout.

Before you face them, let out a few long slow breaths to calm yourself. If you feel about to explode, just say, ‘I’m sorry, I need to be calmer before we talk more about this,’ and GO AWAY for, at least 20 minutes to cool down.

Don’t try and soothe them or keep lowering your voice hoping they’ll get the hint and stop shouting. They’ll shout louder, because they’ll feel they aren’t getting through to you how seriously they feel. Stand firm, raise your own voice a bit. But stick to the point. Don’t get dragged off into arguments. Just say, ‘I disagree’, ‘I don’t share that point of view’. If you’re at fault, don’t defend or excuse, just say calmly, looking them in the eye,’I'm sorry I did …’ When they interrupt, say, ‘You interrupted me.’ Then: ‘You interrupted me again’. Find a good reason to leave the room or change the direction of the conversation

* Snipers aren’t brave enough to be direct. They use unpleasant comments, hostile jokes, tell dirty stories which feel sexually aggressive or demeaning when their victim’s a woman … ‘Haven’t you got a sense of humour’ … ‘You’re too sensitive’ …. ‘Can’t take a joke.’

Don’t ignore them, don’t laugh, but look calm and interested. To make them back off or bring issues into the open, say, ‘Excuse me, I know you’re getting laughs, but it sounds as if you’re having a go at me. Are you concerned about …?’ Or, ‘That was very funny, but I think you’re trying to make a criticism. Do you have a problem with …?’ Get them alone for this if you can, and let them know you’d prefer they said things directly and sly digs and ‘jokes’ are unacceptable.

* Perpetual gloom. These people are so draining. You try to cheer them up … but when you leave the emotional contest of wills, everything looks gloomier, and you feel uptight and worn out. They LOVE the word ‘but’ and put a negative ‘but’ on everything. They feel powerless to change and always expect disappointment — and their negativity is infectious.

Don’t try and cheer them up! Acknowledge what they say, but don’t agree with it. Where their concerns are genuine, don’t lament the problem with them but focus on what to do to solve it. Put a positive twist on what they say.

When they say something neutral or positive, reward them with interest and attention. As soon as they start moaning, make an excuse to leave or put the phone down. They won’t know it, but you’ll be reshaping their behaviour and their thinking …

* Critics. They constantly find fault, and it’s easy to get defensive and feel put down. You may react aggressively, just take it, or seem to take it but make sure you get your own back somehow. But none of these stops the critic or keeps your self-esteem up. So acknowledge what they say, but don’t apologise or try to correct them. Get absolutely clear what they want and what would satisfy them - sometimes they’re expecting you to mind-read! In writing, so they can’t shift the goal-posts.

When they make general statements ‘You always’ …pin them down to particular instances and ask what could be done in such cases.

* The Gossiper spreads rumour — without caring whether it’s true or who they’re hurting. Maybe they want to seem ‘in the know’, special and important. Or righteous. Or bring someone popular or powerful, a potential rival, low. They’re often vague … ‘Everyone knows…’ ‘ They say…’ ‘,Someone told a friend of mine …’ ‘I feel I should tell you what so-and-so said/did because I’m your friend, but it’s a secret.’

Keep clear of the web of intrigue, speculation and innuendo. Pin them down. Ask precise questions. Check and double check. Be sure they’re clearly known as a mischief-maker and rumour-monger, not to be believed or trusted. A patient of mine was a manager whose whole team was miserable, mistrustful and hardly talking to each other. He realised his secretary was telling each malicious ’secrets’ ‘in confidence’ about the others. He got them to bring it all into the open. And had her transferred.

Which is a useful reminder that difficult people usually have other victims, not just you. Team up and explore procedures for dealing with them.

And you usually have one final power. Leave the situation for good. If combating difficult people is using too much of your thought and talents — ask whether you’d be better off focusing your energies elsewhere.

Jane Firbank’s site, secretsofchange.com secretsofchange.com, has over 100 fascinating and helpful problem letter replies, plus scores of articles and book reviews.

Jane Firbank is a psychotherapist working from the new Human Givens approach to counselling. This unites cutting-edge psychological and brain research with the new insights of evolutionary psychology and the ancient insights of the traditional healing and spiritual disciplines. The Human Givens approach is powerfully and rapidly effective in helping people move on from depression, stress and anxiety, obsession, psychosis, relationship problems and addiction. Phobias, traumas and Post Traumatic Stress can often be removed in one or two sessions using the latest knowledge of how the brain works.

Jane Firbank, BSc (Psych), HG Dip, GHR, is in private practice in London, England where she also regularly writes and consults on psychological matters for the Press, TV and radio.

One of the first and foremost things to do to change your life is to change your attitude. Attitude is fundamental to the success or failure that we experience in our life.

Are you less successful than you would like to be? Do you have the money you want? Do you have the family you want? Do you have the job that you want?

If you answered “no” to any of the questions above, then you may want to take a look at your attitude, because so much depends on it!

“Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it,” says Irving Berlin. It is true. Now don’t get me wrong, that 10 percent is M-A-J-O-R, but even bigger than that is what your attitude is. So, do everything that you can – action wise – to make your life an absolute success. But when you are done acting, you will only have what you have. It may be big and it may be little. But it is what you have to live with. Now the biggest key will be what your attitude is toward what your actions have brought to you. One person will work and be happy with it. Another will work, achieve the same thing and have a terrible attitude about it. Who will achieve the most successful life? My bet is on the one with the best attitude.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.” It is all in what value you give to it! You see, you may look at one thing and say “That’s terrible,” while another person may say, “That’s great!” A simple example would be a half a ham sandwich. Now, if you are used to filet mignon, you are going to think, “A measly old ham sandwich? Is that it?” But a starving person would have a very different viewpoint! They would think, “I won the lunch lottery!

Another reason to keep in mind that our attitude is so very important is because often times the attitude we demonstrate is exactly what we will get back to us. The great Earl Nightingale said, “Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.” Think about it. You walk into a store and say to the clerk, “Hey lady, do you think you could get off your duff and tell me where I can find the milk?” What kind of attitude do you think you will get back? Instead, we should go in and say, “Excuse me, but would you be so kind as to tell me where I could find the milk?” You will get a good attitude back from that! The same is true in every area of our lives. Do you find that others have a bad attitude toward you? Then maybe you have a bad attitude toward them. The old saying is true that you reap what you sow. If you are reaping bad attitudes, you are probably sowing bad attitudes. Take a closer look, and you may find the key to turning your life around.

“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” W. Clement Stone

Let’s face it, there is little difference in people physically or intellectually. But what does make the difference is the attitude. You can take two people of similar background, education, skill and intelligence and find that one is the kind of person you are looking for because of a positive attitude while the other is a complete dud – the eternal pessimist! Your attitude is the big difference.

What is your attitude? Is it positive or negative? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? I guarantee you, no matter what your attitude is, it is affecting you – and your success. Take this test: Purposefully upgrade your attitude for 90 days and see if life doesn’t begin to change for you! Pick a few areas where you can make a change. For example, begin to trust people and believe the best in them and see if your relationships begin to change!

If you’re stuck or if you just want to go to the next level of success, it’s time to “Get a New Attitude!”

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of
Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn
their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and
achieve their dreams.

To see Chris “live” at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on
the subject of Secrets of Influence go to
Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

The First step towards Riches

In this chapter, Napoleon Hill talks about the starting point of all achievement - Desire. He writes that the desire or impulse to achieve something in life can be so great that any obstacles no matter how big or small can stop an individual from reaching the goal he has set up for him. A person with burning desire, an obsession with success can go to any lengths until he succeeds. Failure does not bother him and in fact he uses it as a stepping-stone to fuel his burning desire for achievement.

Napoleon Hill mentions a couple of stories of everyday common people who in the face of insurmountable odds came out victorious. Read on to understand how desire can change a mans life.

Mr. Edwin C. Barnes had one consuming obsession of his life; in fact it was a burning desire to become a business partner with a great inventor. So extraordinary was his desire to become the business associate of Thomas A. Edison that he caught a freight train to Orange, New Jersey because he never had money to pay for the fare. After arriving he straight made his way to Edison office and presented himself and asked Mr. Edison for a opportunity to become his business partner.

Mr. Edison was very impressed with Barnes determination that he gave him a chance to work in the office at a very nominal wage.
He worked with great eagerness but never gave up the desire to be his business partner. He waited for his opportunity and when it came in the form of a new invention known at that time as the Edison Dictating Machine. Mr. Edison’s salesmen were not very excited over the machine. They believed that the machine had no future and thus selling it would be a difficulty.

Barnes knew that he could sell the product and suggested this to Edison who agreed immediately. Barnes did sell the machine and went to become Edison’s partner. He was so successful that Edison gave him a contract to distribute and market the product all over the nation. In fact their business grew by the slogan, Made by Edison and installed by Barnes.

So strong was his desire that he achieved what he was out for. That is all there is to the Barnes Story of success!

So we see that just wishing will not make a person rich but one must desire richness with a state of mind that becomes a passion, then planning definite ways and means to acquire those riches and not recognizing failure but persisting with a one track mind towards your goal.

You may as well know that you can never have enough riches unless you work hard for it, it is a well known fact that as you shall sow, so shall you reap. You should know that every great leader, poet or actor is dreamers. In fact so intense are their dreams that they see their dreams in spiritual form before it can transpire into physical form. If you do not see riches in your imagination you will never see them in your bank balance.

Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by electricity, he put his dreams into action and despite more than ten thousand failures; he stood by his dreams until he made it a physical reality

Lincoln dreamed of freedom for the black slaves, put his dreams into action, and barely missed living to see a united North and South translate his dream into reality.

The same way Wright brothers dreamed of a machine that would fly through air now one may see evidence all over the world how successful their dreams were. Always remember that practical dreamers do not quit!

As Napoleon Hill says “All who succeed in life get off to a bad start and pass through many heart-breaking struggles before they arrive.”

How can one harness and use the power of desire? This has been answered in this and the subsequent chapters in this book.

Jennifer Green is a successful publisher and writes on topics
related to think-and-grow-rich.net how to achieve success, think-and-grow-rich.net how to make money and achieving think-and-grow-rich.net financial freedom! She is a successful financially independent entrepreneur.

Couples who get married thinking that marriage is a 50/50 proposition have a lot to learn about marriage AND math.

Folks who brag about being brutally honest seem to enjoy the brutality more than the honesty.

I don’t trust parenting experts who hold up their own family, not just as an example of their own at home laboratory, but as the perfect ideal.

No matter how good things get, I can always find a way to mess it up.

Two quick and fairly accurate ways to assess someone’s character are

1) what’s on their bookshelf, and

2) how they handle money, no matter how much they have.

Perceived needs always rise to a level slightly above income

It’s a wise person who gives up what they cannot keep to gain what they cannot lose.

God has a great sense of humor, and I’ve got proof! - each and every time Lauren and I have a fuss at home that I don’t handle well, I can pretty much guarantee that the very next couple with whom I work, usually that very day, will have similar issues that I’ll handle just fine. Which leaves me banging my head, thinking “you dummy, you dummy, you dummy!”

Adults tend to talk about teenagers as if they are at best, from a foreign country, and at worst, another planet. We ALL hurt in the same places.

As much as I am blessed to get the “inside perspective” on the female view of the world everyday in my office or seminars (and every night at my house!) I’m still just a male. Always have been, always will be, not really interested in changing that or the surgery involved. Which simply means that there are certain things I will never completely “get.” And what I have found to be worse, it will never even occur to me at first to consider some things, just because I have never actually, physically looked upon the world through female eyes.

I’d trade all my success in a second for that wonderful feeling you get when you spend time with a trusted friend who understands and accepts you.

There are still times when I wish I could talk with and get my dad’s perspective on a problem.

Many of the things that my male friends find hilarious just don’t amuse my wife.

Marriage, like success, or just about anything else, is really not so very difficult. The tools are out there, and have been for a long time. We just have to be willing to consistently use them.

There’s really just no room for pride in an intimate relationship.

As soon as I hear myself judging someone, or saying “I would never do that!”, I know it won’t be long until I’m faced with a similar situation.

Most marriages could be saved if folks would just listen to a different radio station. Most spouses listen to radio station “W I I F M” (“W hat’s I n I t F or M e?”). We need to switch to radio station “W C I D - T S Y” (“W hat C an I D o - T o S erve Y ou?”)

Most folks operate under the false notion that you can’t see in to car windows at a stop light.

Visit secretsofgreatrelationships.com SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

It’s very hard to benefit from time management techniques when you procrastinate. There are a number of reasons you procrastinate, and fretting may be the source behind your tendency to procrastinate. When you fret you think about all sorts of imagined problems that may or may not ever happen. You fret about what might happen if you succeed. You fret about what might happen if you fail. You fret about what others will think. You fret that you don’t really know how to tackle the problem. With all this fretting your expending way more energy thinking about it than it would ever take to just do it.

Procrastinators who fret are thinkers, so let’s get you thinking about the right things. What happens if you do succeed if you complete this project or activity? What’s the absolute worst thing that could happen and the absolute best thing that could happen when you finish the project? Get out a piece of paper. Divide it in half heading one side best and the other worst. Keep brain storming and writing until you can’t come up with anything else. Is there anything on the paper that you absolutely couldn’t live with? If not, go to the next step.

The next step in this time management technique is to identify what happens if you fail. Flip you paper over and now list the absolute worst thing that could happen if you fail, and the best thing that could happen if you fail? Your first reaction may be there isn’t a best thing that could happen if you fail, but there is. Every time you fail at something you’re one step closer to succeeding, so you really want to fail fast and often so you can succeed that much faster.

When you procrastinate because you fret about everything isn’t a big part of your concern about what others will think? This time management technique may be hard for you, but mastering this technique will liberate you. Recognize that you can’t control how other people will think or react now or ever. You can only control how you respond to how others react. So, on a second piece of paper list how you think others might react on one side and on the other side list how you choose to react in response to that reaction. Let’s say you’re fretting that if you complete this project or activity that someone may get very angry and confront you. You can choose to remain calm, acknowledge the other persons feelings, ask them to tell you more about whatever they are telling you, and then communicate that you want to work together to resolve their concern. Because you’re prepared for the possible reactions and responses of others you’re prepared to handle your own responses.

Often the reason behind your fretting is that you’re concerned that you don’t know how to do what you need to do. All time management techniques are really about taking control and moving forward. In this case, flip your second piece of paper over and list what you don’t know how to do. Review your list and on the other half of the sheet identify how you could know how to do it, and when you will take action to know how. Evaluate which things that you don’t know how to do that you could have someone who does know how do for you.

Ultimately fretting usually comes down to fear. The best coachingmegaagents.com/TimeManagementArticle.php time management technique for overcoming fears is to face them. As you thought things out through the previous steps you were really identifying your worst fears and coming up with solutions for working around them. The best way to conquer your enemy is to know your enemy. As you work through this thought process your confidence builds, and you restore your ability to move ahead armed with the knowledge of what you need to do and how to do it.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this coachingmegaagents.com/TimeManagement.php Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are.

When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit coachingmegaagents.com/ CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

Freedom for all species and people, and freedom of stress; is it possible? Could the Internet be a tool to getting there?

Freedom, what is it? I am an Internet writer whose job is to write about the Internet. Does that mean I am locked into this one area? Am I allowed to write about other things? Well today I am going to test out my supposed freedom, by writing about freedom. Some people say freedom is a state of mind, but I don’t know. What if you are a refugee locked away in a mandatory detention center waiting years for governments to process bureaucratic rigmarole? What if you live in a democratic society where you have to sign and have documents for everything from dog licenses to foreign visas? Are we really free, and if we are, how free are we?

Life on Earth for the privileged nations has become quite a comfortable existence. Or has it? Materially we have more than we could have ever imagined, but spiritually, how are we doing? If we are honest, each one of us has to live with the knowledge that for every creature comfort we have, someone in the world is having a little bit less; and then there’s the effect we have on the environment. So how free can we be with all this on our collective consciousness? The fact that we have more stress, anxiety and youth suicide today than ever before is a testament to the fact that life isn’t necessarily wholly better than our previous generations.

So why think of freedom? Why think of the problems of the Earth if I don’t have the answers. Everybody wants to hear solutions, but not many people are giving them. I once heard a guy called Professor Peter Sellars say,

“I’m now proposing the new period is the ‘Culture of Focus’, you find something that needs to be done and you do it.”

Could this be our ticket to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual freedom? If we focus our intentions as a society in an altruistic fashion, maybe all our strict social doctrines and rules will become less apparent in our minds and thus in our reality. If we are all thriving on the fact that we are doing our little part to make the world a better place for all concerned, maybe we wouldn’t be so obsessed with some of the issues that seem to pervade our minds today: war, greed, economics, racial and religious differences; all these may just become focuses of our past perception of reality.

I’m not pedaling easy answers and I’m not giving many examples of how all this change will come about; and I’m definitely not saying it shall be an easy task, nothing worthwhile ever is. The fact is, humans are always evolving and changing and it is easy to see that we still have a way to go before we live in a sustainable, positive global community. These thoughts are on my mind and I’m sure as I’ve spoken to many others, that it’s on a lot of our minds.

O.K., my job is to write about the Internet so I guess in the end I’ll follow orders. I mean hey, these words could incite a few positive thoughts out there in our collective community across the globe. The Internet is a pretty cool tool for communication across present borders and boundaries of our constructed systems. Just think about how much information and knowledge is now available at your fingertips. You can find out about nearly anything imaginable. For instance, if you did want to research the question about whether you are free or not, it’s the perfect place to start your search. It actually could take a large part in the development of true freedom for all species. That’s all I am going to say about that. Maybe we are already free, but could we become freer? Think about it my brothers and sisters.

About The Author

Jesse S. Somer

m6.net” target=”_new m6.net

Jesse S. Somer is a human wondering when freedom will, if ever, reign supreme in our world and in our minds.

The horses on the merry-go-round know something about life that we often forget. They go around and around in their “lives” much as we do. They face forward and move along their path. We do that too. But they have a vertical pole that’s physically visible and palpable. They go up and down within the forward thrust of their movement. Most of us prefer getting on one of the horses that goes up and down to riding the ones that just go forward. The kids all run for the horses that will give them the feel of the perpendicular movement.

Our lives would be much more “merry” if we’d remember to include that vertical component in our personal “go-round.”

Creating Your Reality

Do you have a clear sense of the role you play in the creation of your reality? Life unfolds before you. You
look forward, step forward and live forward into it. The manifestation of your reality, like a red carpet
rolling out before you, unfolds parallel to the earth. It runs parallel to your gaze, parallel to the forward
movement of your physical journey. That is the plane of manifestation.
If you attempt to dream in that same plane, you will encounter much traffic. Your light-filled dreams will
become obscured by the physical density of your already manifested realities. It is a crowded and
cluttered place, the realm of the already-created. If you dream there, your new creations will look much
like your old ones. The carousel horses know this. That’s why they move up and down.

By moving vertically, the merry-go-round ride brings the light of the dream into play. It brings the dream
of the unmanifest, rhythmically into the unfolding of the forward reality. That makes the ride much more
fun.

This little geometric piece of merry-go-round mysticism can change everything for you. When you learn
to dream perpendicular to life, you infuse your creation with brightness. You open the windows and allow
a fresh breeze to circulate through the density of your past creations. You bring new possibilities into your
previously stagnant belief systems. The results are all good.

Consciously or unconsciously, you have dreamt it all before it has come into form. Since we are
mechanically spewing out our perceived realities just before we walk into them, why not create more
intentionally? By keeping your dreams vertical and tapping them into the ground with each of your
body’s rhythms (your heart beat, your foot steps), like the horse, you bring the vertical dream into the
horizontal manifestation and together these two dimensions create a reality much more luminous, much
more satisfying.

A-maz-ing

Sounds good in theory, but how do we do it? How do we insert the vertical dream into our habitual
churning out of our horizontal realities? There are many techniques using visualization and imagery that
will allow you to bring your vertical dreams into manifestation. Rather than reiterate them here, let’s talk
about those moments when we feel stuck. Let’s address those times when we feel so lost in the unwanted
manifestation that it is hard to find the feeling state we seek even in visualization. We will use a process
I’d like to call “A-maz-ing.” If done authentically, its results will amaze you.

We all walk around in our own maze. The maze of our limited ego consciousness keeps us scurrying down
blind alleys. It guides us over and over again through our deeply grooved habits of thought and behavior.
Everywhere we turn we seem to encounter another wall, another arbitrary choice of “go left” or “go
right.” With no reliable navigational tools, we can easily become disheartened and depressed, lost in the
maze.

In order to free ourselves from the maze, in order to “a-maze” ourselves, we need a vertical perspective.
We can find the bird’s eye view we need in the form of guidance from our higher self. As long as we look
forward, all we see is the next corridor of the maze which can bring on feelings of being trapped,
dissatisfied, depressed or discouraged. By turning our attention from forward to upward, we include our
higher self (who sees us in those moments like a dot in the maze). A new possibility comes into play. We
can be mystically guided through these puzzling tunnels and quickly step out into the open rolling fields
and bright sunlight, into freedom and life.

Following the Light Within

It’s as easy as following the light. That’s how you do it. It may not be a visible light, but it will be a
knowing of light. A knowing of right. A knowing of good. You can feel this guidance with increasing
accuracy the more you experiment with it. Abraham tells us “good feels good and bad feels bad.”* I’ve
never heard a better summary of the whole process than that.
It takes a conscious effort to follow the stream of good that leads you out of the maze. It takes a sincere
opening to your own higher self. Remind yourself that your higher self can see your situation from a
perspective that includes much of the picture that is blocked from your vision. Ask for guidance. Take it
when it comes. A-maz-ing!

Making it Physical

The merry-go-round ride is simple, easy and fun. There is no prerequisite of metaphysical study and
spiritual practice before purchasing your ride ticket. The same is true for dreaming perpendicular to life.
Just as the vertical movement is built into the horses, it’s built into you. With every step you take, the
biomechanics of your feet lift you upward. Each step you take guides you up as it thrusts you forward.

Simply tune into the vertical component of your step and you gain access to the perpendicular component
of creation. Can it be that easy to dream light into your life? Yes.

© Rebbie Straubing

You can receive Dr. Rebbie Straubing’s Free e-Course,
“7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart’s Desire,” at
yofa.net yofa.net

Rebbie is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach, and writer.

To find or harmonize a relationship, visit GreatRelationships.net GreatRelationships.net

Increase your awareness of Divine Love and begin a meditation practice in 3 minutes at the Affirmative Contemplation website, AffirmativeContemplation.com AffirmativeContemplation.com