To gamble is to take a chance.
Looking at the odds it is most likely that when we gamble, we lose. In fact, when we take that as a starting point - losing that is - we are already one step closer to handing in our money.
A lot of texts from the early 1900’s suggest that whatever dominates our thoughts will be what manifests in our lives one way or the other. In my experience there is a lot of thruth in this, especially if our dominant thinking goes hand in hand with strong emotions. Telling ourselves ‘we will win’ with a tight knot in our stomach is a sure (warning) sign that we will probably lose. While it may appear that we are focusing on winning we are in fact emotionally bound by the fear of losing. People who won lotteries in this frame of mind usually end up losing all the money they won - and sometimes more.
So how can we use this to our advantage?
First of all, be grateful for what you already have right now. Chances are it’s a lot more than most people on earth have. He or she who succeeds in being truly grateful will live a much happier life.
Then imagine what it would feel like to win this prize and or what you would do with the money. Do this until it brings a silly smile to your face. Does this guarantee you will win the next draw you enter? No, of course not, but you will feel pretty good anyway.
After this, when you wake up to the ‘real life’, ask yourself: “What would a successful person with a lot of money do if he or she was in my position?” If your answer is that he or she would gamble within his or her means and thoroughly enjoy it as a game and an adventure, do that! When it is more likely that this person would first improve upon his or her current financial position, do that.
In case you decide to play a game, take a chance or place a bet, why not do it so as many people as possible benefit? Play a game with good odds. Make sure that if you don’t win, a lot of others do. Look for organizations that will spend part of the proceeds on charity.
In case you do win (and you might start to win more if you become more grateful for what you have now) why not spend 10% of your winnings on a worthy cause as well?
After all, most machines run a little better with a little grease!
Have fun!
Mark Luyk http://www.freewebs.com/one-in-five-chance
Let’s file this one under the heading of random musings and observations, or what I like to call “things I’ve noticed along the way so far.”
Of the many things we tend to forget about in our fast paced culture, two of the most important are how to play and how to rest.
Even if the grass is greener on the other side it’s still got to be mowed.
Like most men, one of my biggest emotional needs in marriage is to be and feel appreciated. It took me a long time, almost too long, to figure out that in order to be appreciated, I had to do a whole lot more than just show up.
It’s much easier to raise a child than to repair an adult.
Exactly when did fast food become so slow?
Most women simply need to be told frequently and shown often that they are loved.
Just about every kid I’ve ever worked with faced the challenge of a “personality conflict” with a teacher. Of the many ways to handle this challenge is to look at it as good practice for adulthood, when the exact same thing will happen in the workplace.
When it comes to adequately expressing emotional pain, the English language falls terribly short.
People who complain more than their share are usually trying to tell someone how very much they hurt.
There are lots of folks who are in a relationship because it’s socially acceptable, while being committed to something else in their lives.
Can someone please explain to me what could be so important as to be worth risking your own life and the lives of others by running straight through the red light at a busy intersection?
Some people enjoy the defining and re-defining of a problem much more than solving the problem.
Whether you look upon the things you do every day as a burden or a privilege determines whether you do them grudgingly or gracefully.
How is it that couples can be involved in a nasty loud heated argument and when the phone rings they stop and answer it with a pleasant hello? We seem to be more willing to talk pleasantly and kindly to an unknown caller than to our spouses.
It never ceases to amaze me how creative we are at complicating our lives.
Here’s a quote I recently came across that hit’s the emotional bullseye: “Being cared about is something so desperately needed in this depersonalized world that people will crawl across a thousand miles of desert to get it.”
In the wake of all the recent school violence, those asking “how could this be happening?” are asking the wrong question. A much better question is “What are we going to do about it?”
If you are blessed enough to still have elderly relatives and aren’t regularly “picking their brains”, then you are really missing out on a great source of experience and wisdom.
Most depiction’s of marriage/family counseling in the movies or on TV embarrass me.
Visit 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.
Buying a glass transportation rack is different than buying another type of glass working tools. As the glass market and glass itself advances, the equipment that services it, has too.
The efficient and safe transport of commercial glass and its related applications, has resulted in literally hundreds of glass transportation racks configurations to make glass transportation easier.
Considering the large volume of products possible, an informed due diligence looking at your situations individual specifications is your first step to buying a glass rack. However anyone can buy a generic glass rack from many glass handling companies, for almost no additional cost you have an expert design a custom glass rack to your specific needs.
Coming up with a few requirements in several characteristics can help you decide on the body and chassis tandem that will maximize your money.
Remember that bodies should have a life span of two and sometimes three chassis. Looking ahead that far takes a good deal of consideration due to the unfortunate fact that the glass rack body can only work with a similar chassis type design. The chassis design will also decide big considerations of the body type including rack size, ledge width, and payload.
Glass racks usually are common in three composition materials: aluminum, carbon steel and stainless steel. They all comes with advantages and downsides.
Carbon Steel is the least expensive material, even though it is likely to eventually demand unnecessary maintenance costs to keep it looking good, most especially in rust creatingclimates.
Aluminum racks are often used due to its lightweight features. When painted or anodized, an aluminum glass rack will keep looking great up to a decade with just minimum maintenance. The material are more expensive than steel, and more difficult to repair.
Stainless Steel is the best choice for those who value anti-corrosive materials and long life. If designed correctly, a steel glass rack can provide many years of light maintenance and durable product life. Due to a stainless steel glass racks immunity to corrosion, etching the exposed steel for painting is a problem, and therefore the rack bodies are not painted. A brushed exterior appearance is its best form. Steels only drawback so far is its expensive upfront cost.
“As they … discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them” (Luke 24:15).
In this final and grand chapter of Luke is given to us perhaps the first fulfillment of comforting promises, “Where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). A pastor once noted that only one of the two was named, and he suggested that the reader take his or her own place there beside Jesus and Cleopas. What a beautiful thought!
I would like to share this wonderful commentary from William Barclay:
—
This is another of the immortal short stories of the world.
(i) It tells of two men who were walking towards the sunset. It has been suggested that that is the very reason why they did not recognize Jesus. Emmaus was west of Jerusalem. The sun was sinking, and the setting sun so dazzled them that they did not know their Lord. However that may be, it is true that the Christian is a man who walks not towards the sunset but towards the sunrise. Long ago it was said to the children of Israel that they journeyed in the wilderness towards the sunrising (Num.21:11). The Christian goes onwards, not to a night which falls, but to a dawn which breaks — and that is what, in their sorrow and their disappointment, the two on the Emmaus road had not realized.
(ii) It tells us of the ability of Jesus to make sense of things. The whole situation seemed to these two men to have no explanation. Their hopes and dreams were shattered. There is all the poignant, wistful, bewildered regret in the world in their sorrowing words, “We were hoping that he was the one who was going to rescue Israel.” They were the words of men whose hopes were dead and buried. Then Jesus came and talked with them, and the meaning of life became clear and the darkness became light. A story-teller makes one of his characters say to the one with whom he has fallen in love, “I never knew what life meant until I saw it in your eyes.” It is only in Jesus that, even in the bewildering times, we learn what life means.
(iii) It tells us of the courtesy of Jesus. He made as if he would have gone on. He would not force himself upon them; he awaited their invitation to come in. God gave to men the greatest and the most perilous gift in the world, the gift of free-will; we can use it to invite Christ to enter our lives or to allow him to pass on.
(iv) It tells how he was known to them in the breaking of bread. This always sounds a little as if it meant the sacrament; but it does not. It was at an ordinary meal in an ordinary house, when an ordinary loaf was being divided, that these men recognized Jesus. It has been beautifully suggested that perhaps they were present at the feeding of the five thousand, and, as he broke the bread in their cottage home, they recognized his hands again. It is not only at the communion table we can be with Christ; we can be with him at the dinner table too. He is not only the host in his Church; he is the guest in every home. Fay Inchfawn wrote,
Sometimes, when everything goes wrong;
When days are short and nights are long;
When wash-day brings so dull a sky
That not a single thing will dry.
And when the kitchen chimney smokes,
And when there’s naught so `queer’ as folks!
When friends deplore my faded youth,
And when the baby cuts a tooth.
While John, the baby last but one,
Clings round my skirts till day is done;
And fat, good-tempered Jane is glum,
And butcher’s man forgets to come.
Sometimes I say on days like these,
I get a sudden gleam of bliss.
Not on some sunny day of ease,
He’ll come … but on a day like this!”
The Christian lives always and everywhere in a Christ-filled world.
(v) It tells how these two men, when they received such great joy, hastened to share it. It was a seven miles tramp back to Jerusalem, but they could not keep the good news to themselves. The Christian message is never fully ours until we have shared it with someone else.
(vi) It tells how, when they reached Jerusalem, they found others who had already shared their experience. It is the glory of the Christian that he lives in a fellowship of people who have had the same experience as he has had. It has been said that true friendship begins only when people share a common memory and can say to each other, “Do you remember?” Each of us is one of a great fellowship of people who share a common experience and a common memory of their Lord.
(vii) It tells that Jesus appeared to Peter. That must remain one of the great untold stories of the world. But surely it is a lovely thing that Jesus should make one of his first appearances to the man who had denied him. It is the glory of Jesus that he can give the penitent sinner back his self-respect.
“You have the right to be wrong” was a common expression of an old high school history teacher of mine. Some students hated this teacher because they thought he was lazy and a bit sadistic. He never lectured, nor did he ever seem to have a lesson plan prepared. He’d just sit back in his chair, sometimes putting his feet up on his desk, and then he’d ask probing questions and insult whoever attempted to answer them (usually for their lack of individual thought).
For homework he’d assign us lots of dry reading material, and then we’d have to write very brief papers on complex subjects, like a two-page, double-spaced paper about the causes of the Civil War. Believe me this is a lot harder than writing a 5-10 page paper on the subject because you have to choose your words very carefully. Otherwise you’ll run out of space before you make a dent in the topic. Two pages was the maximum you’d be allowed to write. If you wrote 2.1 pages, you’d fail the assignment. “Verbal flabbiness” wasn’t allowed.
Despite his lack of popularity, this teacher had the stated goal of teaching students to think for themselves instead of merely regurgitating information we learned elsewhere. This is tough to do with 17-year olds, especially with a subject like U.S. history.
I thought the expression, “you have the right to be wrong,” while usually meant as a joke in this class, was good advice. It’s not in the Bill of Rights, but perhaps it can be considered a basic human right. You have the right to be wrong. You have the right to make mistakes. You have the right to fail.
Many people don’t see the value in exercising this right, however. I think this is also a major component in the fear of public speaking. What if you take a stand on something, and you’re shot down, proven utterly wrong?
What’s so terrible about being wrong? If you’re never wrong, to me that indicates you aren’t growing. I hope that five years from now, I’ll look back on some of my blog posts from this year and disagree with myself. Otherwise it would mean that either I haven’t grown or that I was too timid in expressing myself.
Don’t be afraid to take stabs at the edges of your certainty. That’s one of the best ways to learn. Let others react to your ideas. Sometimes they’ll help provide new facts that can allow you to refine your ideas. Other times they’ll merely react emotionally which can help you become more resilient in weathering other people’s emotions. Don’t be afraid to put out your ideas in a conversation, a speech, an article, a blog entry, a forum post any communication where you can get feedback from others.
Take your ego out of the picture
I think people resist being wrong because they equate their ideas with their ego. So if their ideas get shot down, they treat it as a personal defeat they feel humiliated. The feedback from others may even encourage this reaction: “Boy, you really blew it tonight.” But just because others equate your ideas with your identity doesn’t mean you’re obligated to do so as well.
Over-investing your ego in your results is unproductive and unnecessary. If you think the failure of your ideas is a personal failure, you’ll take too few risks, risks that could ultimately pay off. But if you can learn to separate yourself from your ideas and your work and see them as something separate from yourself, you’ll feel you truly have the right to be wrong. If an idea fails, why not let it be the idea’s fault instead of your own? Allow your ideas to fail without turning them into personal defeat.
When I write articles or give speeches, I do my best to remove my ego from any attachment to the results. Ideas are ideas they are not me. Even if I’m relating personal stories, those stories are still not equal to the real me. They’re merely words. If I give a speech and get a lousy reaction, the reaction might be due to my lack of skill as a speaker. But again, my skills are not equal to the real me. My ideas and skills are merely possessions or creations, but they don’t define the real me. Thus, I never feel my ego is in any danger if a speech or an article bombs.
If an idea seems to really hit the mark, I don’t take it as a personal victory either. I just think… hey, that’s appears to be a good idea. If an idea misses the mark, I see if there’s any helpful feedback and then may refine or abandon the idea. Or it could be that I felt the idea wasn’t expressed well enough and missed its mark due to being poorly communicated. To me it’s all just feedback to create better ideas and to improve communication skills.
I think this attitude is what helps make it very easy for me to give a speech without nervousness and to write regularly for an audience of tens of thousands of readers. I feel it’s perfectly fine for me to be wrong. When discussing a complex subject like personal growth, there are many shades of gray. Despite all the knowledge and experience I have in this area, there’s no way I could ever hope to perfectly understand every facet of this vast field. Plus my communication skills are invariably imprecise. Effective communication requires a combination of logic and emotion, and those are sometimes at odds with each other and will impact different individuals uniquely. I know of no great speakers or writers who ever achieve unanimous agreement when they communicate anything of value. By keeping ego out of the picture, you can do as Winston Churchill suggested move from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm.
How could you better exercise your right to be wrong? Have you been afraid to hit the gym because you don’t know what to do and expect that you will only look like an idiot? Don’t put your ego on the line remember that it’s only your skills that are lacking. You are not lacking as a human being just because you lack certain knowledge and skill. Where else could you take a stab at being wrong or ignorant where the only long-term consequence would be a bruised ego (and not even that if you leave your ego behind)?
You have the right to be wrong. Let your ideas fail, let your skills prove their inadequacy, and let your knowledge reveal its limits. None of that is the real you anyway.
When you fail you discover your boundaries. You map out the edges of your capabilities. And this allows you to eventually move beyond them.
Being wrong eventually leads to being right. And even where it doesn’t, it’s still a more interesting path than being nothing.
Copyright © Steve Pavlina
Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles (articles)
Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.
People say, as they get older their hearing is not what it used to be. I have found this to be true for myself. The older I get, and I plan to get as old as I can, the more I hear noises in the middle of the night. Noises, I might add, that I have never heard before.
I’m not against noise. Personally, I try to make as much noise as possible. I’m just against noise not orchestrated with my sleeping habits.
And at this juncture of my career, sleeping has become a habit. In fact, I might describe it as an addiction. I tried breaking this addiction once but my wife complained I was just becoming crotchety.
When I was younger, I didn’t need as much sleep as today. Some experts opine that as a person gets older they don’t need as much sleep as they used to. I find this absolutely, positively untrue. I need more sleep today than I have ever needed in my entire life.
Actually, what I really need is to be able to sleep all night without disturbance. My definition of disturbance is anything I hear when I am trying to go to sleep and I demand everything to be quiet. I will not mention any names, but this also includes persons who have the annoying habit of trying to talk while I’m trying to sleep.
It is not that I’m not interested in what this unnamed person has to say; it’s just that I don’t want to hear it when I’m trying to go to sleep. People have all day to get whatever is on their mind all talked out. That is why God gave us daylight hours.
It seems of late that no matter when I go to bed or how long I have actually slept, in the morning I always need just one more minute of sleep. That one minute more of sleep is the most crucial aspect of my nightly siesta.
Personally, I do not believe in alarm clocks. I think they have evolved over the years from some Neanderthal idea that it is important to get up at a certain time in the morning.
I’m of the opinion that getting up is a relative thing. One man’s wake-up time is another man’s “please, don’t disturb me yet.”
If God wanted me to get up at a certain time every morning he would have made it a little more appealing. As far as I’m concerned, I know I have slept enough when my wife is standing at the bedroom doorway, both hands on her hips and saying to me, in that wonderful voice of hers, “Are you ever going to get out of that bed today?”
I suppose I would be more willing to get up earlier if wasn’t for all the noises in the night. I believe in silent night, and not only at Christmas.
It is amazing to me how intelligent these nighttime noises can be. They are absolutely quiet until I’m just about ready to drift off into La-la-land, then there is a medley of screeching and yelling and screaming right outside my window.
It is not that I hate cats; it is rather I abhor cats making noise when I’m trying to catnap. Cats are wonderful creatures. For the most part, these cats mill around throughout the day and refuse to pierce the daytime with any fracas.
They stay out of my way and I reciprocate by staying out of their way. They keep quiet all day long but when I’m just about ready to drift off to sleep ,they start a Hullabaloo concert right out my window.
Show me a cat that is silent all night long and I will show you one that has been run over by a truck. Cats do not know how to be silent at night. This confuses me because all day long you don’t hear one little whimper from these creatures.
It does not matter what time I go to bed, all of the cats within a 10-mile radius of my bedroom are alerted to this pertinent information. All I can figure is there must be some sort of a feline union, or maybe it is tabby-telepathy for all I know. Just two nights ago, I counted 2,972 cats outside my bedroom window, all fighting each other at the same time.
Perhaps, and this is pure conjecture on my part, these cats are working in shifts, which is why the entire night can be thoroughly covered with screeches, squawks and meows that grate on my fragile nerves.
When the neighborhood cats finish their nocturnal routine and settle down for the night, quietness settles over my backyard, which is conducive to sleep. At this point, the only bird the neighborhood cats have not successfully chased out of my backyard awakens to serenade a new day.
If it is not the night noises keeping me awake it is worrying about something n anything.
But a verse in the Bible gives me some encouragement. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” (Psalms 127:1-2 KJV.)
Not all the cats in the neighborhood can take from me what God delights to give me.
James L. Snyder is an award winning author and popular columnist living with his wife, Martha, in Ocala, Florida and can be contacted at jamessnyder2@att.net.
It goes without question that any business intending to thrive will, sooner or later, be forced into making an honest inventory of assets and liabilities. Yet, whether from a business perspective, or in the going concern of a single human life, we often lose track of our most vital product, our own attitudes.
Attitudes, for the most part, dictate the nature and result of our relationships with ourselves, other persons, places, things, concepts and ideas, the world at large, and in the final assessment, the very nature and result of the lives we lead.
It has been said that humans do not have attitudes; their
attitudes have them. Our attitudes grow, develop, and often
change over a lifetime, based exclusively on what we have learned to believe about the world around us, and all its
components.
We make judgements and coping decisions based on what we believe to be true about a given situation or person, seldom considering that our beliefs and attitudes may be unrealistically rigid, or even at fault.
Attitudes - A System of Believing
Think on this. All humans come into this world like a blank sheet of paper, with no knowledge and no beliefs about the people and situations we will encounter. As individuals, everything we believe today to be correct and true, our
worldview if you will, is a result of situations we have
experienced thus far, and the lessons we have learned from those encounters.
From that lifetime bank of gathered information we develop systems of believing, or patterns of beliefs, that are as unique to each human as is a fingerprint. And needless to say, some people hold their particular belief system to be the only one that is correct and worthwhile.
As a direct outgrowth from our belief system comes our personal attitudes. Whether it be cooperative, neutral, defensive, or aggressive, an attitude is simply an individual’s patterned method of understanding and coping with the world, its inhabitants, and all related situations and circumstances.
Killer Attitudes
Hatred and intolerance are attitudes that have spawned warfare and death since a time before history was first written. Yet in a smaller and more personal, yet perhaps more relevant perspective, those attitudes can also condemn an individual to an ongoing inner warfare, a lack of peace within.
Rigid and inflexible beliefs and attitudes often produce a
lock-step approach to living, keeping one in a state of constant contention with himself and the world about him. Quashed potential, perpetual discontent, damaged relationships, and personal failure on at least some level, are frequently the sad result.
On the other hand, attitudes of tolerance, acceptance, patience, and cooperation toward self and others can create a satisfying life, great achievement, healthy relationships, and numerous and varied definitions of the word success on all levels of business and personal endeavor.
A life built around flexible and positive attitudes will
invariably foster harmony, contentment, productivity, and peace of mind for an individual and all who surround her.
Attitude - Asset or Liability?
It’s commonly known that major corporations expend untold billions of dollars annually on public relations advertising, specifically to overcome a common perception that labels them as greedy and heartless.
However large or small, most business concerns will, over time, develop a character or a persona that directly reflects the attitudes of those who have the most influence. Any contrived image that might be overtly displayed is typically of little significance.
The underlying attitude, the real attitude, will be felt and identified by customers and clients. And based upon those feelings and definitions, their own attitudes in fact, they will make their next buying decision.
Attitudes - the Deciding Factor
The final result of any business or personal endeavor will unfold in a direct relation to the beliefs and attitudes injected by individuals. This principle holds true without fail, in corporate board rooms, at front service desks, and at kitchen tables as well.
Fortunately, the power to choose in this aspect has been freely granted to all of humankind. What one believes will ultimately decide her or his own reality. Their attitudes will make it so.
Widely regarded as one of the founders of modern psychology,
William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.”
Dan B. Cauthron has been involved in direct marketing more than 30 years. He offers FREE No Nonsense Internet Marketing Advice and Tested Tools and Resources at: http://DanBCauthron.com
Healthcare professionals call an enlarged prostate benign prostate hyperplasia, or BPH. Put simply this entails that the prostate gland, a mass which encloses the urethra and lies under the bladder, grows bigger this can impair and block the flow of urine. The prostatic gland grows with age and may result in symptoms such as micturition difficulties, a weak stream, and an impression of not voiding the bladder totally even after urination. Frequent micturition during the night and recurring infections of the urinary tract may also be arise from an enlarged prostate. Benign Prostate Hyperplasia - What Does that Mean?
Prostatic enlargement is supposed to be a common problem of males in their 60’s. It’s recommended that males in their 50’s undergo exam by their personal physicians every year, regardless of the presentation of any problems, to help sustain better prostate gland health. Inability to micturate or blood whilst passing urine is a signal to seek medical intervention immediately.
Surgical operations or medicines are commonplace interventions for benign prostate hyperplasia. Nevertheless, surgical operations can result in further problems some of might be sexual dysfunction or even loss of bladder control. An alpha blocker or medicines to shrink the enlarged prostate are frequently given to improve prostate gland wellness, but medicines frequently have negative side effects what alternatives are recommended?
Prostate Enlargment Troubles? Discover Natural Treatments to Gain Improve Prostatic Fitness
To allay the symptoms created by prostate enlargement and also to promote better prostate health, many natural remedies will improve the symptoms. African pygeum cuts swelling, supplying a reduction of any more disagreeable symptoms. Derived from the fruit of an African evergreen plant, African pygeum has been used on a large scale by the Europeans as a alternative formula to further better prostate health.
Reducing the dietary fats can improve symptoms, so will excercising more frequently, pressure in the prostate gland may be lessened thru ejaculating more frequently, it is also best to avoid sitting for a prolonged period. Prostate related problems can be exacerbated thru utilizing anti-histamines and decongestants bought over the counter, so consume these with care. Additional recommendations include to cut out taking something to drink within a couple of hours of retiring for the night to cut down the need to urinate at night, the reduction of alcohol and drinking less caffeinated beverages may also be useful. You’ll also find further alternative treatments being used to improve prostate gland health - such as saw palmetto extract, starflower oil capsules, selenium, and lycopene, a molecule obtained from tomatoes. Before you start whichever alternative treatment regime discuss your intent with a medical professional.
Too many of us are too hard on ourselves, always alert to that devilish voice whispering “you should be farther along in life”. Smother that voice right now by reading this quote by Booker T. Washington:
“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
What enviable wisdom!
Obstacles, impediments, interruptions. Have you ever had to retrieve a sick child from school when you’re working with the direction and the intensity of a tornado? Yet I don’t think he meant kind of interruption.
No, I think he meant much bigger obstacles. Obstacles with a capitol O. Like starting a business with no money. Or no skills. Like disabilities, or serious illnesses.
Every business person should take a look now and then at how far they have come, instead of how far they have to go. It’s like looking back at the hill you just jogged up. I do this every time I have to re-do my resume. It’s a natural time to reflect on what you’ve learned, how you’ve grown.
Get a boost as a business owner by evaluating more than the profits you’ve earned. How about determination, and courage, and wisdom? Those don’t flow from the water fountain. Consider the knowledge you’ve gained — often the hard way — and the priceless result of real, gritty, experience. You could probably add a few important words to the popular Just Do It motto. How about Just-Figure-Out-a-Way-To-Do-It!
Even if you haven’t reached the goals you once set (and they might need to be reevaluated), are you a better businessperson today? Reward yourself for your diligence! Do you understand your work habits and what motivates you? Do you concentrate and focus better, making fewer dumb mistakes? Once my boss had to stop the presses at a big city newspaper because I had missed a 2-inch tall headline in a multi-thousand dollar double spread ad that read “Granding Opening!” (My obstacle was apparently stupidity thicker than a brick wall that day.) Today I REALLY focus when I’m proofreading.
Of great importance, have you learned to appreciate that tomorrow will be a better day if you’re having a bad one today?
If you’ve succeeded despite many obstacles, give yourself a boost by looking back. It shouldn’t always come through a cup of coffee or in a candy bar wrapper or in bonus check. It should come from within you!
About The Author
Lisa Lake shares her ability to communicate through good writing with anyone who wants to learn. See her free tips at http://MyAdBlaster.com and catch advice from the staff at http://InternetWriters.com Quick turnaround on writing from classified ads to ezines and ebooks. Reach Lisa at lisa@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006.
Snow is falling here in a darkened, hushed Sunday, and my computer is like a warm crackling fire that I gaze into. I can remember a time when I said I would never have one of those things in my home. But the ferris wheel of life just keeps turning and there are different thoughts at different stages.
I am now sixty years-old and disabled. Domestic violence ended my former life and left me in a closed-in world. I have been Free and Safe now for ten years, and only in the last six have I managed to create a world for me.
A church that came here to bring lunches once a month gifted me with a retiring computer. I was scared to death of it at first. For a week I left it running, sure that if I turned it off, I would never get it back on again. It was slow learning and for the most part I taught myself, being one of those hands-on learners.
My computer is the best thing that ever happened to me. It has been a miracle and more. For people who are agoraphobic, unable to walk, have illness that sap their strength, the computer is a blessing. At first I spent hours just surfing and soaking up knowledge. Then there were the games, some of which are now old friends, like “Book Worm” and “Word Slinger”, not to forget Spider Solitaire.
I believe that overcoming tough times and growing older can be made much sweeter if you keep your brain active. The building I live in is subsidized housing for those with mental heath concerns. Every day I see the results of boredom and lack of initiative. The mind atrophies if not stimulated. People withdraw into themselves and forget the world around them.
An even greater miracle is my writing. On the very day I met my abuser Redbook Magazine told me they wanted one of my stories if I did a bit of polishing. I chose the wrong path and never even responded to that letter. I had been a successful writer for some time, and just pitched it away.
With my computer came new courage and ease of participating in the writing world. My successes were long in coming, but little by little I had work accepted here and there. . . poetry magazines, Small Press. Then I began submitting to higher lever literary publications and gained some success. Somewhere in there I started my own magazine, a desk-top published little subscriber’s only digest called “Poet Speak Digest”.
In addition to my writing I would post my work on Poetry Sites such as Starlite Café. Here a met a ‘family’ who accepted me as I am, and many of them had similar health problems. Now, instead of being all along, I had people to talk to and interact with. We are stuck with our relatives, but the friends we choose are dearest to our hearts, especially those of us with troubled childhoods and less than ideal parents. To be able to communicate with someone who truly knows how you feel is such a comfort.
Then came the day one of my stories was picked up by a ’slick’ magazine, and I was over $400.00 for it! That check bought me a much-needed air-conditioner for my upper story, sun-drenched studio. Another sale followed and I floated on clouds. Now I have the courage to submit only to publications that will pay for my work, even if it is only a pittance.
Computers should be available to the elderly and disabled. I believe professionals would find that the mental capacity can be expanded and strengthened. People need to learn, to keep curious and active mentally, and I believe that because I saw the changes it made in my life. Now I would never be without one of these windows on the world.
Sherry is a disabled freelance writer living in Portland, Oregon. She shares her space with her two rescue-ferrets, Amber and Rascal. Sherry’s work has appeared in many venues. She also desk-top publishes a small poetry magazine.
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