Maria Duval - A Source of Inspiration

A Source of Inspiration
A light was on in one office, even though most of the other offices had been dark for hours. The manager continued to work in the silence of the empty building, reviewing reports, studying numbers, responding to messages and emails that others would not read until the next morning. There was so much to do, so many responsibilities and so many decisions that would wait for the manager's guiding hand. The silence was broken as the manager was startled to see one of the employees standing at the door. The employee knocked hesitantly, one foot in the office and the other still in the hallway. "May I come in for a moment?" asked the employee. "Of course," smiled the manager, leaning back in the chair. "What are you doing here so late?" "I had a lot of work to do and I wanted to catch-up," said the employee. "If I get behind then it could impact our customers, and I don't want that to happen. It's my responsibility, and I want to take care of it. I know that's what you would do." "You're probably right," the manager said with a laugh. "So what made you stop in here?" The employee approached the desk, sat down in one of the chairs beside it and said, "I wanted to ask you a question." "Go ahead." The employee began, "You always work so hard, and you always take care of us. You come in early. You stay late. No matter how much you have to do, you always take time to talk to any one of us when we need you. You are so busy taking time for us during the day that you have to stay late at night to catch up on your own work. Yet, you never complain. You make us want to work harder and do better, and you give us every opportunity to be successful. You are an inspiration to the rest of us, so what inspires you?" The manager's eyes widened, "Wow, well that was quite a surprise. I appreciate the kind words and admit that you completely caught me off guard." "Well?" persisted the employee, "What is your source of inspiration?" The manager was silent for a moment, carefully contemplating the response. Then the manager stood up and said, "follow me." As the manager and the employee walked down a row of cubicles, the manager started to point into them one by one. The cubicles belonged to the colleagues of the employee. "This person is a single parent and comes to work each day to support two children. Those children need someone to look up to, someone to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. This person doesn't work for me, this person works for them." The manager paused at the next cubicle and said, "This person is a grandmother who is working days so she can pay for her college education at night. She doesn't need a degree and it won't make any difference for her career. She is already past retirement age and she could quit at any time. She wants that degree to make her children proud and to give her grandchildren someone to look up to. She doesn't work for me, she works for them." The manager moved to the next cubicle and said, "This person is overqualified for the job. It would be easy to leave for another company, probably get a promotion out of it and earn better pay. Why doesn't this person leave? After eleven years working with the same group of people, it is like a family. This person doesn't work for me, this person works here for all of you." The manager paused at the next cubicle and said, "This person has a family to support. Two kids in school, a mortgage, two car payments, and a whole host of obligations that comes with taking care of a family. Needless to say, you know that this person doesn't work for me." The manager pointed down the line of cubicles, "That young man is engaged to be married, and he is saving up to buy their first home. That next person has a daughter in college. The next one wants to build a career out of this experience. The one after that wants to be a musician and only does this job to earn enough money to pay the bills." Walking into the corridor, the manager paused and smiled as the custodian came around the corner. "This person barely speaks our language, but comes to work every day when everyone else has gone home. More than half of the money earned will go to family members who do not even live in our country, while this person keeps only enough to pay for food, shelter and transportation here every day. This person comes into my office and takes away my trash, not for me, but because it is what needs to be done to earn the money that goes to a family that lives hundreds of miles away." "And then there is you," said the manager with a big smile. "You have your own reasons for coming in here every day. When I need a source of inspiration, all I have to do is look around me. I am surrounded by it. Inspiration comes from recognizing what is important to the people around you and making it your own. If I can feel the dedication that these people feel for their children, for their families, for their hopes and dreams, then I have all the inspiration that I need. They are inspired by their own sense of purpose, and I am inspired by them. Just as you believe that you are inspired by me, I am inspired by you." ______________________________________________________ Words of Wisdom "Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness - I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self- consciousness." - Aaron Copland "Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation." - William Arthur Wood "Keep your fears to yourself, but share your inspiration with others." - Robert Louis Stevenson ______________________________________________________ About the Author: John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.

John Mehrmann is a freelance author, industry expert and President of Executive Blueprints Inc, an organization dedicated to developing human capital and personal growth.

Are You Living the Fearless Life?
Are You Living The Fearless Life? When people think about being fearless it usually conjures up images of mountain climbers on Everest, skydivers jumping out of airplanes, and race car drivers on the Nascar circuit. Most people think I could never do that. The truth of the matter is this. Every person who ever scaled Everest, jumped out of an airplane or raced around a track at 200 miles an hour was scared to death! They were putting their lives on the line and there was no guarantee that they would return alive. The difference between them and us is simple. They faced the fear and didn�t allow it to overwhelm their need for adventure, their need to go beyond their usual comfort zone. In my role as coach to midlife women, I am constantly surprised at how many women undervalue the amount of courage it takes to live. One of my clients had a child was very ill, she nursed him through the worst part of it, and continued to do her job where the expectation was that no matter what, she had to be in on time and do her work. She did it because they needed the money to pay the medical bills. She felt there was no choice. When told how courageous it was of her to do this, she looked at me blankly and said �what else could I do?� How many women take their heroic journeys and say �what else could I do?� Or, �Who else was going to do it?� As women, we underplay our strengths and shrug it off as a trade-off. For what? We carry the load. Men may feel they are out there creating the wealth, but today that�s no longer the truth. More women than ever are in the workforce AND still doing all the other stuff they did before. Who has the harder job? In my opinion there is no contest. Women have expectations about doing it all. We work, we take care of the children, we cook, we clean and we run all the errands. When the kids are sick, or our husband is having problems at work, we nurture them and we continue to run until we run on empty. We get tired, depressed, anxious and angry. And we wonder why it has to be that way. Along the way, we lost the passion for living. When we were little girls we dreamed about what we would be when we were growing up. We played at being teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers and mommies. We travelled the globe on our wall maps and listened to the music and thought about becoming a rock star. We pushed away the doubts and went to college sure that we could do anything, and then the dream started to fizzle. We did well in school, or didn�t, we found work that satisfied, or didn�t, and we married happily, or didn�t. And bit by bit, the dream that said you could do anything was gradually taken over by necessities. Money to pay the rent, children who needed special care, husbands who were never home because their job took them away for days on end. We found ourselves taking care of the daily grind and gradually, ever so gradually, the desire and passion for something different, for something more, dwindled to a whisper. We are happy when we are with our family. Our children give us enormous pleasure (and pain); and our relationships over the years have deepened into friendships that are the backbone of our existence. But something is missing and we can�t quite put our finger on it. When we reach our forties, we start to feel that the dreams we once had are no longer possible. We give in to the quiet despair of midlife believing �Is that All There Is� and knowing in your heart that the answer is no. What is it that stands in our way from living the life we used to believe was possible? I believe it�s Fear. We live in a fear based world. Our culture breeds it in the daily dose of terror news. We are constantly bombarded by what�s good for our health. People die from eating the wrong things. The latest was spinach. People die from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We live in a world without proper health care and we ignore countries in the rest of the world because we have enough troubles of our own at home. Is it any wonder that we don�t want to deal with our own fears? Better the devil we know than the one we don�t. I was forty-three years old and I had been in a relationship for thirteen years. We had three children, including his daughter from a second marriage. It was not the easiest relationship to be in because we were both strong-willed and stubborn people. We fought on a regular basis but found mutual ground in the love our children. On one occasion, our fighting reached a crescendo and I was ready to leave. As usual, it was all his fault. He had made my life impossible with his demands, his thoughtlessness and his constant need for attention. I had had enough. In the midst of our screaming at each other he yelled �You made the choices, not me.� It stopped me in my tracks. The words stuck to my brain and resonated for hours afterwards. I hated to admit it, but he was right. It had been my choice to accept less than I wanted, to give more than I wanted to, to place myself in a secondary position so that I took care of everyone else�s needs first. I wasn�t even sure I knew what it was I needed at that moment, but I knew one thing. I was scared to take responsibility for my own emotional happiness. We keep ourselves in a state of fear! We all make choices. Some good, some bad, but they are choices. I didn�t realize that for a very long time and wanted to blame �over there� for most of the unhappiness in my life. We all have to make decisions. Sometimes these decisions may seem like there is no choice, but there always is. Now all of this may sound like you�ve heard it all before. You have. But the sad state of affairs is that most women don�t take time for their own needs and make excuses for why they won�t move ahead into a life of fulfilment. We all have choices and if we don�t choose the things that make us feel good, that inspire us to get out of bed each day, and celebrate the life we live, we only have one person to blame. Living the Fearless life is not a choice. Living the Fearless life means facing the fears that stop you in your tracks, that cause you to make excuses about why you can�t do something, or refuse to make the changes that will mean feeling more fulfilled and happier with your life. Think about this. In 2006, it is expected that women in their fifties will live until they are in their mid-eighties if their health is good. That�s thirty more years of living!! You might have another forty or more. How exciting is that. Isn�t it about time you gave yourself what you need? What you want? What will make you happy? If you don�t know what that is, find help to unearth the part of you that was buried in the landslide called living the unfulfilled life. Stop making excuses for not taking action. I know it�s hard. I know there are a million reasons why you can�t take care of yourself. There are as many excuses as there are stars in the sky, but you don�t have to wait until they burn out. That will take millions of years and you don�t have that long. Thirty years is a long time to be doing something you don�t want. Thirty years is another lifetime of putting your own needs first and creating the life you want to live. At the beginning of this article, I used the examples of Everest and skydiving. Facing our fears does not have to be so monumental. But we do have to face up to our fears each and every day. It�s in the million details of our daily lives. The decisions we take in our jobs, our families and in our personal care. My challenge to you is simple. Live the Fearless Life by facing the fears each day. Life is not about being Fearless, it�s about facing the fears and doing what makes us uncomfortable. This is my first article. I put off writing it for weeks. Now that I�ve done the outline, I�ve got something to work with and I�ll improve. My fear is getting up and saying to you that you can do this. I�m an expert on Fear. I�ve lived with it from the earliest part of my life. But I�ve refused to give in to it. I was nine years old, living in an old Scottish tenement building that was built during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. It was either haunted or I had an overly active imagination. One night I awoke to find a tall dark figure standing by the side of my bed. It looked huge and I could not make out any discerning features. It did not move and neither did I. I looked at it for a few minutes waiting for it to do something until I eventually closed my eyes and fell asleep once more. In the morning I asked everyone in our building if they had come to my bed the night before but no one did. To this day, I am convinced it was FEAR that came to visit. I lived with an abusive, alcoholic father and each day was spent in terror of doing something wrong. We manifest what we most dread. It took me a long time, but eventually I understood that living life fearlessly was not living a life without worry, but about facing the worries, the anxieties and the dread that comes with taking chances. You owe it to yourself to take the chance.

Fearless Fifties coach and speaker Jacqueline Wales shows you how to become the woman you were always meant to be; how to take risks to strengthen your beliefs about who you are and grow more confident, secure and strong as you develop the life you want. For your f.ree copy of the Fearless Fifties newsletter and a bonus report Putting PASSION Back Into Your Life go to http://www.fearlessfifties.com Please contact jacqueline@fearlessfifties.com or call (718) 502 9332

Simplicity, Patience And Compassion: The Three Treasures
According to Eastern tradition there are three treasures on the pathway to enlightenment: simplicity, patience and compassion. At first glance, such simple ideas. Yet after contemplation one easily recognizes: it?s these basic thoughts, when woven into our day, that can lead each of us to a contemplative, peaceful and more fulfilling life.

In this short article then, I invite you to take a page from Eastern religion: explore the three treasures and become aware of your relationship to them.

Simplicity
The first treasure: simplicity. Simplicity in thought and action. According to author Thomas Cleary in his translation of Taoist Meditation, simplicity leads the seeker on the Way. Simplicity of thought, he tells us, can often be brought about by silence. And in the silence, we gain personal wisdom. If finding 10 or 20 minutes each day to rest quietly or meditate could bring you closer to peace, would you be more conscientious in devoting this time?

Simplicity of action, however, feels a greater challenge. It involves priorities and discovering what is truly important. Here?s how I personally handle this: When I feel overwhelmed by my ?to-do list? I create a game by challenging myself to let go of everything I can do without. Then, I remove as many things as I can from my list. What I am left with are those items of greatest importance. I devote as much time necessary to completing each task with joy and precision.

Try it now. What can you remove from the task list today that could bring you closer to simplifying your life? What will you place your attention on?

Patience
Treasure number two: patience. Yes, the virtue. And just like simplicity, it is also a challenge to move slowly through tasks until they have been completed or to remain calm when dealing with someone outrageous. I?ve found that we are often mirror images of others and attract to us parts of ourselves. This is important to note as it could manifest positive or negative events, depending on mindset. In this light, Inalya Vanzant reminds us to keep thoughts pure. She tells us to remind ourselves: "I will gain more understanding when I realize... how I interpret what comes at me is a reflection of what is in me." When faced with a situation requiring patience ask yourself: Am I casting a positive image?

In this framework, more of my favorite wisdom comes from author Richard Carlson in his new book: Easier Than You Think. In it he explains, when we are with someone, we should make every effort to pay expert attention to that person. This engages them and often can diffuse a stressful situation by simply making them feel important. With this in mind, the next time you engage in conversation or even a casual chat with someone: ask yourself if you are creating a role model's image.

Compassion
Compassion, the third treasure. I often liken it to empathy. Although we cannot always know directly what it is like to be another, we can value everyone?s need to be heard. Conflict or anger is often a cry for help. We simply need to be aware of our circumstances in effort to create compassion in our lives. We will be called to help others as we become more enlightened vessels of peace. Events will come to us as a reflection of what we need to heal in ourselves.

Thomas Cleary reminds us we should always act in sincerity. In Taoist Meditation he writes: ?to choose what is good and hold onto it firmly is a matter of sincerity.? Compassion, as well, challenges us to define what is most important to us; a reoccurring theme throughout the three treasures. To me, this involves being awake and aware in our lives to see the ways in which we are available to give sincerity and service.

Today, be aware of the ways spirit is working through you. Remember: You are the vessel of peace for others and the world. I believe, the more we become vulnerable to trust and open ourselves to sincerity, the more we can allow compassionate behavior into our lives and become enlightened each and every day.

In Conclusion:
It is my wish these positive ideas enhance your life and bring you peace. Be conscious every day of the messages you are receiving, the people you meet, your experiences. It is amazing the way these simple ideas can enrich your life exponentially. Go forth then, and be aware. Place your attention on the three treasures: in the darkness they will bring you light.

Laura M. Turner is a 15-year veteran fitness instructor, fitness trainer and natural health practitioner. She hosts http://www.body-and-beauty.com a website dedicated to inspiring and educating others about the benefits of creativity, natural health and fitness. Check out Laura's latest book Spiritual Fitness: The 7-Steps to Living Well or subscribe FREE to her online magazine The New Body News and Wellness Letter: http://www.new-body-news.com

Hands up who's broke!?!
The key problem most people have is that they earn their main or sole income from a “job”. Do you know what they say “job” stands for? 'J'ust 'O'ver 'B'roke In my experience this is true. If you work for someone else then you are extremely unlikely to be financially free let alone rich. In fact, I found I was financially insolvent and pretty much broke despite a relatively high monthly wage. Let’s first of all consider the definition of “rich”. I am really keen on Robert Kiyosaki’s (of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” fame) definition of rich: He describes being rich as the ability to be able to stop working tomorrow and be able to maintain your current standard of living without eating into any of your savings or selling any of your assets. So this means that your only sources of income can be “passive income”. Passive income includes things like interest from savings accounts; rental income; dividends from shares in quoted companies and income from businesses which you might have a stake in but which you do not actively work in. Other things might include royalties from books or music , or perhaps commission from past activities in network marketing businesses. You see, the key factor is that you no longer have to work and yet you continue to maintain your existing lifestyle or the lifestyle you desire. So on this basis we should all work out the level of income we need or would like and build passive income streams to satisfy this. So ask yourself now: if you gave up work (your “job”) tomorrow, how long could you maintain your current standard of living before having to run back to get another “job”? How long could the interest off your savings (if you have any?!) or rental income from your portfolio of properties (?!) maintain you in your current lifestyle, pay that mortgage etc? Not very long? Now, hands-up who else is financially insolvent or broke according to this very revealing definition?! We have some work to do and I will show you how in snippets via my blog - but at least you can hopefully now see where you (and possibly 95% of the rest of the population) are going wrong?......

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A Metaphor For Change - The Egg
There is nothing more certain in the world and in this life than CHANGE. No matter what people might think or what they might try to believe, everything is changing all the time, as we breathe in and out, as we eat and sleep and grow and go through our own spirals of unfoldment.

So here is a simple metaphor for change. It is called ?The Egg? and I hope you enjoy it.

I often have this feeling of stress and desperation because I am quite convinced nothing has changed.

I look around myself and all I see is what I always see.

Same house, same furniture, same pile of bills, same everything.

I work so hard and NOTHING is changing.

I thought that again about something the other day, and this large, beautiful golden egg came to my mind.

There it is, and it just sits there in its nest of straw.

It doesn't DO anything.

It doesn't change shape, it doesn't change colour.

It doesn't pulsate. It doesn't roll around.

You could look at it for DAYS AND DAYS and you'd come away thinking that it was just that and there was NOTHING GOING ON.

And yet, and if one was to extend one's feelers in a different way, one might become aware of the RIOT OF CHANGE that is taking place INSIDE the egg, a storm of re-organisation, feeding and growth, of total unfoldment as a bunch of random cells become a fish thing, which in turn becomes ever more defined and more complex, more organised in every way, more mature, more fantastic with every heartbeat, every breath that passes.

One day, and we know not when, the egg that lay so motionless for so very long and seemed to be nothing but an inert shape will begin to rock, and then it will crack, and the newly born dragonet will emerge, spread its wings for the first time and take its first small steps.

Yes, there was change.

Even if we thought there wasn't.

Free Meditation MP3s and a Free Energy Hypnosis Ebook "Our Dimensions" by Lady Hypnotist Silvia Hartmann can be found on http://HypnoDreams.org

Create The Tomorrow of Your Dreams, Today.
What have you been reading lately? Have you read anything good or anything at all? Have you noticed how the so-called ‘major players’ or more famous of people are always reading such and such and therefore they have been thinking about such and such? Why is it that these people quickly become the center of attention at any event or social gathering? When was the last time you read a book/e-book? Are you a ‘wide reader’? Do you even know what a ‘wide reader’ is? It is true that in any gathering, you can tell who the ‘wide readers’ are. They can’t help but to stand out and to be noticed. ‘Wide readers’ usually think and speak very well. They win the admiration, respect, and good opinion of others, quickly. It is also true that ‘wide readers’ are like magnets at social events in that the entire room seems to start and end around these ‘wide readers’. What makes their topic of conversation any better than yours or anyone else’s for that matter? It all comes down to, reading, not what but how. These general observations can be attributed to the fact that the act of reading truly opens and expands the mind. In fact, many people consider it as one of the more satisfying of pleasures for humans, for it involves the physical as well as mental activities. Whereas reading involves both the physical as well as mental; however, reading remains primarily a mental activity. We read with our mind and use our imagination to paint the setting of the detective thriller we are reading. We use our mind to imagine the pain that the main character experiences as the story unfolds. We bring into play the different arguments and ideas brought up by the author in that self-help book you are holding. To read effectively, reading requires that one develop a wider vocabulary. The greater the need for a wider vocabulary, the greater the need for extensive reading. They can't help but to go hand-in-hand. It is also true that a skillful reader will have a wider recognition vocabulary. She may not know exactly what every word means, however, she will have a good, general idea, of the over all meaning of the sentence or paragraph. Reading makes one alert and curious about new words and leads to an over all better, or wider vocabulary. Other readers develop the ‘dictionary habit’. Every time they come across a strange word, they try to figure out what it could possibly mean by the context. If they cannot do this, they refer to the dictionary. Many a good e-books have or will have a connection to a dictionary, thesaurus, and even proper pronunciation all at the click of the button. This is why e-books are becoming so much more favored over print books, especially with students. However, the point remains, a ‘lookup’ of any shape or form becomes necessary at times and good readers take the time to ‘look up’. Because they do, they tend to have greater or wider vocabularies and because they do, people are more apt to listen. Likewise, reading develops intellectual curiosity by exposing one to a variety of materials. You learn to read by reading books of increasing difficulty and variety. As in other forms of activity, you learn by actually doing. Reading trains you to have an active and open mind. Merely grasping the writer’s idea is not enough. You must make a positive response to what you just read. Be an active, not a passive, reader. Develop the habit of drawing your own conclusions, the habit of active thinking, of agreeing or disagreeing with the author. Keep your mind open; understand and weigh the ideas that you read. A practical part of active reading is the drawing of conclusions as well as understanding another’s point of view, even if you totally disagreed with him or her. Allow me to share four basic rules for effective reading and an over all better comprehension: 1) Try to read more and more. The more time you make for reading the more you will find extra or bonus time. Remember the saying that practice makes perfect. Practicing in the correct way makes perfect as well as to help it to become easier and more enjoyable with time. Do not think of reading as drudgery; but rather think of it as a pleasurable moment for self-discovery. 2) Develop the habit of reading for main ideas. Look for the subject and predicate. Do not waste time on small details or little words. Practice, active speed reading techniques. 3) Learn to read with focus and concentration. Think of what you are reading. Do not let your attention wander somewhere else. Good readers read with understanding. Good reader will have an idea where the author may be leading them. Mental challenges blossom and bloom and become a game of 'out-smart-the characters' and reader. 4) Learn to budget your time. Experiment with your reading time. Try purposely to read faster. Give yourself a time limit on specific material that you read. Play a simple game of, ‘I’ve got to read to page number X in the next X amount of time’. With practice you will find that you are reading larger and larger blocks of material in less over all time. Therefore the time allowed for reading, may at times become rare due to work and family needs; one will find that the amount of material read, remains about the same or grows slightly due to increased reading speed and reading habits. Reading is a stimulating mental activity. It truly expands your reality and capability. You have so much more to gain in discovering the joys of reading. Therefore, if you wish to expand your mind, develop a wider vocabulary as well as an increased intellectual curiosity, while being able to read more in less time and even be able to quickly understand any 'situation at hand' through a better budgeting of the time at hand. Or you wish to be like a magnet in that others consider you interesting and a 'major player', all you need to do is pick up that new book or e-book and begin to read. If on the other hand you wish for nothing more than a cozy, safe place to snuggle up to in the middle of a fearsome sand storm, or are in great need of that overdue vacation, you too need to simply pick up that book or e-book and read. Therefore, go ahead; grab a book/e-book right now and begin creating the tomorrow of your dreams, today.

Theresa Twogood is Executive Director of OLIN e-Publishing Company- http://olin.tk -Denver Colorado-USA.

How to Rise Up after a Fall
How do you rise up after a fall? You know how easy it can be to trip and fall. Once you're down, it's not always easy to scramble to your feet or grab an extended hand to rise again. An emotional or spiritual fall can be just as sudden and painful as a physical one. "The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down." (Ps. 145:14) What caused you to fall? Maybe it was insecurity, fear or loneliness? You may feel that you just cannot rise up from under the sheer weight of despair. Have you been lugging a heavy burden for a long time, and tried over and over again to lift it off your back, only to fall down again and again? When you fall, negative, defeatist thoughts tend to come rushing in, don't they? Do you hear yourself saying that it's no use, you're no good, or why bother? Who told you that you would never amount to anything? Who planted those seeds in your head? No matter what others have said to you or about you, you have no right to listen to them. Yes; that's right! If you're a child of the Most High God, then you are very, very special. People may have done or said things to put you down, but God says that he has a future for you. Do not listen to others or your own negative thoughts. Instead, find out what God has to say about you and speak His Promises for you into your life. God's Word says that no matter what has caused you to fall, "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Yes; you are here for a purpose! He knew you before the foundation of the world, and has made you to be conformed to the image of His Son, whom He delivered up for you! (Rom. 8: 28-29; 32) If God gave you His very best; would He then not also want you to have the very best? God is not distant. If you know Him, He is living inside of you! "In him we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts.17:28) However, you cannot always be in perfect step with God. David found that out. He fell numerous times, even though he was anointed to be King over Israel and had a close walk with Him. Throughout the Psalms we find him crying out to the Lord to deliver him from the power of his enemies. In Psalm 142 he cries out loud that his spirit is overwhelmed, there is no one to help him, and that he feels as if his soul is in prison. David was depressed big time and had almost given up all hope. But by the time he finished telling the Lord about his problems, he ends up saying, in today's terminology, "Listen to me, Lord, you are my protection and all that I need. I've been doing it my way and look where it has got me. You fix it for me, and I will give you all the praise; I know without a doubt that you will send upright people to help me because I know that it's your nature to always give more than I can even think or ask!" Oh David knew God so well! Yes, he had allowed himself to stray away and do his own thing, but in his distress he knew what to do. Allow his experience to be a valuable lesson to you. What worked for him will work for you! So, how do you rise from your fall? Cry out loud to God, and tell Him all your troubles. He's your Daddy; He's there for you and wants you to tell him �" even though He already knows what you're going through. Then speak the Word of God to Him, reminding Him that you know His promises for you. You can find a verse that applies to your situation and fill in your name. For example, you can paraphrase Jer. 29:11: "For I know the thoughts You think about me, Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give me an expected end." In the process of talking to Him and meditating on His Word, your faith will be stimulated and, like David, you will feel the assurance and peace that God will come through speedily and powerfully. Remember always that: in all things you are more than conquerors through him that loved you! (Rom. 8:37)

Author of With Wings As Eagles, a testimony of living a life of abundance and miracles. Her e-zine teaches how you can do the same: http://www.lifealteringwords.com

Inspiration helps you persist and achieve Success.
It takes lot of hard work, patience and persistance to achieve success. You have set your goals for what ever you want - personal, career or business success. You want a better life style, financial freedom or personal freedom. You want yourself in the league of suuccessful people. You have planned carefully and charted your route to success. You are enthusiastic and ready to put your hard work, time and energy.

Working along the way, problems creep up from any where or every where. It is quite natural to get problems. Very few or rare have cakewalk in their lives. Being determined, you start solving them one by one. Move forward. Difficulties seem to arise all along. You start loosing strength. Unable to keep up, you some how fall into negative thinking. Continuous negative thinking can develope into negative attitude. You start to loose confidence and energy.

You start looking for that Inspiration which can pull you up. That Inspiration which can make you persist on your path. That Inspiration which can make you work energetically. That inspiration which can motivate you to keep working. That inspiration which can enable you to increase your efficiency. That inspiration that can help you to stick to positive thinking. That can help you to maintain positive attitude. Where and how to find that critical Inspiration?

It is not that difficult to find Inspiration. Positive thinking and Positive Attitude with strong belief takes you more than half way. Surround yourself with Positive, Successful and Hepful people and you are almost there. You will be Inspired enough to Persist. You will be inspired enough to get motivation to keep working. You will be inspired enough to garner sufficient energy to work efficiently.

Inspiration is a critical key to success. It helps you persist on your path when going is tough. It can make you work with energy and efficiency. Inspiration combined with hard work, patience, motivation, perseverence and persistance can make you Successful.
Consequently you will achieve Success and your goals.


Ajoy Saah has Successful Online Business.
http://Best-Entertainment-Info.com
http://Best-Entertainment-Info.com/Entertainment-blog.html

Ajoy Saah has Successful Online Business. http://Best-Entertainment-Info.com http://Best-Entertainment-Info.com/Entertainment-blog.html

Flicker
As I reluctantly stood atop the twenty steps I had to descend daily in order to catch the New York train that would bring me to my daily grind, I attempted to put one foot in front of the other and suddenly, I tripped! In the few agonizing minutes it took me to regain my composure and my footing, I realized, had I fallen, I probably would have plunged head first onto the hard linoleum flooring that awaited me at the bottom of the staircase. More importantly, I would have most assuredly suffered serious injuries, or worse, death. (As a result of my misstep, I sustained a bruised big toe that ached for a week due to my awkward attempts at avoiding this tumble). Few people know that my greatest fears are drowning in the coldest, brightest-blue, chaotic water, and of course, falling down a long flight of stairs. I endure dreams of my demise or being severely handicapped, even temporarily disabled, from either of the aforementioned situations quite frequently. I harbor such an acute consternation for these two circumstances that it has taken me weeks, months, years even, to sit down and construct a story that vaguely includes the topic of drowning or falling. I would imagine I've been unenthusiastic in including tumbling or sinking in any of my writings because as of late, I've begun to allow myself to partially believe if you talk about a topic, you inadvertedly give life to it. Hence, this script is my defiance and inability to absolutely believe the latter. Hopefully, admitting my premonitions and briefly jotting them down will help me prevail over my fears granting me restful slumbers in the future. As I was saying, I nervously retrieved my bearings after my stumble and I bid those who love me good-bye. While I moseyed in the direction of the train station, I became aware that I was strangely agitated. I guess I was troubled not so much by the fact of the act of falling, but rather, the end result of my plunge coupled with the disastrous effect that my injuries would have upon those who love me and persistently expect me to function as the full-of-zip, individual I've always been. As I strode, step-by-step, I started thinking of how precious life is and how in a in a jiffy, in a flash, with the bat of an eye, even a tiny flicker, the life you have at 9:00 a.m., won't be the same life at 9:01 a.m. All it takes is an accident or an injury and your life is altered, possibly forever! Isn't it funny how people rarely take the time to observe their own lives appreciating the blessings that have been bestowed upon them? I'm talking about the "things" that are constantly overlooked. However, if we were to have those "things" removed from our lives, our existence would be hindered or unfamiliar. "Things" like the loss of a limb or an eye. Imagine being told that you had to choose which one of those "things" you had to get rid of. How about waking up a few hours from now and being told you'd never walk again? What if you never woke up tomorrow and your loved ones were told you had a stroke and were in an irreversible coma? How devastating are those scenarios for ya? What about the fact that we wake up each day just plain ol' healthy and pain free? How blessed you are if you can admit to being healthy absent pain each day? What about the fact that your brain and thought processes are working properly allowing you the capability of making sound decisions to construct your life or the lives or your loved ones 24-7? See? We never think about these "things" do we? We take LIFE for granted! We often talk and think in terms of always being around to see another sunrise. When you leave your job at the end of the day you don't say to your co-workers, "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow because I might not wake up in the morning," do you? Of course you don't! What you do say is, "Good-night, I'll see you tomorrow." We bid goodnight to our co-workers in that manner because by design, we take for granted that we are going to be around for another tomorrow. It's unfortunate that our tomorrows are not promised to us, although most of us live each day mindless to that reality. Therefore, we should practice living each day conscious of our brief existence on earth. Make each second, each minute, each day, meaningful. Take the time to say I love you to your loved ones as you leave the house each morning. Otherwise, you might not have an opportunity to say it to them again, ever! Hug someone you think is deserving of some kindred spirit. Maybe you'll change that person's life in a positive way you'd otherwise believe unimaginable. Speak to someone as you pass him or her in the corridor. Greet someone who wouldn't normally part his or her lips to speak to you. Take the introductory step for a change and be the bigger person. Speak to them, even if they never speak to you first. Being kind should become infectious, because being mean certainly is. I know for a fact, I'm nice to people each day that I'd rather not tolerate for a microsecond if I weren't forced to work with them. Sure it's called professionalism and cordiality, but I'm a very compassionate person by nature. So it's easier for me to be nice than to be cold and cruel for 8-hours. Heck, it sure makes my workday end faster, I know that! Besides, being mean and grumpy takes too much energy. I don't know of anyone deserving of that much power over my way of thinking. Appreciate those you love by giving them your "time." Spread your wonderful self thin by surrounding yourself with people and friends who appreciate you and your company. If you have elder parents, GIVE THEM YOUR TIME!! Do it today!! Because in a flicker, the life you lead today could be drastically altered or, over in a flicker. Just in case you'd like to know what a flicker is? Blink your eyes right now. That's a FLICKER! Now think about that! And while you're thinking? Make sure you hold onto the railing from now on as you descend stairs. Even if you believe you're taking them gingerly. Cause your FLICKER could be just one step away. (c) 2006 by C. V. Harris. All rights reserved.

C. V. Harris pens about topics most others would rather forget. Ms. Harris recently completed writing her Memoir entitled, "Stubborn Stains," which is due for publication in October, 2006. Want to ask Ms. Harris a question or comment regarding Flicker? Send your inquiries to info@onewriterwriting@hotmail.com, or visit her Blog at onewriterwriting.blogspot.com to read other dynamic articles scripted by C. V. Harris.