Maria Duval - Law of Attraction Article: Having A Bad Day? Learn To Turn It Around NOW!

Law of Attraction Article: Having A Bad Day? Learn To Turn It Around NOW!
Law of Attraction Article: Having A Bad Day? Learn To Turn It Around NOW!

We’ve all had those kind of days. You know the one where the alarm doesn’t go off, you stub your toe as you get out of bed, there’s no hot water, you’re out of coffee, and you just know it is going to be a horrible day.

So now that your day has started like this, how much worse are you going to allow it to get? That’s right. I’m asking you what you are going to do about it?

Many people bristle at the thought that they have any responsibility towards it at all. I mean after all “everyone has a bad day once in awhile.” You just do your best to get through it, How many times have you thought to yourself “I just wish this day was over already so I could start over again tomorrow.”

What a horrible waste of today that would be! You have the ability to turn it around right this moment!

So often we fall into the mistaken belief that “fate” has its own agenda in our lives and that we do not have any control over the way it goes sometimes. To learn how to create the big things you are wanting in your life, you need to start learning how to control the little ones.

If you have a day that starts out badly, it is your job to say “O.K. That’s enough! I’ve already had 3 bad things happen today - that’s enough bad things to last me for a week. From here on it - only good comes my way!”

Then take notice of all the small indications that your “luck” is indeed turning around.

For instance, in the past I’ve had mornings where I’ve overslept, looked outside to find it was pouring rain and was not going to make me and my son’s 5 block walk to school very pleasant, my son informed me that he forgot to complete an assignment that was due that day, I had no milk for my coffee or his breakfast, the dog whined at the thought of having to go out in the rain…whatever the annoyances might have been.

In the old days, I would have taken these things as a horrible “sign” that things were just going to keep being that bad, if not worse the rest of the day. For some reason, like so many other people, I thought that somehow “fate” had dictated this and there was nothing I could do about it except struggle through it.

Then as I read more and learned more about the Law of Attraction, I realized how silly it was to believe that just because a few bad things had happened in the morning that the rest of the day had to be that way too. I realized how “brainwashed” I had unconsciously become that I never stopped to ask myself “Who says? Who says it has to be this way all day? Where did I get this silly idea, and why do I let it play out again and again?“

That’s when I started using the saying that I mentioned a few paragraphs above. “Enough already! I’m turning this around now!“

The reason I am dedicating a whole article to this is because I feel it is really important for people to notice if they have these unconscious beliefs themselves. Because unfortunately people can play out this “bad luck thing” for far longer than just one day. I’ve heard people say “this is the worst week ever, the worst month, the worst year; I’ve even heard people say it is the worst decade of their lives!

Well what can you expect to happen if you get that belief in your head? The worst year or even decade?!

Once you have that kind of belief in your mind, you can be sure that you are going to look at and experience one bad thing after another. Worse than that, you will completely ignore any good things that happen and deliberately “focus” on only the negative things, just to prove that you are, in fact, correct and that this is indeed the worst possible week, month or year in your life!

It is amazing sometimes how our minds only see what we direct them to. You can have 3 bad things happen and 4 good things, yet you will find yourself only focusing on the bad to prove your own point to yourself and anyone around you who will listen, that you were right all along. But that is such a waste of precious time that you can be creating wonderful experiences in your life.

Maybe you do it for unconscious sympathy from yourself and from others. Maybe the whole “fate” thing was just something you picked up along the way like I had. It doesn’t matter which way these thoughts came about. All that matters is that it is time to regain control over your own destiny and decide to turn it around now!

So the next time you feel like your day is “cursed“ take notice and consciously decide to turn it around. You are in control here and you decide to put an end to it right now! You decide that a ton of good things are coming your way today to more than make up for the rough start, and more importantly decide that you are going to notice each and every positive one of them.

Before you know it, the positive will far outweigh the negative and you can turn the worst day of your life into the best one ever!

If you would like to read more articles on The Law of Attraction please sign up for The Very Happy Human Newsletter. A monthly newsletter that includes Inspiring Articles, Free Ebooks, Inspirational Quotes, Manifestation Exercises and more! http://www.theveryhappyhuman.com/newsletter.htm

Happy Creating!



Janeen Clark is a Spiritual Life Coach who has been teaching, studying and applying the Law of Attraction for over 15 years. If you would like more fun ways to use LOA visit her website at http://www.theveryhappyhuman.com

The Self Improvement Formula...
When we think of self improvement, we automatically think of learning some esoteric and foreign discipline that we'll require years to master and also require that we go to a very remote part of the earth and start meditating, fasting and possibly shaving our head in order to create the perfect environment for the healing energies to easily enter our body. That is far from the truth my friend. Self improvement as many experts agree can start with a simple thing and gradually move towards more complicated ones and finally to mastery. You can start your journey towards self improvement by paying more attention to your partner and really look into what you can do to improve your relationship. Take your partner out for dinner and start paying more attention to him/her. Try to compliment him/her on how good he/she looks. Don't be shy to tell your partner that you are on a self improvement mission. Every time you explain to someone that you are on a mission specially self improvement they will do everything they can to help you out. You will start to see result from your effort almost immediatly. Now that you are already on your path to self improvement, you may go ahead and also improve your relationship with your parents, your brothers and sisters and eventually you can even improve your relationship with your friends and neighbours. At some point in time during your self improvement journey, you'll be exposed to things like Reiki, advanced energy work, Auric clearing and other disciplines from Maharishi University. Know that the learning curve should be gradual and your inner voice or your guardian angel will guide you toward the path that is good for you. Energy healing for example is said to work where modern medecine has failed, as a matter of fact, I read a very good book by Dr Eric Pearl, called the reconnection and it teaches you how to heal others and heal yourself. A very key point about self improvement is the spiritual growth. At this level of development, you'll want to achieve mastery of self by developing your potential and searching for meaning, the meaning of life for instance. Start your journey like a child who is born into this world to learn. Don't be too obsessed with one particular thing. All the answers will be revealed to you in due time.

Please visit Fritz's web site on self improvement: http://www.selfconfidence-selfesteem.info/selfimprovement/

Meditations: The Use Of Sacred Phrases In Your Daily Meditations
There are many reasons for meditating, such as meditating for relaxation, stress relief or dealing with an issue. Sometimes you may even meditate for the fun of it because of the high you get coming off a meditation session. However, sometimes you may want to meditate for a purpose or to help reinforce something you want to achieve. If you are an elite athlete you may meditate each day to help you in your mental preparation by meditating on what you will do to win your race or if you are a basketball player you may meditate on shooting a 3 point shot. You can achieve these outcomes by using phrases during your meditation session. The objective of these phrases during a meditation session is to help reprogram your mind to achieve your objectives when your mind is in its most malleable state. The mind is most open to suggestion or reprogramming during a meditation session. The Buddhist Monk uses sacred meditation phrases during a meditation session to help them in overcoming their transgressions and ill thoughts they have during the day. They are provided these sacred phrases from the teachings of Buddha, their teachers and the Dalai Lama. Each Sacred Phrase contains an important lesson that is to be learnt. A sample sacred phrase by Buddha goes as �" Speak the truth, do not become angered and give when asked, even be it a little. By these three conditions one goes to the presence of the gods. Another sacred phrase from Buddha that is useful in daily life �" The wise who control body, speech and mind are indeed the consummately controlled. The Buddhist religion and community are not the only religion that has sacred phrases that can be used during a meditation session. Some meditators who come from the Christian faith will use sacred phrases from the bible such as the Psalms or the Lords Prayer. Virtually every religion has sacred phrases you can use through your meditation sessions and most of these phrases are about trying to help you become a better person and to respect your fellow man. Many people ask me how I incorporate these sacred phrases into my meditation. Well I first begin by identifying the sacred phrase I want to start with. I will read it aloud and once I have decided what I want to get from the meditation session then that is when I will start. For example, I may want to meditate on how to deal with a person who is causing me grief or always seems to get me angry. I will find a sacred phrase that I can reflect on and use that phrase during my meditation. I start off by simply beginning my meditation session with simple breathing exercises that help clear my mind and to get me to a state in which I can begin using the sacred meditation phrases. During a 20 minute meditation session, I find that it generally takes about 5 to 8 minutes to get to the point that I am ready for the next stage in the meditation cycle of using the sacred phrase. Now that I am ready to begin the next stage, I start by reciting the sacred phrase in my mind. During the first recitation I will simply recite the sacred phrase without any reflection. On the second recitation of the sacred phrase I will begin paying close attention to the words in the sacred phrase and the meanings of the words. Over the next few recitations of those phrases I will begin to look at how I apply the meanings of the phrases to my everyday life. I continue this process till I am ready to finish off my meditation. The last stage of my meditation cycle involves making a conscious commitment to improving my life and to take on board the values and meanings of the sacred phrase. The core objective of using sacred phrases during your meditation sessions is to help you improve, you, as a person and the role that you will play on this earth. If we do not contemplate and reflect on these sacred phrases in this way then the phrases will be nothing more than pretty words and will not serve the purpose they were intended for.

Meditation Music is a great tool to help in your mediation session. Our Baroque Meditation music will help in meditating through the issues outlined in this article.

10 Tips for Positive Thinking: Tips for a Happier and Healthier Frame of Mind
If you’re down in the dumps for disproportionately long periods of time and you find yourself blaming the rest of the world for your misery, then perhaps a change of attitude is in order. These 10 tips for positive thinking may be able to give your outlook in life its much needed overhaul. So increase your chances for a more constructive perspective with these 10 tips for positive thinking: 1. Recognize negative thoughts as they take shape and bury them before they take root. If you feel your mood darkening again, put a stop to these dangerous musings before you succumb to them. Rule your emotions, don’t let your emotions rule you. 2. Hang out with people who think positive as well. This condition can be quite infectious. 3. Just as contagious is a negative mindset. So avoid people who tend to think negatively on a constant basis. After all, who wants to hang around naysayers all the time? 4. Work out and eat right. If you look good on the outside, it’ll be easier to feel good on the inside, too. 5. De-clutter. Surround yourself only with the things you love and that make you feel good�"framed family photos, favorite books, potted plants, works of art, or whatever else that’s meaningful to you. 6. If people tell you you can’t do something, take that as a challenge and prove them wrong. Chances are, they themselves can’t do it or are too afraid to try and are simply bitter about it. If you show them it can be done after all, maybe they’ll even be inspired by your success. You can be a living tip for positive thinking to them. 7. Just when you’re about to blow your top for all the seeming misfortunes that befall you, remind yourself of all your blessings instead. This practice can be very sobering, indeed. 8. Be a volunteer or get involved in charity work. Not only will you realize the sheer number of people who have bigger problems than you do, but there is also such an emotional and even spiritual high to be experienced in helping others. 9. De-stress. You’re more likely to be cranky if you’re perpetually stressed out. So get away from it all and recharge. 10. Keep it up. Getting started is easy. It’s the maintenance that’s tricky. Make a habit out of thinking positively till it becomes an indelible part of who you are. Follow these 10 tips for positive thinking and be successful in your search for a happier and healthier frame of mind.

Michael Lee is unbelievably giving away over $2355 worth of the best self-help ebooks FREEat http://www.20daypersuasion.com/goldaccess.htm so take advantage now before it's too late!

Mystical Land, Powerful Journey
Imagine meditating on an active volcano. Mauna Loa, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the most massive mountain on Earth; measured from its base on the seafloor it rises 56,000 (27,000 higher than Everest from the base) and lies over 13,700 above sea level. It was snowing on the peak even as we basked in the sun on the black sandy beaches of Puna, approximately 30 miles south of Hilo. All of Hawaii is beautiful, but I have never been to such an incredible place and wanted to share with you what a SAI retreat was like so you can join us next time. Each morning we were led by Maura Hoffman in an absolutely wonderful yoga workout and then led into a powerful Shaktipat meditation, so by breakfast we were already naturally high as a kite. Late morning and afternoon we would typically go on excursions and meet up again in the late afternoon for Dhyana, getting even higher on the Divine. By the end of the week everyone went to an even deeper level in their meditations and several people had life changing breakthroughs as the Shakti just sets your spirit free. One day we went hiking to beautiful Akaka Falls and then went swimming with sea turtles, another day we went into a lava tube ---the womb of the Volcano--- and sat sauna style as steam vented up into the darkened chamber. Another day we went trance dancing with another retreat group and later danced on the beach to the sounds of a dozen drums beating and the crashing of waves on the beach. We also went to the geo-thermal natural hot tubs, snorkeled about with beautiful fish, ate incredible natural meals, got massages, and had fun activities each night, such as, Kaya Kalpa Anti-Aging Secrets, Tantra, Love Tap's, Kriya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Bliss Sessions. We also just hung out on the beach and got to know each other better. But the height of the trip was walking out to the lava flow. Kilauea extends out the side of Mauna Loa and is still active. We could see the steam from the lava flowing miles away from our totally decked out retreat center Rama Shala. Friday evening we hiked out of Volcano National Park and went within feet of flowing magma (molten rock) as it dropped right into the sea expanding Hawaii's shore line. Maura and I stripped down in the pitch of darkness and swam right out to the middle of the lava flow, within 100 feet of the cascading lava sputtering like a pressure cooker as it met the crashing waves below. The whole ocean reflected the bright orange glow as we bounded in the bubbling waters heated by the lava. For a hundred yards to our left and to our right was red-hot lava flowing into the ocean. Absolutely amazing. I had to tell someone (hope Mom isn't reading this). Go to http://www.selfawareness.com/VideoPhotoGallery.html to see the photos. From the Heart, Steven S. Sadleir

Steven S. Sadleir is the Director of the Self Awareness Institute and is recognized as a Shaktipat Master in two lineages. He has developed powerful distance learning programs for people of all cultures and faiths, trained thousands of people from all over the world, and welcomes all of you who are ready for full Self-Realization. Visit http://www.SelfAwareness.com for FREE guided meditation mp3s and ebook!

Find Your Purpose, Fulfill Your Destiny
We are each being guided to fulfill our life purpose. Collectively and individually we are all following our intuition to evolve ourselves to higher levels of consciousness. You witness evidence of this inner guidance as you read these words. You are here because spirit guided you to be here. You are being invited to take that next step and fulfill your destiny. So, what is your destiny? What lies awaiting for you to realize? First you must find yourself. Connect with the part of you that knows your calling and how to fulfill the purpose of your existence. To realize your full potential you must realize your Self, you must attain Self Realization.

Everyone reading this essay is enlightened to some degree or you would not have the inclination to read this. Start by acknowledging that part of you that seeks enlightenment. Let it be clear in your own mind that you are seeking to raise your calibrated level of consciousness and attain conscious control over your mind, and feel the full profundity of God’s love as you realize the Kingdom of Heaven within you. To think we go through so much of our life ignorant of this Divine presence. It’s a wonder how we could deny the very love that sustains our own existence, but we do. We suffer out of ignorance.

When your mind realizes the true nature of your Self, the bliss is indescribable. If you are not intoxicated on God, what are you doing? Why would you choose to live a life of trials and errors when you could walk with Him? God never left, open your eyes and see. The Kingdom of Heaven lies within. In the Gospel of Thomas the apostles ask Jesus, “When will the Kingdom come?” To which Jesus replied, “It will not come by waiting for it. You cannot say that it is here, or that it is there. For the Kingdom of Heaven is spread out before man, but he sees it not.” Those that have eyes let them see.

Brothers and sisters, your destiny is to enlighten. Until to commit to this mission you are straying from your path and that might be why it seems difficult at times. When will the time come that you commit yourself whole heartedly to your enlightenment? Through Self Realization you truly do find greater prosperity, happiness and peace. Let me show you the way to find the answers that already lie within you. Let us create peace on Earth by first finding peace within ourselves. Your destiny awaits.

From the heart,
Steven S. Sadleir

Steven S. Sadleir is the Director of the Self Awareness Institute and is recognized as a Shaktipat Master in two lineages. He has developed powerful distance learning programs for people of all cultures and faiths, trained thousands of people from all over the world, and welcomes all of you who are ready for full Self-Realization. Visit http://www.SelfAwareness.com for FREE guided meditation mp3s and ebook!

Second Chance at Your Dream: Energypscyhology's gifts for optimal aging and health
Second Chance at Your Dream: Energy Psychology's Gifts for Creativity, Health and Optimal Aging by Dorothea Hover-Kramer, Ed.D. RN, DCEP We are born with possibilities. As we grow, we imagine a great dream for our lives. This dream can get submerged or even derailed by the many challenges of adult life. The second half of life, usually sometime after 50 or 60, offers us a second chance. With recent advances in healthcare, we have been given the gift of 30-50 more years. It is imperative that we find ways to use them wisely. Because most of us have extra time, we have untold opportunities for creating change within ourselves. And from there, to influence our friends, our communities, our world. Our culture avoids discussing the possibility of creative and meaningful aging. Instead, fear and denial are associated with the later half of life and its most discernible tasks such as job retirement, lifestyle changes, grandparenting or mentoring others, coping with changes in the body, losing loved ones and facing our own mortality. Rather than a time of decline, the second half of life can be an opportunity for abundant new beginnings. Through the gifts of energy psychology, a newly emerging discipline within psychotherapy, we have access now to numerous ways to stay in optimal physical balance, release dysfunctional emotional patterns, change perceptions of difficult situations, build a sense of hope and positive expectancy and to connect with our innate creativity. Unlike thinking that suggests there is some external factor, medication, or device for treating later life's challenges, self-care with energy psychology's gifts can easily be learned. Within your body resides your vital life force, the quality called Qi (pronounced "chee") discussed in classical Chinese texts for over 5,000 years and the basis of the current practices of acupuncture and acupressure. Directing this Qi with self-care techniques from the field of energy psychology assists persons to resolve internal conflicts, remove blocks to creativity and empower living more fully. EP is an excellent resource for maintaining health and flexibility. To demonstrate, please take one deep breath and let it go fully as you read this. Continuing with the breath, allow yourself to make a self-affirming statement such as, "I deeply appreciate myself with all my gifts, talents and abilities." Now add gentle rubbing of a tender spot on the left upper mid-chest toward the left shoulder while you repeat the self-affirming statement. If you are working on a challenge you might say, "Even though I have this challenge, I deeply appreciate myself and my gifts and choose to find the best solution." Continue with the breath to release any tension from your body. Once you start using similar patterns to help yourself you may find you are much less likely to get stuck on an issue or to feel helpless. It is a creative act to help yourself and open to new possibilities. Creative acts such as helping yourself and others give deeper meaning to life and, in turn, enhance your health and sense of well-being. Thriving in the second half of life is intricately linked to flexibility and creativity in interpersonal relationships. Contrary to traditional thinking that associates living well with lots of activity, the full-energy life is about connecting to inner wisdom and refining the arrow of intention. This orientation is filled with joy, peacefulness, openness, curiosity, wonder, appreciation, flexibility, exploration, new viewpoints and moving "beyond the box" of traditional thinking about aging. Moving from longevity to "fun-gevity" is made possible by letting go of stressful issues rapidly so there is available energy for more satisfying choices. For most issues, energetic self-care offers drug-free paths for relieving anxiety, finding inner harmony and thriving in advancing years. Energy psychology (EP) is the broad term describing a growing body of knowledge that joins together a large family of therapeutic approaches. They share focus on effecting rapid emotional relief with the resources of the human energy system. These resources include the meridians and their related acupoints as well as the body's biofield and the energetic centers known as charkas. In the past twenty years, energy modalities have gained popular acceptance in hospital settings for relief of anxiety and pain with methods such as Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch or Reiki. Energy psychology (EP) includes interventions known mainly by acronyms such as EFT, TFT, TAT, TAB, EDxTM, and is recognized and frequently used in psychotherapeutic settings. The international association, ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology), has existed for 0ver 10 years and boasts a large and growing membership, research studies, conferences, and the books of Energy Psychology Press/Elite Books led by Dawson Church, author-publisher. EP also gives direct tools for overcoming limiting beliefs or releasing negative emotions. Specifically, dysfunctional beliefs about our own aging can be addressed to ensure that the next thirty to fifty years of life medical advances have brought us are vibrant, free of emotional burdens and bursting with the energy so needed to help our imperiled planet. Many myths about aging need to be debunked. Long-held beliefs such as genetic determinism, brain cell stagnation, and "natural involution" can be countered with methods to expand mental activity and optimize genetic expression. The new science of epigenetic research clearly shows how gene expression lies within control of the conscious mind and the choices we make. Neuroscience supports evidence for the plasticity of brain cells which respond continuously to our intention and emotional reactions. The more we expand the apertures of consciousness with creative thinking the more our neurons will grow and regenerate. Many baby boomers who are now over sixty are showing that life can be wonderfully fulfilling when they follow long put-off interests, reconnect with friends of their youth, and explore ways of contributing for the greater good of their communities. I encourage you to envision a new picture of audacious aging in which engaged, passionate elders bring their collective wisdom to our imperiled world. We are the talented and essential beings who, by healing and empowering ourselves, can heal and empower others. We are the ones who bring love of humanity and the natural world to our families and communities. The second half of life is indeed the opportunity to reclaim our life's dream!

Dr. Dorothea Hover-Kramer, psychologist and clinical nurse specialist, is author of the first book to present the breakthrough techniques of Energy Psychology for assisting the creative individuals who are in the second half of life. It is entitled Second Chance at Your Dream and will be published November 15, 2008 by Energy Psychology Press, Elite Books, Santa Rosa, CA. for more information please visit Dorothea�s Website: www.SecondChanceDream.com

What Is Guided Meditation?
Meditation in essence is about helping you to develop inner peace, calmness, a sense of tranquillity but also it is about helping you to grow as a person. Too often people perceive meditation as a hippy thing, or something for those marijuana smoking duds but really what meditation is about is helping you with your mind and the way your mind influences your life. Guided meditation really involves someone guiding you through the process of meditation and helping you to achieve an outcome of some description. Most people associate meditation with simply sitting on the floor with your eyes closed going Ummm. Ummm. Which I can certainly say is not the outcome we are looking for and would in essence be totally useless. Meditation just like anything you do must have a purpose. For example, what is the purpose of getting a job? Well essentially the purpose of getting a job is to help you gain money so that you can buy a house or car, get food to eat or go on a holiday. If you did not have a purpose for a job, why would you work? You would not! Meditation is exactly the same. You need to have a purpose when you meditate. The purpose for meditation can be varied for example you could meditate to �" #1. Find Inner Peace #2. To Bring About Focus #3. To Relax #4. To Help You Change Your State of Mind #5. Improve Creativity and Learning #6. Help Build Your Confidence and Self-Esteem #7. To Focus on Self-Healing #8. To Help Control Internal and External Pain #9. Meditate to Overcome Your Fears There really are unlimited reasons for why you would want to meditate. The objective of guided meditation is to help you take the right meditation path to achieve those objectives. Choosing a Meditation Guide is really an important step you need to make. For example different meditation experts and practitioners will have different techniques and will guide you through different paths depending on what you are trying to achieve. The majority of meditation practitioners will teach you deep breathing meditations when you first start because if you do not know how to relax and maintain focus, then the other meditation paths will certainly not work. Remember one thing, every meditation guide will be different and I recommend that before paying a meditation guide to help you, try to see if they will give you a free lesson. What I have found in the past is that every meditation practitioner is different and I have even found the meditation practitioners from the one meditation centre can vary dramatically in the guiding process, so you need to find the guide who best works for you. Let me give an example of what I mean. I am always on the lookout for new ideas and thoughts when it comes to meditation and I recently purchased a Chakra meditation cd which included a guided meditation program. I put the cdrom into my computer and within the first five minutes of listening to it, I burst out laughing simply because the voice was digitally altered and was totally unreal. For me this guided meditation tool was never going to work as I could not take it seriously. Now for some people this particular meditation cd may have worked and they may think totally differently about the meditation cd. For me it did not work. There are many different style of guided meditation. If you goto your local bookstore or check out the internet you will find an abundance of guided meditation cd’s, dvd’s and videos. Before you rush out and buy them, I strongly encourage you to see if there is sample of what they offer just to see if their guided meditation is what you are after. Any good quality meditation programs, will offer you some sort of limited look at their products so that you can see if they will work for you. If you are going to a health retreat or meditation centre for a guided meditation experience, find out if they offer a Free Introductory CDROM of their program. Always try these out first because there is nothing worse to go to a meditation retreat only to find out it does not suit you. One thing I recommend to everyone is to try out meditation before you goto to any of these retreats even if you just try out the Deep Breathing Meditation exercises. Meditation does take practice and the more practice you do the better you will get at it. Some people when they first go to guided meditation programs do not get the outcomes they expect, not because the programs do not work, but simply because they do not realise it does take practice to master meditation.

Chris has Baroque Meditation Music available at - Meditation Meditation 2 (Baroque Music) and a simple six step meditation program - Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management

Beliefs!
Do you realize that what we believe about ourselves, affects us so much more than what is actually true about ourselves? Let me give you an example of what I mean. Let´s say you attend a music concert and are completely blown away by someone´s piano playing. You walk out of the concert and say to yourself, "I would love to play the piano like that, and move people in the way I was moved'. Now, does the fact that you cannot currently play the piano mean you can never accomplish that desire? The current truth about yourself is, you cannot play the piano. But, what you believe about yourself will determine if that will remain your reality or if you will become an excellent pianist. Do you know what people like Tony Robbins, Zig Ziggler, Og Mandino and Napoleon Hill have in common? They are all people from humble beginnings, they all had many set backs in life, and they all later became very successful. How did they do this? They learned to believe in themselves. If you find in your current state that you are over weight, deep in debt, lonely, or unsuccessful in any area of your life, does that mean you are stuck in that reality? I don´t think so. I´m sure you´ve heard the saying birds of a feather flock together. Well, negative people tend to hang out with other negative people, religious people tend to hang out with other religious people, and entrepreneurs tend to hang out with other entrepreneurs. Who do you hang out with? We all tend to gravitate toward people or groups of people that we believe to be like us, or people we would like to be like. There are people who were born into great privilege, yet they threw their lives away and died miserable and alone. Then there have been many people born into this world dirt poor, yet went on to accomplish many great things for themselves and society in general. Why such different outcomes? Much of it has to do with their beliefs. You see we all get thrown curve balls in life; we all hit the wall from time to time, and circumstances are sometimes beyond our control. But what we believe about ourselves has a great deal to do with how we respond to, or deal with these situations. If you have a poor self image and never do anything to change it, you will have exiled yourself to a life of mediocrity at best, no matter what advantages you may have been born with. Yet, if you will just believe in yourself, and realize the God given abilities that lie in each one of us, you can aspire to great heights in your life no matter what adversity may come your way. We´re not all dealt the same cards in life, but unless we are stricken with a handicap beyond our control, we have the ability to achieve just about anything we wish. In fact, many people with great disabilities go on to do amazing things in their lives. It all begins with believing in ourselves, and visualizing our lives the way we want them to be. That is why setting goals, as well as, writing down and reviewing affirmations are so important. We need a road map to follow, and a vision to keep us heading in the right direction on that map. If we will only believe in ourselves, and keep visualizing ourselves the way we want to be, it is only a matter of time before we achieve that which we most desire. Wishing you success in every area of your life!

Mike Shanta is a student of success who resides in Branson, Missouri, with his wife and 2 children. He runs a motivational website http://www.all-round-success.com. He is also editor and publisher of a Free Success Newsletter http://www.tinyurl.com/27nxpv. On both his website and newsletter, you will find many articles, tools, links and ideas for achieving all-round success in every area of your life. You can also email Mike with comments or questions at success@all-round-success.com.

The Biggest Challenge Facing A Poet, Getting Published
The best advice that I can give any child or adult who wants to be a poet is to read lots of poetry. Get a feel for poetry. Look at different styles of poetry. I have grown so much in my own writing by reading the work of other poets. Don’t be afraid to accept constructive criticism. Part of being a writer is being able to accept criticism. Everyone who writes poetry is eager to publish a book but why not start out small. Before you send off your poetry for publication ask yourself if you are ready. It might be wise to Join an online poetry community and share your poetry with other poets who will be honest with you and offer some constructive criticism. Once you are ready to take that plunge the best place to start is poetry magazines and ezines . You might also want to check some publishers that accept poetry for anthologies. You are going to want to purchase a copy of Poet’s Market that is published annually. This is an essential book for poets who are interested in publishing their work. For younger poets some places you might want to check out are Poetry for Kids , Teen Ink and About.com's Creative Writing for Teens. You are also going to want to reach your market. You are going to want to see just what kind of poetry the magazine publishes as often time’s magazines will receive poetry that is just not right for their magazine. Submission guidelines are on most sites and many magazines will post a sample of poems that can be found in their magazine. When submitting your poetry to magazines. Always present it in typescript, using a simple 10 or 12 point font like Arial or Times New Roman. Present a cover letter that is professional addressing the magazine editor by their name. Offer the poems for publication in their magazines, be sure to list your other publications if any and thank the editor for considering your work for possible publication. Send them about five of your poems and always include a S.A.E. (Self Addressed Envelope) with your submission. Editors most times do not return your poems but without submitting a S.A.E. your poems won’t even be looked at. Also make sure that you have included enough return postage in your S.A.E. Example of a cover letter: Dear (name), Please consider the enclosed poems for publication in (name of magazine). I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope for your reply. Thank you for your consideration of my work for possible publication. You’re very brief bio here and other publications here.) If you are submitting by email make sure that you follow the guidelines on the website. Most publishers prefer the poem to be submitted as an attachment in word document. If you are unsure of the guidelines it never hurts to email the editor and ask them. You should never submit a poem that has already been published or that you have sent to another magazine to be published. This includes if you have published them on your own homepage. In most cases magazines will consider a poem posted on your website or an open poetry community to be already published. Therefore you will not be able to claim first rights to it and most magazines; newspapers etc will not accept it as submission. Sandra Soli of byline magazine says if a poem appears on a web page, it is published. If a poem can be accessed via the general internet user, it is published. On the other hand, if the forum is closed to a limited membership and your poem is not available for general viewing, then she would consider that a work shopped item just as in a private critique group. This concerns how easily the piece can be accessed by readers. Most web appearances are open to all and byline magazines considers that to be a publication. The Pedestal Magazine quotes “The Pedestal Magazine would consider such a piece previously published, in that it has been inserted into the public domain If you are submitting work that has already appeared in the web for publication, mention in the cover letter the forum(s) where the poems have been posted and let the editor make an informed decision. You really do not want to do anything that jeopardizes your chances of seeing your poem published. Also be sure to keep track of all your submissions. Then prepare yourself also for a long wait. Chicken Soup for the soul states that they receive 100 stories per day and it takes up to three years to develop a book. Poets should not be discouraged by rejections. Part of being a poet or any kind of writer is preparing yourself for rejection. Trust me I’m an over sensitive person and when I got my first rejection letter I thought it was the end of the world. But I later learned that a rejection letter does not mean that you are by any means a bad poet. A rejection letter should never discourage you from pursuing your craft. Not all poetry will be published but find comfort in knowing that someday somewhere your poem will find its rightful reader. By all means consider me and every other writer who has been rejected on your side. Having your poetry published is only one part of writing. Until it happens and you have that first publication enjoy your writing and join a community and find a few good readers and supporters of your work and be proud that you took the step and sent your poetry off to be considered for publication. I have a confession of my own I have only had my poetry published in a few newspapers, ezines, and my own book that was published by one of the worse publishers out there but that has not discourage me one bit from working towards fulfilling my dreams or wishing my fellow poets great success. I have had my accomplishments and one of the greatest is seeing that an article such as this one I have just written might help just one of you. Many poets end up self-publishing their own writing and that isn’t a bad rout to go either. To find out about self publishing and pod publishing be sure to read my article Publishing and Promoting of Poetry Anthologies and Chapbooks

The best advice that I can give any child or adult who wants to be a poet is to read lots of poetry. Get a feel for poetry. Look at different styles of poetry. I have grown so much in my own writing by reading the work of other poets. Don’t be afraid to accept constructive criticism. Part of being a writer is being able to accept criticism. Everyone who writes poetry is eager to publish a book but why not start out small. Before you send off your poetry for publication ask yourself if you are ready. It might be wise to Join an online poetry community and share your poetry with other poets who will be honest with you and offer some constructive criticism.