February 2008

Someone asked me to pass this along, so I’m making like a Manning and making the pass.

If you have or know kids between the ages of 18-31 with a high school diploma, The Federal Aviation Association is taking applications for air traffic controller school. We all have kids and know kids in the right age group (under 31) and with some effort they could reach a salary of over $100,000 with benefits in about 3 years! You need only a high school diploma to apply and credit is given for college on the exam. They need to go to http://www.faa.gov/jobs/job_opportunities/airtraffic_controllers/for details and to fill out the application immediately - even if they don’t know if they’d want to attend immediately - it’s the federal government and it may take them months to call. The key is to apply NOW.

There will be a lot of retirements coming up rather quickly and they need to line up training to accommodate these openings. It’s my understanding that the FAA rarely has an open application such as this and that the jobs are coveted. The person who shared this has a 28 year old daughter who is well into 6 figures and has plenty of time for travel/recreation and has started another career on the side. This is a great opportunity and it should be noted that choosing a site like Anchorage or Indianapolis to train is a likely acceptance into the training program, after which you can transfer anywhere in the country that has a tower.

A salary over $100,000…. holy moly!

 If one of your new year’s resolutions was to gain control of you finances instead of them retaining control of you, the article below is for you!  It could make all the difference in the world: 

How to Survive Living Paycheck to Paycheck

The vast majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, with little or no savings to hold them over during emergencies. This is a bad way to survive and a stressful way to live, but for most people, there are few other options. Unless you can find a job that pays a substantial amount more than your current bills and reduce spending at the same time, this can be a terrible thing for families.

If your family is one that survives paycheck to paycheck, even the smallest financial difficulty can have profound effects. Without the necessary back up funding, it is very easy to fall behind and suffer the consequences. Using payday loans can be a good way to avoid the financial pitfalls that litter the path of life for many of us.

Often, resorting to asking for money from friends and family is not only an unattractive option, but it can also be a non-option. Self reliance and self help are the best ways to get yourself out of the financial hole you may find yourself in. Payday loans offer you a short term loan that will give you the needed amount of cash. Repaying this loan is imperative, though, or you will find yourself in even more dire straits.

If you use these loans in the right way, you can keep both your bank account and your family happy and healthy. With a smart plan for savings, judicious use of payday loans and determination, you can actually begin to save money for future use.

My husband called me today to check on me (I’ve been waaaaay sick with bronchitis, sinusitis, and just plain ickypoohitis).  I’d just finished one of my 12 naps today, because running a fever zaps me of any energy I ever had.  I vowed to do little more complaining about how I felt after he told me some very tragic news, though.  Someone he knows just lost his wife in a car wreck.  She was in the vehicle with their two small sons, when she lost control of the car and went down a bank.  When they found her, they didn’t have to look far to find what caused the wreck. 

Her phone was near her, opened to a text message typed halfway out.  The boys survived, but the vehicle came down on her.

When I got off the phone with him, I grabbed my robe and went stubbling off to my oldest daughter’s room - fueled by mom juice, I wanted to give her a clear cut illustration of the dangers of texting while driving.  She vowed to never respond to a text behind the wheel again.  She said she’d pull over to a parking lot or the nearest Starbucks (She is her mother’s daughter.) instead.  

I wanted to try to get the word out more, so I’ve plopped down here to wag my finger in front of your face.

According to the Washington Post, Virginia is considering a pair of bills that would ban texting while driving. Lawmakers in four other states, including Maryland, are considering similar bans.  I hope the bills pass and that other states would follow.  There’ll be people who moan and groan about the government trying to control them and trying to decide what’s best for them.  What about all of the innocent people these texting drivers endanger?  Someone has to protect them.

Think about it, to text, you have to use your hands and your eyes - taking attention away from where each should be:  Hands on the wheel, eyes on the road.

I hope you’ll have a talk with every driver you know who texts.  Whether it’s a daughter, son, mother, father, brother, sister, sweetheart, or a hip grandparent…..let them know you care about what happens to them and want them to be safe.

If that doesn’t work, tell them if you ever catch them texting behind the wheel, you’ll take away their keys AND their phone. The hip grandparent will put up a fight - but stand firm.

I was doing some serious mother research online recently because two of my three beautiful daughters feel (and look) like hot messes.  Most of the information I found was already in my own head from years of research just like this.  I’ve been a warm salt water preaching, green tea serving, echinacia believing mom since my girls started walking.

However, I did find a great page on Yahoo! Health about sore throats.  Just in case you, or someone you love is suffering from this hideous plague, below is a link that’ll serve you well.

Making a Sore Throat Feel Better

Stay well and I hope you have a happier Valentine’s Day than two of my valentines are having! 

If you’re like a lot of people, you often, needlessly, sell yourself short. You may not underestimate your potential in a great number of areas, but if you think about it long enough, you’ll realize that there are more than one.

Most people simply have a whole lot more going on for them than they realize!

It’s normal to get into a “funk” every now and then.  Times when we’re convinced that we’re a clutz at best - a disciple of doom, at worst.  What isn’t at all normal, however, is to get to the point where we’re so down on ourselves that we avoid situations, places, and other people because we’re afraid we’ll embarass ourselves or that others won’t like us.

Low self esteem can be, in many ways, crippling.  It keeps people from enjoying all that life has to offer.  Fear of failure, or of not measuring up not only holds the individual back from enjoying the world, it robs the world of being able to enjoy them!

Whenever your self esteem or confidence gets shaky, doing the following will help get your swagger back:

• Since one of the main reasons people start to doubt themselves in the first place is from fixating on weaknesses, it stands to reason that the first thing to do is to stop looking at the weaknesses and pay attention to the strengths!  Make a list of your best traits and qualitites. Are you friendly, honest, and/or intelligent?  Are you a good listener?  Do you make people smile and feel good about themselves?
• Write down the nicest compliments you’ve ever been given.
• Do something really nice and thoughtful for someone else. 

Having said all of that, if there is something in particular that’s causing you to feel insecure or bad about yourself, you shouldn’t ignore it if it’s in you power to change it. Do the following exercise:

Find a picture of someone in a magazine to represent the area in which you feel insecure.  For example, if you’re insecure about your weight, find someone who is either over or underweight.  If you’re shy, find a picture of someone who looks a little on the timid side.

Once you’ve found your partner, imagine that they have come to you for advice on changing what makes them feel insecure.  What advice would you give them?  Again, write it down.  You’ll be blown away, not only by the amazing advice you’ll see - but by the fact that it was inside of you all along.

Ummm, did I mention that swaggers are sexy?

We bloggers are like Hallmark, we’re always wanting to reach out and touch someone.

But with all the billions of blogs and web sites online, the competition’s enough to make you want to hide in your closet.  

Waaaay in the back.

New people land on our blogs almost daily.  When they come through our front door, we want them to sit down and get comfortable while we serve them a plate of posts and a glass of rss. 

The trick is catching them before they take off to the blog next door.

I’ve come up with an idea that sort of puts the welcome mat out for our cherished new visitors, so that hopefully they’ll become one of our even more cherished regular guests.

At the top, you’ll notice a link to “First Time Visitors.”  I created a simple little page to serve as a welcome mat - telling what Self Help Daily and I are all about.  It includes an invitation to look around and take a tour and even points in the direction of the glass of rss.

A welcome page, such as this, should be short and to the point.  I don’t think it should go too far into detail about the blogger or the blog (that’s what the about page is for, after all). 

The words, “Welcome New Visitors!” is different from the words that we’re used to seeing on blogs:  About, Contact, rss, Blogroll, etc.  It stands out, so I believe it would get a newcomer’s much coveted attention.  If I were on the blog for the first time and saw a welcome mat rolled out for me, I’d jump on it.

“Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them… they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.”  - Orison Swett Marden, Author and Founder of Success Magazine

When I was rounding up quotes for the last post, I set this one to the side, I knew I wanted to give it its own stage to work its motivational magic.  If these words don’t have you under their spell, you either don’t have a pulse or you’ve never faced an obstacle.

The thing about reading motivational quotes such as the ones from Mr. Marden is this:  We have to remember that reading them, alone, won’t get us anywhere.  Reading isn’t the word that activates movement after all - Applying is.  Find the quotes that speak to you the loudest….the ones that make you feel as though you could defeat the hounds of hell with one arm tied behind your back.   Write these little spark plugs down on index cards or post it notes and put them where you’ll see them each and every day.  You’ll soon memorize the quotes and will be able to pull them out of your hat when the next obstacle stands in your way.

 ”We lift ourselves by our thought.  If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.  Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere.” - Orison Swett Marden - Author and Founder of Success Magazine.

I plucked one of my husband’s books off the shelf this morning and began reading.   I came across the quote above on the first page.  Right below was another quote by Orison Swett Marden:

“The waste of life occasioned by trying to do too many things at once is appalling.”"To think you can, creates the force that can.”

“The man who has no money is poor, but one who has nothing but money is poorer. He only is rich who can enjoy without owning; he is poor who though he has millions is covetous.” “If you do not feel yourself growing in your work and your life broadening and deepening, if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you, you have not found your place. “I’m not sure about you, but when the man who founded a magazine called “Success” speaks, I not only listen - I take notes.  I’ve done a little research and I’ve found quite a few amazing quotes by Mr. Marden.  So, if you’re ready for a large helping of inspiration and motivation, here are the brilliant words of Orison Swett Marden:

“Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” 

“A will finds a way.”

“The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone” “Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action.”“A strong, successful man is not the victim of his environment. He creates favorable conditions. His own inherent force and energy compel things to turn out as he desires.”

 ”All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.”

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.” 

“Analyzing what you haven’t got as well as what you have is a necessary ingredient of a career.”

“We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.”"Be larger than your task.”

“It is like the seed put in the soil - the more one sows, the greater the harvest.”

“It is psychological law that whatever we desire to accomplish we must impress upon the subjective or subconscious mind.”

“Joyfulness keeps the heart and face young. A good laugh makes us better friends with ourselves and everybody around us.”

“Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.” “Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.” “The Creator has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.”

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.”

If you think reading Orison Swett Marden’s words were motivational - wait until you read about his world.  You’ll definitely want to read The History of Success Magazine - it’ll only take a few minutes to read (there are only 7 or so paragraphs in all).  When you understand where Orison Swett Marden came from, it’ll make you even more inspired by his words.

Conventional medical wisdom is leading millions of people down the wrong path. Part of the reason is that so many “experts” continue to scoff at or ignore the exciting discoveries in the new field of anti-aging medicine.

Just as they did with nutrition as a new field, conventionally educated doctors are willfully remaining ignorant while sticking to the now preposterous position that anti-aging is impossible. By the time you finish reading this you will know how unfortunate this ill-informed position is.

On the surface, you can observe aging as your hair turns gray, your waistline grows and your body goes soft. But there are biochemical changes underneath that drive this physical aging. Measure and manipulate what happens at the cellular level and you can control the way you age to stay younger longer. Continue Reading!

USA Today reports that about 7,000 children end up in the emergency room each year as a result of cough and cold drugs.  A study showed that most of these trips are the result of overdoses.  The study included both over the counter and prescription medicines and involved children 11 and under.

About 2/3 of the cases were children who had taken the medicine unsupervised.  But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1/4 were the result of parents giving the proper dosage but an allergic reaction or another problem developing.  This is, of course, the place where everyone points out the importance of keeping ALL medicines totally out of reach of small children - Possibly to the point of not allowing them to even know where they’re kept.

The Food and Drug Administration has warned that over the counter cough and cold medicines are too dangerous for children under 2.  Parents should always take a very small child to the doctor when he/she’s under the weather. 

I was all over that advice when my girls were little…..okay, okay, I still haul them to the doctor when they feel the least bit bad.  But better very safe than very sorry.

Keep your kids safe and healthy during the cold season:

• Have a good talk with them about germs - how they can cause you to feel really bad.  Remind them that when they feel bad they aren’t able to play or have fun.  Don’t ever use “You’ll have to go to the doctor” as a warning.  After all, we don’t want the doctor to appear to be the enemy.  You also might not want to go with, “If you get sick, you’ll have to miss school..”
• Point out the way they could pick up germs, such as eating after others, sharing toothbrushes, etc. 
• Teach them the importance of washing their hands before they eat, and the why not’s of putting things in their mouth like pencils, pens, erasers, etc. (I used to have a horrible habit of chewing on pencils and the plastic tops to pens….oooh, so crunchy.  But I jabbed myself in the gum once and made a huge sore place that lasted for weeks.  It hurt to eat, drink, brush my teeth, etc.  Not fun. )
• I’ve always bought little bottles of anti-bacterial hand gel for my girls to carry in their purses.  You don’t always have access to water before you eat, so these come in really handy.  It’s also a good idea to use them after handling a shopping cart.  I mean, have you ever stopped to think…..
• Herbal supplements can help to boost a child’s immune system. There are packets called Emergen-C that are pretty amazing, for yourself AND your kids.
• You might want to look into the new products under the Airborne label.  These are amazing!  Airborne was created by a second grade teacher, and isn’t just for kids.  They’re adding to their line of “Keep Kids Healthy” type products and I’ve got nothing but love for all of them.   Squidsoap is my favorite - it teaches kids the importance of washing their hands and shows them the proper way to go about it.  There’s a wonderful article about Keeping Your Kids Healthier this Winter that extends to the other seasons as well.  The advice is amazing - if you’re a parent, grandparent, or concerned family member, I highly recommend reading it.
• We all know how important it is to stay warm and dry, but something that’s often overlooked is the importance of a good variety of foods.  Kids should get food from each of the food groups - with plenty of fruits and vegetables. 
• Another area that’s often overlooked is rest.  Most kids just don’t get enough of it, yet their bodies need the rest to grow, fight off problems, and build a stronger immunity.
• It goes without saying, of course, but if your child has pre-existing conditions such as asthma or diabetes (or a host of other diseases that just shouldn’t jump on little ones), take them to the doctor at the first sign of a sniffle.  Spoken like a mother hen?  Spoken like a mother hen.

A mother hen’s who has the words, “Better very, very safe than very, very sorry!” embroidered on her apron.