Articles

My husband pointed out a few fascinating posts for me to read this morning before he left for work.  They dealt with blog themes, search engine optimization, and blog categories.  I’ve been thinking about using new themes on Self Help Daily, Get Cooking, and Out of Bounds.   They don’t seem appropriate for the Revolution Theme I talked about a few posts back, but I want desperately to give them a facelift!

 So my coffee and I sat down and started to read - well, I read, the coffee simply healed the morning.

Just as I was soaking up all the knowledge, my eyes began to wander around the sidebars….hmmm, lots of interesting stuff - blogrolls, links, pretty colors, ads… it wasn’t long before I found myself skipping over rock islands in the stream rather than sitting on the banks with my homework. 

It’s all good, though.  I’m on my way back across the stream now, heading back to the banks where the homework’s waiting patiently.  Along the way, I wanted to drop off a few interesting posts I found.  I know you’ll get a great deal out of each one.  Enjoy!

Why Envy is Your Biggest Motivator - This brilliant post is written from an entrepreneural standpoint, but you can get just as much out of it from a Self Improvement standpoint.  Great stuff, so read it carefully and soak up the wisdom.

How to Find Your Creative Zen - Another great read filled with tons of information.  If it doesn’t light a fire under you, you might want to check your pants…..they might be wet.

Stop Talking, from The Happiness Project - “Silence isn’t golden in every situation, because sometimes conversation is what a person needs…“  Read to find out when silence is EXACTLY what’s needed.

You’ll want to make each of the blogs part of your regular routine.  I spent quite a bit of time on each one’s rock island and found them to be of the highest quality.  The writing, the wisdom, the wit - each would be a perfect addition to your feed reader.

 ” I’m not sure what the future holds but I do know that I’m going to be positive and not wake up feeling desperate. As my dad said ‘Nic, it is what it is, it’s not what it should have been, not what it could have been, it is what it is.’ “  - Nicole Kidman, after her split with Tom Cruise

I love that quote.  I loved it the first time I read it, years ago when Nicole Kidman was putting her life back together after a devastating break up with Tom Cruise;  and I love it just as much today when life finds the gorgous actress blissfully in love and starting a family with country music star Keith Urban.

I guess there’s a lot to be said for keeping your head up and your eyes on the road ahead.  You never know what (or who) is headed your way.

When bad things… things that are out of our control… happen to us we have choices to make.  The choices we make will determine just how “bad” the “bad” will be AND just how much of our future it will touch.

These choices are pretty clear.  We can either…

….get bitter or get better. 

…..move forward or fall back.

…..learn from it or lean on it.

If you think of life as a long and winding road, disappointments and disasters can be thought of as anything that interferes with the ebb and flow of your trip.  Just as a road trip can be affected by rain, road work, vehicular malfunctions, other drivers, and detors - life has plenty of bumps as well.  Things that make you say, “This isn’t how I planned it!!”  

Of course, in both instances, sometimes you simply lose your way.  Times when you have to regroup, remind yourself where you want to go and then drive off into the sunset again - vowing to hit your mark this time!

The point is, there will be problems ahead and they’re not all bad.  If nothing else, they keep things interesting and keep us on our toes.  They can even, if we handle them properly,  make us better - but if we allow ourselves to be overcome by them, they’ll make us bitter and angry, neither of which is very attractive.  Sometimes, in the words of Nicold Kidman’s dad, we have to realize, “It is what it is, it’s not what it should have been, not what it could have been, it is what it is.”

Stewing over situations doesn’t change them…it only changes us, and never for the better.  Let it go and move on.  Go forward, don’t stand still, and never, ever try to go back.

Not only should we choose better over bitter and forward over backward, we should pay extra attention to how we “play” the last choice as well.  We have to make certain that we LEARN from disappointments rather than LEAN on them.  They aren’t crutches or excuses - they’re lessons.  They aren’t tickets excusing us from doing our best, they’re trumpets encouraging us to stand up and give our absolute best. 

* A couple of new articles have been added to the  Aticles Section.

I love this story:

Henry Kissinger asked an aide to prepare a report for him. The aide toiled away until his report was finished.  Not long after receiving the report, Mr. Kissinger returned it to the aide with a note that read, “Redo it.”

The aide worked day and night and redid the report.  Again, it was delivered to Mr. Kissinger, who, again, returned it with the same note.

The diligent aide redid the report and asked to see Mr. Kissinger, himself, face to face.  After handing over the report, the aide told him, “I have completed this report three times, and this is the best job I can do.” 

Kissinger replied, “In that case, I’ll read it now.”

I’d say the moral of the story is to never, ever, ever settle for less than the best - from anyone else OR from yourself.  Yes, even if you have to make an arse of yourself.

By the by, I apologize for the infrequent posts lately - I’ve been busy dodging some pretty heavy spitballs from life for one thing.  For another, I’ve been redoing TMFC and working on Self Help Daily’s Articles Section.

Keep on keeping on. Git ‘er done. Winners never quit and quitters never win. Don’t stop now! Keep plugging away…

We’ve all been there - times we would have choked on any combination of the words above. Face it, a lot of times, saying the words is easier than plugging the words.

But plug we must! After all, if we don’t, there’s no telling what fortunes we may miss out on. The story below is an excerpt from Napoleon Hill’s infamous and oft-printed classic, “Think and Grow Rich.” It’s a “golden” illustration of this very subject. (The last two sentences beg to be written down and memorized.)  Keep Reading….

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!

The following is an article I recently added to the SHD article section. It inspired me and I think it’ll do the same for you! 

by Ton Pascal

Just after publishing my first ebook, Dream Your Life Positively which dealt basically with the universal laws of attraction, a good friend asked me: Does it means that all disasters, diseases, or personal loss are a reflection of my thoughts?

The world we live in is our responsibility I said.

We act and interact with the other inhabitants of this planet. By direct or indirect connection, these negative energy waves cross your path. It is not the ACT itself of this negative energy the important factor.

You are not to be blamed for all the horrors happening in your life or around the world but your ACTION and reaction towards them is very much a direct cause of how these energies will decrease or increase.   [ Continue Reading ]

I added a new article this morning to the Articles Section.  It’s by one of my favorite online publishers, Jim Edwards.  It (e-mail) addresses a subject that pokes us all in the side.  See Is E-Mail Ruining Your Life?