Perspective. Is How You Look At It Really How It Is?

It took me a couple of reads to get this . . . Yowww. My brain hurts. (Grins) It definitely has an effect on your perspective.

Points and More Points of View
By Sheri Rosenthal

Have you seen Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11? The fantastic lesson in this movie, as I see it, is the opportunity to see how many ways you can write history while an element of truth is still present in each story and point of view. For example, after watching this film, I can easily say how much of a dope President Bush is, yet if someone who liked the President would make a film, the story would be completely different.

Selective use of “information” is what creates the story either way. It is important to keep this in mind because this is the same method we use to create the story of our lives!

President Bush may have gone to that elementary school the day the bombing occurred, but did he really sit in there like that? Where did that clip come from and who filmed it? Is that really the bigger picture of what happened? Who knows? I certainly don’t.

He is sharing a piece of information which may be truth, but the context is gone. Even if we could have been there to actually see what happened in the classroom itself, would there be agreement amongst us as to what “really” happened? I think not!

I imagine us all as computer programs that are constantly in the process of qualifying, analyzing, pigeonholing, and assessing everything we perceive with our senses. The mind is a wonderful gift of being human, yet we do not put this gift in the “proper” context.

Just because we run something we perceive through our mind/computer doesn’t mean the conclusion the program comes to is the truth. The conclusion is simply the result the multiple permutations the program goes through based on learned formulas.

In other words all the stuff you “know” and what you believe you have experienced (from your point of view of course) is qualifying what you are currently seeing and experiencing in every moment! How can the conclusions of a slanted computer be accurate? It simply cannot.

Based on this, I recognize that everything I perceive and run through my program is no longer the truth. It is truth from my point of view of course, but not “the truth.” By “the truth” I mean simply “what is,” without the world of concepts superimposed upon it.

Once you put concepts upon the “what is” you distort it and make it into something else – a story. Of course, the cleaner the information in your program is the easier it will be to move through your life seeing what is, rather than seeing what you want to see!

I am guessing right about now that you are wondering how you can possibly walk through the world without your mind telling you what’s going on, but you can do it!

If you can practice just seeing, without the judgment and commentary from your mind (better known as thinking), you will find that you must use your feelings and heart to interact with the world. The trick to doing this is having total detachment from the mind; otherwise you will feel all kinds of emotions based on what is in your subconscious mind even if you “think” you’re not thinking!

To gain clarity about your life, it’s necessary to see all points of view for what they are. Detach from all the concepts and agreements you’ve made about everything in your story or anyone else’s story.

Go ahead - take a chance and experiment with perceiving life from a different point of view!

Dr. Sheri Rosenthal is a master Toltec teacher and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Toltec Wisdom. Having trained with don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, she currently takes students on spiritual journeys, works with personal apprentices and enjoys being extremely happy. You can reach her at info@sherirosenthal.com or at http://www.sherirosenthal.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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The Power Of Positive Habits
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Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Ezine
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/
--------------------

Are You Being Authentic? How Do You Know?

Top Ten Ways to Live Authentically
By Ann Ronan

1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.

2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals - – check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? List your top four needs and get them met!

4. Know your passions
Honor those things that make your heart sing. Whatever it is, do more of it!

5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind.

6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths.

7. Take time to play
Give yourself time to recharge doing things you love to do or by just doing nothing.

8. Be aware of your self-talk
Are you blocking your potential? Check out your first thoughts when you wake up. Are they supportive, encouraging or positive? Choose the kind of chatter that’s goes on in your mind. Become aware of the negative messages you give yourself. Gently catch them and turn them into positive affirmations.

9. Surround yourself with inspiration
Keep a success journal. Write down your four or five greatest strengths and post them where you can see them. On the last Friday of each month, write down all your accomplishments both big and small.

10. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit – your essence.

Copyright 2005 Ann Ronan

Ann Ronan, Ph.D., RScP is a Religious Science Practitioner. Join her in an ongoing Science of Mind Study Group by telephone http://www.authenticlifeinstitute.com for more info.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Ezine
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/

Need A Productivity Boost? Try The Four D's Habit!

Be More Productive . . . Instantly!
by Dan Robey

Imagine how your life would improve if you were instantly more productive.

You could get more done at the office every day and maybe earn a promotion, or make more money as a result of your ability to produce more sales.

Whether you are a sales person, a CEO, or a housewife, being more productive every day can dramatically improve your life.

OK, right now you are probably saying...sounds great, how can I be instantly more productive?

It's really quite simple. To be instantly more productive you need to acquire a new habit called the 4-D habit.

What is the 4-D habit?

The 4-D habit increases your productivity instantly by helping you prioritize daily tasks and get more done in a shorter period of time.

Here is how it works.

Each day we are all faced with new tasks that must be acted upon. Your boss calls you and asks you to prepare a sales report, your child calls and asks you to help him or her with a difficult school project, your husband wants you to find a better deal on car insurance.

How you act upon the tasks you are presented with each day determines how productive you will be. Make it a habit to apply the 4-D's as listed below to each task.

Number One

Do it now - take immediate action, perform the task right away.

Number Two

Dump it Now - this task is simply not important enough for your time. Dump it and move on.

Number Three

Delegate It - this task can be performed by someone else, give that person or persons the task. Many people make the mistake of trying to perform all the tasks they are given. The ability to properly delegate is what turns managers into CEO's.

Number Four

Defer the Task - This task must be done by you, but it can wait. Use the free time you have gained by not performing this task right away and perform other high priority tasks instead.

Get in the habit of applying the 4-D decision making tool to every task presented to you and watch your productivity soar!

About the Author:

Dan Robey is the author of the Best-Selling book "The Power of Positive Habits" now published in 22 countries worldwide. There are dozens and dozens of scientifically researched postive habits that can change your life in Dan's book. To learn more and subscribe to a complementary e-course on Positive Habits go to: www.thepowerofpositivehabits.com

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*NEW!* -- Audio Motivation

Join Audio Motivation and hear exclusive interviews from the greatest names in personal development. Leap onto the fast track to success with dynamic, exciting audio motivation messages with AudioMotivation.com. Listen to Audios with Success Teachers and today's movers and shakers and keep yourself at the top of your Game. Find out more today.

---

Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Ezine
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/.

Are Your Goals Exciting?

Are Your Goals Exciting?
By Jim Donovan

This may sound like a strange question, but are you really excited about your goals? Of course, I'm making the assumption that you have already invested the time to think about what you want your life to be like and identified some of your goals in several areas. If not, please do this immediately. If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there.

Having written goals will change your life; I guarantee it! Spend some time thinking about what you'd like your life to be like. For the sake of this exercise, let's set goals you'd like to have accomplished one year from now. Of course, you can set shorter and longer goals as well.

What would you like for your relationships? How about your health, career, and finances? How about your mind and emotions? What would you like to experience? What would you like to do, be, or have? Invest some time now to identify these things and write them down. This will greatly increase the likelihood of your accomplishing them.

If you want to know more about this, there are lots of books, including mine, to help you. That's not really the topic of this story, however, I'm asking you now to revisit your goals, particularly your short-term, six month to one year ones.

Do they make you want to jump out of bed each day eager to get going? Recently, I was feeling "less than great." I was even bordering on becoming depressed, something I rarely experience. I felt unmotivated, and wound up being pretty sick for several weeks.

Upon closer examination, and because I agree with Plato that an unexamined life is not worth living, I realized one of the things that I had done was to reset some of my short-term goals to be "more realistic."

I think I believed what I was hearing about the current economic situation. Of course, some of what "they" are saying is true. Some people are experiencing an economic downturn. Interestingly enough, the Horchow Catalog, a collection of some of the highest priced, one-of-a-kind items you can find, is expecting another year of double-digit growth.

This is as compared to a 1 or 2% for the rest of the catalog industry. They were quoted as saying that "there are always well-healed people willing to pay for fine things." Obviously, not everyone believes in the economic downturn!

What I had noticed about myself was that in the interest of being realistic, I had lowered my expectations. While this may seem like a reasonable thing to do, in reality, it left me totally uninspired and feeling pretty unmotivated about my goals.

For example, if you have a goal of making enough money to "pay the bills" how exciting is that? Is that going to make you jump out of bed in the morning saying, "oh wow, I can't wait to get going, so I can make money and pay the bills!" I doubt it.

When I understood what I was doing, I immediately set new goals. I set goals that were way beyond my reach. Goals that were huge enough to really get my juices going.

Now, when I think about my new, bigger goals, I get excited just imaging what it would feel like reaching them and what my life would be like having accomplished them. I get jazzed just thinking about my new income goals, for example.

And even if I don't fully reach it, I know I will go way beyond what I might have accomplished and will feel better along the way. After all, isn't feeling good what it's all about.

Now, go get your journal, and let's start setting some new goals for the coming year. Following is a simple exercise to help you become clear about your goals and begin creating the life you've always wanted.

1. Write what you don't want. This will help you get clear about what you do want. Afterwards, you may want to throw this list away.

2. Write what you want. List everything you want to do, be, and have for the upcoming year and beyond.

3. Write each goal in the form of an affirmation. Do goals in all the major areas of your life - spirituality, health, relationships, social, career, things, and money.

4. Next to each one, write why you want this and how you will feel when you have accomplished it.

5. Write at least one action you can take right now to move toward your goal. What simple step can you take immediately (today)?

Each day, read your list of goals, concentrating on the feelings associated with having them. Feelings like freedom, value, love, secure, safe, prosperous, etc. The more you can feel the feelings your goal will produce, the faster you can draw it to you.

After you reread your goals and are feeling the good feelings associated with having them, ask yourself, "What is the next action I can take to move toward this?" Do this daily and watch your life change.

If you had all the information and tools you needed to live your dream life, would you use them? Yes? Click here ==> www.jimdonovan.com/ebookoffer.html

© 2004 Jim Donovan — PO Box 1147, Buckingham, PA 18912 — (215) 794-3826

Jim Donovan is the author of "Handbook to a Happier Life, a motivational speaker and coach. For a no cost bonus product & more, visit http://www.JimDonovan.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Decisions To Live By

I like to visit the TLS Forum and suck up some inspiration from time to time. I found a great doctrine to live by and printed it out so that I could get into the meat of it. It is not that long, but it is full to the brim with life wisdoms.

It is called Seven Decisions, and in these 7 posts one could study for years and still get something new from them each time. Check it out and if you're a member of the forum, post your thoughts.

I think these would be great to start a discussion on.

Al

Shield Yourself From Crippling Negativity

Are You a Trash Can for Others' Negativity?

Carmen, a client of mine, told me at the end of one of her sessions, “I’m no longer willing to be a trash can for others’ negativity.”

“Wow!” I said. “I’m delighted to hear that! And I love that metaphor!”

Carmen is a lovely, warm, intelligent and compassionate young woman in her late 20’s. Coming from a very narcissistic mother, Carmen learned early in life to be safe from her mother’s anger by listening to her mother’s complaints. She learned to put aside her own feelings and be a mother to her mother.

Of course, no matter how much she gave to her mother, it was never enough. It wasn’t until Carmen started her inner work that she discovered was narcissism was.

Early in our work together, Carmen discovered that most of her friends were just like her mother. “ I sit and listen to them complain or listen to them brag. They are never interested in me at all. If I say anything about myself, they always bring it right back to themselves. Why are so many of my friends like this?”

“Because you are willing to listen without speaking up for yourself. There are many self-absorbed people, narcissistic people with entitlement issues, who just love it when someone is willing to listen to them.

As long as you are willing to listen their complaints and support their self-centeredness, they will continue to do it.”

“But if I speak up, I won’t have any friends.”

“Well, you might not have many friends for awhile, but eventually you will find new friends – people who really care about you. When you are willing to care about yourself instead of putting yourself aside, you will attract people who care about you.

But this will take time. You need to be willing to lose others rather than continue to lose yourself. Do you think you are ready to do this?”

“Yes! I don’t want to be a trash can anymore. I don’t want people dumping their negativity onto me anymore.”

How do you feel inside when you allow others to dump their negativity - their complaints, their anger, their self-centeredness and sense of entitlement onto you? If you really look inside instead of pushing your own feelings into a closet, you will discover that you feel really lonely with these people. There is no mutual support, no sharing of love, no mutual giving and receiving.

You give and they take, and you end up feeling drained and lonely. Yet you hang in there for fear of being alone with no friends or no partner.

If you are really honest with yourself, you will find that it’s not worth it – that you deserve better than to be a trash can for others’ negativity.

It takes faith and courage to speak up for yourself. It takes courage to say to your friend who is dumping her negativity onto you, “This doesn’t feel good. Whenever we are together all you do is complain or talk on and on about yourself. You are never interested in me at all, and this is no longer okay with me. Either this needs to change or I don’t want to spend time with you. It’s not fun for me and I just end up feeling used and drained.”

When you become willing to speak up for yourself, you will discover who really are your friends and who was just using you. Some people may say, “I’m so grateful you told me this. I didn’t realize I was doing this. I want to stop, and I would appreciate your pointing it out to me next time I do it.” Others will go into denial and say, “That’s not true. I listen to you all the time.” Others will just get angry and go away.

It’s a great way to discover who your friends really are!

By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" and “Healing Your Aloneness.” She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or email her at margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone Sessions Available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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Audio Motivation

Join Audio Motivation and hear exclusive interviews from the greatest names in personal development. Leap onto the fast track to success with dynamic, exciting audio motivation messages with AudioMotivation.com. Listen to Audios with Success Teachers and today's movers and shakers and keep yourself at the top of your Game. Find out more today.

---

Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Ezine
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/.
--------------------

Time Is A Valuable Asset - Are You Giving It The Attention It Deserves?

Time - Your Most Valuable Asset in the War against Procrastination

Research shows that people spend most of their time and effort working on activities that have nothing to do with the success of their projects.

I'm convinced that procrastination is the main reason people fail to live richer lives.

If you want to get serious about eliminating the habit of procrastination, you can start right now by recognizing that your most valuable asset is time.

Learn how to use your time efficiently. Make sure that people know when you don't want to be interrupted-don't blame other people when you don't have enough time to finish a task.

When you miss a deadline, plan how you're going to finish the remainder of the work instead of making excuses about why you didn't get it done on time. - Then do it.

Procrastination is a No. 1 cause of stress.

Do you ever wonder why the most successful entrepreneurs-people like Bill Gates, for instance-always seem so relaxed in interviews and public appearances?

They work harder than most of us and they make billion-dollar decisions that the rest of us will never have to face in life, yet they never seem stressed out, worried, or depressed. Why not?

Research shows that high stress levels are caused when too many things are left undone. That's why habitual procrastinators always complain about chronic fatigue-putting things off creates enormous stress in our lives, which manifests itself as fatigue.

Break down your long-term goals into manageable segments and milestones. Without measuring your progress on long-term goals, you can easily delude yourself into believing that you're making good progress when you're just spinning your wheels.

Setting project milestones is a good way to measure your progress and stay focused.

Reserve some time each day for working on your long-term projects.

Spend most of your time on the things that need to be done this week, but try to spend some time each day on work that helps you make progress toward your long-term goals.

The tasks that help you achieve long-term goals are easy to leave undone. They don't seem urgent in the way that telephone calls seem urgent, but they usually represent our most important goals in life.

In many cases, these larger goals get pushed off the radar screen by the countless distractions and "urgent" but unimportant things that demand our attention throughout the day.

You need to spend 75 to 80% of your time on jobs you have to wrap up this week.

But dedicate the rest of your time to projects that need to be finished in the next six months. Have you set milestones for these projects? How are you measuring your progress on each project?

Always ask yourself: What have I learned about the consequences of procrastination, based on the decisions I made-or failed to make-yesterday?

Never lose sight of what's most important in life.

Ask yourself every day: If I only get one thing done today, what must that one thing be?

Then . . . get it done.

Whatever it takes, DO IT!

----------------------------------------

You can listen to this article. The audio has been recorded here.

Talk to you next time.

To What End Are You Headed And How Are You Getting There?

Good story over on Brad Isaac's "Achieve It" Blog today, if you havent read it yet check it out at Two Old Men. It really drives home how differently two friend's life can turn out as they age. Decisions you are making now are IMPORTANT!

And I found another great post over on Mike Hyatt's "From Where I Sit" Blog yesterday. He takes us through his method of Getting Things Done. This man is CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, so there are real tools here also. Check out his post at My Current Workflow System

Both of these are great Blogs and I follow them regularly. The tips they reveal have helped me change my life considerably.

Anyway, just wanted to get this out quickly, got to get onto other business . . .

Need More Motivation? Take Pictures Of Your Goals

Do you take lots of pictures of your Goals? How would you like to come home to this after a hard day's work? Maybe a second home right on the beach? Think about it!

If you don't have pictures of your goals then you are missing out on some great motivational material.

By the way this picture was taken on the west coast of BC, Canada (west coast of Vancouver Island specifically) Not too far away for us from Richmond, in the Metro Vancouver area.

We come up here every winter for a weekend or sometimes longer to stay during storm season. The wave action is awesome when the storms hit!

Take pictures and keep copies up wherever you spend time, and definitely keep them in your planners.

If you need more info on how to keep yourself motivated, check out Reasons That Move You Bring Clarity, Focus, Determination and Momentum, an old article of mine.

Ever Have The Feeling That You're Underqualified?

Yowser!

Sometimes I feel dwarfed by the quality of information that is being posted around the net by people much smarter I . . .

What the heck am I doing here when there are already so many much better qualified people writing such good stuff?

Well, that bit of self talk really did me some good huh?

Anyway here is another great post over at Zen Habits about Habit Change. And it is thorough and expertly written. Check it out if you have any habits that need changing.

Talking myself out of doing what I enjoy will always motivate me to do more, yeah . . .

OK, I'm over it now. (the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy that is) I'm back!

If you don't understand what I am getting at, that's OK. Sometimes I don't even understand me.

But . . . I'm going for it anyway!

Productivity Laws - Consistency and Smart Purposeful Action

I noticed a couple of great posts on Life Hacker this morning and just had to share them with you.

One reveals how Jerry Seinfeld has used The Law Of Consistency in his long outstanding career and the other shows you how to use The Laws Of Productivity to increase your goal results exponentially.

By the way Life Hacker is one of my favorites, subscribe to their feed for regular updates. Check them out, they are awesome posts!

Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret

6 Rules To Work Less And Get More Accomplished

How To Say "NO" When You Need To

There are times in our life when we just need to say "NO" to a request from someone wanting some of our time or effort, or take us into a situation we just don't want to be in.

Here are a few ideas that can take you out of that situation and let them know that you do care about them, so they don't get the wrong idea.

Say No With Grace and Compassion

The hard part of saying "no," especially to friends and family, is that you simply don't want to hurt someone. After all, you think, they wouldn't have asked if they didn't really need or want it, would they? And, as social beings, most of us want to be helpful. Helping is part of survival for the family and community. It's bred into us at home, and reinforced in school, on T.V. and in all sorts of literature.

Also, we've been trained to consider saying "no" to be rude. Unacceptable. Provocative. We get that notion reinforced by the number of people who show anger or disappointment when we say it. Additionally, we get anxious when people are angry or disappointed with us. We feel guilty when someone obviously feels rejected.

If that weren't enough, many, many folks take "no" as a challenge or as a starting point for negotiation. In fact, salespeople are specifically taught to take "no" as the opening salvo in a battle to get to "yes." (Of course, if you are a parent, you already understand the challenge process and tactics from in-depth experience.)

Add all of that to the abiding human need to be needed, and you've got a whopper of a problem about saying "no."

Nevertheless, for whatever reason -- and just not wanting to do it is good enough -- you have to say "no." So you want to do it well. You want to be firm and believable. You want to have your "no" be accepted and unchallenged. You want everyone to walk away feeling good about it. Or at least without any resentments or damage to the relationship.

So, here are a couple of techniques you can use to put yourself in a good frame of mind and mode of communication to be both compassionate and graceful in refusing a request or offer:

• Smile. Smile a genuine, grateful smile of appreciation for having been asked to be of help. Say "no" in with a tone and attitude that reflects the gratitude of your smile.

• Imagine having to saying "no" to someone you love and really want to help. Picture it in full color detail. See that person's face and allow yourself to feel your affection and good will for him or her. Practice various ways of saying "no" while in that caring state of mind. Use the same image in the real situation as well as in practicing.

Try practicing variations on some of the following to find your own "no" voice. Get a variety of friends to practice with you and give you feedback on how you're doing. (One practice partner is not enough -- you need to practice with several people who have different perspectives. And, by the way, if someone you ask to help says "no," accept the refusal graciously.)

Ways to phrase refusals:

• Generic: "Thank you for thinking of me, but no, I just can't. Let me suggest someone else who might."

• Generic: "Sorry, but I just don't have the time right now. I think X might help out. Do you want his phone number?"

• Generic: "I'd like to help, but I'm not able to now. Is there another time that I could work with you on that?"

• Invitations to do something you don't like, by someone you do like: "Thanks, but the truth is I really hate baseball (or ballet or opera or whatever). Let's plan to do something we both like, some other time."

• When asked to do something that's just plain wrong (cheating, fraud, harmful lies, etc.): "No, I'm not willing to do that, and I'm concerned that you might be harmed (get in trouble) if you do that. Are you open to other suggestions?"

Take the time to write out a list of refusals of your own, similar to the ones above. Make sure to practice them so that you can deliver them calmly and kindly in the real situation and so that you are always prepared to say "no" effectively.

Be warned: no matter how compassionate and caring you are, some people won't take no for an answer and you'll still end up with a power struggle. Some people will be hurt. Some people will be resentful. And sometimes relationships will end when you don't give the other person what they want. You can only do your best.

by C.S. Clarke

C.S. Clarke, Ph.D. is a psychologist and publisher of http://www.Superperformance.com a Performance Impact, Inc. property. http://www.Superperformance.com publishes human performance and self-improvement articles, link directories, e-books, and many other tools for improving human performance and productivity, for career development, and for personal achievement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=C.S._Clarke,_Ph.D.

Integrity, Are You Authentic?

I come back to today's article from time to time so that I can stay on top of my game and keep doing the right things instead of just doing things right. I ask myself these questions regularly.

Give it a shot . . . Today, ask yourself these questions from this article.

How can I do better?
How can I do more of the things I should be doing, and less of the things I should not be doing?
What do I do that I could or should stop doing?
What do I not do that I could or should be doing?
What could or should I do less of?
What could or should I do more of?

Write down your thoughts. Then again ask yourself, "How can I do better?" Whatever the answer is, make the effort to increase the good and reduce the bad, one step at a time.

Go For It! Here is the article from Thea Westra

Integrity

"Wisdom is knowing what path to take next. Integrity is taking it." (Robyn Elpruhzlein)

"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters." (Alan Simpson)

"The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into our mind, but how to get the old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it." (Dee Hock)

You know that wonderful feeling? Sitting down at the end of a day when you have accomplished a mountain of tasks. Those one’s you’ve been meaning to attend do for months, sometimes even years! It gives a real sense of freedom and lightness. This feeling is a source of power.

The foundation of creativity and designing your own life and success, is integrity. Integrity, not defined simply as basic honesty and truthfulness. Integrity is also an intrinsic knowledge that all is right with your world.

Is your environment in complete alignment with your values and intent? (Include in your environment, the people in your life!).

What do you do that you could/should stop doing?
What do you not do that you could/should be doing?
What could/should you do more of?
What could/should you do less of?

Make a list of all areas in your life that require regular attention e.g. personal grooming, nutrition, exercise, finance, home environment, car, partners, family, friends etc.

Under each then list specific items/tasks which want regular attention e.g. balance cheque book, pay bills, wash car, vacuum house, unclutter wardrobes, cut hair, visit dentist, plan menu & shopping etc.

If you are using the services of a life coach, they may have access to the Clean Sweep program. This list is an excellent resource, so why not ask me or visit my website? Having access to a computer and Excel means your personally created list can be regularly and easily updated.

Whenever you feeling a loss of power and energy in your life, rate yourself against your list. Is your score greater or less than the last time you checked yourself against these measures? It may be time to get your environment in order and energise yourself for those things you’d really like to do.

2005 © Thea Westra is an international life coach who resides in Perth, Australia. She is editor and publisher of a free, monthly newsletter which you can receive by going to her website http://www.forwardsteps.com.au She also publishes a blog called Triggers http://forwardsteps.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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You’ve Been Lied To: Time Can’t Be 'Managed'

I just wanted to point you over to another new resource by Dave Navarro. Check out his new "30 Hours A Day" time management site. I've known Dave for a few years now and he always gives great value.

He is giving away a FREE 25 page report "How To Turn Your 24 Hour Day Into a 30 Hour Day", and a FREE portion of his new program coming in December - some great audios which will teach you some real "time management" skills.

While you are over there just sign up for his time management ezine. I always love reading Dave's ezines, he shoots straight to the heart of a strategy and shows you great super effective shortcuts!

Here is a small excerpt to let you know what to expect from his style of writing.

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You’ve Been Lied To: Time Can’t Be “Managed”

All right, maybe “lied to” is a little harsh … but I wanted to be sure I got your attention. Maybe “socially misinformed” is closer to what’s happened.

There’s a reason that you (and so many others) feel like time management is so hard … it’s because time cannot be managed. It can’t be slowed down, or sped up, or stockpiled or saved … it’s always ticking away. You can’t control it … or even manage it at all.

Don’t get me wrong, though – I’m not saying that “time management” is a scam – far from it. It’s just a poor choice of terms because it implies that you can have leverage over time … which you can’t.

What you can manage, however, are the results you get from your time. You can manage those like crazy. And when you get it right, you can do practically anything.

In other words, it’s not about “time management” … it’s about results management. It’s about getting more done in the same amount of time … and that’s how you get to your “30 Hour Day.”

( if you haven’t picked up your “More Time” kit, go to www.your30hourday.com right now. )

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I had an opportunity to review Dave's work on another project some time ago. Here is what I said about Dave's products then, and it still holds today.

"Dave takes volumes of information, organizes it, and breaks it out into easy workable systems that anyone can implement. His worksheets are so easy to use because they are set up in a checklist system that helped me get the information out of my head, organized, and down on paper.

Also, I enjoyed the live examples and stories he told to give the ideas clarity. It was very easy to picture from his descriptive writing.

At times I've practiced most of these strategies, but never have I been able to put them all together into such a "no brainer" system. With this program I have been able to proactively put together a system to insure that I will always have the time and energy for everything I want to accomplish every day all day long.

It is like having a manual at your side ready to review any time you need assistance. It reminds me of the old saying about how good McDonalds' training system is. "Don't worry if you burn the fries, just turn to page 6 and follow the directions." Meaning - If I get off track, I can just refresh my approach by going back through the program.

I believe that with enough leverage, you can move mountains. Dave shows you how to get it."

Al Smith

Say No To Procrastination . . .Go Get Your Goals Now!

I always like a good article on Procrastination, especially if it includes tips on mastering and overcoming our tendencies to procrastinate. Denise is short and to the point in this article today, and it has 10 tips for avoiding procrastination and get you motivated to take action.

Say No to Procrastination

The word procrastination comes from the Latin Pro - in favour of and Cras - tomorrow. Is that you? Are you putting things off?

What has procrastination been costing you?

• Your health
• Your relationships
• Your energy
• Your finances
• Your career
• Or is it just plain wasting your time

You are not alone, would you be surprised to know that nearly everyone procrastinates one way or another!

You need to ensure that whatever it is you are procrastinating about is something you really want, need or have to do. Sometimes we tell ourselves we are procrastinating when sometimes we are just plain tired or haven't got the concentration at that moment.

Make sure you recognize the difference.

Remember procrastination means 'putting things off', not just delaying things. When you delay things you are saying you will do it later, that is different to avoiding the task altogether.

I started to do that myself. I had a job that really needed doing and not only did it need doing I wanted to do it, to get it out of the way - but I was just too tired and I knew that if I did it whilst I was that tired - I wouldn't do it properly.

I did ask myself: Was I procrastinating (putting it off) or was I really tired? Well I had a good rest, got up and did the job, documented my accounts perfectly - all reconciled and no mistakes! Done!

Tips to keep motivated and avoid procrastination
1. Tell yourself you will do the task and keep your word to yourself.
2. Reward yourself for completing the task
3. Know that you can get into good habits by completing the task
4. Chunk down the task into small pieces
5. Set time limits
6. Look away from the fact that you need to be perfect
7. Visualise how you will feel once you have completed the task
8. Find the inspiration which will make you begin the task
9. Ask yourself how quickly you would do the task if you were doing it for somebody else.
10. Just set a time and do it

by Denise Vogel

How much do you want to change your life - do you believe you haven't got the answers - you do! Together we can find these answers. I am the person who can help you. I have been a life coach for 2 years, training with the Coaching Academy, one of the top coaching schools in Europe. My passion is people who want to get the most out of their lives.

For more information, go to my website: Denise Vogel and see how we can work together to get the most from your life.

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