Recently my husband and I got caught up in the rip off game
of one of these lending companies in order to save our
checking account from overdraft fees. That’s another
incident of injustice! We borrowed a certain amount and had
to pay them back almost double when we were done! These
people know they have you right where they want you and
you are their prey. I can honestly say, that will never happen
again!

The prophet Isaiah was given visions and messages from
God that always come to pass. God is not a God that should
be mocked. If we only take the time to hear what He says,
none of this would be happening, but it is, just as God said
it would.

The human race seems to think that he can rule the world,
but herein lies the first fault of man. Without God you can do
nothing. God already knows the condition of our hearts and
that is why He told Isaiah that in time, there will be those
who deal treacherously with others. Isaiah starts out in Is.
33:1 “Woe to you, O destroyer, you who were not yourself
destroyed, who deal treacherously though they (your victims)
did not deal treacherously with you!”

When I see the word, “Woe” it makes me do just that, stop
and take notice of what is being said. I dare not miss what
God wants me to know. This chapter goes on to talk about
what will happen in the land of injustice when those who are
out for greed and capital gain will be destroyed. The Lord
promises that His name will be exalted.

“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion
with justice and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude
in every area and relation.” Is. 33:5 (Amplified)

Right now God is giving us time to repent and turn from our
treachery of others. But the time is coming, we don’t know
exactly when, that God promises He is going to return and
set this world right. Those who don’t acknowledge Who He
is through Jesus Christ will be burned up like chaff.

The moral decline of our society is growing rapidly on a daily
basis. It’s normal to watch the news and hear about killings
of innocent men, women and children. We have grown
accustomed to it. This is a dangerous place to be. Our
children are growing up seeing and hearing so much more
than my generation did. But, God promises to bring all this
treachery and injustice to an end. Even our judicial system
is leaning on the corrupt through years of exposure to the
things that doesn’t include God. How do they think they can
judge and rule when God is not in the picture?

“For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the
Lord is our King; He will save us.” Is.33:22

Only Christ can judge and give the laws, only He can save
us. Where do men get off thinking that they can do a job that
only God can do? What does God say about this kind of
thinking? First He tells us what this mentality will produce
and we see it happening already.

“You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble; your breath is a
fire that consumes you. And the people will be burned as if
to lime, like thorns cut down that are burned in the fire.”
Is.33:12-13 (Amplified)

We are birthing more sin in our lives by accepting the things
we see and hear on the media. It’s our attitude that whatever
makes you happy is alright with me. People even in high
places are being caught up in their lies to protect
themselves. But sooner or later, it will catch up with you.
People have lost their reputations, their livlihoods by their
treacherous acts.

No one is excempt! No matter how much money you may
have, no matter what kind of political pull you may have, no
matter who you may know, none of this is going to save you
in the end! It’s whether or not you know Jesus.

“Hear, you who are far off (says the Lord), what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge My might!” Is.33:13
(Amplified)

In the next couple verses it says basicaly this, those who are
sinners will tremble and be afraid. Who can save them
now? But, those who walk in the will of God, which is upright
and righteous,those who despise all the fraud and
oppression of innocent people and will not be bribed into
doing anything of the sort, this man will God put upon His
fortress. This man will certainly know God’s might!

“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; (your eyes) will
behold a land of wide distance that stretches afar.” Is.33:17
(Amplified)

God foretold of His might coming to rule over this land that
has claimed it’s own ‘in’justice system. Any man who has
not dealt honestly with himself, with others and with God will
be left to God’s final judgement. This is real justice!

It’s God’s Word that states the outcome quite clearly. He
promises that one day when Christ comes back to rule in
the New Jerusalem that only those who serve Him will be
present in that day.

“You will see no more that fierce and insolent people, a
people of a speech too deep and obscure to be
comprehended, of a strange and stammering tongue that
you cannot understand.” Is.33:19 (Amplified)

When God gets done having His way, the way He has
promised, there will be no more double talking, back
stabbing, vindictive people left on earth to even question
God.

God promises to set up His tent that shall never be taken
down and neither shall any of its cords be broken. He
promises to be here for us in majesty and splendor.

When I read God’s Word, it makes me want to be more like
Christ in every way every day. This doesn’t sound like a God
that I can ignore nor want to try.

“And no inhabitant (of Zion) will say, I am sick; the people
who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity and guilt.”
Is.33:23 (Amplified)

One day the King of glory will return to rule and reign and
this land of injustice will be no more. Those who decide to
come to Christ with repentance in their hearts can no longer
say they are sick or poor or hungry or lonely. There will be no
rip off lending companies who are unforgiving of other’s
inability to repay them. Everyone will be an equal. God
promises us all an inheritance that will free us from all
impending doom and gloom of this world as we know it.

I for one can’t wait for justice to return to it’s rightful place.
What about you? Will you stand firm in your beliefs? Now is
the time for action.

The fires of life will not destroy you if you’re watered by the
River of Life.

Vivian Gordon writes articles pertaining to God’s
instructions and the examples He has given us in order
to grow on this Christian walk with Him. She hopes that
they can inspire the Christian to grow spiritualy and
maturely in their lives.

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The word “negotiation” often has a negative connotation - especially among women - because it is viewed as an adversarial process where someone will win at the expense of another. This may be true in some scenarios, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

We negotiate every day. Negotiating isn’t reserved just for big deal events like legal battles, buying a house, or getting a raise. It’s also getting your spouse to do the dishes if you agree to cook his favorite meal. It’s convincing your secretary to come in early to help you with a time sensitive project. It’s getting all your siblings to agree on where to hold your parent’s 40th wedding anniversary party. It’s deciding on the most effective office policy to reduce employee theft.

Negotiating is an every day event - a common activity. Don’t make it more than it is.

Here are 9 tricks to negotiating more successfully.

1) Being prepared is half the battle.

Walking into a negotiation unprepared almost guarantees that you will not leave with what you want. Many people leave feeling that they were “taken” or that they didn’t get what they wanted. Before you sit down at the negotiating table you should know the following things:

>What do you want?

>Why do you want it?

>What are you willing to give up if you had to?

>What are you not willing to give up, no matter what?

2) An emotional negotiator, is a bad negotiator

Have you ever gone food shopping when you are hungry? If so, you probably bought food you would have otherwise passed over, and you most likely spent more money than usual. Why? It’s because your sense of hunger eclipsed your normal buying decisions - just as emotions can overpower your negotiating effectiveness if you allow them.

When you are negotiating salary, the purchase of a new home, or which candidate to hire for a job opening, you must be sure that you do not allow your emotions to get in the way of the negotiating process. Becoming emotionally attached to an item in the negotiation will often cause negotiators to spend more, agree to unreasonable terms, give away too much, and falsely estimate value.

To help eliminate emotions during the negotiation, be sure to avoid emotionally charged language such as feel, hope, believe, and wish. Also, do your best to eliminate “I” statements from your negotiating vocabulary so you negotiation doesn’t become personal.

3) Let (or get) the other party to make the first offer.

The first offer is usually the starting place for the negotiation and will affect the process until the end. It is in your best interest not to make the first offer, though in some situations, you will have to be the first one. Allow yourself to respond to an offer, rather then setting the pace yourself.

Here are some examples of how to solicit the first offer from the other party (even when it is already listed):

>”What is the salary for this job?”

>”What is the budget for this project?”

>”The sticker price on the car is obviously negotiable, right?”

>”Why don’t we start with your best offer.”

4) Listen and really hear what the other party is saying.

By saying less and listening more, you can learn a lot about the needs of the other party.

Try to listen for and learn information about the other party such as:

>”What is important to them?”

>”Why is it important to them?”

>”What is non-negotiable?”

For example, if you were negotiating to buy a house, and you knew the seller was being relocated to another state, she may be more willing to negotiate on price due to her time constraints associated with moving.

Ask open-ended questions (the kind that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”) to learn more about the needs of the other part.

5) Align your needs with their needs

If you are able to find a connection to your needs and the needs of the other party, it will be easier to find a win-win solution. Do your best to satisfy the needs of the other party while satisfying your own.

If you have something you know the other party wants, offer it up in exchange for something you want. If you can’t give them what they want, find something else you can give them to align with their needs, so you get something to satisfy yours.

6) Creativity is key

Good negotiators are creative negotiators, though few people look past the basic elements such as price in the negotiating process. Get creative and look beyond the obvious when negotiating.

Everything is negotiable and everything has value. If you can’t get what you want, look to satisfy your needs with something that has similar value to you. The boss won’t give you a monetary raise? Ask for a company car, a better 401K match, use of the company athletic “sky box”, a better corporate title, or a key to the executive washroom.

7) If you give, you have to get

Part of a successful negotiation is making sure that each party gets to add to or subtract from their list of “gets” at the same time. Many people, especially women, say they do not like “negotiating” the purchase of a new car. This is in part because car dealers don’t negotiate, they just drop price trying to figure out what the buyer will pay. So, when the customer leaves, she’s never totally convinced she got the best deal.

Never just give something in a negotiation without getting something in return. For example, if your employer wants you to work longer hours, but says he can’t afford to pay you more, then ask for an extra week of paid vacation in exchange for the extra hours worked. Get something of value to you in return for what you are giving away. When you give something away, without anything of value returned to you, that’s not a negotiation, it’s a GIFT.

Aim high (or low) for maximum results.

The higher you aim, the more room you have to negotiate. The lower you start the more room you have to negotiate. Be optimistic during the negotiation process, but expect your first offer to be rejected, even if it was a good offer.

Keep in mind that “a ridiculous offer” is only relative to your perspective. What is an unreasonable offer to one person may be acceptable to someone else.

Expect positive results in the negotiation process and aim high. If you don’t ask, you’ll never get it.

9) Know when, and be prepared, to walk away.

If you enter the negotiating process without being willing to walk away, then you shouldn’t be negotiating at all. Know ahead of time what you are willing to walk away from and what your actual “final offer” is. Once you give that final offer, and it is rejected, you must be willing to end the negotiation.

Many times, after one party has given their final offer and “walked away” from the negotiations, the other party will come back later and accept the offer, even if they originally turned the offer down.

Have the confidence in yourself and in your negotiating strength and be willing to give a final offer and stick to it, even if it means you have to find a new job, another house, another car, or another thing to replace what you were negotiating for.

Again, don’t make negotiating more difficult than it is. Remember, you are in control the whole time and no one can make you agree to terms you are not comfortable with. You always have the option to say, “no” and walk away. Just make sure you’ve thought through your back up plan.

Kirstin Carey is a consultant, award winning speaker, and author of “PowHERful Communications for Women Who Want to be Heard.” As a woman business owner, Kirstin fully understands what is necessary for women to be successful entrepreneurs. To find out how you too can love your business everyday and live the entrepreneurial life you want, visit http://www.powherful.com

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When getting started marketing on the internet, it seems very
overwhelming. I mean with getting your website put together,
your splash page(s), your Adsense, your Adwords, Ezine
advertising, the ad tracking, writing articles, Viral
marketing, a Blog, linking, SEO, any affiliate sites,
traffic generation, autoresponders, list building and
more you might think to yourself man what am I
doing?

If you are new and trying to learn what all of the above
mentioned things are, and how to use them is like a college
education in itself. It can get really crazy and you may
feel like information overload is taking place in your mind.
This can lead to well, a lot of nothing as you become frozen
and inactive. So What do you do then. Well this should be
obvious to most but those who may be new to business in
general here are some good suggestions. Break it all down
into little pieces!

First you need to decide on what it is you will be marketing.
Is it a hard product or soft product, meaning is it shipped
or downloaded. You will need to set up your web site ready
to take orders. Learning to do it yourself is possible and
takes time. Paying someone to do it saves time and has a
definite cost attached.

Part of this process involves setting up a budget for
operating and advertising. There are many ways to
advertise for little or no out of pocket cost. One
of the best I have found has been article submissions.
Writing articles about something you love to do can
be fun as well as get the word out about your business.
Next you will want to carve out your working schedule.
When will you work your business? How many hours per
week, per day etc will you work. This is not set in
stone and can be adjusted as you move forward.

Setting your goals is very important as it gives you
the steps you need to follow day by day month by month
to progress towards success. Goals are a must
for any project be it business or personal.

One thing that has helped me is I focus on one aspect
of the marketing process at a time to completion before
starting another. So for example I want to get an
article written and submitted. I will do this once per
week. I spend about six hours on this and I do not move
to another technique until finished. I usually complete
this in one days work.

Next I will work on my Adwords or Adsense campaigns.
My point is that you can get so mixed up and confused
moreover when this happens you get discouraged. So it is
vital to keep things organized. Try to learn then setup
a different aspect of your marketing after mastering a
previous step. Do one at a time.

A very good place to learn a lot about Marketing on the
internet is the WarriorForum. There are many people who
have many years of cumulative experience that can help.
You can search thousands of topics that will address
your questions.
http://www.warriorforum.com/forum
I have personally spent many hours of research on the
WarriorForum. Another thing I like to do is check other
marketers sites and see what they are doing. I get
many great ideas from this type of research on the
WarriorForum.

Try not to spend a bunch of money on tools and ebooks.
Some tools are necessary such as an auto responder,
article submission software or ad tracker. You can
however, get by without these in the very beginning.
You can get yourself ebooks by searching and finding
free ebooks to download from the internet. All the
tools you need can be easily found on the internet.

Another great way to get started is to become an
affiliate. This way you can get a ready-made product
and in a lot of cases website. You can become an affiliate
for as many products or companies that you feel you
can handle financially as well as by how much time you
have to devote to each business. A lot of these,
once up can run on auto pilot for certain periods of
time with little effort.

Most affiliate related online businesses will provide systematic instructions that walk you through what to do to succeed. You will notice that most of the
information that you read will be focused on marketing
properly whether using Adwords to offline classified ads or
building your email list.

Finally all of this is dynamic and I consider everything
I do a test until proven successful. This is the real
beauty of the internet. You can test business models and
projects out quickly and inexpensively on-line. If one thing does
not work, move on to the next or if one ad flops tweak
it and retest. Some times, you can see a change take effect
within hours.

About The Author:
————————————————–
Copyright © Bryon Zirker
Bryon Zirker is an Entreprenuer who is interested in
starting internet businesses. Bryon has owned offline
and online businesses for over ten years.
http://www.easyworkathomebiznow.com
————————————————–
NOTE:You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the “About The Author” resource box. Thanks!

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While much of the wedding planning process focuses on the reception, don’t forget that your ceremony is the reason behind the big party! Before the big day, you will meet with your officiant or potential officiants to discuss the wedding ceremony and any pre-ceremony requirements. Discover whether the officiant is open to your ideas, and ultimately decide if the three of you want to work together. Here are the questions you must ask:

• Are there any pre-wedding requirements, such as counseling?

• What is the ceremony fee? Is the fee a donation?

• Is the officiant open to any personal ideas for ceremony? For instance, is he or she open to non-secular vows, readings or songs?

• Will the officiant give a sermon or a speech?

• Will you have input in the ceremony, and will you be allowed to review the sermon or speech beforehand?

• If you don’t already have a ceremony site, can the officiant make any recommendations?

• If the officiant is the site officiant, are there any ceremony site restrictions such as flash photography, videography, music, dress code, décor, tossing items?

• What items does the ceremony site/officiant provide, and what must you bring yourself? (pews, isle runners, microphone, etc.)

• What will the officiant wear?

• What time will he/she be available for the rehearsal?

• Should you bring your marriage license to the ceremony, or will you sign it beforehand?

Important Things to Consider

Demeanor - His or her personal demeanor should reflect the mood you envision for your wedding. Some ceremony officiants may be light and jovial often interjecting sermons or speeches with bits of humor, while some have a more formal and solemn style.

If you don’t already have a relationship with this person consider whether you like his/her style and whether you would enjoy working with this person. Remember your ceremony officiant performs the most important service at the wedding. He or she is the one who will officially pronounce you man and wife, which is the sole reason for the big event in the first place (don’t lose sight of this!). You should feel comfortable inviting this person to share such an intimate moment in your life.

Your officiant can offer guidance along the way, spiritual and non-spiritual, such as resolving family conflicts etc. Don’t hesitate to speak with your officiant regarding these personal matters.

Also consider inviting your officiant to your rehearsal dinner as well. It’s a nice gesture that will be appreciated, and if your family does not already have a relationship with your officiant - this is a great way to introduce everyone.

For a complete guide to creating an elegant and memorable wedding celebration, visit http://www.elegala.com/, your ultimate wedding planning resource.

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Shortly after my mother was born immigrant couple had moved in to the farm next door. Like all immigrants they had their rows in thier native tounge. However, when the sound of thumping as well as screaming came across the fields, a half a mile away, my grandfather decided that it was time to interviene. He didn’t want the wife being badly hurt.

Making his way accross the fields he looked in the window. The husband was flat on his back on the floor, the wife was sitting on his chest screaming her lungs out. And she had grabbed his hair and was banging his head on the floor with it. That was the thumping sound

The neibourhood stopped worrying about her welfare after that.

Almost a century later and things havent changed much.

The worst one I witnessed was a maniac girl who had cornered her boyfriend at the point of a kitchen knife and was screaming at him full blast. C mon ya gutless %^&* Hit me. Ya havent got the guts.

When she made another lunge at his he lifted a boot and shoved, (not kicked) her away. She promptly rang the police and tried to have him charged with wife bashing.

This illustrates the first point. Most people think that domestic violence and wife bashing are one and the same. In reality most domestics are pure screaming matches with the wife doing most of the screaming. A few are shovng matches with both parties shoving. And far fewer are either wife or husband bashings.
When police are allowed to speak freely they will normally say that the gender abuse is fairly evenly matched.

Why then is it still assumed that ALL domestics are wife bashing?

A second point here is illustrated by Rowntree’s “treat your man like you treat your dog” comment. Hsband bashing remains the only form of domestic violence that is socially acceptable on a large scale.

And a final point is also the definition of violence against women.

. Try this collection, of definitions of battered wives, from the Darebin Community Centre in Northcote.

• Do you feel like you are walking on eggshells?

• Are you told what to do, when to do it, what to wear?

• Do you have to account for your time?

• Are you forced to have sex when you don’t want to?

• Are you made to feel scared?

• Are you hit, kicked or pushed around? Do you have things thrown at, or near you?

• Are you cut off from family and friends?

• Is your partner possessive or jealous?

• Does your partner control you and the money?

Typical examples of wife abuse? Think again.

- The average husband DOES feel as if he’s walking on eggshells every time his bowels fail suddenly, and he makes a hasty dash from the garden to the toilet with anything on his boots. (If a wife threw up in his car, with a touch of morning sickness, and he yelled at her, it would certainly be listed as abuse.)

- The average husband is told what to do by his wife absolutely all the time. Including how to do things that she has no knowledge of.

Something goes wrong and the average wife is promptly screaming at her husband “DO SOMETHING” That’s domestic violence! That’s husband bashing!

(A great many wives still take some sort of sick pride in this form of husband bashing frequently bragging to the girlfriends about how helpless her husband would be if she wasn’t there to tell him what to do. I know I’m gettting confrontational now but how many times have you heard these control freaks, actually boasting about the way that they abuse their husbands in this manner genuinely believeing that their husbands would be lost without their nagging?)

- The average husband does have to account for his time. Each and every time he works back late. He’s routinely accused of infidelity even though he’s got the overtime money to prove otherwise. The real truth is that the workplace often feels more like a home than his home. Particularly if home means “walking on eggshells” all the time.

- The average husband is hit, kicked, and pushed around. The shelters and the law list every angry shove, by a short tempered husband, as wife bashing. Ask around your own office. Do you have a single female staff member who as NEVER, given her man an impatient shove? Including you!

- The average husband is very much cut off from family and friends. Her family is welcome in the home, his are not. His friends are usually his workmates and they are not welcomed into the home.

The Darebin Community Centre has got one thing right. All of these forms of abuse are still abuse. Blood doesn’t need to flow before abuse occurs.

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My latest book “How to Earn Money in Retirement” (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) has just been published and hits the bookstores in early May 2006.

As I was writing the mss about nine months ago it occurred to me that there might be another book lurking right there in the text. Accordingly I took notes; mentally deleting a chapter here and adding a few more there, expanding on a topic, sketching out another, and so on.

As a result of this dual tasking I started writing a new book immediately after finishing the project in hand and decided to submit a proposal sooner rather than later.

Next up I received an email from one Nick Hutchins, the freelance reader reviewing the text for “How to Earn Money in Retirement”. Nick’s message simply read, ‘Do you realize you have another book here?’ To which I equally succinctly responded, ‘Yes, I know, and I’ve just submitted a proposal’.

Now it just so happened that Nick had a meeting scheduled with the publishing house a few days hence at which he raised the subject of two books in one.

In the mail today I received a contract for the second book, “How to Grow Your Small Business Rapidly Online” with a publication date of April 2007.

The point to this dissertation is: always be on lookout for additional niche markets for the book you are currently writing and milk your idea for all it’s worth.

The first book is aimed at active retirees and the second at go-ahead small business owners in all categories. I might dig deeper to ascertain whether other niche opportunities lie dormant in the original text.

The majority of niche non-fiction topics are capable of this sort of clinical analysis and it is worth pursuing because if you get a proposal accepted for one specific niche, you will more often than not get another proposal similarly accepted if your subject matter is in similar vein.

Jim Green is an online enthusiast and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction titles to his credit. http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

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If you do your best, you probably will be the best and will become a success. You will stand out from the crowd since so few people actually get around to doing their best.

Do your best then and become a success because the average person seldom does their best and your efforts will stand out like a skyscraper amongst mud huts.

Many people spend about 80% of their free time watching TV instead of working on their skills or goals or the overwhelming chores that tend to pile up on us all.

I was at a seminar last weekend. There were 2,600 people in the audience. The organizer had given up doing workshops for smaller groups.

The reason he gave up was that out of the 30 people who attended the workshop only two would go on and put what they had learned into practice.

28 out of 30 don’t usually do their best. This gives a huge opportunity to the remaining two who take action.

Any one can make promises about what they will do. But few people actually put in the effort necessary to execute their promises to themselves or others.

Many have no idea what real effort is about. Occasionally some exceptional people show us all what humans are capable of doing if they do their best.

Paddy Doyle recently won the world’s fittest man competition. He has run, cycled and swum huge distances and has completed 3250 sit ups as well!

Very few people do any sit ups and, of those who do, few will go beyond 20.

Geoffrey Boycott, the great batsman, praised the New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum for not smiling when he had scored 50 runs. Boycott commented:

“Don’t smile till you’ve got a hundred runs; then you can smile. That’s what it’s about. Get big scores. All batsmen should keep that in mind.

When they get to 50, they should say: ‘that’s only half the job’. Get your head down and get another 50. You don’t smile until you get back in the pavilion and have got some runs.”

In other words don’t be easily satisfied. Don’t praise yourself too soon. Do more!

Tiger Woods, after the third round at the St Andrews Open in July 2000, was practising until 8.45 p.m. Even the man considered to be the best golfer in the world was not content to sit back after another successful day. He did more.

Tiger Woods has controlled his thinking from an early age and has programmed his thoughts to make him expect more and do far more than the recognized high standards of most golf professionals.

Some times it is enough to do just a little more than the average.

A few extra hours of work could make you stand out from the rest.

A writer who does a little more research or a bit more thinking about the best words to use in his or her book can transform the book.

A little more attention to detail could make a failing business successful. A good copy writer can transform an ad with just one word and even just one letter.

The person who refuses to live an ordinary life often realizes how little is the extra effort it takes and yet the rewards for this small extra effort are out of all proportion to what it costs.

The mediocre person thinks that he’s taking the easy way but in the long haul he’s taking the hardest way of all because he must spend his entire life existing on the poor financial results that his average work produces.

A retired business executive was once asked the secret of his success. He replied that it could be summed up in three words. These three words were: “and then some”.

He discovered early in his life that the difference between the ordinary people and the higher echelons could be explained by the fact that the top people did what was expected of them and they then did more.

They were sensitive to the needs of others and then gave even more help. They dealt with their responsibilities fully and then worked some more.

They were the same at home as at work. They were reliable friends and considerate neighbours and then exceeded expectations.

A hotel employee went out of his way to put up two elderly people in his own room when the hotel was overcrowded.

A while later the elderly couple turned out to be the owners of the Waldorf Astoria. Guess who they put in charge? The man who had looked after them - and then some.

A little bit extra every day becomes a huge amount over a lifetime. If you want to experience something extraordinary, then you must do that bit extra every day. There is, of course, no law which says that you can’t do a lot extra!

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and fifth degree black belt martial arts instructor. He has recently written several books about achieving your goals and dreams.

If you would like to check out “The 36 laws To Ignite Your Power” by John Watson please visit the following URL: http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

If you are interested in one of the best sellers of self help check out Stuart Goldsmith’s ‘ The Midas Method ‘ at the link below: http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

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I wish to comment on the direction we are going with the gay and lesbian rights movement. It is moving too fast and there will be a backlash, due to their stance on many issues. I talked to a Lawyer, a gay guy who was from Los Angeles today about raising adopted babies. He said he personally would never do it, but it is a great idea. He said to me it was better than them being raised by the Catholic Church. WOW. Heavy statement and he might have something there. I did not want to get into a verbal debate over the issue, usually cause I win, and this guy just did not have the brainpower for it anyway (most homosexuals are above average intelligence in my opinion). He was correct in his argument of the Catholic Church, so I see his perspective.

What I see over all is a lining up of opposition, First it was the Boy Scouts and that was really not a good issue since it was blown out of proportion and just because adults disagree is no reason to hurt the kids over the issues. After all the Boy Scouts is an American Tradition and should not be compromised due to a few isolated incidents. The Boy Scouts help kids and everyone gay or not should be 100% for helping kids; it is our responsibility to the next generation. This issue of gay people suing to adopt and putting the issue out in the media and public is not a good idea right now, since we should stay united as a country. There will be a time for change and slow change is better for all, too much too soon will hurt both sides credibility, promote hatred and misunderstanding on all sides. Besides the media makes a field day out of it anyway, since controversy sells newspapers. Since I do not opine, but do believe every kid who needs to be adopted gets adopted and right now that is happening. Right now it is better to all say we are Americans and we stick together.

Look; let’s all get on the same page and work together on a common goal and hen we can discuss this as friends instead of as enemies or divided as Blue and Red, Black or White; Gay or Straight. Let’s all chill out and think about it alright?

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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What can children and parents gain from practicing Yoga together? When should I start teaching Yoga to my son or daughter? What about Mommy and Me classes? Let’s cover a bit of ground, and establish some realistic expectation for parents and children.

What can children and parents gain from practicing Yoga together? “The sky is the limit,” as they say. Children and parents need more bonding time. We need to eat together and find activities that solidify our relationships. Mommy and Me Yoga classes offer a chance for families to bond, while children are impressionable.

Like any activity, Yoga can be practiced at an early age. As long as Yoga practice is supervised, and the teacher is knowledgeable, parent and child will benefit in many ways. Parents who have no knowledge of Yoga should consider toddler classes or the Mommy and Me Yoga classes.

Classes should be divided according to age. For example - Children who are one to two years of age could be separated from the two to four years of age group. Below twelve months of age, most children are in the watching stage.

Some babies will copy what they see, and you should never expect too much from any child. Children will learn Yoga much better in a patient environment. There should not be a deadline for the time it takes a child to learn aspects of Yoga. Children have a lifetime to learn the many benefits of Yoga. Surprisingly, most children of all ages will demonstrate Yoga techniques they learn at home.

When should I start teaching Yoga to my son or daughter Yoga? Any time is fine, as long as you make it fun. For parents, this is the beginning of learning how to guide without discouraging. Yoga will teach children life skills, such as stress reduction, anger management, goal setting, and enhance athletic ability.

What about Mommy and Me classes? If you have a Mommy and Me Yoga class in your area, it is worth signing up. Parents should let the Yoga instructor lead the class. This seems obvious, but you would be surprised how often parents can be counter productive to children’s activities.

Mommy and Me Yoga classes will contain many of the following aspects: Yoga music, kids music, singing, basic Pranayama, coloring books, theme Yoga classes, Asanas, mixing dance movement with Yoga, drawing with crayons, story telling, Yoga games, focusing drills, relaxation techniques, meditation, and lots of fun.

There are many Yoga books, DVD’s, card decks, coloring books, and Yoga music CD’s for children. With so much to choose from, a child’s attention can be harnessed for constructive purposes. The greatest benefit of all for children is the ability to control their own attention span.

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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For a long time we have been told to beware of the sun-rays and protect ourselves from the impact of sun rays upon our skin. The truth is probably not as bad and simple. Sunlight gives both benefits, and effects harm by exaggerated exposure.

The effects of sunlight upon the skin is due to the ultra-violet light. These light rays are generally divided in three kinds according to wavelength, UVA with longest wavelength and lest energy in each light quantum, UVB of shorter wavelength, and UVC of shortest wavelength and highest energy.

THE BENEFITS OF THE SUN-RAYS

If the exposure to sun light is moderate, the benefits outnumber the dangers. First of all sunshine has a good effect upon the mental health and well-being, both due to the visible light and to the warming effect.
The UVA rays in the sunlight stimulates the skin to produce vitamin D. This vitamin is necessary for the normal composition, growth and regeneration of bone tissue. By to low levels of vitamin D in the body, the bones tend to loose calcium and get thinner and weaker. Newer findings suggest that many people do not get enough of this vitamin through the diet or do not absorb enough from the intestines, and need this stimulation to get good enough levels of vitamin D.

Newer findings also suggest that moderate amount of sunshine does not promote the occurence of skin cancer. On the contrary, in moderate amounts, exposure to sunshine seems to help prevent cancers of several types., especially breast cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer.

The benefit that most people go for when engaging in sun bath, is the browning effect. This effect comes from the UVA rays stimulating the melanocytes in the skin to produce more of the brown pigment - melanin. The increased amount of melanin will protect the skin against the harms of sun-rays, and make you tolerate greater amounts of sun before harmful effects occur. The sun rays also stimulate the upper layer of the skin to grow thicker, and this makes the skin more robust against damage. As long as this thickening is moderate, the thickening is a good effect.

THE DANGERS OF THE SUN-RAYS

The most visible danger of exaggerated sun exposure is the burning effect caused by the UVB rays. The effect is mostly due to immune cells in the skin releasing histamine. Histamine then causes blood vessels to dilate and also cause other symptoms of acute inflammation. Some cells will also be injured by the sunlight to such extend that they die, causing the upper layer of the skin to flake away.
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Exaggerated exposure to sun can cause brown spots - liver-spots. Furthermore it can cause the cancer type called basal cell carcinoma. These effects are caused both from the UVA and UVB rays. This type of cancer looks like brown flakes or brown spots, and may be difficult to distinguish from liver-spots. However, this kind of cancer is little malignant, and is in many cases just a cosmetic problem.

But the UVA and UVB rays from too much sun exposure can also cause malignant melanoma. This cancer consists of melanocyte cells been transformed into cancer cell. Malignant melanoma often evolves from birth marks. This cancer can remain small for a long time, but can also spread and develop very rapidly and swiftly evolve into a serious disease. In its initial stages, the cancer looks like an irregularly shaped and abnormally or irregularly coloured birthmark. People having been exposed to much sun and often been sunburned form an early age, are in special risk for malignant melanoma.

Traditionally skin cancers were thought to be caused by the UVB rays, but newer findings suggest that the whole ultraviolet spectre participates in causing cancers. Therefore using solariums that gives off only UVA rays is not safe from cancer risk.

Too much sun exposure for a long time will increase the speed of skin aging and cause permanent changes in the skin, due to the effects of UVB rays. The wrinkles will multiply and aggravate. Also the blood vessels in the skin tend to become permanently dilated and areas of the skin will often get an abnormal or irregular thickness, some places too thin, other places too thick. Due to the widened blood vessels, the skin will be permanently red.

UVC rays are normally filtered out from by the ozone layer in the upper atmosphaere. Nowadays this layer is wakened over certain areas in certain times. These rays are the most dangerous and easily cause cancer and other types of skin damage.

HOW TO AVOID THE DANGERS AND GET MOST OF THE BENEFITS

The best way to get just enough sun exposure to get the benefits, but not so much to suffer the harms caused by sun rays, is just to expose your skin for the sun some time, and then cover the skin by clothes.

The time recomanded for naked exposure vary considerably. A person with brown skin can take much more than a pale person. The same is true about a person with thick skin. As you get used to the sun each year, you will gradually get browner and also tolerate more. If you take sunbath for the first time in the year, and you have not yet get used to the sun, 10-15 minutes may be enough.

However, often you want to expose your skin to the sun rays longer than an unprotected skin can tolerate, and then you have to use some topical sun protection. Sun balms are found with protection from 3 to 30. The protection factor is supposed to tell how many times longer you can be in the sunshine with the balm on, than without the balm. Be aware that the real protection factor may be less than that written on the bottle.

A balm with the factor 20 does not always really have that factor. If you know you can tolerate 0.5 hours exposure without protection, do not think that you really will tolerate 10 hours exposure with a balm of factor 20 on. The balm must also be renewed several times during the time you expose yourself for the sun. That is especially true if you take swims. The balm must neither be too old.

The face is the body part that it is most important to protect against the sun, since the face does not have any clothes on, and accordingly gets longest sun exposure.

Some kinds of nutrition seems to make the skin more robust against the impact from sun rays. It is for example wise to eat much fish and use olive oil in the diet. You should also attend to the news about the ozone layer, and always protect your skin in periods with weakened ozone layer.

Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items.

TO FIND anti-aging supplements and natural medicines against hypothyroidism, joint pain, heart disease, hemorrhoids, depression, acne, eczema, rosacea, scars, wrinkles, other skin problem and much more PLEASE VISIT his web-site:

http://www.abicana.com/shop2.htm

Free to reprint with the author’s name and link.

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