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How to Think Like Successful Inventors and Scientists

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

Let me tell you a story about Dr. Finsen and the cat. Dr. Niels Ryberg Finsen is the famous “light cure” specialist who started to treat lupus (tuberculosis of the skin) with electric light in 1895. In 1903, he received the Nobel prize in medicine and physiology. One summer day, Dr. Finsen gazed outside his study window and saw a cat sunning itself on the roof of a shed. As he watched, the cat happened to rise and move a little in order to get out of the shadow cast by a house wall. A few minutes later, the cat moved again when the advancing sun lengthened the shadow. Amused and at the same time in a questioning mood, the scientist continued to watch the cat. A third, a fourth, and yet a fifth time he saw it change position to keep in the sunlight. He noted its attitude of complete relaxation, its evident feelings of contentment. The thought occurred to him “It must be that this cat is getting something out of the sunlight of great benefit to it. Would human beings get the same thing?” Thus, the story goes, Dr. Finsen began the studies that led to his Nobel prize winning “light cure.”

It is a typical instance called “knowledge by chance” that has happened to many other famous scientists, such as Daguerre, Galileo, and Sir Isaac Newton. Probably thousands of other people had seen cats basking in the sun; Finsen is the only one who raised the practical question about a cat’s passion for sunlight. Similarly it is with Newton and the falling apple, and Galileo and the swinging lamp. Chance alone is not sufficient to produce a scientific discovery or create an invention. Without an inquiring-minded observer, chance alone will never produce such a result.

One of the great blessings of childhood is the inquisitive mind. Children are discovering the world, without all of the preconceptions that exist in the adult mind. A child’s parents are one of their main sources of information before they begin school, and the endless stream of questions can at times be difficult to endure along with all of the other responsibilities of adult life. If you are a parent, try not to stop your children from asking “why?” all the time. This “why?” attitude can help them to want to learn more and be more observant. It helps the development of their thinking process. At the same time, don’t always answer the questions with answers. Encourage your child to think through the “why?” themselves.

You can also develop the same mindset as an adult. This mindset can lead to amazing professional opportunities as well as the scientific breakthroughs. Take a look at what people want and what companies are offering. If there is a gap in between, you might be able to find ways to close that gap. For instance, a company like Netflix changed the way many people rent movies. Companies like Paypal provide a service to enable online transactions more easily and securely. These companies found the un-met needs of the market and they fulfill those needs to great success.

I learned about this approach to thinking from Mr. H Addington Bruce in his book “Self Development – A Handbook for the Ambitious.” Mr. Bruce is the author of several books, including “The Riddle of Personality,” and “Nerve Control and How to Gain It.”. Mr. Bruce has written numerous articles and books about psychology specifically targeted to the lay reader. At a time when widespread differences existed between psychologists as to subject matter and methods of study, he cultivated a decidedly progressive image of psychology dominated by the concepts of the subconscious and power of suggestion.

For more information and to preview one of the chapters of “Self Development – A Handbook for the Ambitious.” go to www.successwinnerhandbook.com

Chris Leung - the creator of http://www.successwinnerhandbook.com
Download a free copy of “The Art of Money Getting” by P. T. Barnum, the classic wealth creating book, from: http://www.successwinnerhandbook.com/TheArtOfMoneyGetting.pdf

Posted in Boating, Cooking-Tips, Food-and-Drink, Self-Improvement | No Comments »

How To Legally Stop A Foreclosure: Strategies and Options to Consider

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

If you are facing foreclosure on your house, the worse thing you can do about your situation is to ignore it. You need to know how to legally stop a foreclosure. That includes your legal rights and the legalities your lender must follow also.

It’s time to take action and learn how to legally stop a foreclosure. Time is your worse enemy and your best friend is knowledge. Learn how to legaly stop a foreclosure.

  • Is the entity bringing the foreclosure action the lender on the deed of trust?
  • Did you plead your case in court to fight the foreclosure, perhaps arguing a hardship situation, e.g., medical illness, loss of income/job?
  • Did the legitimate lender notify you of the Order Authorizing Sale hearing? You must be notified of this hearing before the public trustee can sell your home.
  • Did you file the Intent to Cure fifteen days before the foreclosure? Perhaps you can bring the loan current before the public trustee sale date.
  • In most states you have up to 75 days, after the foreclosure sale, to pay off the loan completely because the deed is still in your name.

An excellent source of information on how to legally stop a foreclosure is The National Housing Alliance. It provides a publication developed in accordance to rules and regulations of the Fannie Mae identifying your rights how to legally stop foreclosure action.

How to legally stop a foreclosure action. All legitimate advice recommends first and foremost that you talk to the lender. Believe it or not the lender doesn’t want to foreclose, doesn’t want your property. Your servicing agent is required by the lender to offer you a delinquency or foreclosure solution how to legaly stop a foreclosure, which may include the following:

  • Negotiate new payments with the past due amounts included.
  • Make up the payments over a period of months without a new loan.
  • Negotiate a reduced interest rate on your current loan.
  • Negotiate suspension of your mortgage payment up to 24 months, is a commonly accepted foreclosure solution approved by most lenders.
  • If you can prove hardship, the lender may even consider forgiveness on the delinquent interest, which is a valid method how to legaly stop a foreclosure.
  • VA or FHA loan government solutions are especially liberal. If you are on active duty with the United States armed forces you have judicial protection to help how to legally stop a foreclosure.

Refinance and 2nd mortgages: You may have to pay higher interest rates and loan fees, but if you have more than 75% equity in you property this is another way how to legally stop a foreclosure.

Personal loans and assets: Do you have friends or family that could loan you the amount due? Do you have assets that you can put down as collateral against the amount due is a consideration on how to legally stop a foreclosure?

Short sale on your property is another option. The short sale is where the bank takes a lower payoff amount in order to allow you to sell your home. This is a win-win method how to legally stop a foreclosure. However, you cannot execute a short sale yourself. A bank will not let the distressed homeowner do it. Only another party, such as a real estate investor, can do it on your behalf.

Bankruptcy should be considered the last resort and is a serious decision that requires an attorney. Once you take this action, bankruptcy laws forbid any further action such as a short sale, refinancing or new loan terms. However, we are not attorneys, so this isn’t legal advice. Speak with an attorney about bankruptcy.

Dan Ho is a real estate investor in Michigan. Visit how to legaly stop a foreclosure now for more help. http://www.buy-sell-michigan-real-estate.com is a free resource that benefits distressed homeowners, real estate investors, and people who need to sell their home or buy one.

Posted in Cooking-Tips, Food-and-Drink, Interior-Design-and-Decorating, Outdoors | No Comments »

Do You Know What’s Inside Your Colon

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

The Royal Society of Medicine in Great Britain has stated that over 60 various health problems are caused by a toxic colon. It is estimated that the average person is walking around with over ten pounds of undigested food and fecal matter trapped in their bodies intestinal tract (colon). Just imagine how much healthier you would be if you could remove the foul matter from your colon.

The thought of ten pounds of foul matter in my colon got me thinking how can I remove it and I bet at this point you are probably thinking the same thing? Well I did some research and found out about some simple things you can do to improve your bodies ability to remove the toxins naturally and also about an alternative medical treatment called a colon cleanser which improves your bodies ability to remove the toxins from your colon’

One of the first things to consider is how regular you are?, If you are able to eliminate your bodies waste on a daily basis that is a good sign that your intestinal tract is work right, if you are only able to eliminate a couple of times a week this could be a sign your intestines are blocked up which may in turn cause a build up of foul matter in your colon which over time may cause bloating, constipation, diarrhea, digestive problems, indigestion, and many other medical conditions.

Other factors to consider is your diet and exercise, do you eat lots of high fiber foods?, if not then you body may not process the food correctly which in turn may allow a build up of toxins in your body. If your a couch potato that will also make it harder for your body to remove the foul matter from your intestines.

Some of the easiest things you can do to improve your bodies ability to process correctly is to drink water and increase the amount of exercise you get, even just walking around the block a few times and drinking a glass or two of water will do wonders for your overall health including your colon.

If you are already drinking lots of water and getting plenty of exercise and want to do more to remove the foul matter from your intestines you can have a colon cleansing treatment. It is by far the most effective way to remove the toxins from your colon

There are hundreds of over the counter colon cleansers to choose from including many that are made of all natural herbs so you may wish to research which one is best for your needs and remember always discuss any concerns you have with your doctor before treatment begins.

Greg Lucas is a small business owner and an on-line marketing expert who owns and operates a large network of informative and educational websites. for more information please visit:
colon cleansers

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About Scholarship Programs For Single Parents

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Single parent families, that are those, which have only one person as the head of the family, are growing in numbers every year. Such families are usually the result of parental breakup and unwanted pregnancies. More than men, women are the ones who get into this difficult situation. They are not only required to feed the family but also support everyone emotionally.

Single mom families are commonly seen in areas wherein unemployment is rampant. A lot of times teenage single mothers are forced to stop their education and start earning because otherwise no one would take care of their kids. Due to unfinished schooling, such single mothers have a lower income capacity.

Several government, state, and various universities and colleges offer scholarship to single parents especially to female single parents who are determined to improve their earning potential. These colleges fund for their dorm fees, tuition fees and other related educational expenses.

One of the major reasons for offering scholarships to single parents is to pave the way for increasing income potential of single families. Most universities share the same global vision of giving hope and improving confidence of the single parents by offering scholarship programs.

Scholarship for single parents usually covers the tuition fees, books and other related educational expenses of the eligible candidates. Some source of scholarships for single parents also provided restrictions to those who want to avail the scholarships.

Any scholarship for single parent is offered to those single parent students who have at least one dependent child and who desperately need financial help. So, if the single parent gets married during the terms of the scholarship, her grant can get revoked.

Those single parent students who get specific support from their families, such as willingness to take care of kids while the parents are in school, may avail of full time class scholarships. For those single parents who cannot leave their children (such as in case of disabled or mentally challenged kids) may avail of single parent scholarships that offer part-time class load requirements.

Single parent students covered by scholarships for single parents are being trained to enhance their skills on writing, interpersonal communication and computer. Single parent students are also taught of the learning techniques for success and career exploration.

Many scholarship programs for single parents require that students pass their examination with a minimum grade. Just to give an example, a single parent may be required a passing grade of 3.0 grade-point averages while other students require a 2.5 GPA. There are other scholarships that ask for repayment too when the single parents finish their education.

Some scholarships for single parents have very strict attendance requirements. It is advised to look for scholarships that provide convenience and flexibility because all the single parents play double roles at their home.

As such, there are many courses and programs that single parent may choose from. But mostly, the scholarships are extended to the following courses: accounting course, business courses, computer courses, interior design, health services and office management. Depending on individual strengths and skills, single parents can select appropriate courses.

Single parents who have the desire to continue their education but lack the financial aid may search for scholarships for single parents online at the websites of universities and colleges or even government websites. You may also call or visit some colleges to check if they are offering scholarship for a single parent like you.

The scholarships for single parents are offered by many governments and states too. In case of state scholarships, single parents are granted the amount of tuition, books and dorm for two years until they finish their graduate program.

Single parents who decide to pursue their education must explain to their children the benefit of finishing their studies. Enlighten your children’s mind that before you achieve the success both of you must sacrifice for your time will be divided between your studies, work and them.

There are scholarships for single parent students, which not only help the parents but also their children. This kind of scholarship program facilitates services for their students by taking care of the children while the parent students are in school. These kinds of scholarships are limited depending on the funds of the donors of the scholarships.

Such kind of scholarship benefits not only the single parents but also their children. The services offered for children typically aim at educating and preparing children for pre-school and public school. Children from the age of 12 months of age can avail this facility throughout their school life.

It’s up to every individual single parent to understand and take advantage of scholarship programs.

To get a free book on single parenting that helps in providing answer to some of the more challenging questions about parenting visit the effects of single parenting. If you are a single parent who would like to start dating again or meet new friends then check out the single parents mingle dating site.

Posted in Cooking-Tips, Food-and-Drink, Marketing, Writing-and-Speaking | No Comments »

Web Based Time Management

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

Time Tracking with Timeclock, a buzz work in the workforce industry these days. Lets get into this and try to understand the goodies.

Vendors say it enables the collection and approval of electronic timesheets for managing payroll, time and attendance, project accounting, client billing, and many other time reporting needs. It also delivers real ROI with a robust feature set and low cost of ownership that fits virtually any size budget. You can quickly automate your timesheet collection and approval process.

However automate your timesheet collection process for any organization is not an easy task, since transferring the old data into the new system is by itself a huge task. Secondly asking employees who till date used to make entries in the register to start using the new system is again at times a very tired-some task and also requires a regular monitoring. However the lasting effects can always allow employees to enter and submit timesheets from anywhere via the web as well. These systems minimizes administration efforts by reducing errors and cost associated with consolidating timesheet data. Exporting timesheet data to Quick Books, XML, Excel, text, etc also gets easy with such systems.

Here you are always open for two commonly sold options, installed software and web based solutions. Some like us prefer installed software since when you have just 5 to 15 employees to manage a web based solution gets more expensive. However larger the size of the company the calculations gets reverse. With larger companies web based solutions go well with no data maintenance, no servers to manage.

There is always a third option to go back to olden days, withs books and registers and not relying on machines. In olden days employers used to rely on humans and today we rely on machines and humans both. Technology brings in new advanced features into our lives along with a much higher level of dependency.

Resources:
Time Tracking Systems
Online Timeclocks
Human Resource (HR) Software

Posted in Cooking-Tips, Food-and-Drink, Health-and-Fitness, Venture-Capital | No Comments »

Ways to Get Pregnant

Friday, December 8th, 2006

There are only two ways to get pregnant: by having sexual intercourse, or by undergoing an artificial procedure in a fertility clinic. It sounds like a short list, but truthfully, there just are not many different ways to get pregnant. In the olden days, there were even fewer ways to get pregnant. In the days before fertility treatments, if sexual intercourse did not do the job, a couple was out of luck. However, these days are different. With these two methods, a surprising percentage of the world’s population manages to reproduce. If you are considering ways to get pregnant, the first option is the natural way. It is so natural that it can be considered a human instinct!

If you are trying to get pregnant, one of the most significant factors in determining whether or not you get pregnant is if the time of your ovulation is combined with successful sexual intercourse. Most likely, whatever you are already doing will do the job here; there are no special ways that drastically increase your chances of getting pregnant.

However, if you are interested in getting every advantage, no matter how slight, you may want to try any one of the positions that allow the couple to climax simultaneously. This has been shown to increase the chances for conception because the muscular organs work together to bring the egg and sperm together. And that is the first way that you can get pregnant! This fact is a strong argument to persuade you to continue with whatever positions that you as a couple both enjoy. If you can orgasm at the same time in a particular position, then this may increase your chances of getting pregnant.
The other one of the two ways to get pregnant is by using the services of a fertility doctor. Fertility methods as a way to get pregnant still require the basic ingredients of a sperm and an egg. It is the meeting of these two elements that is different in fertility treatments. Instead of direct placement of the semen into the uterus during sex, it will be placed there by a physician at an office visit. If necessary, there are also methods that combine the egg and sperm outside of the human body. In this situation, the way you get pregnant is that the physician places the very small fetus into the uterus. You could almost say that this way you are getting pregnant in a lab, not inside of your body!

The thing is that pregnancy and childbirth work the same way no matter which ways were used to get pregnant. Without a fertile female in her childbearing years to become pregnant and carry the child, there is no way that reproduction would work!

Milos Pesic is an expert in the field of Pregnancy and Fertility and runs a highly popular and comprehensive Pregnancy web site. For more articles and resources on Pregnancy and Fertility related topics, early Pregnancy Symptoms, Infertility Treatments and much visit his site at:

=>http://pregnancy.need-to-know.net/

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Getting What You Want Out of Life, in Spite of the Lessons You Were Taught

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

I could start by suggesting that most people have no idea how to get what they want out of life, quite simply because nobody ever showed them anything that worked. Their parents didn’t know how to do it and neither did their parents. So, on we go, searching high and low for some kind of relief from the tedium and struggle of daily living, while reviewing that long list of things we want, never get, nor ever hope to get. All this while facing that ever-growing list of things we surely don’t want.

If abundance is so natural, then why do we continue to bang our heads against the wall trying to figure out how to get what we want in life? I mean, come on, life wasn’t meant to be this hard. We are an intelligent species, each of us entering this environment with a purpose. And, I doubt many of us signed on to live in poverty, disease and premature death.

So, what is it that’s missing? Education doesn’t really seem to make much difference. The educated are in debt and struggling against all that life seems to throw at them, just like the less educated. Religion doesn’t seem to change the equation. In fact, many religions teach just the opposite, implying that to live a life of great abundance is filled with sin and abuse and that there is some redeeming virtue to poverty.

Most of us believe that there’s just not enough to go around, so why bother. The ‘haves’ will get more than their share and the rest of us will simply represent the ‘have nots’. It’s probably the number one reason most people never really try to find a better way to get what they want and deserve out of life. Yet, as hard as it must be for most people to believe, the fact is, there is no lack. There’s plenty for everyone. And, they don’t have to work three jobs to get it. There’s enough of whatever it is that we want to go around.

So, how do we get it? How do we turn it all around, making our life exactly what we want it to be?

First of all, identify all of the things in your life that you don’t want. Debt, bad relationship, crummy job, poor health, misbehaving kids, broken down automobile, you fill in the blanks. Understand that all of this bad stuff creates unhappy feelings in the form of negative vibrations, which makes it difficult to focus on the things that bring the greatest happiness.

Secondly, identify everything you would like to have in your life. Debt-free, great relationships, fulfilling job, perfect health, new automobile, and on and on. These are just some of the things that could certainly bring great joy and happiness to your life.

Lastly, and this is the key, do everything you can to find a way to feel good about what you want. The mistake most commonly made here is that most people see their wants, yet feel bad because they focus on the feelings brought about by not having. You must see yourself as already having the thing that you want. It may seem like pretending, but that really doesn’t matter. By seeing it as yours, feeling the emotions associated with having it, you’ll begin to magnetically attract those things into your life that make you happy and stop attracting the things that have filled your life with perpetual stress.

The Law of Attraction, Conscious Creation, or whatever you want to call it, works! It’s not easy. It’ll require persistent effort and patience. But, the life changing results will certainly be worth the effort.

Be truly grateful for the good things you already have in your life, focus on what you want, believe that you already have it, and know that it’s on its way.

Harry Monell maintains a content website http://www.thresholdthree.com/attraction/index.html featuring a collection of articles, from other writers, on a wide variety of topics, including The Law of Attraction, relationships, business and financial independence.

Harry Monell maintains several affiliate and content websites. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Old Dominion University. Following formal retirement in 2000, he spent five years working as a special projects consultant and now spends time with what he considers his most challenging, yet most rewarding endeavor - developing his writing skills.

Posted in Cooking-Tips, Food-and-Drink, Happiness, Self-Improvement | No Comments »

Need Some PSP Game Download Guidance?

Saturday, November 11th, 2006

If you want a PSP game download on your Sony PSP, you must have a memory stick for the accumulation of the files on it. If you want to watch video clips or movies or have a lot of video games installed on your Sony, you will need to purchase a larger Memory Stick Pro Duo card.

When making a PSP game download to your computer, make sure that it is compatible with your PSP Sony. If the file is not compatible, the downloading and installing process will go wrong and you will have to repeat the download one more time. Download a file that will work with the current version of Firmware installed on your PSP. You probably want to download the newest version of the game. However, this will depend on what version of Firmware is installed on your PSP. Generally, most homebrew PSP games work with Firmware 1.5 and under only. If when downloading you get an error that says something like “The data is corrupted” or “The game could not be started” then the Firmware version on your PSP is not compatible with the homebrew game.

Have a look and make sure the file you download ends with “psp.” This is because the author has shared the game to several different platforms. Only a version with “psp” in the name will match with your Sony PSP. Usually most of the PSP game download that you will find on the web are compressed. All computers come with a compression application like Stuff it Expander (Mac) or Winzip (PC) and will “unzip” this file. Once the unzipping is over you will find two folders which contain the game and also the file ‘read me’ file from the author.

The next step in PSP game download is to unite the PSP to your PC. Then insert the PSP into USB. Press the HOME button located on the bottom left of your PSP and then you should roll left to the SETTINGS feature. Go down to USB CONNECTION and press X. The Memory Stick inside your PSP will now mount or connect with your computer. In order to copy the file you should do the following: PSP > GAME. If you place the game files anywhere else on the Memory Stick, it will not function properly.

If the “PSP” and “GAME” folders don’t yet exist on your PSP’s Memory Stick, then you need to make two new folders and name them in ALL CAPS. There are some more steps to follow in order to play the game on your PSP. After you finished copying the game onto your Memory Stick, you are free to disconnect the PSP from your PC. Enter the game main menu. From the main menu, roll over to the GAME file on your Sony PSP and then down to the Memory Stick option. After this press X and a list of game files will appear on your display. Press DOWN and you should see the game you just installed. So now you can enjoy playing your favorite games and you can consider yourself a master of PSP game download due to this tutorial.

http://www.AllPSPInfo.com brings you the latest on PSP. PSPs are very popular, and we want to bring you the most up to date information online! Be sure to check out our latest information page on the PSP game download.

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Drawing The Fashion Figure

Wednesday, October 11th, 2006

To draw a good fashion figure the body must first be placed under the clothes.

The figure given in this lesson is not nude, but is ready for underclothes, bathing suit, dress, suit, or a coat.

If you draw the complete figure carefully under every garment, you will have no trouble when drawing a bathing figure, or one in underclothes although busy artists merely sketch in the figure without finishing parts that do not show in the finished drawing. This is a saving of time for one who knows how.

The dress form conforms to the shape of the human figure.

Fashion figures vary as style changes, but figures seven (7) to eight (8) heads high are typical. The figure must be slim and graceful. If too stout it will not look right.

Proportions of The Figure

The figure measures seven (7) to eight (8) heads high.

The neck is about one-third (1/3) the width of the shoulders.

The waist measures less than the shoulders.

The legs join the body at the center of the figure.

The knees are less than half (J) way between this point and the feet.

From the shoulder to under the arm is one-half (i) head or less.

The waist is about one and three-quarter (If) heads down from the chin.

The arms bend opposite the waist, reaching down to the center of the figure, while the hands extend below this point.

The standing line (or fine of support) is an imaginary line from the pit of the neck to the standing foot. This line must be parallel with the edge of the paper.

The foot is about the length of the head.

The hand is as long as from the chin to above the eyebrows.

In this position the standing hip is high while the other one is low, both of the hips being above the middle of the figure.

The relaxed leg may be placed anywhere, but must extend from the hip and not from the knee, which would give it a knock-kneed appearance. See line of direction for the hips, also sketch of the nude hips.

If the figure were balanced evenly (on both feet) the line of support would fall between the feet. See Lesson XVIII.

The legs must join the body at the center and on the center line of the figure.

In the three-quarter view one sees considerably more of one side than of the other.

In fashions there are very few strictly full front faces, but many are almost full, being turned slightly.

The head is often turned in the opposite direction to the body; this lends grace to the figure.

When drawing hands, keep them the same size, also be careful to have the feet mates.

Drawing The Figure

Place the figure nicely on the paper; commence at the top, and swing in the correct oval. When this is done, measure down seven or eight heads to the standing foot, making a mark where the foot comes. Remember the standing line must pass through the ball of the foot. This takes but little time and can be easily erased if the figure does not fill the given space nicely.

If incorrect, begin again by redrawing the oval the proper size. Do not draw the features until the whole figure is swung in correctly.

Mark off the waist line one and three-quarter heads down, draw the shoulders, the bust, the standing hip, and one long line down to the standing foot, which is on the action side. Keep in mind all proportions and swing in the figure, using these spacings as guides.

The reference figure for this lesson is here: Fashion Design Figure

Fashion Design Drawing can teach you to draw fashion design sketches too.
Learn everything you need to know, from beginner to pro.

Posted in Cooking-Tips, Food-and-Drink, Loans, Motivation | No Comments »

Why You Should Set Goals When You Have ME

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

As human beings we are naturally goal-driven. Our brain needs to have goals in order that we know how to behave. For example, we wouldn’t get up in the morning and get the bus, if our goal wasn’t to get to work. We wouldn’t eat if our goal wasn’t to relieve our hunger, we wouldn’t clean our shoes if our goal wasn’t to get them clean. There is nothing that you do which isn’t goal-driven. We need goals in order to function as a human being.

When you have ME you may still have many goals that you want to achieve – like going to work, going for a walk, socialising with friends, but you are frustrated because you can’t fulfil this basic function of yours – to obey your brain’s desire to fulfil those goals. There are two things you can do however. You can learn to create smaller goals that you can achieve and that you can succeed at to reduce the frustration and you can do what the world’s most successful people do – make goals for your future.

Only 3% set goals for their life

At Yale University in 1953 a survey showed that only 3% of students set goals for their life. In 1973 when these previous students were reassessed, it was found that these 3% were more successful in every area of their lives than the remaining 97% who had not set goals.

Having ME doesn’t stop you making long-term goals, in fact it is imperative that you do so because a lack of a bright vision of the future is a prerequisite for depression and lethargy. Having a goal will help to chase the blues away, give you something positive to focus on, a future to work towards which creates excitement and a supply of healthy, positive chemicals to the body and it also gives you a reason for carrying on when you are at the lowest ebb of your life. It also makes it far more likely that you will recover from ME because once you have a goal, you naturally behave in a way that will take you towards it.

It is a well known fact that the most successful people in the world, like Richard Branson, several presidents of the United States, Olympic athletes, Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates for example, Andre Agassi, all work towards their own goals, planning them, looking at the options, making decisions and above all ACTING, step by step. This is what you have to do in order to get yourself out of the pit of despair and ill-health. Plan for a healthy future and work towards it.

“If you continue to have the same thoughts … you will continue to get the same results. ”
The saying is that “if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got”. Did you know that 99% of your thoughts are the same today as they were yesterday? That means that if you continue to have the same thoughts, and it is your thoughts that dictate your actions, you will continue to get the same results. Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Look at your life today and recognise that whatever you are doing and whoever you are doing it with are direct results of the thoughts you have had in the past and the actions you have taken ie what job you did, who you married, what course you did at university etc. In fact, your life now, is the sum of all the thoughts you have ever had in your life up until this moment and the actions you have taken as a result of those thoughts. That is why you need to change your thoughts, which will change your actions, which will ultimately change the result.

Paul Mckenna said that his life changed 10 years ago when he sat down and asked himself – if I continue thinking the way I’ve always thought, doing what I’ve always done, I will continue along the course I am on, and where will I be in 5 years time? This thought was so horrifying to him (and he wasn’t sick) that he sat down and asked himself what was most important to him and what he wanted out of life. He came up with some goals and in order to achieve those goals he had to change his habits of thinking and acting so far in order to achieve them. Once a radio DJ he is now a world famous hypnotist and millionaire.

This is why your brain needs a goal. A part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System is responsible for filtering information from the outside world into your brain. Two million pieces of information per second are hitting the RAS and the RAS can only filter 126 pieces of information per second into the brain. A massive difference. Therefore it has to decide which information to allow in, and in order to do that it needs to know what it is that you want. For example, if you are interested in Ford Fiestas, it will allow all information about Ford Fiestas that it comes across to enter your brain – if you are pregnant it will allow information about pregnancy into your brain. It can’t possibly accept everything. I’m sure you’ve noticed how when you are pregnant all you see are pregnant women everywhere that you never noticed before, or the fact that everyone else seems to be driving a Ford Fiesta all of a sudden! Therefore, there is no such thing as ‘reality’. Reality is actually only your own personal perception of the world depending entirely on what is important to you and what you are focusing on. This means that you have to focus on something in order to get it, otherwise you will miss information and opportunities required in order to get what it is you want.

If you want to get well, you need to focus on good health … not sickness

Did you know that race drivers when in a skid are taught never to look at the wall they don’t want to crash into, because if they do then the odds are that they will hit it. Which means that if you want to get well you need to focus on good health and not sickness. Remember the saying “Be careful for what you wish for”. This is based in fact – it is science and a law of nature that you attract whatever it is that you focus on the most. The RAS accepts what you concentrate on the most and screens out the rest – that means that if you are concentrating on what is wrong with your life it will allow in anything that it sees as being relevant to being wrong in your life, and screen out any information about what is positive in your life.

What does your life look like right now? Is everything fine? Not if you’ve got M.E. it isn’t. So making a goal for your life is what you need. You have to look ahead and create a vision of a healthy future. You have to write that goal down and keep it in the forefront of your mind so that your RAS knows what you are focusing on and feeds in the information that you need.

“Remember that a 1% change of direction every day, adds up to a massive change of direction over a year.

You then have to think about all the things you can think of, however bizarre, that you could do to take you forwards towards that wonderful goal and you need to choose some actions that you can begin to take straight away – whether it is trying a new therapy, watching a funny video to keep your mood up, reading another book, walking a few paces etc. They have to be achievable actions but not so easy that it doesn’t challenge you to change what you’ve been doing. At the end of each week assess how you’ve been doing, reward yourself if you’ve done well, and decide on actions for the following week. The Dalai Lama said that a journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step – and that is what you are embarking on. Just put one foot in front of the other, then again, and again, and again – and you will succeed. Read your goal regularly to keep it alive for the RAS in your brain. Remember that a 1% change of direction every day, adds up to a massive change of direction over a year.

The very act of setting a goal and writing it down will immediately point you in the direction of that goal. It will empower you to know that despite ME you are taking control of your life and it will provide you with a sense of purpose and set you on the journey towards the attainment of your ultimate aspirations. There is always something that you can do to help yourself however severe your ME is, so stop feeling helpless and start taking control.

There is no second cavalry that is going to come over the hill and rescue you – you have to use your own, extremely powerful force, the most amazing weapon that everyone has and few people know how to use to best advantage, and that is your brain. You have to harness the power of your brain to get yourself out of this situation. However sick you are, you are not helpless. You have to tell your brain clearly what it is that you want – in as much detail as possible – and it can then do its job of helping you to achieve it.

Never give up

Good luck with your recovery, and remember that there are many of us out here who have already recovered, so never give up. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback. If you try one thing and it doesn’t work, then try another. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, when asked how he felt about failing to create light for the 700th time said “I haven’t failed, I haven’t failed at all, I have succeeded in finding 700 different ways in which light doesn’t work, so I am 700 ways nearer to my goal of finding out what DOES work”.

© Copyright 2006 - Alex Barton

Alex Barton had M.E. for 12 years before changing her diet and approach and recovering to full health. She trained as a nutritional therapist and life coach and now works helping others with M.E. to find their own individual routes back to full health.

http://www.alexbarton.co.uk
http://www.cfsrecoverystories.com

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