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So it's one thing to set the goal, it's a whole other animal to actually finish; to cross the finish line ... Here are the steps to crossing the finish line:

Here are 3 great reasons to leverage your time and understand its impact on your productivity.

Reason #1. By studying how you use your time you will be a better manager and increase your ability to focus on the most important areas of your life and your business.

Do you know where your time goes? Try keeping a time study log. For a specified period of time, maybe a week, write down everything that you do. Yes, everything. At the end of the day take a few minutes to review how you used your time. Were there times when you could have been more productive (i.e. waiting in a doctor's office, driving to work or a meeting)? Are there times of the day that you are more productive compared with others?

Here are some tips to help you stay focused:

1. Stay Hydrated

2. Take a quick walk (around the block or the office) to get up and away from your desk

3. Listen to some upbeat music to refocus your energy.

Reason #2. Leveraging Your Time Allows You to Achieve Your Goals Faster and More Efficiently
Do you have a set of written goals? Do you review them each day before you begin the day's journey? When you use your time wisely and don't waste time on non-important matters you get closer to your goals. Just the simple process of organizing your day can make you feel less stressed and more in control.
Here are some tips to make sure you reach your goals faster:

1. Write Down Your Goals

2. Organize Your Day (organizing your day into 10 or 15 minute blocks can be a great way to plan for all size projects.

3. Allow Time For Yourself (don't be afraid to take that break and refresh)

Reason #3. Leveraging Your Time (Really understanding the answer to, "Where did the day go?" helps you to continuously improve and learn. Learning helps you to keep producing good materials and products. Never stop learning, reading, trying new things and implementing them.

Here are some tips for making sure you never stop learning:

1. Write down your accomplishments and celebrate

2. Write down your challenges and ask others for support, ideas, and collaborative solutions

3. Find one new book, article, blog, etc. every day to keep you inspired and freshly focused

Leveraging your time only works when you leverage it in the right direction. Focus your energy and free yourself from the overwhelm of your day when you feel like you are drowning in the details. Take charge of your day, take charge of your week, reach your greatest potential by leveraging your time.

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To discover how you can learn more about leveraging your time and living by your goals visit http://www.livingbyyourgoals.com and sign up for our training today!
This article was brought to you by the Office of Community Research, Inc. and Jennifer L. McGahan,
We are committed to helping your community grow stronger, healthier and more resilient by building capacity through education and opportunity. Visit our website today: http://www.officeofcommunityresearch.com

 

child1Remember the master teacher once said 2000 years ago, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances are zero; you haven't got a prayer."

A major consideration for adults.

Be like children and remember there are four ways to be more like a child no matter how old you get…
1) Curiosity - Be curious; childish curiosity. Learn to be curious like a child. What will kids do if they want to know something bad enough? You’re right. They will bug you. Kids can ask a million questions. You think they're through. They've got another million. They will keep plaguing you. They can drive you right to the brink.

Also kids use their curiosity to learn. Have you ever noticed that while adults are stepping on ants, children are studying them? A child's curiosity is what helps them to reach, learn and grow.

2) Excitement - Learn to get excited like a child. There is nothing that has more magic than childish excitement. So excited you hate to go to bed at night. Can't wait to get up in the morning. So excited that you're about to explode. How can anyone resist that kind of childish magic? Now, once in awhile I meet someone who says, "Well, I'm a little too mature for all that childish excitement." Isn't that pitiful? You've got to weep for these kinds of people. All I've got to say is, "If you’re too old to get excited, you're old." Don't get that old.

3) Faith - Faith like a child. Faith is childish. How else would you describe it? Some people say, "Let's be adult about it." Oh no. No. Adults too often have a tendency to be overly skeptical. Some adults even have a tendency to be cynical. Adults say, "Yeah. I've heard that old positive line before. It will be a long day in June before I fall for that positive line. You've got to prove to me it's any good." See, that's adult, but kids aren't that way. Kids think you can get anything. They are really funny. You tell kids, "We're going to have three swimming pools." And they say, "Yeah. Three. One each. Stay out of my swimming pool." See, they start dividing them up right away, but adults are not like that. Adults say, "Three swimming pools? You're out of your mind. Most people don't even have one swimming pool. You'll be lucky to get a tub in the back yard." You notice the difference? No wonder the master teacher said, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances, they're skinny."

4) Trust - Trust is a childish virtue, but it has great merit. Have you heard the expression "sleep like a baby?" That's it. Childish trust. After you’ve gotten an A+ for the day, leave it in somebody else's hands.

Curiosity, excitement, faith and trust. Wow, what a powerful combination to bring (back) into our lives.

To read previous articles, quotes, and Q and A from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine Archives, or to get a complete listing of Jim Rohn's books, audios, videos and seminar schedule, or to place an order; please go to: http://www.jimrohn.com or call 800-929-0434 M-F 8:00-5:30 CST.

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Understand the Power of Now

By Kiriti Chandan Chavadi
Bangalore

Reading Books has long been listed in the list of hobbies by millions of people in their resumes. It is considered to be amongst the top 3 Hobbies in the world. This proves that people love to read books and when there is a passion for something, it grows into a habit and thus the love for reading books has been a favorite for lots of Book lovers.

The human mind is a very large computer with such huge capacity that it needs huge loads of knowledge to digest and people who are interested in reading books are a happy lot to get their mind satisfied to some extent. Various people have different tastes and likings in their choice of reading books. Some may like fiction; others may be interested in non fiction or real time stories, autobiographies or spiritual books. There is a vast ocean of knowledge in any kind of book one may choose and Books have always been a man's best friend in happiness or sorrow.

Numerous researches have taken place to find out if there is any valuable or positive thing associated with reading books of his choice (fiction) not necessarily related to his work. This has now been proved that reading books is definitely a good choice as it helps the brain to relax and in some part of the brain it has also shown several improvements in the thinking pattern of the person as he reads the book which helps to integrate with his work culture and his leisure boosting his capacity to the maximum benefit. And this may be one reason why people would spend hours together on a novel and hardly 10 minutes on the Economics Text book.

People who read fiction tend to like the tale that is narrated descriptively which allows their mind to wander into the surrounds of the book characters. In doing so, they involve themselves along with the characters, the house, furniture and the garden etc and react to the situation, act or deed as if it is happening to them in reality. One such research has established as to how the brain patterns work when a person feels if he is reading about words like "perfume" "tantalizing" "coffee " etc and how he reacts to other words like "a tiresome day" "French window" "picturesque view" etc. The former set of words sends a signal to the brain and it reacts by feeling the aroma or the taste whereas the latter set of words seemed just a dry description. It means that the reader forms a picture inside his mind as he reads along and therefore the effect is stronger. The person who reads only can understand the highs and lows in a particular novel and can actually experience the fun of reading. No such occurrence can happen by watching a movie or the television even if it is well narrated.

Reading a novel can make a person view in whatever way he imagines and it is fully satisfactory to him as long as he enjoys the story which cannot happen in any other media. The famous fiction novels include Mills & Boons in the romance section, Sidney Sheldon series in the thriller, Earl Stanley Gardener's Perry Mason Series, Sherlock Holmes as Detective, etc. In this world of technology, electronic media is entirely on a higher hand with the advancement of Internet, World Wide Web, and Blogs etc. But this does not mean the death of the traditional Book reading. Whatever be the medium, reading a book either physical or online, the important thing is the value with which it is associated and the sense of satisfaction which nobody can steal.

Reading an autobiography has its own benefits like a person's life history is penned down with the author's personal touch towards his experiences and his learning or findings during his journey of life.
Many people would love to know the details of such a person's life where they may borrow a few deeds into their lives. Usually people tend to read great personality's autobiography as they are famous people with a great following like Mahatma Gandhi's The Story of My experiments with Truth, Swami Vivekananda Biography, Sri Aurobindo's Biography, Works of Sri Shankaracharya etc.

Reading should be encouraged by the parents to their kids' as early as from the age of 5. They can start with fairy tales like Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel or even small cartoon books like Phantom comics or Mandrake the Magician or the Famous Archie and the latest Harry Potter series. Aesop's Fables are popular for their moral stories so are our Indian counterparts in Akbar and Birbal, Tenali Ramakrishna etc. Once the children get the taste of reading books, the habit will lead them to explore The Famous Five, Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Mystery Series. Several stories like The Three Musketeers, Sinbad the Sailor, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Far from the Madding Crowd, Shakespeare's Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet etc... have thronged the audiences for all times. There seems to be an endless list as to how many authors have described the novels to every person's penchant and liking.

Some have interests in reading non-fiction books like those inspired by Anne Frank Diaries, Stephen King's on Writing etc. It may also be some kind of science oriented magazine or a research paper on some invention or some documentaries, travel books, journals, essays, photographs or diagrams etc. Some critic writers like Shobha De, Chetan Bhagat, Arundhati Roy etc are known for their articles as they signify a different perception by criticizing in good spirits. Reading can be anything from reading the regular Newspapers or any specific article in the Newspaper or it may be some weekly magazine or a fortnightly. There is such a gigantic library to choose from for both the young as well as the old.

How it actually feels to read a book is entirely left to the reader himself and it is his decision to perceive something as good or bad. One book may be liked by many but the same book may be distasteful to a larger lot. This does not mean that the book can be rated bad as it is negative in the minds of the majority of the people. Books are such that you can take them wherever you go and start whenever you wish, in the train or at the bus stand and when one is about to finish a book, he may even take it to the dining area or even just forget the food. There is a book for everyone and every one should desire to develop this habit in order not to lose the treasure of some very great minds. This divine feeling can be felt only by the avid book reader himself.

Books are such that you can take them wherever you go and start whenever you wish, in the train or at the bus stand and when one is about to finish a book, he may even take it to the dining area or even just forget the food. There is a book for everyone and every one should desire to develop this habit in order not to lose the treasure of some very great minds. This divine feeling can be felt only by the avid book reader himself.

Most people wish they read more. It is an activity that is both fun and enlightening. It can help us be more knowledgeable and successful. However, it is an activity that many people don't engage in very much. According to the 1999 National Household Education Survey, 50% of the U.S. population aged 25 and over read a newspaper at least once a week, read one or more magazines regularly, and had read a book in the past 6 months. What does this mean? It means that 50% of the population hasn't read a book in the last six months!

Looking at the other end of the spectrum, research shows that if you read ten books a year, you are in the top few percent of all people as readers. Simply stated, it doesn't take much to be well read, but we do need to know how to get started. The following are ten suggestions to help you strengthen your reading habit - ways to find and make more time for reading.

1. Always have a book around. Don't go anywhere without reading material. Keep magazines or short stories in your bathroom. Always have something in your briefcase to read. Keep a book(s) by your bed. Having things available makes it easier for you to steal otherwise lost moments.

2. Set a reading goal. Determine how much time you want to spend reading, or how many books you want to read over time. Your goal might be a book a month, one per week, or it might be to read 30 minutes a day. Start out with something attainable but still a stretch. As your habit builds, you might set higher goals. Setting a goal is the first step towards reading more.

3. Keep a log. Keep a list of the books you have read, or keep track of how much time you read each day. You might keep these lists in your journal or your day planner. My son's log is on our refrigerator. My list and log are kept on my computer. It doesn't matter where you keep it, just do it.

4. Keep a list. Make a list of things you want to read in the future. Ask your friends and colleagues what they are reading. Watch for recommendations in the newspaper and magazines. Once you start looking for good books, you'll find them everywhere. This is a great way to keep your enthusiasm up. By knowing what great stuff you want to read, you will reinforce your reading habit.

5. Turn off the television. Many people say they just don't have enough time. Television is one of our major time consumers. Make your television watching more conscious and less habitual. There is nothing wrong with watching television shows you really enjoy. Where the time gets lost is turning it on, and scanning to find "something to watch." Those are the times to turn it off and pick up your book!

6. Listen when you can't read. Use your commute and other time spent in the car to listen! There are great audio versions of all sorts of books. Whether you want to "read" fiction, the latest self-help or diet book, it is probably available on tape. Don't get locked into the idea that you have to read it - listening to the book still gives you the experience, ideas, and imagination that reading a book can.

7. Join a reading group or book club. Reading groups typically meet once a month to discuss a book they have all decided to read. Committing to the group provides a bit more impetus to finish the book, and gives you a great forum for discussion and socialization around the book's themes.

8. Visit the library or bookstore often. You have your list, right? So you'll have some ideas of what you are looking for when you walk in. But there is more to be gained by walking through places where books reside than just to make a transaction. Take time to browse! Let your eyes find things of interest. Let serendipity happen. Browsing will feed your mental need to read, and give you plenty of new things to read.

9. Build your own strategy. Decide when reading fits your schedule. Some people read first thing in the morning, some before bed. Some decide to read as they eat their lunch. And there is more to your strategy than just timing. Make your own decisions about reading. It is ok to be reading more than one book at once. It is ok to stop reading something before you finish if it isn't holding your interest. It is ok to skim the book, getting what you want or need, without reading every page. Determine what works best for you, develop your own beliefs and ideas--then make them work for you.

10. Drop Everything and Read. My son's fourth grade class has DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time. When the teacher calls for it, that's just what they do. They read now. That is my last piece of advice for you. Do it. Just get started. Make it DEAR time. Now.

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©2002, All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry. Kevin publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly ezine designed to provide ideas, tools, techniques and inspiration to enhance your professional skills. Go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/current.asp to read the current issue and subscribe. Kevin is also President of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. You may contact Kevin at toll free 888.LEARNER.

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Rather than trying to override our inbuilt talent for problem spotting, how about if we were to creatively utilize it as a catalyst for improving our circumstances instead.

Read the whole article in Pivotal Magazine => http://bit.ly/YvFap4

It’s embarrassing for the nervous speaker and it’s embarrassing for the audience - those awkward, horrible moments when something goes wrong, something embarrassing happens. They are an experience neither the audience nor the speaker wants to have to endure.

 Here are four situations where you can smooth out those embarrassing moments … and a powerful strategy to use in the future.

1. The mental blank That terrible moment when someone loses complete track of what they are saying - there is a blank, their face drops, and then becomes more and more frantic. This is painful not only for the speaker but for the audience. Develop a strategy now so that if, despite your best preparations, a blank happens, you have something to say. You could remark, “Oops I’ve lost it” and maybe you can add some appropriate humour (“Must have left the speech in front of the mirror!”) and then add something like “Now where was I?” Look at your notes if necessary – “We were talking about …” If it’s really bad, ask the audience. Whatever strategy you use along these lines, you keep the audience, and yourself, moving on, returning to target and none of you is embarrassed. So if you fear the blank moment, be prepared with a strategy that will allow you to deal smoothly with the situation.

2. The audience is bored It’s a moment that nervous speakers dread – to realise that most of your audience is bored. They’re glassy eyed, maybe even falling asleep, chatting or texting on their mobile hones. Horrors! Worse still and more embarrassing is the presenter who becomes frantic, attempting to regain attention. Avoid the whole situation if you can by ensuring you have variety wired into your presentation, and have something up your sleeve that you can move into if necessary. Introduce a new visual. Involve the audience. Change your stance, body language or walking pattern. Stop. Stand still. Whatever you use, it will become a smooth, professional piece of your presentation instead of a situation that embarrasses you and your audience.

3. Dry mouth Do you have a persistent dry mouth? Then take a glass of water with you. Before the speech, organise a place to put it and then choose a time where you can drink without interrupting the flow of your speech. Incorporate this into the planning of your presentation and your visualisation of your successful presentation. If it does interrupt, then find a way to explain it, incorporate it, or joke about it.

4. Those other embarrassing physical symptoms The same applies to anything else you expect might embarrass you or detract from your speech. If you cannot overcome the physical symptoms in the lead up to the speech, then these are the ones you need to develop strategies for. And use this same set of tactics for any other symptoms like blushing or shakes – if they detract from your speech – find a way to explain it, incorporate it or joke about it.

Then you will have defused any embarrassment that you feel or your audience feels. In all of these situations where you might make mistakes or have a mishap, there is one underlying powerful principle that works to avoid embarrassment: “It doesn’t matter what happens. What matters is how you deal with what happens.” It really does not matter!. The embarrassment for everyone lies not in the event itself, but in how you respond to it. So instead of being embarrassed, respond, instead, with professionalism and confidence.

Be as prepared as you can for whatever may arise, and be prepared to explain, incorporate or joke if something does happen. Then you will have been able to deal with it, confidently and professionally - without embarrassment. The added bonus? You are reducing your nervousness and increasing your confidence in the process.

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©Bronwyn Ritchie
If you want to include this article in your publication, please do, but please include the following information with it:
Bronwyn Ritchie is a professional librarian, writer, award-winning speaker and trainer. She is a certified corporate trainer and speech contest judge with POWERtalk, a certified World Class Speaking coach, and has had 30 years experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking. Get her 30 speaking tips FREE and boost your public speaking mastery over 30 weeks. Go to http://www.30speakingtips.com

"It's only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are without any self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events by which the path to success may be recognized." I Ching

Naked, undiluted reality can be a harsh or even bitter foe in confronting the conditions and challenges of our everyday life. On a global level, wars, natural disasters, disease, famine, political turmoil and terrorism can "take a toll on our soul" as we search for meaning by asking "why" things have to be this way.

On a personal level, the economy, our financial circumstance, illness, moments of family trials and turmoil and even routine disappointments can cause us to seek an escape to a better "reality" through fantasy, distraction, or simple denial.

I've shucked and ducked "reality" more times than I care to share or admit, even to myself. It's a human reaction but it doesn't have to be our only mechanism for maintaining our mental sanity and emotional stability.

"Reality" can also be a joyous recognition and embodiment of the beauty that surrounds our everyday existence-love, kindness, caring, sharing, and the opportunity for growth and achievement. The chance to make the world and the reality in which we live a better place. The opportunity to pursue our passions and our personal bliss.

Both realities exists within us and within the world. Our ability to shift our attention to what we focus on is an important coping mechanism or even an element to change our perception of the reality of "what is."

But before we can find our way in the world that exists and create a true and lasting reality in our lives we want-we must first face "what is" before moving onto what could and can be.

Looking only at the "good" while ignoring the "bad" might be a formula for short-term pleasure and pacification. Lasting happiness and meaning, however, can only come through recognizing the full reality in which we are while moving toward what reality we'd rather have and accept.

Subjective reality allows us to make sense of and give meaning to what already exists or what's already happened. We can make up our mind to be happy, to be positive, and to focus only on the "good" we see in the world. However, a made up mind is often blind-that same "positive" subjectiveness can often confine us to tolerating things only as they "are" while ignoring other possibilities as to what they could be.

Ayn Rand is quoted as saying, "We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality."

Objective reality is the ability to observe not only what was, what is, and what will be if we're willing to shine "our light" on the path to success as we define it. It means we have the courage not to ignore that which we don't want to see or to face. It means we're open to other possibilities and perceptions about what's going on in the world, in our lives, and within ourselves.

"Transformation begins with a willingness to let go of who and what we were."

Spike Humer

We can only change ourselves and the world through impartial and unprejudiced thinking separating what "is" from what and how we'd like things to be. Seek out dissenting opinions and differing perspectives about reality as you see it. Challenge your assumptions and beliefs by searching for contrasting conversations and counterexamples.

Let's be clear-I'm not advocating we argue for our "limitations" and liabilities. On the contrary; I am encouraging everyone to be an advocate of their own potentials and possibilities through an unbiased eye seeing what we have to do different in order to be different and have different.

It takes courage to be a "realist" but it doesn't mean we can't be visionaries and creators of our future and new realities.

It simply begins with looking into our own eyes and heart and saying, "here's where I am, here's what exists, here's what I want instead, and here's what I'm willing to do to change it"- STARTING NOW

Author: Spike Humer ... He's been the "go-to" guy for scores of individuals and business-owners around the world. Thousands of companies, organizations, and people looking for new growth and profitability for their businesses and increases in their personal success have turned to Spike and his advice through his programs, group mentoring, and personal consultations. His proprietary systems for generating new profits and his results-proven advice have been sought after by success-seeking people in over thirty countries.
Blog: http://www.spikehumer.com/
Business:
http://www.smallbusinessbreakthroughs.com
http://www.the10dayturnaroundbook.com
Personal:
http://onlinebusinessbreakthroughs.com/

I find the concept in this article interesting, and though it may have been written for a specific person or group, it has benefits for everyone....

What I read for a Capricorn this AM and my process below

The Akashic Blueprint: Expressed through the archetypal principle of the Sphinx ~ The Desert: Sacred Archetypal Element of Fire

You are in a fiery process of death, rebirth, and transformation. Spend some time sitting before an open fire or in the sunlight. Light some candles, especially in the dark days of winter. As you meditate on the desert and fire, consider what no longer serves you and offer it to the fire. Ask the fire to embrace and guide you safely through your transformation.

In the desert, we are surrounded by sand and a fiery red sky, with sun pouring down on the ground and wavy energy rising into the air. This is not a mirage, but rather another dimension-the domain of fire. Many mystics have quested for answers to life's deepest questions in that place of aridity, fire, and heat, for it is a place of true transformation. The energy of fire is quick; it consumes everything in its path in the blink of an eye.

The energies of fire push us toward the death of the old and the struggle for new birth, for when we go out into the desert we realize how tenuous our hold is on life, and how easily and quickly we might perish. Yet it is in our willingness to die to the old and leap into the fires of transformation that we surrender the outcome and the future to wisdom beyond our egoic minds and egoic designs. "Trial by fire" speaks of the tempering quality of fire: it burns away the dross, which includes everything except the essence of what needs to be carried forth. Out of the flaming heat, the scorching fires of transformation, true wisdom is born, rising up out of the desert pyre like a phoenix with brilliant multicolored feathers glinting in the relentless sun.

Special Interpretation Notes:

As one or more of the archetypes specifically associated with this spread are present, there is a doubling of their power.

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Interestingly, I sit in front of the fire every morning and watch the waves of heat through the window as I light candles everyday in front of me and contemplate how my life is falling away in every sense... the fall before the Phoenix rising. I watch as everything goes away and I as quake in fear I also know that it must be so. I have written of this before and have experienced it too... not quite to this depth or a cut so quick to the bone, but I am blessed beyond measure for I know what a battle it is... to get rid of the ego and have my Soul be true. My strength at times has been my downfall too, and as I sit pondering it all, as I watch myself fall right on through the fire... and into the my Soul! And so I shiver and shake as I watch and wonder in anticipation... what is to come next!!

Author: By Federico Caprotta You can read more of his writings and comments on https://www.facebook.com/HowToMakeYourselfLookAndFeelBetter?ref=hl