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Why would we need to examine our lives? What benefit does it
yield? Isn’t it just rehashing the past?

All of these questions have merit and I will examine each in this
article.

Self progression has a strong tie to one’s willingness to be able to
reflect on pertinent decisions. Moreover, this task, if done daily
and immediately after an action or decision, can bear much fruit.

Have you ever sat and stared out at something beautiful like a
glassy lake or a foggy mountain and simply thought about your life
and what it seemingly means?

This, simply put, is the nuts and bolts of introspection. To
introspect is, in basic terms, reflecting or self examining what
certain things mean to you. Introspection allows you to ask
yourself why you should or shouldn’t have done something a
certain way.

Asking poignant, yet logical, questions to yourself and resolving to
come out more insightful because of this action, clears the
ambiguities of life.

Becoming accountable to yourself as well as others is an extremely
empowering concept. This means that whatever comes around the
bend or up the hill, you are resolved to face it without the worry of
contaminating something due to your actions or lack thereof.

This, in turn, certainly becomes a sort of purification process and
eases any turmoils that rattle your subconscious. It’s truly
beneficial to resist stagnation, strive for self progression, and
discover introspection’s significant importance.

Without a doubt, many people would argue that the past is just the
past, and rehashing it is merely a waste of time, so just move
forward.

Well, moving forward is one thing. However, dissecting your
recent and long-term past, is truly the only way we can learn from
our mistakes, keeping those lessons learned always in our back
pocket.

Don’t be afraid to be critical, if your actions or lack thereof,
warrant it.

In self examination, sometimes you need to be a tough critic. This
concept raises the bar of standards and ensures that it doesn’t
naturally slide downward due to self-neglect.

Constantly moving forward should only proceed once examination
and accountability has been achieved. It is definitely nothing less
than horrible advice to forget about everything when people say
this. It is basically saying turn the other cheek to reality and step
away by moving forward.

Although, there are many scenarios in life, like a breakup in a
relationship, where sometimes moving forward sooner than later is
indicated; however, these still need the assistance of introspection.

In the event your ego is simply too important because everything
you do or touch usually turns to gold and silver anyway, then it’s
time to check that at the door.

By not checking your ego or narcissism, your simply becoming like
that of a plant that never grows. You are always fed with water
and sunlight but, due to your lack of introspection, you stay static
amongst the many others becoming taller and stronger around you.

Committing to yourself to daily self examination will undoubtedly
improve your moral character, but more importantly, help in your
overall self progression. Resolve to become and stay permanently
committed.

–by Brian Maloney-ValuePrep.com
Want to improve your personal values?
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guys and gals from a ‘Logical’ standpoint.
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Have you ever noticed how you tend to do many things automatically? Now many of these automatic behaviors may be desirable but also many are not.

For instance if you look at all of those “bad habits” that you are still trying to break I think you will recognize the extent to which you are “not” completely “in control” of your life.

So how does it feel to realize that you “are not” completely the master of your life? Well you likely feel some or all of the following; weak, frustrated, limited, angry, out of control, helpless, trapped, stuck, hopeless, sad, depressed, defective, inadequate, like a victim and so on.

The net result is that these “negative automatic behaviors” rob your life and your energy away from you!

Now I’m not trying to make you feel worse by saying all of this. Suppose you don’t recognize that this is happening to you and you just go on “living” as if you are in control of your life when you’re not will that make you feel better?

In other words is “not knowing” that you are enslaved going to give you any comfort? Many tend to believe this is so. For instance have you ever heard the phrase: “Ignorance is bliss”? This however is denial that exists because of your fear of acknowledging the truth about your situation.

If this is you, I urge you to think again.

After some consideration I think you will recognize that being fully aware of your enslavement along with the pain that goes with such awareness is better than denying that it is happening.

This “awakening” to the truth of your situation is indeed the first step to freedom and mastery of your life.

So what do you do now that you are aware of your enslavement?

Well, using the awareness of the pain that goes with each and every “negative automatic behavior” you make a willful choice to do it differently. By exercising your will in this fashion you will be doing several things.

1. You will be strengthening your will.

2. You will be unearthing the deep roots of the negative automatic behavior so that you can see it more clearly.

3. You will be asserting your deep desire to be the master of your life.

Now of course you’ve probably tried this sort of thing before and have likely met with some stiff resistance within yourself that has weakened your resolve to free yourself.

What is the nature of this resistance?

Well there are many levels to it but in general it amounts to your “need” to relinquish responsibility for your life to something other than yourself.

The belief goes something like this:

By relinquishing responsibility for my life:

1. I will not be accountable for any mistakes that might ensue, so that,

2. I will be off the hook, so that,

3. I will feel a sense of relief, immune to criticism, safe, calm, secure, happy, joyful and fulfilled.

So in summary we have:

(A) The need to relinquish responsibility for my life to something else makes me feel a sense of relief, immune to criticism, safe, calm, secure, happy, joyful and fulfilled.

Is statement (A) true?

Well if it were then you wouldn’t have a problem would you?

In fact you wouldn’t feel like the “victim” I described earlier.

But you do feel like a victim to these automatic behaviors don’t you? Isn’t that why you’ve read this article to this point? So clearly (A) is false!

If you recognize that then please admit it to yourself that (A) is false now and then notice how you feel.

If you’ve followed me so far and have chosen to be honest with yourself about what has been said then you are likely feeling a greater sense of freedom than you did earlier.

If you’d like to reclaim full and complete control of your life and your life energy then kindly visit the web link below for more support.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called “Spirituality And Science” (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of “Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation” (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

Business URL #1: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

Personal URL: http://www.telecoaching4u.com/Spirituality_And_Science.htm

How to meditate, it’s an unusual topic for this series. However, it is very applicable. As we discuss the problems of losing your temper, a serious problem in depression, it is helpful to know how to meditate, because meditation is a very effective technique for calming yourself.

The first step towards meditation is to turn off the TV, the radio, try to eliminate as much noise as possible. Meditation will encourage you to focus on your own breath, and that is what you want to be listening for. You want to try and avoid any distraction at this point. Second, close your eyes. You may want to open them to see what is going on, but remember, you are focusing on the internal right now, not the external. It doesn’t matter what is going on in the other room. All that matters is what you are doing. Take deep breaths. Get into a rhythm of deep breaths in and out. Try to extend your exhalation so it is longer than your inhalation. Begin counting to ten with the odd numbers on the inhale and the even numbers on the exhale. This will put you in your body’s natural rhythm. With your eyes closed, imagine a shade of purple that just gets darker and darker without ever turning to black. This will give you your focal point. The deep purple will soothe you, as will the counting of your breath.

Eventually, you might find that you only need to breathe and be able to go into a meditative state. That is fine. Always remember to count from one to ten in cycles, though because you do want to bring your body to that calming rhythm. The pace of your breathing is what will maintain your calm and without that, you will not be able to move on.

You can read more about depression at http://www.curemydepression.com

Walking meditation is a practice that I was introduced to in 1992, by the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It was offered as part of a three-week retreat at Plum Village ~ Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery in south-central France. What’s wonderful about this practice is that it takes something that most of us do everyday (walking!), and transforms in such a way that it becomes a tool for becoming more awake, more conscious, more peaceful and clear … more ALIVE in the present moment. There are many variations of this practice. I’ll offer a couple of them here, and if you’d like to learn more, a good starting-point is Thich Nhat Hanh’s beautiful little book, “A Guide To Walking Meditation.”

We can practice walking meditation either indoors or outside. It’s especially wonderful along the banks of a river, or on a forest path … but it can be done just about anywhere! So choose your location, and then begin by simply standing, in a balanced way, with your arms hanging down at your sides. Try to arrange your feet so that they’re parallel (neither pigeon-toed nor duck-footed), and so that you’re taking an equal amount of body weight on your right foot and left foot; on the heels and base of toes; on the inside and the outside of your feet. Play with this for a few minutes, noticing your habitual patterns, and ~ with an attitude of kindness ~ trying to bring more balance into how you stand.

Then, with your arms and shoulders still relaxed, hold one hand gently in the other, either in front of your torso or behind. Now, with an inhalation, take a slow, deliberate step forward. As you place that first foot gently down, imagine that you’re kissing the earth (with the sole of your foot, either directly, in you’re bare-foot, or through the soles of your shoes). With the very next exhalation, step with your other foot, again imagining it “kissing” the earth as it makes contact with the ground. So we’re coordinating our steps with our breath with our imagination: bringing body, mind & breath together … as though we were creating a beautiful braid, from three silken cords. Inhale~step, exhale~step, inhale~step, exhale~step. This will most likely be quite a bit slower than you’re used to walking, and may feel quite awkward at first. No problem! If you’re patient, and stick with, little by little it will become easier, more natural … and more and more delightful! You can also experiment with taking more than one step with each inhalation and each exhalation, but it’s good to start in this slow way. (As a way of unwinding our habit of rushing.)

Once you’re comfortable with this much, you can add to the visualization, in the following way: continue to imagine, when placing each foot, that you’re kissing the earth, and then imagine also that as you lift each foot away from the earth (to begin its next step) that in the place where that foot just was, a beautiful lotus flower blooms. So that as you walk, you not only ~ with your gentle mindful stepping ~ kiss the earth, but you also leave ~ in your wake ~ a long line of blossoming flowers! After practicing like this for five or ten minutes, or a half hour, notice how you feel … And notice also how the world around you now appears.

Another way of exploring this practice is to say internally, with each inhale~step, the word “yes” … and with each exhale~step the words “thank you.” So as we inhale and place one foot down we’re saying “yes” to life: to all its beauty as well as to the suffering that exists around and within us, and we’re opening our hearts to receive all that life has to offer. Then as we exhale and place the other foot down we’re saying “thank you,” expressing our gratitude for this wonderful human life, this human body, the trees and the grass, our friends and family; gratitude for this opportunity we have to be here, practicing, and for all the wonderful teachers & guides who have come before us. After practicing like this ~ yes, thank you, yes, thank you ~ for five or ten minutes, or a half hour, notice how you feel, and how the world around you is now appearing.

And feel free to share this practice with others!

Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website at http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger.

Stress and anxiety seem to be the health issues we are dealing with these days. So many people dealing with too much work, too many bills, not enough peace and quiet. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could get away, to a beautiful place of peace and quiet, for even just five minutes a day?

During this article, you will learn how to create an Inner Sanctuary. A place where you can go, that no-one else can visit. You won’t be disturbed by the phone, or the kids, or traffic, it won’t cost you anything to go there, and there’s no travel. You can spend as little or as much time there as you choose, and visit as often as you like.

The Inner Sanctuary is not a cure-all for the stress of daily living, it is important to develop a number of tools to help you live a healthier life. However, the Sanctuary is a very helpful and powerful tool and is easy for anyone to use.

Creating your Inner Sanctuary is a very simple exercise. You don’t even have to know how to meditate. By simply using your imagination, you can develop the most wonderful place, solely for your use.

Here are some guidelines to help you:-

• Choose a place of nature, a forest, a beach, a desert, whatever feels peaceful to you.

• Include running water somewhere in your place, a waterfall, a pool, the ocean are all wonderful choices.
• If you live in a mainly hot climate, make sure there is plenty of shade and cool in your sanctuary. Likewise, if you live in a cold area, have lots of snuggly areas, you could even create a cosy little cabin with a fireplace, or choose somewhere warm like the beach.
• Remember that you can add or change areas to your Sanctuary, any time you choose.

Once you have designed your sanctuary, try it out. Using your imagination, feel yourself walking around, breathing in the clean, fresh air, floating in the water, washing off the cobwebs and tiredness under the waterfall. Sinking deep into the cool earth to be replenished, nourished and nurtured. Recognise that there is no time here, no pressure, no expectations. This is a place of healing and nurturing, pure freedom. Breathe slowly the whole time you are here, this regulates your body’s rhythms and calms you down.

Take your time developing your relationship with this place. This is always meant to be a place of peace, healing and joy for you, so make sure you use it to clear away any stress or frustration. Swimming, wading in water or standing under a waterfall is a wonderful way to clear away the dust and dirt of living. Once you’ve cleared up the stress, spend a bit of time enjoying the peace of your sanctuary before returning to the physical world.

After a while of visiting this Sanctuary, you will find that you can visit it for just a few seconds at work when you are feeling harrassed, or in a traffic jam where feelings of frustration build so quickly, and harmony is restored.

Now that you have your Inner Sanctuary, it is important to make use of it. Not just in quiet times at home, but also in your toilet break at work and other times of stress. The more you use it, the better you will get at dealing with stress and frustration.

Daniella Breen B.Sc. (Psych) has been practicing meditation for most of her life and has been a Meditation Instructor for 9 years. You will find some of her Guided Meditations available free to copy at http://www.ShamanGoddess.com and at her forum linked from that site. Finally, Daniella does design personal meditation for specific issues or focuses. This service is also available at her site.

What if I told you that there is one thing you can do that would make more of a difference in changing your life than anything else I know of? What if I told you that this thing can be done almost anywhere, can be performed by anyone, is free, takes no special equipment, is stress reducing, and even relaxing? What if I told you that this thing, more than anything else you’ve tried, can truly change the way you live, the way you relate to people, the way you perceive the world and most importantly, the way you think and feel? Would you do it?

Well, many of you have already tried it and given up. Some of you are doing it and some have never tried it. What is it? It is meditation. Now before you groan and sigh, hear me out.

In my own journey for personal growth, I’ve tried many, many techniques and methods. I’ve studied with many therapists, coaches, teachers and masters. I’ve attended workshops, seminars, and teleclasses. All of the strategies that have helped me grow are in my own personal tool box. I use many of these techniques in my workshops and my coaching. But the one that I depend on in my personal life the most is meditation.

Meditation is like a foundation for the house (self) I’m building. It is like preparation of the field for planting by clearing and tilling. Many of the tools and methods I’ve learning worked well because of the foundation (meditation) on which they were built. Meditation’s effects are cumulative and can be very subtle. You may not even notice on a day to day basis that changes are occurring. Then one day you look around and notice that you are clearer, less stressed, calmer and have a feeling of being “more” you. One of the more profound effects of meditating is the strengthening of the “witness” or “observer” part of myself, that is, the part of me that observes how I am acting or reacting and notices the emotions I feel, but is not “hooked” by them. This witness function is vital to personal evolution.

fter all, it is what gives you the observation or insight in the first place. If you cannot observe what you are doing, you cannot gain understanding and/or change it. This is where real growth occurs. When you have a strong witness within, you have distance from what you are feeling and reacting to. This keeps you from being totally at the mercy of your thoughts, feelings, sensations and reactions. What an incredible relief!

The obstacles to meditating are the same obstacles we have to doing anything that is new or may actually be good for us. Our ego gets involved and tells us we don’t have time or the space or can’t figure out how to do it or we don’t feel like it today, etc.

I find that daily practice works best for me. You cannot have a bad meditation. Every meditation, even one where you are wiggling or have whirling thoughts or fall asleep
are good meditations, because one of the main purposes of meditation is to learn about yourself. You can build a meditation habit just like you build a habit for anything. Do it every day whether you want to or not. Set aside the time, say 15 to 30 minutes to start and begin.

There are many books on how to meditate (see below for recommendations), but in brief:

· Sit up straight on the floor on cushions or on a chair.

· Your head is held balanced on your neck with chin slightly tucked to your chest.

· Feet flat on the floor or crossed with right leg in front of left if on floor.

· Hands in your lap, right hand palm up on left palm.

· Do not lean your back against a wall or chair, unless you have a medical reason to do so.

· You should be in an alert but relaxed position.

· You may close your eyes or keep them partially open in soft focus looking down to a point about six feet in front of you.

· You may have to build up your stamina to remain in this position for the full time.

· If you fall asleep, sit up very straight, and no leaning.

And of course, never meditate while driving or doing something that requires your concentration. This is by no means intended to be a complete discussion of meditation, just enough to get your started.

Mary Anne Fields is a Life Coach and Trainer dedicated to helping mid-lifers change their lives. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter at http://www.LifeUnfolds.com and receive a free report “85 Ways To Be Happier Now”. To help you get started with your meditation practice, she has a fr*ee gift for you. The 5 Minute Meditation MP3 audio download is available for the readers of this article at http://www.LifeUnfolds.com/5minutemeditation.htm

Should you be dedicated to explore consciousness, you will sooner or later uncover a belief in your inadequacy. Maybe it will touch your finances, maybe it will express itself in a series of unsuccessful relationships, maybe you will experience some resistance in marketing your services properly… You and I have long practiced this religion, whose sacred shrine is erected to mistrust, whose ritualistic litany is “I can’t have it”, and whose credo is “I am not good enough!” Considering all that is at stake, how about letting the why and the why not of your worthiness run over your dogma?

1. Why did you start feeling the lack?
Look around… I have read somewhere that 1 out of 3 people has a sense of his or her own worth. The other two converted to and obeyed the parental indoctrination, the societal conditioning, the religious taming that makes it not all right to ask for what you want. “Shhh! This is not polite; do not bring attention to you, do not make yourself known!” “Be small” is the implicit message, “be invisible, be silent, do not disturb…”
Change the pattern: do one outrageous thing today!

2. Why is there worthy, and why wicked?
There is a French proverb to say: “There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.” Did you not yet forgive that you once were called “Eve”, ate an apple that was not on your low disobedience diet, and then influenced others to also splurge? Did you not yet forgive you to have let yourself being influenced in your choices? Well, you did it. You paid for it, and it is now a done deal. Change the pattern: Do an act of random beauty today!

3. Why is worth associated with money?
What a great question! Our financial jargon speaks of “net worth”, and thereby attempts to quantify our value. Isn’t that interesting? Thus lack is installed in our psyche, through an emptiness that finds no solace. Change the pattern: Write yourself a short epitaph, and imagine the legacy you have left to the world!

4. Why do people feel “not enough”?
I have much practice in this one. I used to be either not enough, or too much, flipping from one to the other, submitted to the madness of the pendulum. Yet what does it truly mean to be “not enough”? How much is enough? There will always be someone faster, someone more intelligent, more successful, stronger… Change the pattern: Spend a week labeling things: “too much” or “not enough”, until you connect to the absurdity of it all!

5. Why would you tolerate unworthiness?
I don’t know about you, but for me, it allowed me to stop time. More exactly, it allowed me to have some unconscious time, some time where I would not claim full responsibility for what was happening, some time where I would not allow my dreams, some victim time… Potent, isn’t it? Tomorrow, I’ll start on that new diet, tomorrow, I’ll write that article, tomorrow, I’ll stand up for myself. Change the pattern: Write down 3 things that you are tolerating and remedy them!

6. Why is one worthy and one not?
Self reliance and integrity! When you do not do whatever you have agreed to do, don’t you start to dislike yourself? That is the definition of trust, isn’t it, to have confidence in someone’s word and worth! Change the pattern: Admit to yourself what is the one thing that would make a difference in your life and DO IT!

7. Why not offering something of value?
This is truly the basis of ethics in business, to provide value for your customers. What idea would be worth to someone, what services would someone be likely to buy? What would make the day beneficial? What part of you can you share, which will make this world a better place? Change the pattern: Have a talk today with your heART!

8. Why not increasing your visibility?
That one can be fun! Actually they all can be fun! Increasing your visibility might mean to create an ezine, to go to some networking events, call them “parties” if you’d like, to write an e-book and have a website where people can buy it, to speak to a thousand people about what you do. You tell me how you changed the hiding pattern!

9. Why not creating alliances?
Actually, creating an alliance is an extension of questions 7 and 8. Once you have connected with the service, idea, product that would be helpful and desired by your clients, and once you’ve become reasonably “viewed”, simply find out what would be auspicious to the clients of the person with whom you wish to create an alliance. That simple! Make a list of 10 people you would like to play with: that will change the pattern!

10. Why not connecting to your Passion?
The P letter is so Playful, and of a Power that is solely based on how much Presence and Peace you give yourself Permission to have. Increasingly, and with a little Patience, your will attain the Particularity of you, your very Purpose, your Present to the world… Experience how Pleasurable it is to live your Passion with no bounds, Plentifully! A big Plus, indeed, and Perfection! Did you say “Pattern”? What Pattern?

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Unless noted otherwise, all material is written and edited by Mahalene Louis, Copyright (c) Soulvision Axis, Inc. (r) 2003. All rights reserved. You may reprint material from “Turn on the Light!” Top Ten in other electronic or print publications provided the above copyright notice and a link to http://www.mahalenelouis.com is included in the credits. Also please send us a copy of the publication. When forwarding this material, please send the entire article intact and unadulterated.

Bio

Mahalene is an Inspiration Anchor, an Artist, an Author and the President of Soulvision Axis, Inc., a company assisting visionaries to unleash their creativity and awaken their spirit. She authored the Ten Techniques for heARTful living, as a result of 22 years of study and experience in creativity, communication and human development.

Beyond several local publications and national e-publications to which she is a regular contributor, she currently writes a blog (http://www.mahasblog.com) and publishes a monthly e-zine, Stop Trying, Start Trusting Mahazine, addressed to visionaries, holistic coaches, and consultants on the way to birth their personal and professional leadership. She also offers a Seven Weeks Mini-course, mad from the heART, and mini inspiring movies. Please do feel free to check out her work; http://www.mahalenelouis.com

The lady crashed through the surface of the ice. She landed in the ice water. It felt so cold. She shivered wildly. In her hopes of getting out she quickly looked around.

There he was walking across the frozen surface of the pond. Looking at him, she yelled, “Help!”

He turned and saw her. He started walking towards her.

She just kept on thrashing her arms around wildly and screaming, “Help!”

He went over to one side of her. He asked, “What are you doing?”
She jittered and shivered while she answered, “What does it look like? I fell through the ice and need help getting out.”

He leaned his head forward towards her and then said, “It’s really very simple. I see that you’re not underwater. You’re standing on top of it…

You are standing there swinging your arms around through the air. You’ve believed something that is not true.

To see what’s really going on you must stop believing the lie…”
After he told her how to get out of the situation, he kept standing there watching her, and waiting.

He told her again, “Believe what I say! You don’t have to feel the way that you do right now!”

She just kept standing on the ice, thrashing her arms around like she was cold and treading water.

He kept standing there waiting for her to believe him…

It is this way with God too. He sees the reality of where we’re at and what we’re doing. He knows our thoughts and intentions. He knows whether or not we really believe what He says over what we see or hear around us.

Very Important!
If we really listened and believed God then there wouldn’t be garbage (ice water) surrounding us!

We might be so familiar in what we think is going on around us that we’re not even listening to God. He tells us repeatedly how to have even better circumstances than we have right now!

Yes, God is incredibly patient with us. We can ask God for help getting out of the garbage (ice water) and He does it. He told us that we are to ask Him and believe that we are getting what we ask for and we do get it (Mark 11:24).

Sooner or later we have to realize the truth. God is helping us while we’re actually believing a lie and standing on top of the problem!

Make sure that you’re catching the truth by reading the word of God (your Bible) everyday! No matter how deep you think you are, you’re really not! With God all things are possible (Mark 10:27) -and He Loves You Now!!

Sharing His Love,
-Michelle Jacobson

P.S. Your chance to “Find Out the Hidden Steps to Success” is now available. Don’t miss out!

-Go to http://www.SeedMinistries.com and go to the link on the first page!

Feel free to distribute this article if it is kept as is, including the Resource Box at the bottom. Notification of online use is not required but I would appreciate it. Please contact the author at contact@seedministries.com prior to use in printed media.

Michelle Jacobson is the author and webmaster at SeedMinistries.com where you get your chance to find out the hidden steps to success! Don’t miss out!

Everyone wants a blue ribbon. Blue. First place. The best. Even kindergarteners want that blue ribbon. In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race I was always last. In baseball I was as likely to get hit on the head as to drop the ball. In basketball I was fine as long as there weren’t nine other players on the court with me. Where I got my horrible sports ability, I don’t know, but I got it. And I got it early.

During the spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a fieldtrip to a park in a town about 20 miles away. Making that drive now is no big deal, but when you’re six and you’ve lived in a town of 300 all your life, going to a town of a couple thousand is a very big deal. Nonetheless, looking back now, I don’t remember much of that day. I’m sure we ate our little sack lunches, played on the swings, slid down the slide—typical six-year-old stuff. Then it was time for the races.

However, these were no ordinary races. Some parent had come up with the idea to have the picnic kind of races, like pass the potato under your neck and hold an egg on a spoon while you run to the other side. I don’t remember too much about these, but there was one race that will forever be lodged in my memory—the three-legged race.

The parents decided not to use potato sacks for this particular race. Instead, they tied our feet together. One lucky little boy got me for a partner. Now what you have to know about this little boy is that he was the second most athletic boy in our class. I’m sure he knew he was in trouble the second they laced his foot to mine. As for me, I was mortified. This guy was a winner. He almost always won, and I knew that, with me, he didn’t have a chance.

However, apparently he didn’t realize that as deeply as I did at the time. He laced his arm with mine, the gun sounded, and we were off to the other side. Couples were falling and stumbling all around us, but we stayed on our feet and made it to the other side. Unbelievably when we turned around and headed back for home, we were in the lead! Only one other couple even had a chance, and they were a good several yards behind us.

Then only feet from the finish line, disaster struck. I tripped and fell. We were close enough that my partner could have easily dragged me across the finish line and won. He could have, but he didn’t. Instead, he stopped, reached down, and helped me up—just as the other couple crossed the finish line.

I still remember that moment, and I still have that little red ribbon. When we graduated 13 years later, I stood on that stage and gave the Valedictory address to that same group of students, none of whom even remembered that moment anymore. So, I told them about that little boy who had made a split-second decision that helping a friend up was more important than winning a blue ribbon. In my speech I told them that I wouldn’t tell which of the guys sitting there on that stage was the little boy although he was up there with me. I wouldn’t tell because in truth at one time or another all of them had been that little boy—helping me up when I fell, taking time out from their pursuit of their own goals to help a fellow person in need.

And I told them why I’ve kept that ribbon. You see to me, that ribbon is a reminder that you don’t have to be a winner in the eyes of the world to be a winner to those closest to you. The world may judge you a failure or a success, but those closest to you will know the truth. That’s important to remember as we travel through this life.

You may not have a red ribbon to prove it, but I sincerely hope you have at least a few friends who remember you for taking time out from your pursuit of that blue ribbon to help them. I’m thinking those will be the ones that really count—I know it’s the one that counted the most to me.

About The Author

Life is meant to be lived—not just survived. Find out how. Visit StaciStallings.com. You’ll feel better for the experience!

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you’ve read in the papers. Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o’clock in the morning. But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won’t need to live in fear of it.

Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within. The first enemy that you’ve got to destroy before it destroys you is indifference. What a tragic disease this is. “Ho-hum, let it slide. I’ll just drift along.” Here’s one problem with drifting: you can’t drift your way to the top of the mountain.

The second enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure, there’s room for healthy skepticism. You can’t believe everything. But you also can’t let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worse of all, they doubt themselves. I’m telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy. Go after it. Get rid of it.

The fourth enemy within is worry. We’ve all got to worry some. Just don’t let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you’ve got to worry. But you can’t let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner. Here’s what you’ve got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you, you’ve got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you’ve got to push back.

The fifth interior enemy is over-caution. It is the timid approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue; it’s an illness. If you let it go, it’ll conquer you. Timid people don’t get promoted. They don’t advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace. You’ve got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what’s holding you back, what’s keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn’s Weekly E-zine.
Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved
worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn’s Weekly E-zine, go to
http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com