We know what its all about guys… brownie points. You need a significant amount stored up for those days when you tell your girlfriend what you really think of her parents or some other thing you wish never came out of your mouth. Here are ten ways to impress your lady and rack up major brownie points in the process:

1. Give her flowers for no reason at all, just to say I love you [or if you are a wimp and you have not said I love you yet, to say I care].

2. Make her dinner and do all the dishes and clean up by yourself.

3. Call her at work and tell her you were thinking about her and just wanted to hear her voice [trust me this one is REALLY good].

4. Be nice to her cat!

5. Learn how to unhook a bra with one hand while kissing her. [Practice on a pillow. Its really annoying when guys can't do this, and a big turn on when they can.]

6. DO NOT look at other women when you go out on dates. EVER!

7. Keep track of little things she likes and her preferences. For example, if she likes honey turkey, pick up that brand and say “you like honey turkey right babe?” Big points.

8. Make a point of not looking at your phone when it rings now and then. When she asks if you are going to get that tell her, “No, the only person I want to talk to is right in front of me.”

9. Bathe

10. Take one for the team and suggest a chick flick.

Okay, go impress her!

The Love Chef
Ten Natural Aphrodisiacs That Deliver Health Benefits and Some Heat Between the Sheets

With all the financial stresses and quarterly deadlines that tend to bear down on us this time of year, getting in the mood for a little ‘Suki Suki’ can be more challenging than a fifth grader. But, a little foreplay is just what the doctor ordered … or more appropriately, what the chef ordered. A little time spent wisely in the kitchen can actually turn up the heat off the stove.

According to experts, some foods have a direct impact on your sex life, affecting your hormones, brain chemistry and energy and stress levels. While some have psychoactive properties, others can even increase blood flow to the genitals.

Work some of these into the evening’s menu and prepare to knock some boots, sista.

ASPARAGUS. Dating back to the 17^th century, scholars have believed that asparagus “stirs up lust in a man and a woman.” Besides its more obvious phallic shape, asparagus is a great source of vitamins A, C, E and B6, potassium, fiber, thiamin and folic acid, which help boost histamine production essential in reaching orgasm in both sexes. Vitamin E is also considered to stimulate production of our sex hormones for a long, healthy sex life.

AVOCADO. The Aztecs thought the fruit resembled testicles when hanging in pairs on trees, Catholic priests in Spain forbade it due to its sexual innuendos and its been used as a remedy for erectile dysfunction in traditional husbandry. Rich in folic acid, vitamin B6 and potassium, the avocado has similar histamine-boosting superpowers as asparagus. Its aphrodisiac effect has also been rumored to come from a component named bromocriptine, which in certain conditions, can influence the functioning of certain glands.

DARK CHOCOLATE. The queen of aphrodisiacs, pure chocolate exudes PEA (phenylethylamine), which releases dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain and helps induce feelings of excitement during orgasm, anandamide, the psychoactive ‘feel-good’ chemical and cacao. Cacao contains tryptophan, which is known to entice a sense of well-being and relaxation. Round two, anyone?

CHILI PEPPERS. Is it getting hot in here? Chili peppers contain capsaicin, which stimulates our nerve endings and evokes physiological responses in our bodies (sweating and increased heart rate) that are reminiscent of sex. Spicy foods are also believed by some to trigger the release of endorphins, body chemicals that give us a natural high essential to lovemaking.

GARLIC. Yes, your breath alone could be a bit of a buzzkill on a first date, but garlic is chock-full of allicin, an ingredient that increases blood flow. Garlic is also considered to treat ailments like the common cold and acne due to its anti-bacterial component. Just keep the gum handy.

GINGER. Sprinkle some grated or sliced ginger into an Asian-inspired dish or dessert cake. Gingerroot raw, cooked or crystallized is actually a stimulant to your circulatory system. Ginger also reduces pain and inflammation, provides relief from migraines and menstrual cramps and has been proven to be effective in the treatment of morning sickness.

FIG. Figs became known as an aphrodisiac because of its suggestive shape resembling the female organs. They are packed with amino acids that improve sexual stamina, and its heady sweetness and creamy consistency is said to induce amore. Figs are also an excellent source of potassium and are packing loads of fiber and calcium.

VANILLA. The tantalizing scent of vanilla is said to increase lust and cure male impotency. In 1762, a German physician claimed that 342 impotent men were changed into astonishing lovers from sipping on vanilla decoctions. The aroma of vanilla also triggers the release of serotonin, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter that causes satisfaction. On the nutritional scale, vanillin, the active component of vanilla, is also a powerful antioxidant, while studies have shown the expensive spice to help prevent against cancer and tumors.

Now, get cookin’ gorgeous. And consider wearing nothing under that apron for once.

Taken from: Healthy Bitch Daily which is a daily health and self-interest guide that gets down and dirty with women on nutrition, health, fitness, beauty, environmental and social awareness, and the forward-thinkers that are changing the world we live in. Created by Kim Barnouin- the co-author of New York Times Bestseller, Skinny Bitch – HBD rounds up a team of experts, celebrities and personalities to offer women the tools and resources they need to change their filthy ways and the world around them. www.healthybitchdaily.com

I started a cleanse about a week before New Year’s because I have been working to get over mono all of December. I was so tired of being sick that I just wanted to feel better. In my head I was fully committed to eating only non-processed foods and drinking extra water. The last couple weeks have not really happened that way however. I found myself craving junk at some points for no apparent reason.

But what I have noticed is that now that I am almost at the end of the cleanse I crave the healthy fruits and veggies. I’ve made some really great homemade meals over the last couple days and my diet is much closer to the perfect diet I had in my head when I started the cleanse. I really don’t know if cleansing does much for you or not. What I think it does is make you more aware of the things that you are putting into your body and the way you are treating yourself; that I think is the biggest benefit of a cleanse.

Women have this tendency to want to be “perfect” all the time. If we slip up and eat something “off” plan we mentally bash ourselves instead of looking at all the good. Who cares if you eat off plan sometimes. I think if you are cruising from 80% and up with healthy food you’ll be just fine. So cleanse away but make sure that with your cleanse you are also cleansing your thoughts.

Christina Helwig

Let me ask you a question. How much sex are you and your partner having? Does he still try to sweep you off your feet or are you living with him like a roommate with occasional benefits? Some people might be offended by this but the reason is your fault. The people who are the most offended typically have let themselves go the most. So toughen up chickie.

I had a conversation recently with one of my good friends who is close to 40 and looks like a Chilean supermodel. She has a gorgeous body, beautiful hair and always is stunning. But my friend works hard at it. In high school she was overweight and a guy broke up with her because of it. She decided that she never wanted to feel that again so she works out every single day; even if its just a walk. Her entire family of female relatives are well over 200 pounds. But she is a size 4. She eats clean, simple healthy food every day and when she does indulge she eats small portions. I have watched her habits the entire time we have been friends. They don’t change. She recently had a baby and she was the most fit and trim pregnant woman I have ever seen. She continued to do her make-up and take care of herself.

A funny thing happens to us women when we snag a man. We stop trying to impress him and decide that he should just love us for who we are. But who are YOU? Are you saying that you are an overweight person, who doesn’t care about their appearance and can’t take the time to put on something other than sweats? Who are you?

I think the truth is that you are a sexy dynamic woman who has not paid enough attention to herself lately. You’d rather blame genetics or your age for the increased weight. But really think about this. You got to where you are because one day you gave up. If you want your car to run smoothly you have to maintain it. Same thing with your body and your relationship.

We think men are supposed to act like the guys in soap operas but we fail to recognize that men would act that way if we acted like the women in the soap operas. If we surprised our husbands in little teddys with champagne and always looked drop dead gorgeous they would kiss us up against a wall and make us swoon on our feet all the time.

While it might sound like I am advocating that you do this to get your man interested in you again, I’m not. I am advocating that you take care of yourself for you. You matter and you should treat yourself with enough respect that you care enough to put on make-up and workout everyday.

I stopped caring about myself for a long time and my results showed it. I have been working to find that deep self love again and am finally entering a space in my life where I feel happy with myself. That happiness has to come from within before it shows on the outside. Your excess weight is a symptom of something deeper going on in your brain. Without unraveling that cord you will stay stuck.

If you need help starting to put your life back together or getting yourself healthy let me know. I know its hard. But without daily effort and caring enough about yourself to “put on some make-up” you’ll stay stuck and miserable. Time moves whether you want it to or not and all you’ll have are empty photo albums and a sense of loss that you did not take action sooner.

Christina Helwig

I’m sitting on a stretcher in Kauai looking out over the waterfall pond at my resort. This place is just an incredible sanctuary for renewing your thinking and opening yourself up to great possibilities. This week I have been digging into Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book Excuses Begone! This book is one that I highly encourage everyone to go out and buy and read over and over again.

I am very impressed with it and have found its focus of living in the present to be truly mind shifting. He breaks this concept down better than any other thinker I have read or studied. We all have a lot that we want to accomplish and each of us has life challenges. When you look at these big goals and the larger things that you want to change in your life all at once; they can be overwhelming. The mental fear that you build up concerning your goals can completely stop you in your tracks. You’ll procrastinate, make excuses and fail to take measurable steps towards your goals because of the sheer size of effort involved in completely accomplishing them.

Moving yourself to present thinking however will take your mind off of the big end results and focus you on what can be done right now to move you a step closer to your goals. Taken in small chunks, goals are very manageable and achievable. You can choose to eat healthy at this one particular meal if you stop thinking about all 50 of the pounds you want to lose. You can earn an extra $100 this month if you stop thinking of the massive amounts of debt that you have.

The alternative is to think about all of it all at once and do nothing to change it because it looks like too much work. But if you examine your life more closely you’ll see that everything happens this way. You do everything all one step at a time. You don’t have a full breakfast until you cook your eggs, heat your toast and pour your juice. When you are beginning to cook you do not think “Its too hard I will never finish it.” You are thinking of the one action you need to take at that time to have a full breakfast. The same logic should be applied to your goals and the things you want to change in your life.

The debt, the weight, and the other changes you want to make can all be chipped away one action at a time. The why bother it will be too hard thinking will vanish if you shift how you view your goals. In reality no impeding doom or danger is lurking for you in the present moment if you do not lose 50 pounds right now or pay off all your debt by tomorrow. Yes life might be harder than you would like it to be but nothing terrible will happen to you. Many of us live in a bubble of “I have to do this now.” “All my debt needs to go away by next month.” “I need to lose 50 pounds in two months.” If you fail to take action and work yourself out of mental inertia you will be in the same or a worse position a year from now. But if you focus on what you can do now to make your life better and then do it. You will be many steps closer to your goal a year from now.

I think a lot of why people are not able to grasp the idea that they can have great wealth and health in their lives is because they all look at the end result and think its too much work. They fail to appreciate that 2 pounds a week is 104 pounds in a year and that just increasing your income by a small amount adds up to a lot of money over time. If you think constantly that you have to be a millionaire you are going to stump yourself. Your brain is not used to thinking in millionaire terms. Why not give it something it understands and build up from there. Set a goal to earn an extra $100 a month and then increase that amount to $200 and then $400 and so on. The numbers get large very quickly and you’ll be well on your way to having the body you want or your financial freedom well before a year is up.

If you need help getting started or want guidance in how to put these steps into action please let me know. Remember dream big and think small to get to where you want to be. You have all the skills and power you need to accomplish your goals. You might just not recognize they are there.

Christina Helwig

Tonight at dinner I said something that I was shocked at. I was talking with my boyfriend and told him to be careful or he would fall into a habit and potentially do the thing we were talking about when he was having dinner with someone important. He looked at me and said “You are important.” I am very into personal development and could not believe I had said that. I was shocked and it made me a little teary that I said that.

Pay attention to the language you use. Sometimes you’ll say things about yourself that you would never let a friend say. I had implicitly framed myself as unimportant. That was a big self image slip yet we all do this all the time. When is the last time you thought of yourself as important. Truly you are the most important person on the planet because you are what keeps you alive and here to share your gifts. Without you… there is nothing.

Christina Helwig

I have what we’ll call a delicate family situation right now. For the last three plus years I have been jumping in and taking care of all their concerns without any regard to how my choices were going to stack up against me. I was so busy saving them, that I stopped caring about myself in the process. Now I have realized the error of my ways and I am pulling back my help.

You see… people need consequences so that they understand what their actions mean. If you constantly rush in and save a person they will never stand up for themselves. They will be dis-empowered and unable to care for themselves. My need to save them transitioned from a little sting to a massive tsunami in my life. You feel this constant guilt and social duty to help your family. Its incredibly difficult to step back and say no.

Its only because I have finally had my “consequences” hit me hard that I have started reaching for my oxygen mask. I have a big hurdle to jump over now to get myself back on track after I let this situation develop. I know that I am RESPONSIBLE for letting myself not take care of me first. You will never be happy if you live for others and not for yourself. You come first… period. Once you are taken care of… you can CHOOSE to help others. Let go of social stigma and feelings of guilt or they will run you into the ground.

A simple question to ask yourself is: if the situation was reversed… would there be anyone there to save me? If the answer is no, its time to blow back up your life raft and let them worry about theirs all by themselves.

Last night someone told me that they were laid off from work. This person is close to me, closer then most people you ever deal with. I however am faced with a dilemma. I know that if I walk into my boss’s office this morning I can get the person a temporary job that will tide them over until they find something more permanent. Its not a glamorous job but it will do the trick.

Here is my problem… I do not trust them to act mature enough to not jeopardize my position. So I cannot go and get them the temporary job. I know that for a week or two they would be on their best behavior. But then they would start doing the things that led to losing their last job. Joking around, not taking their job seriously and generally not being an employee that is grateful for the fact that they have a job.

It is sad to me that I cannot reach out and help. I am disappointed and feel a terrible tug inside myself that I feel this way. But in the end your track record speaks so loudly that this is all people will listen to when times get rough. You might have changed overnight… but your past life screams out before you regardless of your current words.

Take stock of your reputation and put in the work now to fix it for the future when you truly need someone to reach out and hold you up.

Christina Helwig

I’ve embarked on a path to drastically change my life and the lives of the people close to me. Now I am a few months away from really big things happening and I have to say … its a little scary. Mixed feelings of doubt, fear, excitement, happiness and a touch of sadness are circulating around me. At moments I feel all of them at once or one lingers for a bit.

I’ve been ecstatically happy and have broken down in tears several times. Every time the tears show up I am just on the cusp of a breakthrough. These moments I doubt my path, but I also do not quit. I grab my bootstraps and yank, hard. I dig and deepen my resolve.

These moments of fear are very common for everyone. The bigger the goal the deeper the fear. That’s just the way it is. Its in this critical time that most individuals quit. Change is unbelievably uncomfortable and nerve wracking. Sometimes its downright painful. The only thing that will propel you through these times is a very clear commitment to what you want and the persistence and faith that you will accomplish it.

I’m lucky to have a very strong set of people that believe in me and share my vision. Your environment matters so much in times of change. If you are surrounded with people who doubt you, their inadequacies and jealousy at your success will rub off on you and temper your dreams and resolve.

Next time the chaos sets in remember that its temporary and not a permanent fixture in your life. “Nothing splendid was ever achieve except by those that dared believe that something inside themselves was superior to circumstance.” Bruce Barton.

You are not your circumstances, your circumstances are not you. You can change anything in your life. You just have to do it one action or step at a time.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

By Christian D. Larsen

Promise yourself….
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet;

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them;

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true;

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best;

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own;

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future;

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile;

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others;

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear; and too happy to permit the presence of trouble;

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds;

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

First. I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my Definite Purpose in life, therefore, I DEMAND of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to render such action.

Second. I realize the dominating thoughts of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward, physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality, therefore, I will concentrate my thoughts for thirty minutes daily, upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture of that person.

Third. I know through the principle of auto-suggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of attaining the object back of it, therefore, I will devote ten minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of SELF-CONFIDENCE.

Fourth. I have clearly written down a description of my DEFINITE CHIEF AIM in life, and I will never stop trying, until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.

Fifth. I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure, unless built upon truth and justice, therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other people. I will induce others to serve me, because of my willingness to serve others. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself.

I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory, and repeat it aloud once a day, with full FAITH that it will gradually influence my THOUGHTS and ACTIONS so that I will become a self-reliant, and successful person.

[If you make a commitment to yourself to read this daily it will do wonders for you.]

Christina Helwig

I was able to see Tony Alessandra live in Vegas in March. He was great and is one of the faculty members of ILG. This is just one example of the many great videos this service offers.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

I used to think that being rich meant that you had millions of dollars, a fancy car, a big house and a myriad of other niceties in your life. Now however, I am not so sure. To me being rich means that you are debt free and you have more than enough to cover your needs and reasonable wants. It also means having the resources to help the people in your life you care about.

What this really comes down to is monthly cash flow. Are you on a whole taking in more than you spend and do you have reserves should an big emergency arise? If I answer this question for myself the answer is an emphatic no. With that I know I have some work to do. First I have to figure out what I need to live. Then I need to calculate what I would need to live the way I want to live.

My goal then becomes closing that gap. You see when you put up a goal of I want to be a “millionaire” you really are saying “I want to live like a millionaire.” What we often do not understand is that even some millionaires are deeply in debt and are themselves living paycheck to paycheck. If your wealth is not long lasting why bother. You want to maintain that lifestyle for the long-run, not for a few short intense years.

Additionally by focusing on the monthly gap you need to bridge, the goal seems much more reasonable to your brain. You can mentally process it and your subconscious mind will start to accept the goal as possible. Its when we think something is possible that things start to happen.

Your next step in this process is to sit down and brainstorm all the different ways you can bridge your gap. Really get creative. Its the simple changes and ideas that make the greatest impact. Then take action on the items you brainstormed. If one doesn’t work then try another until it sticks.

Without action you will stay in the same position you are currently in or be in a worse one, a year from now. This I can promise you. Nothing happens without action. Without it you are merely a dreamer. So get moving and make yourself rich, its only a tiny gap.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

I heard this piece this afternoon while driving home. If this does not intimately describe Napoleon Hill’s philosophy I don’t know what does. Its magical.

Christina Helwig

As heard on NPR’s All Things Considered, April 6, 2009. Essay read by Lonnie Ali.

I have always believed in myself, even as a young child growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. My parents instilled a sense of pride and confidence in me, and taught me and my brother that we could be the best at anything. I must have believed them because I remember being the neighborhood marble champion and challenging my neighborhood buddies to see who could jump the tallest hedges or run a foot race the length of the block. Of course I knew when I made the challenge that I would win. I never even thought of losing.

In high school I boasted weekly—if not daily—that one day I was going to be the heavyweight champion of the world. As part of my boxing training, I would run down Fourth Street in downtown Louisville, darting in and out of local shops, taking just enough time to tell them I was training for the Olympics and I was going to win a gold medal. And when I came back home I was going to turn pro and become the world heavyweight champion in boxing. I never thought of the possibility of failing—only of the fame and glory I was going to get when I won. I could see it. I could almost feel it. When I proclaimed that I was the “Greatest of All Time,” I believed in myself. And I still do.

Throughout my entire boxing career, my belief in my abilities triumphed over the skill of an opponent. My will was stronger than their skills. What I didn’t know was that my will would be tested even more when I retired.

In 1984, I was conclusively diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Since that diagnosis, my symptoms have increased and my ability to speak in audible tones has diminished. If there was anything that would strike at the core of my confidence in myself, it would be this insidious disease. But my confidence and will to continue to live life as I choose won’t be compromised.

Early in 1996, I was asked to light the cauldron at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Of course my immediate answer was yes. I never even thought of having Parkinson’s or what physical challenges that would present for me.

When the moment came for me to walk out on the 140-foot high scaffolding and take the torch from Janet Evans, I realized I had the eyes of the world on me. I also realized that as I held the Olympic torch high above my head, my tremors had taken over. Just at that moment, I heard a rumble in the stadium that became a pounding roar and then turned into a deafening applause. I was reminded of my 1960 Olympic experience in Rome, when I won the gold medal. Those 36 years between Rome and Atlanta flashed before me and I realized that I had come full circle.

Nothing in life has defeated me. I am still “The Greatest.” This I believe.

Muhammad Ali won the world heavyweight boxing championship three times. He retired in 1981 and became active in humanitarian causes, including goodwill missions to Afghanistan, North Korea, and Cuba. Ali married childhood friend Lonnie Williams in 1986.

Independently produced for NPR by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick.

Ali photo by John Lair. Photo of Muhammad and Lonnie Ali courtesy Celebrity Fight Night. Special thanks to the Muhammad Ali Center, an international education center and cultural attraction in Louisville, Ky., that preserves and promotes Ali’s Legacy.

So what’s holding you back?

Christina Helwig

Here is a great video from Trapper Woods a faculty member of iLearningGlobal. I try to watch a video every morning to perk up my day and get myself into the right mindset. Trapper has been one of my favorites. His videos on time and task management are priceless.

To learn more about ILG visit: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Christina Helwig

Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too.
But always remember,
The hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart
Start upward
And climb ’til you reach your dream.
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it,
And you have the faith to believe.
For faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill,
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God’s wisdom and will.
For faith is a mover of mountains,
There’s nothing that God cannot do,
So, start out today with faith in your heart,
And climb ’til your dream comes true!

~ Helen Steiner Rice

This last weekend I had the treat of watching Brian Tracy live and getting to interact with him. He is a phenomenal speaker on stage and a really nice gentleman. I also got to meet one of his assistants: James who was really helpful. I encourage you to learn as much as you can from this man. He is truly one of the best speakers on both personal and professional development out there today. You can watch more videos from Brian Tracy and learn about iLearningGlobal by going to www.GlobalSuccessILG.com. Brian Tracy is the Chief Learning Officer of ILG.

Christina Helwig

You cannot change the world,
But you can present the world with one improved person -
Yourself.
You can go to work on yourself to make yourself
Into the kind of person you admire and respect.
You can become a role model and set a standard for others.
You can control and discipline yourself to resist acting
Or speaking in a negative way
Toward anyone for any reason.
You can insist upon always doing things the loving way,
Rather than the hurtful way.
By doing these things each day,
You can continue on your journey
Toward becoming an exceptional human being.
by: Brian Tracy

To view videos from Brian Tracy visit: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

The Victor

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are out classed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of your-self before
You can ever win the prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.
by: C. W. Longenecker

It couldn’t be done

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

- Edgar A. Guest

When most people think of setting goals they focus on increasing income or buying some material possession. Setting a goal that focuses on a physical challenge can be just as rewarding. Indeed these types of goals can give you a huge mental boost because they do not focus on things that you cannot control. Your body is under your dominion. Now I am not talking about setting a goal related to releasing weight. When I talk about a physical goal I mean something like hiking up a mountain, competing in a race, swimming a certain number of miles or any other physical challenge you can think of.

You can also combine the goal with raising money for a charity. The Walk for the Cure even gives you a solid training program and support throughout your training period. Each portion of your physical goal can be broken down into measurable increments. Take a look at my last post on Conquering Half Dome for my own challenge I completed.

The first place you should start is picking a challenge. Then take an assessment of where your fitness level currently is. Can you hike 4 miles without getting too sore or tired or can you only do one? Then take your calendar and build a plan from now until the date of your event. Each week add a little more to your schedule. The last few weekends before I hiked half dome I was hiking 12+ miles each weekend to prepare for the 17 mile hike. Each week you will get stronger and faster. We started to blast through the 12 miles faster and faster. A full day ordeal starting taking a little over a half day to complete and I did not feel horrible at the end, I felt invigorated. Within a short amount of time you will start to marvel at the progress you’ve made and your self confidence levels will skyrocket.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

I have this book listed on My Favorite Books Page. It is such an inspiration to me and is one of the best stories of personal triumph I have ever read. One person can move the world and Greg Mortenson is doing just that.

This picture was taken after a day long hike up Half Dome in Yosemite. At the beginning of the summer we set the intention to hike up the mountain. We started at 6:00 am and then finished way after dark at 9:00 pm. It was 17 miles long and one heck of a hike. The same day my brother rock climbed the side of Half Dome. Almost every weekend we got up early and went out to train. We got blisters, shin splints and every other horrible ache you could imagine. But we also got closer and learned our limits and strengths. It was an amazing experience and journey. The journey really began the day I decided and pictured myself standing on top that mountain. I was determined to do it no matter what. I convinced my boyfriend to hike up the mountain and worked my tail off to make it happen. At one point we decided it was just too dangerous to go all the way to the top. Sitting there on the gravel steps I was so upset I started to cry. I begged him to go all the way to the top and we pressed on. Then after another hiker pushed past us coming down I came to my senses and redirected the goal. I gave up “perfection” and enjoyed the experience of getting to that spot.

Christina Helwig

Have you ever come home and looked around your house and thought; “what exploded in here?” Your closets are over flowing, your desk is piled with paperwork and your kitchen cabinets are stuffed with no real organization or sense.

All of this clutter and disorder takes a mental and physical toll on your body and mind. You have to work harder to function in this type of environment. Your mind is slower when thinking because you have to process all the information that your eyes see when looking at the clutter. The difference between a clean and organized desk and a cluttered one is immense. All of this contributes subtlety to your stress level and takes a physical toll on your body. I think most people have studied at least to a small degree the effects of stress on the human body. Here is a short recap = it’s not good.

An opportunity cost is the “cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action.” [investopedia.com] The alternatives that you are giving up are a clean and uncluttered home and a reduction in stress. You are also giving up a great deal of your time each second you spend searching for items you can’t find, shuffling items from one spot to another and generally dealing with the mess. That extra time is time you could spend on building your business, developing a new product, going to the gym or just spending more quality time with loved ones. Additionally you are giving up the potential money you could get from selling some items or the tax breaks you would receive for donating them.

The easiest way to start to unravel a home full of too many things is to start small. Pick the most important place in your house that you use all the time and clean it up. For most people this will be their desk. Then just begin to tackle other areas and get rid of the excess. You have to make room for the things you want to keep so that they can be organized and out of your constant field of vision. Think to yourself if I had to move tomorrow would I want to keep this, if not chuck it.

After you start this process you will be pleasantly surprised by the calm feeling that takes over in your body when you come home. You’ll be more efficient and effective and your mind will thank you.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

I went to go buy a pair of new boots the other day and was slightly frustrated that I could not find any. The saleslady was very sweet and offered to call around to see if she could find me a pair at another store. I thought about it for a second and then declined the offer. I remembered that I had several pairs of perfectly good black shoes at home I had never worn.

So this is where sitting on your assets comes in. We all have tons of STUFF sitting around our homes that we either never use or just don’t need. On some level this stuff has a value and we are wasting it by not using the items. While I do not believe in shrinking or pulling back from starting a business at this time I do believe in being smarter about your finances. All that stuff you are sitting on could be used by you, sold and or given to someone that really needs it. But if it just stays tucked away in a closet it’s worthless and actually costs you money in what we call opportunity costs.

Something that you probably have not thought about are the mental assets that you are sitting on. There are skills, abilities and knowledge that you possess that can benefit another person. If you were to put your mental assets into a product you could capitalize on your inherent abilities. Information products are some of the easiest to turn into a workable cash flow stream. They usually do not require the same infrastructure as a durable good to produce.

Think about the different talents that you have, the things that people commonly ask you questions on, and the subjects that you studied in school or have become highly efficient at in your career. Can you put that information together into a usable form? Jot down your ideas and start to organize your material. Make a commitment to yourself to work on the product for a set period of time each day or week.

In a short period of time you will have been able to take one of your mental assets and use it to better your situation. Regardless of what the economy is doing there are always possibilities and there is always room in the marketplace for people who fill a definite need with a superior service or product. Just remember to get started right away and not put it on your “I’ll do it tomorrow list.” Do it now.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Lately I have been very focused on getting my body in tip top shape. I have been doing fantastic and have stuck on purpose with my goals more than ever before and it shows. I ran into an interesting situation today. We are going over a team member’s house to mastermind and they called and asked my boyfriend what I would want on the pizza. Well since pizza is not on purpose with my plan I had two choices. Ask for something different or just go along and eat the pizza and break the commitment I made to myself.

I really struggled with this. I felt horrible that I needed to call them and ask for a switch. After all they were buying it, I am the one that needs something different and its kind of socially rude. But internally I knew I was doing myself a disservice and I also knew that they would understand if I explained the situation to them. We have been friends for over nine years. I really wanted to stick to my plan and continue on my success streak.

So I called them and thanked them for the offer of pizza and asked if they would not mind ordering me a salad when they called in the order. I explained my goals and my mastermind partner completely understood. I felt 100% back on purpose and they were happy to help me. It is okay to say no to friends and family members when you have a goal you want to achieve. Sometimes while you might feel you are being rude; you’re not. The people in your life will respect you more because you spoke up and stuck to your purpose. This also will help you defeat the heavy pull of social pressure. I knew that once I was over at the house I would be watching three other people enjoying the pizza and I would feel the pressure of joining in. Now … problem solved.

Stick to your goals even if you feel that social pull. That is when you will make your biggest strides.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Never underestimate the power of passion.
- Eve Sawyer

I ran across this fantastic quote a few moments ago and I really love it. Passion is so important to your goals and projects. Without it they are never going to get done or materialize in your life. My college literary professor said that the correct definition of passion was “to suffer” and that most people used the word incorrectly. So some extent I agree with this definition but only in the context of your goals.

When you have passion for a goal and you work towards it you are by default giving up something else at the same time. This can be thought of as suffering i.e. no chocolate cake for a firm body or no t.v. so you can finish writing your book. I think however it is deeper than that. What you are really doing is choosing an activity with a higher value. You only place a higher value on an activity or a task related to a goal if you deeply value that goal.

This is where the power of emotions come in. You have to really want the goal. It has to speak to your heart and pull you off the couch and out of bed in the morning. I frequently look down at the clock at night and think “oh no” its 12:00pm I really have to go to bed. I am so excited about working on my projects however that I could keep going. So to go back to what my college professor said about passion. Make your “suffering” one of excitement and anticipation. Be so in love with your goal and ideal that you simply can’t wait to have it. Suffer with the love of your goal and never underestimate the power of passion.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Last year I tried to start a business. It was one that I was very familiar with. I had worked in the field for over six years and I was a rockstar in it. I formed a collection agency business that focused on construction companies solely. That was going to be my niche. My brother had a tile business and had to close shop when a large customer refused to pay him. I thought the model was great. We ramped up and spent money to advertise. We invested countless hours in calling and working on the business. At night you could find me adding mailing labels to postcards etc.

By all appearances I thought the business would be great. I knew however in the back of my mind that there was a problem with my model. Collections is fundamentally a negative experience. I would be exposing myself and more importantly my employees to a negative interaction with another human being. If you have read my posts before you know that negativity is just not in my life sphere.

After about 6 months and countless dollars spent I pulled the plug and told the people involved that we needed to circle the wagons and regroup. They were upset and wanted to continue to chase something that was just not working. I told them that sometimes we have to let go of something to allow a better opportunity to come to us. About 5 months later a better one did and I am so happy. The business is based on helping people better themselves and realize their dreams. It is right in alignment with my purpose and is a hobby / business for me. It is not a chore. The model has a direct one to one pay ratio and is not dependent on getting unhappy people to pay debts they don’t want to pay in the first place.

I view the first business as a stepping stone and a pathway to something better. There are probably many things that you can look back on in your life that had the same characteristics. The more important thing for you to do right now is evaluate whether your current projects and plans are really working. Can they be redone? Or are you simply chasing the end of a rainbow out of pride? If its the later please stop, circle your wagons and keep your eyes and heart open for a better opportunity. It will come in time.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Often we set our hearts on a goal or something we would like to have in our lives and we consistently fail to realize it. For some inexplicable reason we stumble and the dream never materializes. We look back and blame external circumstances or people and events. For a select few they also look within and see that their own habits, thoughts and actions played a role in not achieving what they wanted.

There is a very fundamental question you should be asking yourself in these circumstances. Was I willing to pay the price? Paying the price of having your goal involves more than merely going through the motions. It requires a deep unyielding commitment to achieve your goal no matter what it costs you in terms of money, time, habit changes, thought pattern changes and release of unserving beliefs and activities. It’s that extra push of energy that a champion exerts to win a race or the last steps of a grueling walk to freedom.

There is also something very special about “the price.” The price is personal its not based on what others have done to achieve what you want. The price is solely determinate on what you have to do to achieve your goal and nothing else. Your price might be more or less than what is required of another individual.

You lose ground when you start making comparisons. Another person’s actions and thoughts can serve as a guidepost but they should never be set up as the standard for what is necessary to achieve YOUR goals. Your price is personal and should always be treated as such. Stop feeling sorry for yourself when you have to work harder to achieve something. There are a great deal of things you do with minimal effort that others struggle through.

Remember this and rexamine your recent setbacks to see if you were really paying YOUR price.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Here is a list of favorite books from my twitter followers:

“Excuse Me , Your Life is Waiting” by Lynn Grabhorn: www.twitter.com/sariantra
“The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell: www.twitter.com/Kozwell
“Success Principles” by Jack Canfield: www.twitter.com/drwrightdc
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky www.twitter.com/jakeofalltrade
“The Go-Giver” By Bob Burg and John David Mann and “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle: www.twitter.com/BradleyWill
“Ask and it is Given” by Abraham-Hicks and “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie: www.twitter.com/PetParentAuthor and Lisa on Facebook.
“7 Simple Steps” by Jonathan Wells: Johnathan Wells himself www.twitter.com/mrjWells
“You Can Heal Your Life” by Louis Hay: Bryn on Facebook
“Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles: Bryn on Facebook
“I Will” by Ben Sweetland: www.twitter.com/screamingeagle1 [P.s. this man is one of my all-time favorite tweeps]

I have posted the links of the twitter people. Out of respect for the privacy of my Facebook friends I have not posted a link to you. I will post one if you ask me too. Please enjoy these books.

Hyram Smith defines character as “The ability to carry out a worthy decision after the emotion of making that decision has passed.” This is what I like to call living in integrity with your goals. It is at its core doing what you say you are going to to when you say you are going to do it.

I have realized something about myself over the last few weeks. I have simply taken on way too much. I have a bunch of different projects competing for my time and I have spread myself a little thin. Did I cause this to happen, absolutely. Can I fix it? Yes, but I have made promises in the process and I have to honor those commitments. Regardless of how much I have going on at any one time I know that other people are counting on me to follow through with projects and tasks I agreed to complete. So even though I am very busy and a little tired I will stay up and finish what I started.

This leads into another thing that Hyram Smith said in his video on ILG: “If you develop a reputation for doing what you say you are going to do in the corporate world you can write your own ticket, because people know when you say something is going to happen it happens.” All businesses, bosses, spouses and even your friends are looking for one thing: dependability. When they need you and it matters can you deliver and can you stay true to your promises. Dust off those lingering promises and fulfill them. Trust me it will make you feel better [even if you are a little tired].

Christina Helwig

To learn more about Hyram Smith visit www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

1. The value of time.
2. The success of perseverance.
3. The pleasure of working.
4. The dignity of simplicity.
5. The worth of character.
6. The power of kindness.
7. The influence of example.
8. The obligation of duty.
9. The wisdom of economy.
10. The virtue of patience.
11. The improvement of talent.
12. The joy of originating.”
~Marshall Field

While driving home tonight from dinner I was having a conversation with Ray Stendall about how I built up disposable income for my new car. It struck me that the term “disposable” is a terrible term for individuals to use. It inherently makes you think of money as something that gets thrown away. Stay with me on this thought… If you think of money as something to be thrown away it means that you do not value it or respect it because its “trash.”

When it comes time to allocate where you spend money and how you decide to manage your income you will make different decisions if you change the way you talk about money. I challenge you to think about money as an investment. Say “I invested” in buying, food, clothes, paying rent, buying books or spending money on building my business. The fundamental shift in your thinking will over time change the way you spend money and your relationship to it.

By respecting money and taking it from being disposable to an investment you will have much better control of what happens when it comes time to balance the checkbook at the end of the week. Eventually you will also start to make mental choices you never thought possible. I personally want to continue to build my business. When I go out or make choices about where to spend my money, I think to myself “can I invest this” in my business or am I going to take the instant gratification that this purchase provides. It makes a difference. Often the smallest change in habits, especially your thinking habits, pay the biggest returns.

Christina Helwig
www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

This is a great affirmation video to help keep you on track with your fitness goals. Our self-esteem is often very closely tied to our body image. Watch it whenever you feel yourself needing an extra boost. Its a great way to start the day. If you find yourself needing any extra help reaching your fitness goals just e-mail me at tinahelwig@gmail.com. I am always happy to offer suggestions and help. Your transformation does not have to be an uphill battle.

Christina Helwig

I listened to Kim-Gould’s Blog radio show this evening and she mentioned a very interesting term “Life Journey.” This concept is something I am going to be integrating into my being. My life is a journey with a series of challenges, trials and wonderful events. Thinking about your life in this way also helps you to remember that you do not have to reach any certain point by a certain time. You can let go a little bit and enjoy the ride.

We get so caught up in the hustle of daily life and “to-do lists” that we often forget to stop and enjoy ourselves. I saw a beautiful sunset tonight as I drove home in rush hour. I would not have gotten that gift had I not been sent out to a deposition that was a couple hours away. I also got extra time to listen to my affirmation cd and think about my vision of what I want to create in my life. So take time to notice the little things that make your life special, even in the middle of rush hour.

Christina Helwig

Now this title might seem a little controversial but the topic really has more to do with retraining yourself to not accept things from others that you do not like. I watched a great video this morning by Patricia Fripp who talked about this topic. She said that we start to run like trains through our lives. Always on the same track and if we are not careful the track we choose takes over.

In terms of the relationships you have with your friends, family, co-workers and even just general acquaintances this can add up to a lot of unconscious habits. I had a friend a few years ago that was constantly late. She never arrived on time and she would cancel after I had already arrived at a restaurant. Her behavior was totally unacceptable. However, I let her get away with it. I would say things like “oh I understand” or “its okay,” when what I should have been doing was telling her how I really felt.

After being stood up for several different events I finally broke and told her exactly how I felt. I let her know that I valued my time and I expected her to value it as well or we could no longer be friends. That shocked her. No one had ever spoken up for themselves with her and she had been doing this for years. Did my actions totally change her behavior? Sadly no, but I was able to stop being upset and feeling resentment over her treatment of me. For awhile she stopped flaking on me. When she started it again I made my choice and choose to be around people who treated me with more respect.

While the above example might be a little extreme I am sure that you can think of a few things that are going on in your relationships that bother you. Let me tell you a little secret. If you don’t tell the other person you never give them the option to fix it. You resent their actions unfairly.

Start to train yourself to speak up. Step off the railroad track you have laid down with the people around you and lay new habits. While you’re at it you should also take a hard look at your own actions to see if you are being the best friend, spouse, child, parent or co-worker you can be. Habits change overtime and sometimes the people around you will need gentle reminders before they can really implement the changes you ask for. Just be open and honest and have patience, your relationships will be stronger and happier if you adopt this process.

To learn more from Patricia Fripp visit www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Christina Helwig

This is a great little video on the subject of Causation written by Thomas Troward. The music that the person set to the video is a little different [more appropriate for belly dancing in my opinion, but that's okay]. Be sure to read and really think about what is said/written in the video. For more great videos visit:www.GlobalSuccessILG.com.

“The Law of Value. Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.” ~ The Go-Giver.

Ask yourself today what are you doing to provide more value to the people around you? How are you improving the lives of your family, friends, co-workers and customers? Without providing value we stagnant our growth. We can fall into the trap of thinking that we will “never make it” or that we cannot do that which we most deeply desire.

To really live on purpose you should be providing value to as many people as possible. But remember that it is about quality, not quantity. For some time your business will only be able to provide the highest quality service to a few people. As you grow that will expand and then so will your economic power and reach.

Take a few moments today to think about how you can improve the level of service you offer to the people around you. Often a simple change in behavior brings huge results.

This is the very first law discussed in the book “The Go-Giver.” Again this book is a critical component of your library.

Please post how you will provide more value to cement your commitment inside your mind. Once you put something in writing it is 100% more effective at creating a change in your life.

To your success,

Christina

P.s. If you have not done so already you can join me in my Facebook group “Living on Purpose with Christina” for great discussion topics, homework assignments and questions to really make you think.

This is an excerpt from “Think and Grow Rich.” It was written by Henry Viscardi.

As for me, I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can. I seek opportunity, not security. I want to take the calculated risk, to dream and to build, to fall and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will not cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid to think and act for myself. To enjoy the benefit of my creation and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”

I have a wish for you. It is the same wish I have for disabled people. I suppose the conventional thing for me to do would be to wish you and them success and happiness for the rest of your lives. But success and happiness as the world measures it is too easy. I would wish you meaning for all the remaining years of your life.

www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/i-wish-you-meaning/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/i-wish-you-meaning/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/CKlRPLRxH2g/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/mental-toughness-do-you-have-it/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:45:25 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=207

Yesterday I listened to Steve Siebold talk on mental toughness. Steve is a faculty member of ILG and he also runs the Gove-Siebold Group. Bill Gove was the father of public speaking and he trained almost every major personal development speaker out there including Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor and Larry Wilson.

Needless to say Steve knows his material. Steve also is my boyfriend’s direct mentor and is an amazing person. I got to spent some time with him on the Bob Proctor Cruise I took in October of 2008. Steve and his wife, Dawn are some of the most incredible people you will ever meet. When he coaches people on mental toughness he has them answer a series of important questions.

1. If you could wave a magic wand and have whatever you want in your life, what would that be?

2. What would your perfect lifestyle look like terms of health, wealth, relationships etc.?

3. If you could design your perfect calendar by day, week, month and year, what would your days look like?

4. Lastly, write a letter to a friend as if it was five years from today and you are filling them in on what has happened in your life.

These questions are important for you to think about when trying to build a life for yourself. The reason that Steve has you go through all these steps is that he wants you to emotionalize your goals. Without emotion mixed in with your dreams you will not accomplish anything.

You have to know your WHY? Without a strong why it will be difficult for you to achieve anything. This detailed process is one of the techniques that Steve uses to coach people on mental toughness. His book is absolutely fantastic and is a constant reference of mine. You can get a copy here: 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class

Most people will say that they want to be rich without any understanding what that means. Let me tell you something very plain and simple right now. THE RICH DO NOT SIT AROUND ALL DAY AND DO NOTHING. They WORK! Building businesses and developing products and new concepts is not an easy process or one that takes little effort. It requires a great deal of mental energy and long days and nights, especially in the beginning.

Answer the questions I raised above and make sure your answers are clear and crisp. Anyone picking up your responses should be able to clearly see what you want. The clearer you are, the more likely you will achieve what you write down. Don’t just pass this opportunity by. Really sit down and do this simple assignment. It will help immensely.

Christina Helwig

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/mental-toughness-do-you-have-it/feed/ 1 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/mental-toughness-do-you-have-it/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/vuaNliMxQYQ/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/start-your-day-with-great-affirmations/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:01:05 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=192 www.GlobalSuccessILG.com many of the teachers from "The Secret" are featured faculty members of iLearningGlobal. I watch at least one new video from this service everyday. It helps me stay focused on my goals and is the inspiration for many of my blog posts. ]]>

Here is another great affirmations video from the movie “The Secret.” Enjoy this and watch it often. Many of the teachers from “The Secret” are faculty members of iLearningGlobal. I watch at least one new video from this service everyday. It helps me stay focused on my goals and is the inspiration for many of my blog posts. Learn more here: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Christina Helwig

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/start-your-day-with-great-affirmations/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/start-your-day-with-great-affirmations/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/r1Q_dPvwesI/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/affirmation-video-from-the-secret/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:05:24 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=188

This is a great little video to start your morning off with if you are trying to grow your business and attract wealth.

Visit www.GlobalSuccessILG.com for more inspiration.

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/affirmation-video-from-the-secret/feed/ 1 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/affirmation-video-from-the-secret/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/SkpqI4dYgFo/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/are-you-wishing-or-believing/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:54:37 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=186

There are a couple of points in “Think and Grow Rich” that Bob Proctor said changed his life. Napoleon Hill wrote in his Chapter on Desire: “There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it.” “No one is ready for a thing until they believe they can acquire it.”

How many times do we ponder our goals and think “wouldn’t that be nice.” We sit and daydream and for some reason nothing seems to happen. The goal sits and gathers dust and we eventually move on to other goals or feel bad because we have not achieved what we set out to do.

Let me ask you this, do you actually believe that you will accomplish your goals? If you say “I will be a millionaire,” do you actually believe it? Can you see yourself living as a millionaire, doing the things that a millionaire does? Or do you have some vague, misty concept of what that life is like and merely think about having the million dollars only if you were to win the lottery?

This is not enough. You can’t just dream. Your dreams have to turn into a reality in your mind. When you think about your goal it needs to be like a movie in your head. Almost like you are replaying a memory, smell the smells, feel the breeze and all other senses you can engage. Pretend that you are stepping into a virtual reality machine and really “live” in that mental movie.

This is the only way to switch from wishing to being ready to receive a goal. Bob Proctor realized that he had been wishing for things as a boy but he never really believed he could receive them. He could not see himself with the new bike or winning a baseball game. Bob realized that he was not ready for the good that he desired. He was not ready for what he really wanted. He was wishing but he wasn’t ready.

I recently went out and toured multi-million dollar homes. I had no concept of what living in one of these homes would be like. In fact I had never even been inside one. How could I imagine living in that type of a house without ever walking through one? One of the best things you can do for yourself is go take tours of homes, sit in nice cars and go out to fancy restaurants. This will give your mind some mental muscle to help you “live” in your mental movie. Take action and go out and do some of these exercises this weekend. You will be so happy you did.

To view videos from Bob Proctor and other great personal development teachers visit: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Christina Helwig

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/are-you-wishing-or-believing/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/are-you-wishing-or-believing/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/uk87ufuxOHc/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/simple-little-things/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:36:55 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=181

I just watched a great video from Bob Proctor. I have been studying him for years but this particular video really cemented something for me. He said “it’s the simple little things you do, everyday that make the difference.” Wow. Such a profoundly easy explanation for a complex process of the mind.

Bob was discussing how he went from a fireman’s salary in 1961 to running a multi-million dollar business. It all started with him reading the book “Think and Grow Rich” written by Napoleon Hill in 1937. [By the way a video of Napoleon Hill is on the blog, just scroll down.] Napoleon Hill’s book taught Bob that if you write a goal down a card and read that goal everyday as many times as possible you will achieve the goal.

Here is the important part about that process. You have to emotionalize the goal and really feel and see yourself achieving it. It is not enough to read it like a stale book report. You have to actually have the good feelings and perform almost like an actor in a movie. You need to act as if the goal has already happened. Even if those feelings and the statement seem like a lie when you start, over time you will start to believe what you have written on the card. It is only when you believe that you can achieve something, that you will achieve it. Without belief you are stuck.

Make up your mind right now that you are going to change your life. Write your goal on a card, read it everyday and feel in your heart that you have already achieved the goal. See yourself with your goal and live in that space. Also be sure that you attach a date to the accomplishment of the goal and write it in the present tense. Start out with “It is now _____ and I am so happy and grateful now that ______.” You will be amazed at what starts to happen in your life.

To watch videos from Bob Proctor visit: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

Christina Helwig

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/simple-little-things/feed/ 1 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/simple-little-things/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/ASLxtmNMQX0/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/perform-more-tasks-of-higher-value/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:50:26 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=173

“Perform more and more tasks of higher value, and delegate, delay, outsource and eliminate tasks of lower value.” ~ Brian Tracy

This important advice from Brian Tracy is something you should take a look at. Are you currently doing more than you need to? Can you delegate any of the activities that are consuming your time? Often when we start a new business or work on a project we believe that we have to do everything ourselves. We think that everything has to be “perfect” and “just right.” This just isn’t the case. Things do not need to be perfect or just right. They merely have to provide great service and fulfill a solid need that your customer has.

To implement Brian’s advice take a look at what you are spending your time on. For example can you delegate the grocery shopping, watch a little less t.v. or hire someone to help you with paperwork? Doing this will help you focus on your core business and more importantly will help you focus on completing the tasks which advance your business and increase your income.

I encourage you to break all your activities into higher and lower value tasks. Then delegate or eliminate the ones that eat up your time.

To watch videos, listen to MP3s and download e-books from Brian Tracy visit: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/perform-more-tasks-of-higher-value/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/perform-more-tasks-of-higher-value/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/iK1wQFM4iEE/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/the-strangest-secret-earl-nightingale/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:24:18 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=165

If you have never heard Earl Nightingale speak you are in for a treat. Bob Proctor said that Earl’s voice was like hearing god. This is by far the best and most succinct piece of personal development audio ever created. I encourage you to buy the full recording from Amazon. You can get it here: Earl Nightingale recording

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/the-strangest-secret-earl-nightingale/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/the-strangest-secret-earl-nightingale/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/xnR05IJ7xDM/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/andrew-carnegie-movie-video-clip/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:11:19 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=162

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/andrew-carnegie-movie-video-clip/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/andrew-carnegie-movie-video-clip/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/KeAPCdGFP5c/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/i-bargained-with-life-for-a-penny/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:41:53 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=158

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.

~Jessie Belle Rittenhouse (1869–1948)

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/i-bargained-with-life-for-a-penny/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/i-bargained-with-life-for-a-penny/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/19IOgwQocoQ/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/rare-napoleon-hill-video/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:15:55 +0000 Christina Helwig http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=155

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/rare-napoleon-hill-video/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/rare-napoleon-hill-video/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/_gL71ASWeY4/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/what-is-character/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:42:26 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=143

“Character is the ability to carry about a worthy decision once the emotion of making that decision has passed.” ~ Hyram Smith

I heard this from Hyram this morning on a call. It is the absolute truth. How often do we decide to do something and then after a few days or weeks our excitement wears off and we let that decision fall aside. We drop those special promises we made to ourselves or to others and give up because the task is hard or because we have not seen the progress we want. Things take time. They do not happen overnight.

All great things you want to accomplish will require you to work. Money does not rain down from the sky into your pocket. You have to provide people with a valuable service that helps them. This is the only way you make money. This also goes for your health too. When you make a decision to get fit you need to stick by that decision.

My 30th birthday is coming up and I made a rock solid decision to change my health. I eat NO starch right now. Only vegetables, clean protein, some fruit, healthy fats and I consume fresh water and tea. I don’t care what others are eating, where I am at or what else is going on around me. I made the decision and I am sticking to it. You have to act on your decisions like your life depends on it.

Quite often your life does depend on it. Your health, financial freedom and relationships all depend on the quality of your decisions and the actions you take or don’t take. Stick to your goals and you will be well rewarded.

To watch videos from Hyram Smith visit: www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/what-is-character/feed/ 1 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/what-is-character/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/sTdsdqeSK8A/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/my-favorite-billionaire/#comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:32:38 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=141

6 Keys to Success from billionaire Bill Bartman. Now a word about Bill. He is the least known billionaire out there. And he did it all himself. He was in the poor house being hounded by collection agencies and decided he did not like how he was being treated. He and his wife started a collection agency and grew it into a multi-million dollar business. His attitude catapulted him to even more success and now he is a billionaire. Look him up on the web if you don’t believe me. These are his 6 Keys to Success I learned from watching him on iLearningGlobal.tv:

1. You need to learn how to think big

Bill explained that thinking about increasing by just 10% growth is not enough. You have to think in terms of 200% or more. Shoot for the stars not a street light. I like to say think of adding a zero to your income.

2. You need to believe in yourself

You need to learn how to accept yourself for who and what you are right now. Learn how to apply what you know. You already have what it takes to succeed and you know what you have to do.

3. Share the vision.

Communicate your beliefs about yourself to others. Share what you want and your dream. Ask for help. Not everyone will help, but some will. Without reaching out you will stay in your spot and will not be able to take large leaps forward.

4. You need to execute

Get off the couch, talk is cheap, action is king. You must be willing to move without knowing everything about what you are going to do. Take the first step in faith. Nothing will happen until you get moving on your dreams.

5. You must be able to focus

Bill never met any successful person who was trying to do two things at once. Chase one rabbit at a time. Do one thing to conclusion and success and then start the next thing.

6. Never, Never give up.

You will run into challenges you do not expect. It doesn’t matter how things happen, they will occur no matter how careful you are or how much you plan. When these things happen, we have to know we still have the strength to persist.

All these steps are entirely up to you. No one can control any of these steps except you. This is the beauty of the 6 Keys to Success. They all rest in your pocket.

To learn more from Bill Bartman visit: http://www.GlobalSuccessILG.com

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/my-favorite-billionaire/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/my-favorite-billionaire/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/EGOYIVC4Vjk/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/forgive-a-poem/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:52:23 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=139

That slight misdeed of yesterday,

why should it mar today?

The thing he said, the thing you did,

have long since passed away;

For yesterday was but a trial;

today you will succeed,

And from mistakes of yesterday

will come some noble deed.

Forgive yourself for thoughtlessness,

do not condemn the past;

For it is gone with its mistakes;

their memory cannot last;

Forget the failures and misdeeds,

from such experience rise,

Why should you let your head be bowed?

Life up your heart and eyes!

- Selected

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/forgive-a-poem/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/forgive-a-poem/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/27I6TNRY9ZY/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/thoughts-are-things-a-poem/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:58:32 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=137

I hold it is true that thoughts are things;

They’re endowed with bodies and breath and wings:

And that we send them forth to fill

The world with good results, or ill.

That which we call our secret thought

Speeds forth to earth’s remotest spot,

Leaving its blessings or its woes

Like tracks behind it as it goes.

We build our future, thought by thought,

For good or ill, yet know it not.

Yet so the universe was wrought.

Thought is another name for fate;

Choose then thy destiny and wait,

For love brings love and hate brings hate.

-Henry Dan Dyke

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/thoughts-are-things-a-poem/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/thoughts-are-things-a-poem/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/cjSaE-PWwsI/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/what-is-the-cause-of-your-results/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:57:19 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=135

Paul Martinelli asked this question in his video on attitude for ILG. Its an important question. The simple answer is that the cause of your results in every area of your life is your attitude. It controls the quality of everything in your life. Most people do not understand what attitude is?

Paul said that attitude is the composite of your thoughts, feelings and actions. They are a circle of responsibility. When you live outside this circle you turn the responsibility over to other people. “See what YOU made me do.” Statements like this turns responsibility over to another person. Don’t let yourself turn control over to outside circumstances or let your environment control you. You control you. Don’t blame other people for how you are feeling or your results. At the end of the day when you look in the mirror it is only you. It always has and it always will be.

To watch this video and more from Paul Martinelli visit http://www.GlobalSuccessILG.com.

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/what-is-the-cause-of-your-results/feed/ 1 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/what-is-the-cause-of-your-results/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/x6p0cCiO26I/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/are-you-in-the-top-3-of-adults/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:52:19 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=133

I watched an interesting video today by Brian Tracy, in it he said that only the top 3% of adults have their goals written down. Do you have your goals written down? This is a really important question given that we have just crossed over into a new year. Right now is the time to reset yourself and get centered on what really matters to you and what you want to accomplish in the upcoming year.

Brian Tracy recommended writing down ten goals on a clean sheet of paper. He gave some rules for you to follow. 1st make sure you write the goals in the present tense. For example say I am X weight instead of I will be X weight. 2nd always use positive language. Say things like I am a non-smoker instead of I am quitting smoking. 3rd always use the word “I” in your goals. This makes the goal personal and your subconscious mind pays better attention to what you want. Lastly make your goals short and simple. Your mind will process the information better and you will be more likely to reach your goal.

To move yourself into the top 1% of all adults, Brian Tracy [who I watched on http://www.iLearningGlobal.tv] said to take one of the goals you wrote down and circle it. That goal then becomes your major purpose and the focus of each of your days until it is achieved. Isn’t it sad to think that only 1% of the population has a major definite purpose. What’s your purpose and how are you going to achieve it?

For more information how you can watch Brian Tracy’s video and other great videos from the world’s best speakers visit: http://www.GlobalSuccessILG.com.

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/are-you-in-the-top-3-of-adults/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2009/01/are-you-in-the-top-3-of-adults/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/pV89UewvTJg/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/12/why-i-hired-a-life-coach-to-help-me-fight-the-recession-and-expand-my-business/#comments Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:37:42 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=21

What Happened

When we first met my coach took the time to get to know me. She did not ask me what I wanted to accomplish or what my goals were. I thought this was a little surprising at first but I now understand why she did it. Instead of rushing in to save the day, she wanted to understand what was holding me back in life. By understanding what my struggle points were, she could better craft a plan to help me move forward.

My Search For “The One”

It took me awhile to find a life coach that I clicked with. One of the biggest criteria for me was personal responsibility. Would the coach call me back when they said they would? Would the coach follow up on a led that I gave them telling them that I wanted to work with them? And most importantly were these coaches demonstrating in their own life the type of results I wanted? Were they happy, healthy, wealthy, were they genuinely nice people and lastly did they have great relationships in their lives?

I had also made the decision that I personally wanted to work with a woman coach because women have unique concerns that a male coach might not always take seriously or fully understand. This is in no way intended to disparage a male coach, it was just a personal preference I had at this time in my life. I have had male coaches before and they were wonderful mentors.

The “Aha Moment”

After contacting a few women life coaches that met my criteria I was getting no where with finding the coach I wanted to work with. I put the thought in the back of my mind and continued working on my different projects and goals. Then on a cruise in the Caribbean I had the good fortune to run into a friend / acquaintance that did life coaching. I was a little nervous but I asked her at dinner if she would coach me and she to my delight said yes. Earlier that week I had watched her interact with people and more importantly observed how she connected with me personally. She was warm, gracious and had built a life for herself that I wanted to emulate. She was someone I could look up to and someone I wanted to work with deeply.

The Coaching Calls

Her coaching started off at my pace and was not a preset agenda she led all her clients through. It was truly personalized and was built for me and for what I wanted. She was also accessible and responded to my questions and concerns quickly. I did not have to hunt her down and felt like I was her only client. The sessions completely focussed on me and what I wanted.

Making The Decision To Hire a Coach

You have to first understand where you are and how you got there before you can really rocket yourself to success. My coach helped me see things about myself that I did not recognize. Now don’t get me wrong, I am no stranger to personal development and self-improvement materials. I am an avid reader and I personally coach people to help them reach their goals. Because of this I understand that to really get great results, I had to practice what I preach and get myself a formal life coach.

You should really sit down and think about whether or not you are hitting the goals that you set for yourself. And more importantly are you merely setting goals you think you can achieve? Your goals should be a stretch, something to reach for and challenge yourself with. Not something that you can clearly see yourself achieving. Your goals have to scare you a little bit and make you a tad nervous, otherwise you are not thinking big enough.

Trade Your Life For Something Big

Remember that you are trading your life for the goals that you set for yourself. Each day you give up should be worth it. When you look back at your life you want to see great accomplishments and a truly fulfilled life, not a life that was lived in the shadows or played it safe.

Think of the type of life your really want to lead and look at how you are living now. Do you think that your current habits, actions and thoughts are congruent with what you want to create in your life? What can you do to bring those three things into alignment.

Set aside a few minutes each day to work on and learn about how you can reach your goals. Once you start to change your habits, actions and thoughts, your whole life will change and you will be able to create the wealth your deserve in your life.

Take a look at this web-site http://CoachingByCoral.com to learn more how a life coach can help you achieve your goals. Coral is my personal life coach and a fantastic resource for anyone looking to take quantum leaps in their life and business. I wish you much success, seize your goals and live your dreams.

Christina Helwig is an attorney and Vice-President of Wealth Expressions, Inc. She focuses on helping people learn more about themselves to improve all aspects of their lives.

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/12/why-i-hired-a-life-coach-to-help-me-fight-the-recession-and-expand-my-business/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/12/why-i-hired-a-life-coach-to-help-me-fight-the-recession-and-expand-my-business/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/xSH889s7fGc/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/11/recessions-are-for-sissies-make-your-business-grow-no-matter-what-the-market-is-doing/#comments Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:38:44 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=17

Recessions are two things: They are opportunities and they are challenges. How you deal with a recession is entirely up to you. You can focus on the bad or focus on all the good that comes out of a recession. The people who will thrive in this new economy are the people who keep their eyes open and their minds focused on building wealth. This is not the time to hide your cash or run from challenges. Seize your power and grow your business when others are running for cover.

Mass Consciousness

All over the world people are turning into little squirrels. They are gathering up their nuts and seeds and stuffing them away for “spring.” They are passing up opportunities to conserve what little they have left because they do not want to be left with nothing at all when this economy turns around. This is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing right now. While of course people should be shoring up their financial situation, they should not be ducking their heads in the sand and hiding money in the mattresses.

Have A Plan For The Recession

The first thing you should do is form a clear and concise plan of what your goals and objectives are for the next three years. Your plan should include a very precise snapshot of where you are financially right NOW! If you have not been keeping careful track on your monthly expenses and income you have some work to do. You cannot change anything until you first know where you are. Once you have that baseline you can decide where you would like to be in three years.

Start off with thinking of the amount of income you would like to have and the different things you would like to have in your life: a new car, home, toys, charitable giving, money for your child’s school etc. Once you have thought about these things then figure out how much each of these things will cost you.

With your current financial snapshot and your “dream” list completed you then are in a position to figure out how much you need to earn to accomplish those goals in three years. The more income you want, the higher level of service or “effort” will be required on your part.

Executing The Plan

You will want to build into your plan both a way to reduce your debt and a way to build up your wealth. Take your current income and apportion it in a way you feel comfortable to accomplish these goals. Make sure to include a reoccurring monthly amount for starting a business or investment account. If you solely focus on eliminating debt you will freeze yourself into not being able to act on business opportunities until you have all your debt paid off. This cycle gets you no where. You will have no savings and never be able to act on your goals and dreams. We all know the debt cycle. Somehow just when you are almost finished paying everything off… boom the car breaks down or someone needs braces. By having a monthly wealth building account you have money set aside to invest and grow a business.

Moving Forward When Others are Running Backwards

While your wealth building account grows you want to keep an eye out for bargains and potential ways to either grow your business or start a new business. An example right now would be consultants for people looking for jobs. As the job market shrinks more and more people need help to differentiate themselves from other job seekers. There are countless ways an entrepreneur could help people get and find jobs. You should also be on the lookout for innovative ways to improve things you use all the time. New and improved products always have a place in the market. Also start to pay careful attention to the way millionaires and more importantly billionaires are behaving in the market place.

If you watch closely, they will give very big clues on stable companies and markets that it is wise to think about investing in. Many people make massive fortunes in troubled economic times. Its all a function of the way you think and how well you prepare yourself to meet challenges head on.

Improving Your Skill And Mind-Set

One of the most important things you can do to improve your earning capacity it to increase your knowledge and more importantly your self-confidence. Simply reading a book a week or watching a motivational video can help give you the confidence to take action on your goals and dreams. Nothing happens while you are sitting around complaining about the economy. The prizes in this new era will go to the people who are not afraid to invest in themselves and take action even when others are hiding from the world.

Lastly think of the type of life your really want to lead and look at how you are living now. Do you think that your current habits, actions and thoughts are congruent with what you want to create in your life? What can you do to bring those three things into alignment.

Once you start to change your habits, actions and thoughts, your whole life will change and you will be able to create the wealth your deserve in your life.

Set aside a few minutes each day to work on and learn about how you can reach your goals. Take a look at this web-site http://www.GlobalSuccessILG.com to learn more how you can fit quality learning into short bursts in your day. This sites covers topics from leadership, to tax strategies to growing your business and many more.

Christina Helwig is an attorney and Vice-President of Wealth Expressions, Inc. She focuses on helping people learn more about themselves to improve all aspects of their lives.

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/11/recessions-are-for-sissies-make-your-business-grow-no-matter-what-the-market-is-doing/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/11/recessions-are-for-sissies-make-your-business-grow-no-matter-what-the-market-is-doing/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/RQnLQrHLw5w/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/08/your-mind-and-how-it-works/#comments Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:41:36 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=12

Your mind has two parts: the Conscious Mind and the Subconscious Mind. Together these two parts control all of your actions and ultimately the results you have in your life. As we explore each area of your mind, understand that while these ideas may seem simple and elementary, they have a wide reaching and profound affect on your life. They control every aspect of what makes you who you are and will continue to control everything in your life until the day you die. As we unravel the Mind remember that this is only a small portion of the material and more will be posted as time passes. Your best bet is to read the oldest posts first as this information is timeless.

The Conscious Mind

The Conscious Mind is where you do all your day to day thinking. This is where you make decisions and where you primarily operate from in normal life. When you hold a conversation or watch a t.v. program you are using your conscious mind. Both the conscious mind and the subconscious mind think in pictures. If you think about your family members a picture of them will flash on the movie screen of your conscious mind.

You also can only hold one image on the screen of your mind at a time. For example you cannot think of a red apple and an orange in detail at the same time. While you might be able to project them side by side you are not able to see the grain in the skin of the apple or the dimples in the peel of the orange at the same time.

This ultimately means that you cannot think of a negative idea and a positive idea at the same time. While your mind might be able to flip back and forth between negative and positive ideas or images very rapidly, it is not able to hold those two images at the same time.

The Subconscious Mind

Most people would think that the Conscious Mind controls the Subconscious Mind, but this is not so. The Subconscious Mind is the real mover and shaker in our lives. The Subconscious Mind stores all our beliefs about who we are, what we are capable of, what we are not capable of and every other detail we believe to be true about the world. We can refer to the Subconscious Mind as the emotional mind.

The subconscious mind operates in the background of your life and while you sleep. Dreams are a product of your subconscious mind. You can think of the subconscious mind as a computer program running without your help at all times. An example of this would be when you have suddenly realized that you have not been paying attention while driving and you are almost home from work.

The entire drive to and from work is a program that you have put into your subconscious mind through repetition. Your driving is almost automatic and takes very little thinking on your part. In fact without consciously thinking about going to the store when driving that pathway you will drive straight home. Your programming will take over and you will “forget” to go to the store unless you hold the image of the store at the forefront of your mind when driving home.

In Part 2 of this series we will explore how the Conscious and Subconscious Mind interact.

Christina Helwig

]]> http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/08/your-mind-and-how-it-works/feed/ 0 http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/08/your-mind-and-how-it-works/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheFemaleMind/~3/8jFd56yWFh0/ http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/2008/08/investing-vs-spending-are-you-making-the-most-common-mistakes-people-make-with-their-time/#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:23:49 +0000 admin http://www.thefemalemind.com/blog/?p=8

Everyone has 24 hours in a day to spend or invest, no more, no less. How you choose to use that time makes a big difference in the quality of your life. It also makes a difference in how long it takes for your goals to materialize.

How we “spend” our time

We spend time when what we do does not benefit us in the future. Watching t.v. for example is “spending time.” After that program is over an hour is gone and you have nothing to show for it except a little enjoyment. The same can be said for occupying yourself with menial tasks that could be handled by another person. You have a small benefit but no lasting effects.

How we “invest” our time

Investing time is when you do something that benefits you in the future. Reading a book on your area of expertise is an example. You are giving up the time to read the book for the reward that the increased knowledge will bring you in the future. Working out is another example of investing your time. That hour on the treadmill has a lasting benefit for you by increasing your health, flexibility, strength and stamina.

Change your activities to investment activities

Once you start to look at activities as either “spending” or “investing” activities you can start to make rapid progress towards your goals. By cutting down on spending your time on unproductive activities and actions, you increase the amount of time you have to really make things happen in your life.

Take an investment / spending audit

The first thing you will want to do is take an investment / spending audit of your time. For an entire week you will write down what you spend or invest your time on, even if you just sit down and watch the news for 15 minutes. Write down everything. The easiest way to do this is to print off a time sheet from Outlook that has 15 minute intervals that encompasses your waking hours. Be honest with yourself and keep an accurate count of your activities.

Trim your “budget”

When you have your time audit completed, go through it and find where you are spending time instead of investing it. Can you cut back on the t.v. watching time, the time you spend on the phone for no real purpose or even on some of the menial chores that could be hired out? Once you have your top time wasters identified think about the activities that would move you closer to your goal in the shortest amount of time.

Convert your schedule

Take an hour and plan out your new schedule and then print it off and hang it everywhere: near the t.v., on the fridge and by your desk. You want to see this new schedule everywhere you look so that it acts as a constant reminder that you have “better” things to do with your time.

Make it happen and take action!

For your new schedule to pay dividends you must act on it and break your old time spending habits. All the good intentions in the world do nothing if you don’t act on them. Everyday make sure that you are checking your schedule and doing what you have planned for that time slot. If you make sure to follow your new schedule and you invest your time instead of spending it you will be amazed at how quickly you move closer to your goals.

Christina Helwig

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