Too much stuff is not only bad, it’s worse than you think. And it’s not just about the environment. It’s about people too and the quality of their lives.

Check out this preview video of “The Story of Stuff.” If you are interested, you can view the full version which is just below the first video.

And before you become depressed or start feeling hopeless, know that there are things YOU can do to actually make a difference. Identifying a problem is the first step in a brighter future. Check out the top 10 things you can do to make a difference here.

Preview of “Story of Stuff”

Full version of “Story of Stuff” (only 20 minutes)

What You Can Do to Change the “Story of Stuff”

There are many ways to get involved. The Story of Stuff website (www.StoryofStuff.com) has a page called “Another Way” that will give you the top ten things you can do to make a difference such as:

1. Waste Less
2. Buy Less
3. Tell a Friend, a School, or a Community about this information.

So, check it out, bring it into your consciousness each day, and  bit by bit we can shape a more positive future!

Please Share!

What is your relationship with stuff? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

Post from: Life Learning Today

The Story of Stuff

photo credit: felipesp

You don’t have to save the world single handed. It’s not an all or nothing proposition for each individual. It’s simply about doing the best you can in any given day. What I’m doing today is spreading the word for Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change.

As Monika Baurlein states today in MotherJones.com, “Fix the Climate or the Kid Gets It.” (Clever title!) We need to convince “Americans that something we care about is actually at risk here. And of course something is is. Climate change poses the greatest danger not to polar bears, not to glaciers or beaches, but to our kids.”

So what’s a busy person to do? Here are some ideas that are easy:

10 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Save the Earth for Your Children

1. Turn Down the Heat/Turn Up/Off the A/C.
2. Use Less Paper Products. Use cloth napkins, regular plates & cups, etc instead of paper ones.
3. Only Use What You Need. Don’t leave the faucet running. Use less water on small laundry loads. Use less paper, plastics. Turn off lights, TV’s, Computers that aren’t being used.
4. Use Green Cleaning Products. Especially baking soda and vinegar!
5. Eat Vegetarian/Vegan When You Can. Vegan (non-animal) foods put less of a strain on the environment.
6. Unplug. Unplug electrical devices that aren’t being used. (“Green” power strips can make this a little easier.)
7. Keep Tired Fully Inflated. Better gas mileage is also more money in your pocket.
8. Turn Water Heater Down. Try 1 or 2 degrees. A little bit that you won’t notice, but if everyone does it, it can add up to a lot.
9. Use Your Own Water Bottle. That’s at least 365 less plastic bottles in a landfill!
10. Recycle. Keep it simple. Set up your process once and then you’ll be on auto-pilot.

For more ideas check out these additional posts:

The Coolest Green Habits to Adopt Today

Things You Can Do Today to Save the Environment

Please Share!

Got any other easy ideas for helping the planet? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

Post from: Life Learning Today

Too Busy for Climate Change?

photo credit: Ana_Cotta

I love the song, “Maybe God is Trying to Tell You Somethin’,'” from the Color Purple soundtrack.  It is a very passionate and moving gospel song. Every once in a while, something happens in my life where I can hear a message from God. It’s not always earth shattering, but even when it is a simple message it is still a delightful intermission from my usual mundane thought patterns. Hopefully this story will spark your interest to  adjust the dial on your “tuner” in order to hear the messages you may be receiving right now.

I got a cold recently. The worst part was that it made me so tired. So tired, in fact, that I had to take a nap nearly each day. I never take naps so this means my body was really tired. After 5 days I thought it was gone and so I resumed my normal routine.

The following day the cold came back the next day. Arg. That was frustrating. This cycle of feeling better and then relapsing kept happening. Finally after the 3rd time it came back, I sensed there was a message and also some “assistance” from God. The message was “slow down” and the “assistance” was that I was finally able to sleep normally again after about a month of quasi-insomnia.

My insomnia was caused by worrying too much about, well, everything. Work, family, health, etc.  I would wake up at 2am and worry for 3 hours while wishing I could go back to sleep. The problem was that a habit had formed and I was getting better and better at worrying, a skill which serves no one well. The kicker was that I really didn’t have anything to be worried about. I was worried about possible problems. Not very productive!

By having this cold and a bonus case of poison ivy too, God effectively removed my ability to worry in the middle of the night. I was too tired at night and too itchy when awake to think of anything else. The worry habit was interrupted which is all I needed to kick the habit!

The situation of repeatedly healing and relapsing is similar to training a dog to do something  You must repeat the training over and over again. For a while the dog doesn’t get it. But as the training continues, at last, the dog finally understands the message and then they learn the lesson. Once the lesson is learned it is important to be reminded of the lesson and to practice it.

Each time I felt better, I was like my dogs. I wanted to go back to my normal routine, doing too much and not taking care of myself, but everytime I did God gave me a “correction” to convey his message of “slow down and stop worrying.”

Now you could say “All you had was a cold, there’s no ‘message from God’ there.” Maybe you’re right. But, here’s the thing, I find that when I finally “tune in” and listen to these little messages, which for me are usually “slow down,” and “stop worrying,” my life definitely improves.

I think it is God. I still have many questions and doubts about God, but for me I can’t dismiss the idea of God simply because my senses are not keen enough to perceive God in the way I think he should be perceived. Or maybe we are perceiving God all the time in the form of witnessing the amazing abundance of life on earth, but, like dogs in training, we are missing the obvious. We don’t see how life IS a manifestation of God.

In slowing down I had the opportunity to read a neat book that helped open my imagination up to the possibilities of what God and heaven really are. I recommend checking out “Life After Death” by Deepak Chopra. In the recent past when explaining heaven and God to my son with the explanation that they are “up there” in the sky, I found myself having difficulty imagining where that really is and what that’s really like. In “Life After Death” Chopra paints a picture that is more expansive, vivid, and believable than I have been able to conceive on my own.

So what about you? Have you experienced something recently that may have held a message for you? Please share your story with us. Perhaps telling your story will help someone. Or maybe telling your story will be like a key unlocking a message that you can  finally receive. Either way, thank you for reading and for sharing! May you hear the messages the universe is sending you, and may it bring you peace and joy!

Post from: Life Learning Today

Maybe God is Trying to Tell You Something

How to set up a WordPress Blog and Make Money

image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Are you a writer? Would you like to make some good money writing about topics that interest you? Then starting a blog is something that I highly recommend. Because of my experience and success, I’ve had a couple friends and family members ask me how to set this up. I thought I would share it with everyone here for free.

This is a Complete guide to starting a WordPress Blog and earning money from it. And as a bonus you can download a free checklist to keep you on track. Here are the topics that will be covered:

1. Create Blog File
2. Picking a Domain Name
3. Sign Up with a Web Host:
4. Point Domain to Web Host.
5. Install WordPress
6. Login to WordPress
7. Install WordPress Theme
8. Set Up Permalinks
9. Install Plugins
10. Set Up RSS with FeedBurner
11. Set Up Google Analytics
12. Making Money - Set Up Advertising
13. Getting Traffic to Your Blog
14. Learning More

What Is a Blog?

A blog is a website that has some automatic organizing features included in it. Your theme, the look and feel of your website, will be consistent on every page. Your readers will find navigating your website very easy if it is in the blog format. They can browse by category, tags, or date. And you can make money all while offering your content free to your readers. How?

How Blogs Make Money

Blogs make money through having advertisements on them and also by selling products or services. I will cover all of this in detail in Step 12 below. For now, know that if you are persistent in building your blog, your content, and your readership, over time you will have the potential to make good money. How much?

Some people make very little and give up. Don’t do that! When starting out, you might only make a few dollars a month while you are building your readership. Over time you could quite easily earn an extra $1000 per month from advertising revenues. Some top bloggers make a full living off their blog earning 5 or 6 figure incomes. And their are the tippity top blogs that earn in the millions. Your income potential is only limited by your belief and the work you put in.

Of course you will need to be persistent and stick with it even when it seems like things are going nowhere. Build your network of blogging friends over time and compare notes, ask for feedback and share learnings with each other. And, of course, continually provide great content for your readers and they will reward you with loyalty and referrals.

Complete Guide to Setting Up a WordPress Blog

There is a ton of information available on making money through blogging. This post will give you the steps for setting up a WordPress blog, customizing it, getting traffic to your blog, and how to make money from your blog. I promise to offer details where it is necessary and help make things simpler where there is already a lot of complexity and confusion. There are other blogging platforms out there, but none compares to WordPress. It is the most popular and the easiest to use. It is also free. (Your only costs will be domain registration - about $10/year and web hosting - about $6.95/month.)

I’ll guide you to getting the most important things done so you’ll get off to the right start. Then once your blog is up and running, you will have enough knowledge and experience to search the internet for information that will allow you to hone your blog even further. For now, this guide will be all you need.

There are many steps, but with this post and the free Blog Setup Checklist (free excel download), you can complete this quickly, in a day or two working full time, or you can spread it out over as much time as you need. The Blog Setup Checklist will help you keep track of where you left off and a place to write down notes or questions to follow up on at a later time.

The Best Way to Use this Guide

Bookmark this page. Download the WordPress Blog SetUp Checklist (free excel document). Check off your progress and follow the steps one by one right online with this post.

The Steps to Setting Up a WordPress Blog, Building Traffic, and Earning Money

1. Create a BLOG FILE.

This is where you will keep all the usernames, passwords, affiliate codes, login URL’s, instructions and anything else relating to your blog so that you can reference them whenever you need to. There will be a lot of them, so start this right away and be diligent about putting every new item into it.

The easiest way to do this is to create a text file or a Word document. This way you can just copy and paste the information into your BLOG FILE. When you need to find a particular item, just use the “Find” feature in your text file or Word document to search for the information you need. If you want you could use a notebook instead or any other method you like.

For each item that you enter into your BLOG FILE, type a title of what the information is. (Example: “Web Host Username and Password”) This will make searching for the information easier in the future.

2. Choose a Domain Name.

This is the name of your blog (www.YourBlogName.com). You can check on availability at GoDaddy.com . You can also purchase your domain name there. That is where I keep my domains. I like to keep my domain name separate from my web host in case I ever need to switch web hosts (which I have done in the past.) When you switch registrars, you can experience prolonged downtime of your blog which you don’t want.

GoDaddy.com is a low cost provider with excellent service ($10/year). If you want you can wait to purchase the domain name from your web host in Step #3. When you do purchase, it’s important to know that Google search engines give more favor to sites who have bought their domain for longer than 1 year.

When choosing a name think about how you want to brand your blog. You can choose a name related to your blog’s theme, you could choose to brand with your own name, or you can make up a name that sounds cool. Or you could do some combination of those. Usually “.com” is preferable to other extensions such as “.net” or because it makes it easier for people to remember. Everyone thinks “.com” but if you can only get “.net” with your favorite name that should be fine.

When it comes to picking a domain name I suggest brainstorming on paper first. Mindmaps are helpful for generating ideas. Get feedback from some people about the names you’ve picked. Then click over to GoDaddy.com to check availability. You may need to modify some of the names you thought of. They will also make suggestions for you too.

3. Sign Up with a Web Host.

A web host is the company that will store all the files of your blog and serve them via the web to your readers. I recommend using BlueHost as your web host. They are the #1 on WordPress’s list of recommended web hosts. Here’s some info about BlueHost:

• $6.95/month (at the time of this writing)
• unlimited hosting space, unlimited file transfers, and unlimited domains.
• If you decide to register your domain with them, the first domain for the first year is free.
• $25 credit towards Yahoo ads and $50 towards Google ads for promoting your blog.
• 24/7 Support via phone, online LiveChat, and Support Forums

They offer an excellent deal. Once you sign up, be sure to put all the info they send you into your BLOG FILE. There are others, but BlueHost is the best in terms of both price and quality. And it is super easy to sign up right online.

4. Point Your Domain to Your Web Host.

Once you are signed up with your web host, you now need to tell your registrar (GoDaddy) to point your domain name to your web host. This way when people go to your new blog (www.YourDomainName.com) they are automatically sent to where your blog is, at your web host (BlueHost).

This may sound scary, but it is simple as pie and only takes about 5 minutes. Sometimes this step is called “Modify DNS” where DNS= Domain Name Server.

Only complete this set of steps if you bought your domain through GoDaddy.com separately from BlueHost. If you registered your domain with BlueHost in addition to hosting with them, you don’t have to do this step.

Steps

1. Open email from Web Host - BlueHost.
2. Look for the “NameServers.” There will be two.
3. Copy the first nameserver. It will look something like:
   1. ns1.bluehost.com
      
      
4. Go to GoDaddy.com and login using the user name and password they sent you in an email.
5. Go to “Domains”
6. Go to “My Domains”
7. Click on your domain name (the name of your blog.)
8. Click on NameServers
9. Click on the “Custom Nameservers”
10. Paste your first nameserver (that you copied) in the first nameserver box.
11. Do the same thing with the second name server. (i.e. “ns2.bluehost.com)
12. Click on OK.

Here is a screenshot of where you will type in your two nameservers:

Now your domain name will be pointed to your web host. That’s it! It takes about 3-5 hours for the site to propagate over at your web host. And in rare cases it can take up to 24 hours. Once propagated you and everyone else will be able to see your site on the web.

Even though you can’t see your site on the web yet, you can still work on getting your blog set up at your web host!

So let’s move right onto Step #5!

5. Install WordPress.

This process is where you install all the WordPress code to your server at your web host (BlueHost).

This is very easy too because BlueHost has a one click install! There are a few steps but most of the steps only take 3 seconds to do. It goes pretty fast.

Don’t be intimidated if you see words you don’t recognize. It justs looks weird because you’ve never done it before, but don’t worry you can do it. Just follow the steps below. If you are a visual person, you can see these steps in a free online tutorial at BlueHost here:

Steps to Install WordPress on BlueHost:

1. Go to your new blog website. (http://www.yourDomainNameHere.com)
2. Click on “cpanel login.” If you don’t see this then go to “www.yourDomainNameHere.com/cpanel.”
3. Type in your username and password that you chose when you bought the web hosting. Should be in your BLOG FILE.
4. Scroll down to “Software/Services.”
5. Click on “Simple Scripts.”
6. Click on the WordPress Icon.
7. Choose the latest version of WordPress. (The highest number is the latest.)
8. Click “Install Now.”
9. Select your domain name.
10. Leave the “subfolder” box empty.
11. Give your site a name. This is the name of your blog, i.e. “My Big Honkin Blog.” Usually the same name as your domain name.
12. Enter a tagline - caption catchphrase. This would be like your branding, i.e. “The Place Where You Learn All About Ducks.” (You can modify this very easily later so don’t worry about it being perfect now.)
13. Uncheck the check box next to “Generate Admin Login.” This way you can choose your own.
14. Choose your Admin user name and password. This will be for logging into your WordPress Dashboard for writing your posts and setting up your blog. It is best if this is different from you cpanel user name and password.
15. Leave “Automatically create a new database” checked.
16. Check the legal agreement.
17. Click “Complete.”

You’re done installing WordPress!The system is now installing all the WordPress code for you! It only takes a few minutes.

You will receive a confirmation email from BlueHost (your web host) with the username and password you chose along with any other information you might need like support phone numbers etc. Copy and Paste the key parts of that email into your BLOG FILE. Give it the heading “WordPress Login Info” or something like that.

6. Login to Your WordPress Dashboard.

This will bring you to the place where you control almost everything about your blog including writing posts and customizing how your blog looks.

1. To login go to: “YourDomainName.com/wp-admin” in your browser.
2. Enter your WordPress Dashboard Login username and passsword that you just set up in Step#5.

If you don’t land at your dashboard, just give it a couple more minutes while your web host is installing WordPress to your site. When it is installed this is what you will see:

In Step #14 I have links to multiple articles on getting started with using WordPress. In the meantime, lets continue with the next step which is setting up the look of your blog, called your Theme.

7. Install WordPress Theme.

Where to Find Free Themes

In this step you will choose the overall look of your blog. There are many free WordPress themes. The best place to search for one is at the WordPress Theme Viewer. All themes can be customized with different colors, fonts, font sizes, layouts and more. However, you should look for one that is pretty close to what you like unless you are comfortable changing the code in your theme. Below I list some premium themes that make customization easy if you don’t want to deal with changing code.

Look for themes that are compatible with the latest version of WordPress that you just installed. You’ll be able to check on this at the theme view.

You can also find themes by searching for “WordPress Themes” in Google or your favorite search engine.

The theme that I am using as of this writing is the “Genki Theme Fixed Width” by ericulous. It is compatible with WordPress 2.7 and I like how it has 4 widget areas in the sidebars.

The Benefits of a Buying a Premium Theme

If you want be able to easily customize a theme, (and not have to deal with coding!) you might want to consider a premium theme. These themes have a one-time cost that gives you an additional dashboard for changing the colors, fonts, layout and more on your theme. So making changes to the look of your blog is easy.

With premium themes you will have access to online tutorials on how to use the theme and you’ll also have access to online support when you have questions. Often these are not available with free themes.

With free themes when you want to customize them you will need to change the coding which can be a little tricky if you’re not familiar with coding. If you are new to this, a premium theme can save you time and hassle learning how to code.

If I were new again, I would choose a premium theme. Even today knowing how to do a little bit of coding, I would choose a premium theme just for the convenience of being able to change the theme so easily.

Here are two Premium Themes that I have researched and that are very user friendly for new bloggers.

“Affiliate Theme”

There are many ways to configure this theme including several different layouts, all without touching a line of code! Unique Blog Designs is known for their beautiful, simple, and elegant web designs.

Click here to see a very short video demonstration of how the theme looks and works. (Click on the “Learn More” button to see the video.)

“Thesis Theme”

This theme is is probably my favorite of the two. It also comes with a control panel for customizing the look of your blog. When you click on the above icon to see more about the them you’ll be able to see many blogs that have used this theme to create spectacular looking sites. This one is also a little less expensive than the Affiliate Theme.

They are both excellent and are both highly recommended within the WordPress blogging community.

Steps to Install WordPress Theme

1. Download the theme that you like the best. Look for the “Download” button on the website offering the theme. This will deliver a zipped folder to your computer. Choose “Save.” For now I would choose save to your Desktop. When you’re done you can move that folder to a designated “Blog” folder that you set up for all blog documents and files. You can download and install as many themes as you like. At the end of this process you’ll choose one to activate.
2. Open the Zipped Folder and choose “Extract All Files.” This will then open a new folder with all the files unzipped and ready to use.
3. Important: Check to see if there is an extra folder inside the Theme folder you downloaded. So the folder you unzipped might be “ABC Theme” and when you click on that folder to see the contents you see another folder called “ABC Theme.” (Yes, the same name. Or maybe different.) The bottom line is it is this inside folder that you will need to upload. If you click on the unzipped folder and you see files and and image folder etc, then it is the top level folder that you upload.
4. Download FileZilla if you don’t already have an FTP application on your computer. Click on “Download Filezilla Client.” This application allows you to upload files to your blog, such as theme files, pictures, and plugins (which add functionality to your blog - we’ll get to that later.) This is quick, free, easy, and painless.
5. Open FileZilla or whichever FTP application you have.
6. Click on File -> Site Manager.
7. Click on New Site.
8. In “Host” type “YourDomainName.com”
9. In “ServerType” Choose FTP.
10. In “User” type your WordPress Dashboard username. (from Step #5)
11. In “Password” type your WordPress Dashboard password. (from Step #5)
12. Click on “Connect”
13. Under “Remote Site” expand your folders by clicking on the [+] sign. This will show you all your blog files that are on your BlueHost server.
14. Double Click on “public_html”
15. Double Click on “wp-content”
16. Double Click on “themes.” Here you will see a couple of themes already loaded: “Classic” and “Default” which you are free to use if you like them.
17. On “Local Site” search for the (unzipped) folder that holds all the theme files.
18. Drag that theme folder to your “Remote Site” into the “Themes” folder. You will see a running log of all the files being transfered over to your site.
19. Login to your WordPress Dashboard: “YourDomainName.com/wp-admin”
20. Click on “Appearance” in the left hand navigation section. This brings you to “Themes”
21. Click on the new theme you just uploaded. This will show you a preview of how your site will look.
22. Click on “Activate” in the upper right hand corner of the preview box.
23. Scroll to the top of the page and click on “Visit Site” to see how your site looks. (Bear in mind that you may not see it show up if you are still waiting for your nameservers to propagate.
24. To customize: for Free Themes you’ll need to change code in “Appearance”->”Edit.” For Premium themes, follow their instructions to find the theme control panel within your WordPress Dashboard.

Congratulations! Your theme is set up!

Troubleshooting tip: if the theme you uploaded doesn’t show up it may be because of step 3 above. Double check that again.

8. Set Up Permalinks.

This is a small little step that will make your posts more likely to show up in search results. You want this so that you will get more traffic. Here’s what you do:

1. In WordPress Dashboard, click on “Settings” in the left hand navigation panel.
2. Click on “Permalinks.”
3. Click on “Day and name” option.
4. Click “Save changes.”

That’s it. Takes less than 2-3 minutes and it is well worth it!

At this point, you could write your first post if you wanted to. If you want to wait until everything is in place then keep taking the next steps.

9. Install Plugins.

These add functionality to your blog. The install is the same process as installing your theme (Step#7). You download, unzip, and then transfer the plugin files to your site via FTP (FileZilla) except this time you put them in the “Plugin” folder on your “remote site” not the “Theme” folder. The “Plugins” folder is inside the “wp-content” folder on your remote site. Have that folder open before you drag the plugins over.

Once uploaded, go to “Plugins” in your WordPress Dashboard and click on “Activate” to enable each plugin. For each plugin, there may be additional instructions for usage that you will find on the page where you downloaded the plugin.

Here are the plugins that I recommend installing. They are all free, as are most WordPress Plugins. The ones that are in Bold I recommend installing first. You can click on the link on each to get to the download page:

How to Install Plugins

1. Download plugin and save to your computer.
2. Open the zipped folder.
3. Click “extract all files”
4. Upload files or folder to “wp-content/plugins” on your “remote server” via FTP on FileZilla.
5. In WordPress Dashboard, click on “Plugins”
6. Click on “Activate” to enable each plugin.
7. Follow any specific instructions on how to use each plugin.

10. Set Up Your RSS Feed with Feedburner

This will allow your readers to subscribe to your blog via a reader or via email for free. It will also allow you to monitor the growth of your subscribers!

Steps:

1. Sign up for free at FeedBurner.
2. “Burn” your feed by typing in your feed URL (http://www.yourDomainName.com/feed). Feedburner will then give you a new RSS Feed URL that will allow you to track your subscribers. (Put this new feel URL into your BLOG FILE!)
3. Enter your Feedburner RSS feed URL into the plugin called “FeedBurner FeedSmith” to enable tracking.
4. Add “Email RSS Form” to your Blog with the next steps:
5. In Feedburner click on your feed.
6. Click “Publicize” tab.
7. Click “Email Subscriptions”
8. Copy code for the subscription form.
9. Go back to WordPress Dashboard.
10. Click on “Appearance”
11. Click on “Widgets”
12. Choose the sidebar where you want to put this mini-form.
13. Click “add” on “Text” widget under “Available Widgets.”
14. Drag the widget to the location you desire. (Usually at the top)
15. Click “edit” on the Text Widget
16. Paste the subscription form code in the main box. You can also give the Widget a title or leave it blank.
17. Click “Done.”
18. Click “Save changes”

Now you can go and visit your site to see how it looks. That is the basic process for adding any widget, so you might want to copy and paste these instructions into your BLOG FILE.

11. Set Up Google Analytics

This will allow you to monitor and analyze the traffic to your site. It’s very powerful and it’s FREE! Here are the steps:

1. Go to Google.com/analytics. Sign up for free account.
2. Copy the code they give you and paste it into the Google Analytics plugin you installed.

That’s it!

12. Making Money - Adding Advertising

There are several ways to make money. I will cover the 5 main ways here. They are:

• Contextual Ads
• Affiliate Ads
• Ad Networks
• Direct Ad Sales/Sponsorships
• Selling you own products/services

The best way to figure out what works best for your site is to test, measure the results, and then test other options to see if it is better or worse than a previous set up.

Contextual Ads

These are ads that display on your website that are related to the content of your site. The most popular is Google Adsense and is probably all you need.

It is important to note that youshould be sure to follow Google’s rules closely because if you don’t you can find yourself kicked out of their program will no chance for appeal. (You need to actually read their rules and understand them.) Being banned from their program could be a really bad thing if a lot of your income comes from them.

That is why a lot of super top bloggers look to find ways to diversify or replace that income over time so as not to be so dependent on an income source that could be taken away at a moment’s notice.

I still recommend using these ads because they are easy to implement and as your blog traffic grows so will your income. Yahoo also has a program. To find others do a web search for “contextual ad program.”

How to Set Up Google Adsense on Your Blog

1. Sign up with Google Adsense. It’s free.
2. Create the ads you want with Adsense’s tool.
3. Copy the code they give you.
4. WordPress Dashboard ->Appearance->Widgets
5. Add “Text” Widget to desired sidebar.
6. Drag widget to desire location in sidebar.
7. Click “edit” on widget.
8. Paste in Adsense code. (like you did in Step#10- setting up your RSS)
9. Leave title bar blank.
10. Click “done.”
11. Click “Save changes.”
12. Check how the changes look on your site.

There’s a lot more that goes into doing Adsense right. You might want to check out either or both of these books which describe how to maximize your profit from Adsense:

The AdSense Code: What Google Never Told You About Making Money with AdSense ~ Joel Comm

The Best Damn GOOGLE ADSENSE Book COLOR EDITION: How to make dollars instead of cents with Adsense ~ Harry J. Misner

Affiliate Ads

When you become an affiliate for a certain product or service you receive a “commission” whenever you refer a sale. Sales are referred by your readers clicking on a banner ad or a text link ad that takes them to the company’s website.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your blog is about dogs. So readers who come to your site are interested in dogs, so you will probably do well by having a few key affiliate products that you advertise on your site.

The quality of the affiliates ads you have on your site reflect on your website so it serves you well to choose high quality products and services.

Once you find products and services that you think are good quality and that your readers would be interested you will seek to join their affiliate program. Most products and stores have an affiliate program.

Once you join the program you may promote their product with a banner ad in your sidebar. You set this up similar to setting up Google Ads by inserting the affiliate code into a text widget.

You can also promote affiliate products directly in your blog posts. This can be more effective because you can give a description and personal recommendation of the product. In this case you simply link to the product using your affiliate link.

Just like Google Adsense, with affiliate programs the product or service provider does all the tracking of sales and will usually send you payments automatically and electronically.

The other way to find affiliate programs that fit well with your site is to join an affiliate network and browse for products and services with which you can become an affiliate. Here are a few well known networks:

• Amazon Associates
• Clickbank
• Commission Junction
• e-Junkie
• myhelphub (many great writing products)
• Linkshare

Ad Networks

These are networks that work as a middleman. They secure the advertisers and you provide the advertising space. The way they come together is by placing their ad code in a sidebar text widget. When you sign up with any of these they will give you the code you need and instructions for placing it in your blog.

They will keep track of all sales and they will usually pay you monthly either through ACH, PayPal, or a check.

• Text Link Ads
• PeopleJam
• Blogher.com
• Adbrite
• Kontera
• Chitika
• ShoppingAds
• BlogAds.com

Direct Ad Sales/Sponsorships

This setup is where you secure the advertisers or sponsors. You are responsible for setting your rates, invoicing and setting up the coding of the ads whether they are a text link or a banner ad. The coding is not hard at all. Here is the basic html code you would use:

Text Ads HTML code:

<a href="Insert Link Here" >Anchor Text Here</a>

Banner Ads HTML code:

<a href="insert link here"  ><img src="link for image here" ></a>

You simply put the code into a text widget in your sidebar or insert it into a post. And then keep track of payments. Here is a good article on how to set your advertising rates.

Selling your own products/services

This is pretty self explanatory. You come up with the products and services that you want to sell personally. Then you design the text or banner advertising to go along with it. You place the promotion for your products and services into blog posts and/or into your sidebar with text widgets.

You can also outsource the production of products that you’d like to sell and have them drop-shipped to your buyers so that you never have to handle inventory or shipping. One example is CafePress that will produce t-shirts, mugs, and other items with your artwork on them.

Advanced Techniques for Making Money

“Blogging All the Way to the Bank” - this ebook teaches you some advanced techniques for growing your blog and making money. I learned some new and profitable tips from this book and definitely recommend it.

13. Getting Traffic to Your Blog

The number one rule is to create valuable content. This is really important. You want people to keep returning to your site. But, how do you get them there in the first place? Time and lots of effort. If you keep at it, using these suggestions below, you will grow your site. I’ll cover both online and offline strategies. Try them both. The easiest to start with are the online ones.

Offline Strategies to Get Blog Traffic

1. Tell all your friends.
2. Create flyers or business cards to give to everyone you meet.
3. Write a press release.
4. Do some interviews on TV, radio or in newspapers.
5. Create a local access TV program where you present similar information that your blog presents and be sure to make your blog URL prominent on the show.
6. Post flyers in places where your target audience frequents - also try libraries, the post office bulletin board, supermarkets, and community centers.
7. Merchandise: bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc. You could look into CafePress.com.

Online Strategies to Get Blog Traffic

1. Email all your contacts that might be interested and ask them to pass the info to their contacts that might be interested.
2. Social Networking. Join the top social networking sites and grow your network of friends who are interested in your topic and who are willing to support your writing with votes on social network sites. I cover this in more detail in the next segment.
3. Comment on other blogs. Every time you leave a comment you will get a link to your blog and people who read comments might come visit your site. Seek out blogs that are similar to your and have a large following which you can tell by the number of subscribers they have and the amount of comments the blog gets.
4. Participate in blog carnivals. You can find out about them by searching online or you can check out BlogCarnival.com.
5. SEO: Optimize your site for search engines. This practice is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. I’m convinced you could read about this for the rest of your life, but at some point you need just the basics so here is a good article by a trusted source on some basic SEO techniques. (The author also offers a free e-book on identifying the best keywords to use.)
6. Create a contest for your readers that gets them to tell other people about your blog.
7. Write guest posts at other blogs for exposure to new readers.
8. Build links to your blog by commenting on blogs that have “dofollow” links which means that search engines will see those links. This helps you get more search engine traffic eventually.
9. Write really good content. Write really good content. And write some more really good content.
10. Brand your blog for success.

Here are a few other articles on getting traffic to your blog:

• How to get traffic for your blog.
• How to get traffic and links from popular blogs.

Social Networking Basics

There are so many social networking sites out there that it can become dizzying trying to figure out which ones are best given our limits on time. So I will give you some basic advice that should really benefit you while keeping it simple.

Here are the basic and most popular sites you should consider joining:

• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Digg
• Reddit
• Twitter
• Facebook
• MyBlogLog
• BlogCatalog

I recommend starting out with StumbleUpon, Facebook, and either MyBlogLog or BlogCatalog.

Facebook: Use this to notify your circle of friends and family about your blog and keep them up to date on posts. You can create groups on Facebook of just people who are interested in your content. You could ask them to share it with their friends.

MyBlogLog/BlogCatalog: Use this to find other blogs and bloggers. You can learn what makes a good blog. You can comment on great blogs, and also make friends with people who would like to help support and promote your writing either on social networking sites or with links to your blog.

StumbleUpon: This can probably bring you the most traffic. Here’s what to do:

1. Join. It’s free.
2. Read about how to use this service for discovering new websites that interest you.
3. Search for topics related to you blog or particular blog post.
4. When search comes up, check out the profiles on the right hand side that list users who are interested in this topic.
5. You can contact or each of these people.
6. Craft a polite email that says you noticed that they are interested in “Topic X” and that you write content in that topic. Offer them a link to your site or blog post. Offer to review anything that they may want you to look at.
7. Of the people who respond, ask if they would like to agree to support you and you support them on StumbleUpon.
8. If so, add them as a friend, write a positive “review” of their profile on StumbleUpon, and ask for their email.
9. Compile a list of emails of social networking friends who would like to support you.
10. Over time email your list with new posts that you would like to share with them and ask for a review if they like it. Offer to review anything of theirs in return. Be sure to use the BCC feature on your email when sending to a whole list so that your social networking friends emails are kept private.

Over time as you gain more friends, you could see considerable traffic from StumbleUpon if a lot of people review your blog posts. Always be courteous, don’t pressure people, and offer to reciprocate support. Be sure to let people know that you don’t expect them to automatically vote for you, only if they like your content.

14. Learning More About Blogging, WordPress, and Making Money.

All these steps take time, but if you are persistent and write good content, you will have success. And once you have the basics down you’ll probably want to learn more.

Don’t forget to download the free Blog Setup Checklist which will help you keep track of the blog set up process and a place to write down notes or questions to follow up on at a later time. (Clicking on the link will download the free excel checklist.)

Here are some basic articles from Wordpress.org on getting started with their blogging platform:

• Introduction to Blogging
• First Steps With WordPress
• WordPress Semantics - Learning the Jargon
• New To WordPress - Where to Start
• Creating Individual Pages
• Using Images
• More WordPress Beginner Lessons
  

Here are a few highly recommended programs to check out:

“Blogging All the Way to the Bank” - this ebook teaches you some advanced techniques for growing your blog and making money. I learned some new and profitable tips from this book recently that I am excited to implement soon.

“Launch the *** Out of Your eBook” - for when you write your first ebook. This is an awesome book that will help you sell lots of copies of your book. I highly recommend it as do many others.

“SEO Book Training Program” - This is a comprehensive training program for learning SEO. It comes highly recommended. They also offer many free and very valuable SEO tools plus some basic free training. There is a fee for the advanced training.

Final Words

I hope you enjoy blogging as much as I do! And I wish you much success in making money from your writing. With practice of your writing craft and persistence in building traffic to your blog, you will definitely succeed!

Please Share!

Please share your comments, thoughts, questions, and links to your new blog! Please come back and fill us in on your progress & success!

Post from: Life Learning Today

Complete Guide to Set Up a WordPress Blog and Make Money

photo by roland

This is a guest post by a good friend of mine who wishes to publish this anonymously.

MAKE A PLAN AND STICK TO IT

Is your weight or health a problem that needs addressing? Do you want to be healthier, lower cholesterol, lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer, get rid of that belly, and get rid of all the worry over health issues? Do you want to lose weight, have more energy, feel better, be more active, do more, be more productive and be sharper mentally; in short do you want to be happy? If so, you need a PLAN.

All diets work if you are committed. But then you return to your life and the problem is back. Solving a problem requires thought. Who knows you, your problem and your life as well as you do? Not all the diet planners out there. We can learn from their strategies and although we all share many of the same traits, your combination of needs is unique. One size does NOT fit all.

You need to MAKE A PLAN THAT SUITS YOU AND THAT YOU CAN LIVE WITH. You know you can’t have it all. You can’t eat everything you want and still have all those things listed above, good health, long life and freedom from health worries. YOU NEED TO MAKE SOME FIRM DECISIONS AND STICK TO THEM LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES. YOU CAN DO IT. I know you can because I am doing it. It is a work in progress, always will be and I am loving it.

You can live, feel well, think, remember, walk without pain, have restful sleep, satisfy your hunger and enjoy this incredible world by just giving up a FEW things, and by being committed to and focused on a FEW SMALL CHANGES in your life.

Think of it VISUALLY. Set YOUR PERIMETERS. Create the SPACE wherein your life and health are secure and you are pleased with yourself. Decide on the BOUNDARIES OR BOARDERS beyond which you will not go, beyond which you know and feel your health and life are in jeopardy. In the jumble that is life, this space will always be unmovable steady ground you can rely on.

Is sugar an issue? Does it affect you like a drug? Does it reduce or eliminate your desire for nutritious, less processed foods like vegetables and whole grains? If you find it extremely difficult or impossible to limit sweets and deserts, if sugar is something you cannot control, if it is an address or a place that controls you, DON’T GO THERE. DON’T LET IT GET INTO YOUR HEAD. DON’T LOOK AT IT AT THE CHECKOUT COUNTERS. CERTAINLY TURN OFF ITS COMMERCIALS, SKIP THE BAKING RECIPES IN THE “DECOR” MAGAZINES, AND FOR LIFE’S SAKE REFUSE TO EVEN REMEMBER THE EXPERIENCE OF PROCESSED SUGAR. MOVE ON. YOU CAN. Make that barrier strong. It will protect you.

The SUGAR thing is mine, the #1 point in my plan, the barrier I don’t cross.
The other points or signposts in my plan are:
#2 TRANS FATS (UNHEALTHY FATS - FRIES ETC) - NO WAY. I stay away from there.
#3 SATURATED FATS (DAIRY ETC) AND WHITE FLOUR - boundaries I cross with caution.
#4 HEALTHY FATS (OLIVE OIL, NUTS), WHOLE GRAINS AND PORTION SIZES - have flexible boarders.
#5 EXERCISE - YES, definitely an essential piece of my “rock”, my safe space. A 40-60 minute walk, 6 days/week, that’s -200 to -300 calories a day.
#6 CALORIES - I count them, roughly, in units of 50 or 100, 200 etc. Lots of portions can be estimated this way eg 1 slice of bread, 100 c. It gives me a close estimate and that’s all I need. I do some guessing but I also read labels. I pay attention. I Tally during the day & I keep a daily journal. I eat between 1200 & 1900 calories a day. It’s flexible. I estimate I’m loosing a little over a pound a week.
#7 LATE NIGHT EATING - only if the hunger will keep me awake, and then only something small.
#8 ADEQUATE SLEEP - YES, another essential piece of my rock - 8 hours a night.
#9 PACING MYSELF - YES, I watch the time I spend on things. I avoid exhaustion & I try not to get sick.
#10 USING A SCALE TO TRACK MY WEIGHT - Definitely NOT in my plan or my safe space, too much pressure. Instead I look in the mirror & see my clothes getting loose.
#11 THINKING ABOUT FOOD - having to shop for and plan meals can be a minefield, a dangerous and distracting place that requires vigilance and focus. I block thoughts and memories of foods I have trouble limiting.
#12 PRACTICING PATIENCE - YES, YES, YES.

But this is MY PLAN, a slow non-spartan plan that I can do. What can YOU do? What do you and your life require? Decide on a PLAN THAT INCLUDES REAL CHANGES BUT ONE THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN STICK WITH. EVEN SMALL CHANGES, CONSISTENTLY HELD TO, WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Make REAL changes and you will have real results. AND BE PATIENT.

SETTLE BACK AND RELAX. DON’T LOOK FOR RESULTS. LET THEM FIND YOU, SURPRISE YOU. THEY WILL HAPPEN. JUST LET THEM COME. Be confident and at peace in the knowledge that you have made REAL changes, CHANGES YOU CAN LIVE WITH. DON’T STRESS OVER THE RATE OR PACE OF THE RESULTS. KEEP IN MIND that REAL changes have got to produce real results. Don’t think in terms of days.Think in terms of weeks and months and years. You have the rest of your life to enjoy the security and freedom from anxiety that will accompany you on this adventure.

One last thing. DON’T EVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF. It will sabotage you.You are not being deprived. These are YOUR decisions. YOU are CHOOSING to live, to get up each day, rested, lighter, satisfied with yourself and ready to go, rewards to which NO chips or fries or desert binge can begin to compare. There will be no need for a vacation FROM or a reward FOR keeping to your plan because your plan IS the thing you needed and wanted most in this world. It will keep you here as long as possible.

It’s really as simple as that. If YOU have a problem THINK AND DECIDE on YOUR solution. MAKE A PLAN AND STICK TO IT. Keep to the plan and it will hold you up. It will carry you. You will see and feel results and your life will be better and longer.

This is how I set up my plan, how I started. This is what I wrote down for myself:

THE PLAN: THE ANSWER TO - “I NEED A PLAN” (BECAUSE WITHOUT ONE MY LIFE IS CHAOS AND I DON’T STAND A CHANCE OF CHANGING IT)

YES OR DAILY:
1 WALK
2 SALAD
3 OLIVE OIL & VINEGAR & SPICE HOMEMADE SALAD DRESSING
4 LOTS OF VEG (AVOCADO, LOTS OF GREENS)
5 LEAN PROTEIN (FISH)
6 DECAF COFFEE
7 RICE MILK
8 MORE WATER
9 TOMATO SAUCE
10 NUTS

YES / BUT OCCASIONALLY OR RARELY &/OR LIMITED PORTION:

1 SLICE WHOLE GRAIN BREAD
2 WHOLE GRAIN PASTA
3 HAMBURGER WITH BUN
4 CHEESE, MILK
5 ONE SLICE PIZZA
6 FRIED FISH (OLIVE OIL)
7 EGG
8 BAKED POTATO
9 GRILLED CHEESE (OLIVE OIL)
10 HOMEMADE CRAPES
11 LEAN HAM &/OR BACON
12 OJ, CRANBERRY JUICE
13 FRUIT
14 CHOCOLATE RICE MILK(IN COFFEE, 1/DAY TREAT)
15 STUFFING
16 RED WINE (1/4 CUP A DAY)
17 HONEY (TEA) MOLASSES(BBQ SAUCE)

NO, NO, NO:

1 PURE REFINED SUGAR,CANDY,CAKE ETC
2 TRANS FATS (FRIES)
3 BUTTER
4 MAYO
5 SALAD DRESSING
6 DIET SODA

OTHER POINTS:

1 CUT PORTIONS IN HALF TO START
2 HAVE MORE IF NECESSARY TO SATISFY HUNGER
3 EAT PROTEIN OR NUTS TO SATISFY HUNGER
4 GET ENOUGH SLEEP (8 HOURS/NIGHT)
5 PACE YOURSELF DURING THE DAY-DON’T GET EXHAUSTED
6 DO THE WALK NO MATTER WHAT, DO YOUR BEST, PUT IN THE TIME
7 KEEP DAILY TRACK OF CALORIES, EXERCISE & SLEEP
8 DON’T FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF
9 REVIEW THIS PLAN OFTEN
10 BE PATIENT. THIS IS FOR LIFE. YOU HAVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO SEE RESULTS. (BY THE TIME YOU DIE YOU’LL BE LIKE BENJAMIN BUTTON)
11 KEEP ALIVE THE MEMORY OF HOW YOU LOOKED AND FELT BEFORE YOU MADE THE CHANGES
12 RECOGNIZE THAT EVEN THE SMALL CHANGES ARE ACHIEVEMENTS. DON’T MINIMIZE THEM. VALUE THEM.

After 2 and 3 weeks on my plan I THOUGHT I was beginning to see changes in myself. I decided to be calm and patient and I wanted to continue because I was feeling better and walking easier (belly not weighing me down as much). At 4 weeks the results were definitely not imagined. My clothes were looser. I was looking better.

Stuff happens: parties, entertaining, restaurants, paying bills, taxes, work, family obligations. I need a plan, a structure that helps me stay on course. Maybe a plan would help you too. I also need to review, to keep my eye on the plan so I don’t drift off course.

One thing I find really helpful is to start a meal with a hot cup of coffee, delicious. Life is good. Good luck.

Additional Resources.

• The Secrets to a Healthy Life by K. Stone. This is an ebook by Life Learning Today author, K. Stone, on healthy living that details the easiest way to lose weight covering diet, exercise and much more.
• The Truth About Six Pack Abs - a total fitness and nutrition program targeted at losing belly fat. Included is a 21 day trial offer, a Free Mini-Course, and a 100% money back guarantee. Highly recommended.

Please Share!

Want to share your story, thoughts, or question? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

Post from: Life Learning Today

Do You Want to Change Your Life? Do You Want to Live as Long as Possible?

photo by Willow&Monk

Bears do it.

Koi fish do it.

So do frogs, squirrels, and several other animals. So why should you allow yourself to feel bad when you feel it’s effects? What I’m talking about here is hibernation.

Of course, humans don’t hibernate fully, but when the cold and short days of winter come around, many of us feel a physical change. We may want to sleep more. We may want to eat more. We may want to be less active and leave our home less frequently. I had a revelation about this recently. Since this is totally normal and most everyone experiences it, then there is absolutely no reason to feel bad about it!

The way to transform your winter blues is simple. Reconsider these winter changes from a new perspective. Here’s how:

Change the labels you put on the physical changes that you feel. Instead of calling these changes the “Winter Blues,” call them what they are: the “Hibernation Effect.” It’s not bad or good. It just is. Just like your hair color. It’s not bad or good. It just is. You decide what label to put on it. You decide how to perceive it.

If you want the “Hibernation Effect” to work for you all you have to do is decide to take a few simple steps, most of which are wrapping your mind around the situation differently.

Making the Hibernation Effect Work to Your Advantage

1. Stop Judging Yourself. If you’ve ever called yourself a loser for not wanting to get out of bed in the morning on a cold day, you can stop right now. Yes, that’s right. You have full permission to stop being critical of yourself. It’s not you! It’s the weather! And everyone else feels the same way you do! The same goes for all the other things you’re feeling. Instead begin to revel in the cozy rejuvenating aspects of the Hibernation Effect. You have the power to make these winter changes work to your advantage!

2. Get More Sleep. Yes, Yes, Yes! I know that many people in today’s frenzied world are looking for ways to do more on less sleep. “How to Sleep Less” type articles are very very popular. Here’s the deal, though. If you are getting less sleep than YOUR body needs, then you will not only be grumpy and tired everyday, you’re also likely to gain weight and die younger than if you got enough sleep. How much is enough? The most recent health guidelines say 7-9 hours per night. Listen to your body to find out what is right for you. If you’re tired every morning, go to sleep a little earlier.

3. Wake Up Slowly. We keep our home on the cooler side at night and I’m rarely excited about putting my feet down on the cold floor in the morning. The way to make it a little easier is to set your alarm so that you have about 15 minutes to wake up slowly. Establish a routine that works for you. Here are some ideas:

• Drink a warm cup of tea in bed. (Keep a hot pot in your room to make the tea in the morning.)
• Read the morning headlines on your cell phone.
• Sit up and write out your plan for the day or journal your waking thoughts.
• Sit up and daydream.
• Sit up and meditate for 10 minutes focusing on a positive mantra for the day.
• Do some deep breathing to bring some fresh air into your lungs and energize you.
• Stretch: up to the ceiling, child’s pose, sun salutations, twists, whatever feels good.

4. Enjoy Indoor Activities. If you don’t feel like leaving your house on a particular day, then don’t. And don’t feel guilty about it or else you may as well go out. Give yourself some “free days” to stay inside when it’s really cold. (I think taking the odd sick day to rejuvenate your mind and soul is a healthy choice probably resulting in less actual sick days.) Enjoy those things you don’t always get around to doing such as watching a movie, reading, practicing music, doing some art or a creative project. Give thanks to the Hibernation Effect as you enjoy a fully deserved lazy day.

5. Getting Out of the House. On the days that you’re feeling some cabin fever, by all means, get out of the house. Bundle up and go for a walk. You will feel so good! Here are some other ways to help get you out of the house:

• Take a class in something fun, interesting or that involves body movement, such as belly dancing!
• Join a gym with a friend. Make dates to meet at the gym and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. Focus on how you’ll feel afterwards for motivation.
• Go for a walk in the mall on cold days.
• Go see a movie, a show, an art gallery opening, etc.
• Reward yourself for getting out.

6. Eating Right. Enjoy a little comfort food each day whether it’s a couple cookies, a muffin, a slice of pizza, or whatever you are craving. Try to save it for the end of the day after eating lots of fruits and veggies during the day. The reason to save it for the end of the day is that if you eat highly nutritional food early on in the day you won’t have such a big craving for bad foods. At any given point during the day, try to make healthy choices. If you do this 80-90% of the day, you’ll be golden and won’t have to worry about gaining weight.

7. How to Handle a Grumpy Day. If you wake up on a particular day and you feel tired and aggravated right from the start and you can’t afford to take a day off, then do the next best thing. Take it slow. Plan your day with lots of transition time and buffer time. Be kind to yourself, to others and take lots of breaks during the day. Take 5-10 minutes to close your eyes, breathe deeply and remind yourself to take things slow today. The world can wait. In most cases the rest of the work can get done tomorrow when you have more energy. Avoid or decrease your intake of caffeine so you can reduce agitation and so you can get to sleep a little earlier tonight.

8. People Power. Be with people. Talk to people. Seek out your good fun friends. Make a call. Send an email. Set a laughing lunch date. (What is that? I don’t know, but it sounds good, right?) We lift each other up. It’s like magic. Go grab some for yourself. Be on a mission to lift someone else up too. If this is hard for you to do, set up electronic reminders via Gmail or Outlook or whatever calendar program you use to get in touch with friends on some periodic basis.

9. Moving & Grooving. You may be feeling more sluggish given all the layers of clothes we need to wear in the winter, but at the very least, ease yourself into some activities at least every other day. Be sure to give yourself credit for things like shoveling, stacking wood, and other winter work. The best way to enjoy exercise is to do it to some music or make it a social activity or both! If you don’t want to go outside to exercise, get yourself a rebounder which is a mini-trampoline. Minute for minute, it’s about the equivalent of jogging although it is easier on the knees. For those icy and snowy days it’s a great replacement for people who normally walk or jog. And they are cheap compared to most exercise equipment.

10. Awaken Your Joy. Check out this very cool course on developing true deep rooted happiness called Awakening Joy. Here is my review of the Awakening Joy course. I highly recommend it!

The Bottom Line

Remember that it is natural, normal, and ok to feel a little different in the winter. Don’t criticize yourself for this. Find ways to enjoy it and make it work for you.

Of course, if you feel like you have a little more than the winter Hibernation Effect going on, check with your doctor for other treatments that may be helpful for you whether it’s talk therapy, light therapy, or medication. This is also nothing to judge yourself about. It just is. Getting some help through it can lead you to finding the silver lining.

Please Share!

How do keep your spirits up when winter gets you down? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

Post from: Life Learning Today

Easily Transform Your Winter Blues into Winter Joy!

photo credit: mahalie

You have something big you must do. And you can’t seem to get it done. Maybe you’re intimidated by the magnitude of the task. Maybe you’re paralyzed to the point of inaction because you don’t know where to start. Perhaps you are procrastinating by working on everything else besides your big to-do item. So how do you break out and get it done?

One shovelful at a time.

Easier said than done, right? Not if you can see things from the right perspective. Once you change how you think about it, then you can start your journey of a 1000 miles with that one step that will lead to the next and all the way to the finish line. Here’s how:

If you haven’t made progress on your Big Item, it’s likely that guilt is blocking you from getting started or moving forward. And on top of that, the habit of not working on your Big Item becomes more entrenched the longer you avoid it. So here’s what you need to do:

1. Forgive Yourself - beating yourself up over not making progress does not get your task or project done. In fact it makes it tougher to get it done. So just stop. Stop aiming for perfection. Be kind to yourself by giving yourself the same level of encouragement you might give to a young child trying to tackle something big.

2. Decide to Start - simply make a decision to start anew today. Decide that you’ll do your best, but that it won’t be perfect and that’s ok. You can work on quality later.

3. Take One Step - start small, but just start. Do one thing today. That’s all. Just do it. Make it the first thing you do today or if it’s the middle of the day, make it the very next thing you do.

4. Quick Plan - make your plan to do one more thing tomorrow. Just one. Don’t agonize over it. Just pick one and go on with you day.

5. Praise - give yourself massive amounts of praise for getting that one thing done! Whoo hoo! You just started a whole new habit! If you fall out of the habit, simply return to Step 1.

6. Continue - keep taking steps until your Big Item is done!

Please Share!

How do you get the big stuff done? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

Post from: Life Learning Today

How to Move a Mountain

Photo by Ernst Moeksis

Did you know that the average American gains 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per year after age 25? Do the math. That’s about 10-15 pounds per decade.

Looks aside, the real problem is the rising risk to your health. Things like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and many more ailments are directly linked to obesity. Even though this may seem like depressing information, it’s really not. All we have to do is flip it on its head to realize the exciting potential in this equation.

If obesity equals disease, then maintaining a normal weight equals good health! That’s something to get excited about and here’s why: You have the power to control your weight! The average weight gain occurs to people who are not paying attention. If you start paying attention and taking small action steps to establish good habits, you will be able to maintain a healthy weight for your entire life! And most likely it will be a healthy long life too!

The Top 5 Weight Gain Traps and How to Avoid Them!

1. Not Moving Your Body Enough. How does this happen? Easy. It’s called desk job, long work hours, no breaks, TV watching, automobiles, and all the other trappings of modern life that keep us from moving our bodies like were designed to do.

The Solution: The simplest and most effective thing you can do is make a commitment to exercise 30 minutes every day, rain or shine (or snow!). Anything that will get your body moving and your heart rate elevated will do the trick. Walking, running, biking, swimming, and even dancing are great examples. Pick something you enjoy. Remember to check with your doctor whenever starting a new exercise regimen.

2. Not Enough Sleep. There have been several studies recently that point to the serious health risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation, including weight gain! We work too many hours, we engage in too many activities, and how do we fit it all in? We just sleep less. If you think you can handle being tired, think again! Your body is paying a greater price than just feeling like a zombie. Not getting enough sleep will cause your body to pack on weight.

The Solution: Just like exercise, make sleep a top priority in your life. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If you feel good upon waking that’s the right amount for you. If you are dragging through the day you probably need a little more. Some tactics to help make this work:

• Reduce or eliminate caffeine after 2pm as caffeine remains active in your system for 9 hours.
• Try to cut back on work time. By shaving 30 minutes per day you could be adding that to your sleep time instead.
• Cut out unnecessary obligations. Only attend events and activities that you really enjoy.
• Establish a bedtime ritual. 30-60 minutes before sleep time each night do things that help you wind down such as reading, meditating, listening to music, etc. Avoid TV during this time if you can because TV is a stimulant.

3. A Few Too Many Calories. This is where the pounds creep up on us. You don’t have to be pigging out on a daily basis for this too happen. Suppose you eat 100 extra calories per day than what your body burns. If you do this for 35 days straight, you will have gained one pound. Unfortunately, over eating by 100 calories per day is an easy thing to do. So, are we doomed to counting calories? No!

The Solution: Here are a few strategies that will help you eat right amount of calories on average which is all you need to do to maintain a healthy weight:

• Commit to making healthy food choices as often as possible. Fruit should be your snack of choice 90% of the time. Fruit smoothies are excellent for breakfast. At lunch and dinner be sure to include twice as many veggies as the main course. Learn to love your fruits and veggies. They equal pure life!
• Don’t let yourself get too hungry. When you do, that’s when overeating and poor food choices occur.
• When eating high fat or rich foods, be sure to eat slowly.
• Eat only until you are satisfied, not stuffed. Eating slowly will help ensure that you can hear your body’s satiation signals.
• Drink water or lemon water instead of juices and sodas.
• Don’t underestimate this change. It takes real mental commitment, but you will be amazed at how the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the less you will crave junk food.

4. Chronic Stress. Stress is part of life, but too much stress and poor reactions to stress are what cause problems. Chronic stress causes excess production of a hormone called cortisol. This hormone is designed to boost energy levels during times of need, but when there is too much it causes the body to gain weight. The good news is that you can control your level of stress. Here’s how.

The Solution: To lower stress we need calm rather than panic to be our natural reaction to stress. Here are some great strategies that will produce consistent feelings of well-being!

• Medidate each day for 10-20 minutes. Simply focus on your breathing, a simple word, or gradual muscle relaxation.
• Make conscious choices when stress arrives. Examine your habitual reactions to your most common stressors. Make a plan for reacting in a more calm manner in the future. Practice makes habit. Don’t expect perfection immediately. Be kind to yourself.
• Music. Sing, play, dance or simple enjoy listening to some music every day. It’s natures wonder drug for happiness. Take your daily dose.
• Take breaks. During the day take multiple 5 minute breaks to walk away from what you are working on. Close your eyes, relax, stretch, or take a walk around the block. These little breaks will keep tension from building up during the day.
• Listen to positive self-help tapes to remind you to make positive choices when stress arises.

5. Loss of Muscle Mass. As we age, we gradually lose muscle mass over the years. This makes weight gain easier because when you lose muscle mass, your metabolism declines, meaning you need less calories per day. So eating the same as last year will cause weight gain this year. That is unless you do something about it.

The Solution: It’s simple. Build up your muscles! Does this mean you have to become a body builder? No. But in order to fight the effects of aging, you should do muscle bearing workouts at least 2 times per week. Here are a few ideas:

• Weight Lifting. Check out “The 12 Second Sequence” by Jorge Cruise for a do-it-yourself at-home workout schedule that can fit into two 30-minute workouts.
• Yoga. Strenuous yoga as featured in videos by Shiva Rea or Baron Baptise are a great way to build muscle while also gaining many other benefits such as balance, flexibility, and sense of calm.
• Isometric weight bearing exercises. These exercises build muscles using only the resistance of your own muscles and body weight. A classic in this genre is “The Miracle 7” by John E. Peterson and Wedie Pett.

The Bottom Line

Weight gain is not inevitable. If you want a healthy body for the rest of your life, well into your golden years, follow these steps. The best advice I can give you is to go slow. Work on one step each week. Establish the habit and then build on that success with another healthy habit the next week. If you have a day where you fall off the program, don’t beat yourself up. Just start again tomorrow. Make your health your #1 priority. Be kind to yourself and enjoy the journey!

Please Share!

How do you maintain your weight? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

Post from: Life Learning Today

How to Avoid the Top 5 Weight Gain Traps!

image by Brett L.

When we think of our to-do list, what do we primarily think of? Tasks, right? Processing tasks like a robot can make us feel like uninspired drones. But don’t despair, here’s a small but powerful idea that can instantly transform your day from mundane to special.

The To-Do List Daily Qualifier

Here’s the secret. At the top of your to-do list add one or at most two qualifiers on HOW you will go about your day. These are to-do’s that are not “tasks” but rather positive ideas to incorporate into your day as you work your way through your list. For example, “Breathe Deeply” might be your qualifier for the day.They are there to serve as inspiration to be the person you want to be.

Every time you look at your list you’ll be reminded of your qualifier. At the end of the day you can think back on how you implemented that idea, feeling a sense of accomplishment that is beyond task completion.

Here’s a list of qualifiers you can use in your to-do list. Try to pick just one each day and then you’ll be more likely to actually do it! If you have some other qualifier ideas, please share them with us in the comments!

Daily Qualifiers

1. Smile often.
2. Think “Make It Happen” in all things today.
3. Help others - Pay It Forward.
4. No violence in my actions, words, or intentions.
5. Replace anger, irritation, resentment with compassion.
6. Slow down. Be Caribbean inspired today.(you’ll probably get more done on days that you do this!)
7. Notice the little things today - colors, details, sounds, quiet, feelings etc.
8. Eat slowly.
9. Rest frequently especially when tired, hungry, cranky. Take a break.
10. Send love to others today in action, words, and thoughts.
11. Appreciate every bit of good in my life. Think in terms of each thing you touch (i.e. your pillow) and do (i.e. walking, seeing).
12. No losing my temper. I will observe how I feel when frustrated, breathe deeply and choose a different more patient way to react.
13. Speak softly today.
14. Laugh - a lot - even when it doesn’t come naturally. Practice makes perfect.
15. Be kind.
16. Don’t absorb stress today. Gonna be late? No stress. Spill coffee on clothes. Oh well, no stress. Angry people? Wish them peace, move away from them, no stress.
17. Say a “thank you” in your mind for every good thing I notice today.
18. Enjoy the day.
19. Have fun today.
20. Eat fruit.
21. Eat veggies.
22. “Make it fun.”
23. Compliment others even strangers.
24. Live fully.
25. No fear.
26. Move more today. (more walking, getting up, shake a tail feather, etc)
27. Really listen.
28. Show love and appreciation generously to family and friends today.
29. Sing. Whistle. Listen to music.
30. *******Please share YOUR ideas in the comments!***********

Please Share!

Post from: Life Learning Today

To-Do List Tip to Brighten Your Day

Does your life feel scattered? Is your desk swimming in post-it notes and to-do lists? Do you find difficulty coordinating your schedule, your family’s schedule and work’s schedule? Do you have goals that you never get to? Are there old friends you never get around to calling? Would you love to live a simpler life, but have a tough time finding time to make that happen?

If you can relate to any of these issues then I have a super recommendation for you. It is a self-help book/planner/organizer called “Simply Put Together” written by Maria Murphy.

It has many features which I will describe below, but when you boil it all down the big-bang benefits you’ll realize by using “Simply Put Together” are:

• Simpler Life
• Organized Life
• De-Cluttered Mind - Less Stress
• Realized Dreams and Goals - finally!
• Career Progress
• More Time Spent on What’s Really Important to You! -Family, Favorite Activities/Hobbies,  and Pursuing Your Dreams!

Here’s what you will find in this amazing guide and tool.

“Simply Put Together” is very unique. It is a combination self-help guide, planner, and organizer for all aspects of your life all in one place. I’ll give you a little overview of each section.

Self-Help Guide

Maria is a fantastic writer with a 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist, coach, and corporate consultant. She has helped many people over the years. Her valuable experience helping others has led her to develop her success concepts called “7 Steps to Simplicity.” These concepts are brought to life at the beginning of each month in the planner. What’s even more useful is that they are integrated into the weekly planner so that you can make them happen in your life on a daily basis. This is one self-help book that you won’t read and forget. It will stay with you all year long.

Her guidance is designed for our busy lives in that it is concise but power-packed with usability. She guides us on:

• How to live simpler lives.
• How to manage our to-do lists.
• How to plan out and reach our goals.
• Finding time for the people and activities that are most important to us.

Each month has a fresh take on her “7 Steps to Simplicity” which will open your mind to how you can create a better life in an ongoing way all year long. These prompts are sure to make a positive difference in how you live your life.

Planner

“Simply Put Together” has a full 2009 calendar planning broken down for Monthly, Weekly and Daily planning. The monthly calendar allows you to see the big picture and it includes reminders of that particular month’s guide to simplicity. Each month has different prompts for simplicity that will add massive value to your life!

The weekly and daily planning section includes both a place for scheduling appointments and tasks, but also a section for making the one of the 7 Simplicity Steps come to life that day. This is called “Journaling with Intention-Quick Look.” There is a different helpful prompt for each day so you don’t have to remember each step. It’s all done for you!

There’s also sections for notes, important reference information for that month, and a weekly inspiring quote.

Goal Tender

This section allows you to specify goals and the elements that will help you reach them. It includes determining what you really want, identifying supportive people, creating supportive affirmations, and outlining the path you will take. Again the big benefit of this is the fact that you have these written down in the same place where you go to organize your life every day. It makes it so you can’t forget or ignore your goals. It facilitates you reaching your goals!

Organizer

In one centralized place you also have a section for Contacts, Special Projects, Birthdays & Anniversaries, and a Daily Organizer for both Home and Office. The Daily Organizer section is a powerful tool for organizing your tasks.

• The Home Organizer is broken down into Chores, Contacts, Wellness, Errands, and Other.
• The Office Organizer is broken down into Ongoing Tasks, Contacts, Monster List, Push It (Career Progress), and Other.

Maria suggests a great strategy for managing all your tasks by assigning them to certain days of the week. This makes forgetting tasks less likely as once you have a routine in place it will become automatic.

The Bottom Line

If you want to get organized, reach your goals, reduce stress, and free up more time for the people and things that are most important to you, then check out this awesome tool, “Simply Put Together.” It also makes a great Christmas gift.

“Simply Put Together” comes in two sizes: Large (9″ x 12″) and Small (6″ x 8″) and also an electronic version (9″ x 12″) which allows you to print out only the pages you want at any given time.

Additional Resources

If Maria’s name sounds familiar you probably saw a couple of her guest posts here on Life Learning Today in the past! Check them out:

• The Seven Steps to Simplicity

• The Perfect Visit: How to Survive and Enjoy Houseguests!

• You can also learn more about Maria and her writing at Simply Put Together and her blog Simply Put.

• “Simply Put Together” can be purchased at Amazon: Large (9″ x 12″) and Small (6″ x 8″).

Post from: Life Learning Today

Frazzled? Get Your Life Together with “Simply Put Together”

We have a new president in America! His name is Barack Obama. Life Learning Today is not a political blog, but I think with the election completed we have 2 opportunities before us. One is to study Obama’s example of success and implement what we learn to reach our personal dreams. The second opportunity is, regardless of party affiliation or even nationality, to be a part of making our world a better place along with and under Obama’s leadership.

Whether you supported him or not, I believe that most of us can agree that Barack Obama shines as an example of how anyone can achieve success by combining a positive vision, smart planning, and hard work.

How does this relate to you and improving your life?

First, when pursuing your personal goals, incorporate the same elements President-Elect Barack Obama used to achieve his success. Secondly, when you contribute your energy towards making the world a better place, everyone benefits!

Barack Obama’s Success Elements

1. Have a Clear Vision. Know where you want to go. Ask yourself “what do I REALLY want?”

2. Know Your Motivation. Write down your goals and your motivations so when you hit rough patches you can reconnect with the energy to keep going.

3. Have a Strategic Plan. Get your plan in writing. Keep it simple. Only fill in as much detail as you need today. As you move along in your plan keep updating your action steps as needed.

4. Enlist the Help of Others. Don’t go it alone in motivation, strategy, or implementation of your plan. Find mentors. Seek out people who have done what you want to do. Contact them even if you don’t know them. It doesn’t hurt to try. Outsource things you’re not good at. Make it win-win and watch how people line up to help you.

5. Don’t Get Bogged Down. Keep moving past setbacks. Ignore detractors. Let the unimportant things slide. Plan to get your most important action steps done each day.

6. Enjoy the Journey. Smiles, laughter, and enjoyment will give you the energy needed to carry you through a long journey.

7. Be Confident Enough to Rise Above Your Fears. Don’t be afraid to tackle new challenges. Just do it! You can do it!

8. Be Humble Enough to Learn. Always assume that you have more to learn. Ask yourself “What did I learn today?” especially when things go wrong.

9. Take the High Ground. Be a positive person. Find the good in others. Look for common ground with your opponents. Seek creative solutions when faced with frustrating circumstances.

10. Never Give Up. When things get tough, keep moving forward. When you are tired, rest. Always believe in yourself. If you must, “fake it ’til you make it!” Remember “Yes, You Can!”

The Opportunity to Make Our World a Better Place

There is a challenge before all of us now that Barack Obama has won the presidency. This includes Obama supporters, McCain supporters and everyone else. By working to make our world a better place we all benefit and so will our children and future generations.

For Obama Supporters

Now is the time to keep the momentum going. We need to continue to do volunteer work on projects that will make our country and our world a better place. What issue is most important to you? How will you get involved?

I believe it is also time to reach out in peace and kindness to our friends, co-workers and neighbors who may have supported McCain and find common ground that we can work on together towards making our country better. Who could you reach out to? How would you do it? How can we be inclusive of others’ ideas especially on difficult issues?

For McCain Supporters

I believe that whenever there is disappointment in our lives that there is one of two paths can be taken: bitterness or positive action. A dream we all share in America and throughout the world is to create a better world, a better life for ourselves and our families.

If we focus on our common goals instead of disappointment and differences, then we have a starting place upon which to build. What issues are important to you? How can you get involved in those issues to make a difference in moving our country forward? How can we find common ground on tough issues?

If we ask the right questions, we’ll get productive answers. (Example: How can we make this work?) If we ask negative questions we forfeit progress. (Example: Why did this happen? How can we derail the other party?)

God Bless America and Our World

My goal here is to inspire all of us to come together, to have compassion for each other, and to work together on improving our world. Let us all be kind and patient with each other instead of divisive and judgmental.

Let us all seek common ground and compromise for the greater good. Staunch idealism helps no one. Let’s be flexible in order to make progress. Small amounts of progress daily add up to great improvements over time! Yes, we can!

Wishing everyone a peace-filled life, inspiration to do great things, and the resources and love to accomplish your goals!

Barack Obama Resources

• Official Barack Obama Website
• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)
• Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Please Share

What goals are you inspired to start work on both personally and for the greater good?

Post from: Life Learning Today

Yes We Can! Yes You Can!

The answer is a resounding “Yes!” according to Matthys Levy, who wrote “Why the Wind Blows: A History of Weather and Global Warming.” Why? Levy states that reversing the global warming course will help future generations. My belief is that through choosing greener ways of living, we improve our own lives today as well.

I think you will enjoy reading Mr. Levy’s personal insights to questions I posed to him recently. I know I did!

I recently read “Why the Wind Blows” and I found it very enjoyable, interesting, and easy to read. I also feel that it is an important book that has the power to motivate people to live more “green lives.” I’ve written before on “Green Living” and how you can reduce your impact on the environment.

What’s In It For You?

The neat thing about living a more “green” life is that it opens our eyes to living a more simple life. We realize that we can live with less. We can enjoy life more fully when we slow down enough to live more “green.” And I think it’s very likely that if everyone joins in that we will have healthier lives from producing less toxins in our world.

“Why the Wind Blows” teaches us about the weather on our planet along with very interesting stories about each aspect of the weather. Importantly, it also contains information about global warming.

Interview with Matthys Levy

Here are some questions that Mr. Levy was gracious enough to answer for Life Learning Today’s readers.

1. I loved reading “Why the Wind Blows: A History of Weather and Global Warming.” It is so enjoyable to read, full of interesting information as well as serious information about our future. For whom did you write this book and why?

It is addressed to a general audience and is appropriate for people from 8 to 80. The book follows a series I started with Mario Salvadori, including “Why Buildings Fall Down” and “Why the Earth Quakes” that deal with failure and natural phenomena. Weather is the last natural phenomena that I felt would complete the series. As I began the book, it evolved as the issue of global warming became more critical and needed to be fully explained.

2. What will readers learn from “Why the Wind Blows” that will help them improve their life?

Hopefully, people will realize that for the first time in history, man has impacted future weather and has the power to reverse course and return us to what nature intended. Unless we take decisive action to reduce carbon emissions, we are dooming future generations. By understanding weather, we can all benefit by anticipating changes and being prepared for them. Also, it provides a guide to where and how we want to live.

3. Every day more people are making personal changes to live a more Green Life and lessen their impact on the environment. But what about the macro picture? What is the most effective way that individuals can help move our society towards the mainstream use of renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels?

We all have an impact on our environment from what we consume to how we discard our garbage. Water will turn out to be our most critical resource so we should do whatever is necessary to engage our government in conservation and resuse of water. As to the issue of carbon use, which is the principal global warming element, government needs to establish caps to reduce CO2 emissions.

4. Are there any organizations that you would recommend individuals check out and join to foster positive environmental change?

There are a number of environmental organizations that I favor such as the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Action Fund. On the local front, participation in Town and City boards to influence action on environmental issues is strongly encouraged.

5. What is the most alarming piece of information that most people don’t already know about global warming?

What has already been set in motion cannot be changed! This means that all we can do today is to slow the arrival of the consequences of global warming. These are clearly elucidated in my book.

6. Is there hope? Are we beyond the point of no return or can we reset the dial on global warming? Any best case/worst case future scenario predictions?

We should not be looking for hope in the short term because the train is already rapidly moving down the track. We should instead, think about our children and grandchildren and act to give them a better future. We can do this by slowing and eventually turning the train of global warming by reducing carbon emissions.

Thank you, Matthys!

Please Share!

What do you do that makes you feel like you’re making a difference for the world?

Post from: Life Learning Today

Should You Care About Global Warming?

photo by Stitch

Did you know that a major key to happiness is giving to others? This is substantiated in an excellent book by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks,”How We Choose to Be Happy: The 9 Choices of Extremely Happy People–Their Secrets, Their Stories.” In the book, they describe the profound effect giving to others can have on your level of happiness.

I discovered this book through the Awakening Joy course which I highly recommend.

When was the last time you gave (your time, energy, love, assistance) to someone else and how did it make you feel?

Why not make a difference for someone today by helping to end poverty? Here are 88 ideas to get you started. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

• Eat meatless meals 2x a week. Donate that grocery money to a local food bank.
• Make a loan on Kiva.org.
• Have a “sponsor me” day. Donate money to a poverty relief cause for everyone who leaves a comment on your blog that day.
• Skip a weekly trip to the grocery store and donate the money saved to a food bank. I do this once a year for my family of 5. For that week we only eat what is left in the pantry or fridge. By the end of the week, pickings are slim and we get a sense of what it feels like to not have the luxury of tasty, well balanced meals every night.
• Have dinner on the floor and make it a very small meal (like chicken broth, watered down milk, and maybe a small piece of bread?) Talk about the blessings you have and that the meal represents those who don’t get to eat “big” on a daily basis.
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen!
• Don’t just talk to your kids about poverty - get them involved by having them go through their toys and clothes to find concrete things to pass along. The next time they want you to buy something for them - talk about what that money could buy for someone who had no food… then follow through and donate the money you didn’t spend.

If you want to get started by making a donation or if you want to learn more, there are several organizations and educational information listed here. Also check out what one person can do to make a difference.

Post from: Life Learning Today

Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty, When You Help Others You Help Yourself

photo by mikebaird

(Happiness Video Below!)

Generally I like to smile and be happy, but sometimes I’ll catch a glimpse of myself passing a mirror and think, “Whoa, why so serious?” (or angry, frustrated, etc.) And when I observe myself, I can see that I’m holding onto that mode. If I ask myself why, I don’t have a good answer.

Well, I think I found the answer with this video, or rather the antidote. Debating with myself about why I’m stuck in one emotion is not the thing to do. The thing to do is:

Just Choose to Be Happy!

It really is as simple as that. A great way to do it is to break out of your mode with a complete shift. So instead of inching your way into the water, just dive in.

How? Do something silly, watch something funny, or dance. Here’s a great video to inspire you!

Please Share!

How do you flip the switch to happiness? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

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Post from: Life Learning Today

Go Ahead, Be Happy!

photo by mtl2tky

This is a guest post by Maria Murphy of Simply Put Together.

Well, there is nothing like the thrill of a visit! Whether you are the host or the visitor, there is plenty of anticipation and expectation. And, then there is the reality. We all know how that goes. I mean, it seems like such a good idea, but visits can end up being a real source of stress and frustration. Things like misunderstandings and lack of privacy can lead us all to be checking the days off on the calendar, wishing away the very thing we have been looking forward to.

But getting the most out of your time with visiting, whether you are a guest or a host, isn’t really that hard. A few tweaks will get you to results you want!

Communicate

This is the most important tool you can use! Communication begins when you start talking dates and doesn’t end till everyone has said their goodbyes. Keeping an open line of communication will pay off for hosts and visitors alike!

For the host:

1. Gather info - Find out about your guests expectations. What are they hoping to do? Do they love nature, gourmet food? What are they eager to see and do?
1. In action: “I am so excited you are coming! What kind of things would you like to do while you are here?”
2. Communicate your expectations – Start to prep your guests, so there are no unwanted surprises.
1. In action: “Joe and I have one outing we have to attend while you are here. So, you will be on your own on that night. We’ll give you lots of great suggestions for fun while we are out!”
3. House Rules – Show your guests the ropes. They cannot know how to respect the specifics of your house rules if you don’t tell them. Remember, a moment of discomfort will demonstrate your expectation and save you a lot of grief!
1. In action: “Sorry, kids can’t have drinks on the couch. It’s our house rule.”
4. Communicate with yourself – Know your barriers and issues. Do you flip out when you don’t get your alone time? Are you a neat freak and your messy guests are making you nervous? Know what you need and what gets under your skin!

For the guest:

1. Ask, don’t announce. No matter how close you are with your host, always ask!
1. In action: “We would love to come and visit on the 17th of September, does that work for you?”
2. Be clear. Give your host the most detailed info you can.
1. In action: “We will arrive on the 17th. We think it will be between 3 and 4, depending on traffic. We’ll leave Sunday afternoon, around 2:00. How does that sound?”
3. Ask your host about their rules. Respect how they run their household.
1. In action: “Where do I put the used towels and how often do you tend to use them before washing?”

Plan!

Planning is the key to success for most things, especially visiting. A few things you can do will change everything!

For the host:

1. Prepare for the visit - Get as many of your responsibilities as possible out of the way. You always have less time than you think. By doing it now, you will save yourself stress later. Don’t fall into telling yourself you have enough time. You probably don’t!
2. Make sure all is cleaned, fridge stocked, etc. Don’t delay!
3. Have your “emergency kit” in place. This could mean having your signature dish at the ready if there is a last minute decision to eat at home. Guests need something to do? You know what’s going on in the community. A good place to eat? You have the answer. You probably won’t need the “emergency kit,” but if you are prepped, then when the flow changes, it won’t matter to you. Because you have your emergency kit.

For the guest:

1. Prepare for the visit. Make sure you respect your host by arriving and leaving as planned. Make sure you have all of your supplies. Don’t assume you will be borrowing all manner of supplies while visiting.
2. Bring a gift and plan to contribute. Always bring a gift for your host. If you plan a bit ahead, the gift can be that much more thoughtful. Plan to make or buy dinner for your hosts to show appreciation.

Keep to the Routine

There are some things you cannot plan around. Some responsibilities and interests cannot be put to the wayside during your guests visit. In that case, keep up!

For the host:

1. Make sure you don’t lose your way while taking care of your guests.
1. Keep up with your responsibilities
2. Keep up with the things that are meaningful to you

For the guest:

1. Accept that your hosts still are at home and may have some interests or responsibilities to take care of.

Be Flexible

Even though it seems like a contradiction, the key to success here is the balancing act of working with routine and being flexible. When guests are around, compromise is definitely in the program. If everyone can bend a bit, all will have a better time.

For guests and hosts:

1. Know the areas you struggle with and use self talk to get you through.
1. In action: “I can be flexible here. I can go with the flow.”

Time apart

Everyone needs time to breathe. My husband and I have always gotten a bit of time apart on each trip we have taken together. Whether with or without kids, we each get a bit of alone time. It could be time alone on the beach, taking a hike or a class. It’s amazing what we both bring back by giving each other just a touch of alone time. Same is true for visiting.

For the host:

1. Make sure there is a quiet space for your guests and a quiet space for you. No matter how small your home, there is a way to make this happen.

1. In action: “I am going to run errands for an hour or so, so you will have the house to yourself till I get back.”
2. Example: “I am going to take a nap in my room. Is there anything you need before I take my nap?”

For the guest:

1. Consider giving your host some time off. Retire to your room. Explore the community on your own. Take some time away.
1. In action: “I was going to take a run by myself first thing in the morning, before our day gets started.”

Enjoy!

Remember this is about gathering with the people you love. This is an opportunity to be with people you care about. It’s also an opportunity for you to break out of your routine and try new things. Whenever you share someone’s lifestyle, you have an opportunity to open up your world!

Have fun and check out Simply Put Together, for the planner that enriches your life. Also sign up for the free “One Minute” e-letter. One simple life changing tool delivered to you each week in a “one minute to read” format!

For more details on Maria’s book and website, visit Simply Put Together.

Please Share!

Question? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

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The Perfect Visit: How to Survive and Enjoy Houseguests!

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This is a guest post written by Andrew of How to Stop Emotional Eating.

Emotional eating is when you consume food to deal with tough emotions rather than to satisfy actual physical hunger. Emotional eating is where the phrase “comfort foods” comes from. Comfort food is usually junk food or fast food. It’s food that you probably wouldn’t consume on a daily basis because of it’s high fat or sugar content. Often we eat comfort foods to soothe tough or negative emotions.

Have you ever came home from a long stressful day at work and skipped your planned workout? Instead, you just head straight for the fridge and before you knew it were eating your favorite comfort food? Maybe it was ice-cream, pizza, cookies or potato chips. Afterwards, you probably felt lazy, and relaxed the whole night, probably watching tv or surfing the net. You probably woke up the next day feeling guilty about sabotaging your weight loss efforts the previous night. You maybe even promised yourself that from now on you will never do this again. However, deep down you know that when you engage in emotional eating you lose control. If you were honest with yourself you might even admit that sometimes you are powerless over your junk food cravings.

Here are 5 Tips to End your Emotional Eating:

1. Become Aware of Your Emotional State. You need to start becoming more aware of your emotions throughout the day. It’s not a good idea to let stress, worry, disappointment or any other negative emotion build up. Otherwise that emotion will take over you and you will engage in emotional eating. A technique you can use is asking “how do I feel?” at different random times during the day. This will help you catch yourself when you are starting to feel stressed out. Becoming aware will help you pause before you reach for food to deal with tough emotions.

2. Identify your Trigger Emotions & Events. You need to identify your emotional eating triggers. To find your emotional eating triggers think of the last time you engaged in emotional eating. You know the time you weren’t really hungry but ate anyway? Or the last time you ate lots of junk food and ruined your diet? How were you feeling that day? Were there any stressful events that occurred? Any tough emotions or circumstances you experienced? Become aware of your emotional eating triggers, so that next time they come up, you wont automatically engage in emotional eating.

3. Journal. Journaling will help you become more aware of your emotions and stress levels. I recommend carrying a pocket sized pad and a pen with you throughout the day. And at random intervals, start writing down your thoughts, emotions, worries, anxieties in your journal. This will help you point out the reoccurring events in your life that cause you repeated stress. Lets say you find out that your job is a big source of stress then you need to ask “what can I do about it?” You might talk to your boss about making some changes or just decide to look for a new job.

4. Come up With Alternative Relaxing Activities. Often we engage in emotional eating to relax and comfort ourselves. To stop emotional eating you need to make a list of other relaxing activities you can do. Some common ones are going for a long walk, going for a bike ride, taking a nice warm shower, taking a nap, calling a friend and sharing details about your day, listening to your favorite music, or watching your favorite movie. Keep this list in a visible spot, preferably on your fridge. This way when you are about to reach for comfort foods, you are reminded of your alternative relaxing activities.

5. Forgive Yourself. To stop emotional eating you will need to forgive yourself. You will need to go easy on yourself. It probably took you years to build unhealthy emotional eating habits. As a result aim for slow gradual progress rather than perfection. There will be times where you consume food for comfort, accept that and forgive yourself when you do it. At the same time, work on becoming more aware of your emotional eating. Also work on eliminating the events that trigger emotional eating in your life. You will gradually see progress and be able to finally lose that extra weight.

Andrew Bolis writes on the subject of binge eating at How To Stop Eating You can subscribe to his Free tips newsletter on how to end your emotional eating.

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Is Stress Keeping You Fat? 5 Tips to End Your Emotional Eating

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There’s something for everyone at the “I Want a VolksWagon Bus Contest.” The prizes are: $50 Amazon gift certificate, $25 iTunes gift certificate, and $80 worth of free online advertising that will be in effect for 3 years!

Read more to find out how you can easily enter this contest….

My blogging friend Steve Speirs is having a great contest that I couldn’t resist telling you about.

He’s a great guy (check out his other sites: Run Bulldog Run, 100 Push-Ups ), it’s a neat idea, and the big benefit to you: it’s an easy contest with great prizes!

There are 3 easy steps to enter the contest:

1. Subscribe to the “I Want a VolksWagon Bus” blog.

2. Either:

• Write a blog post linking to the contest
• or
• Vote for the contest on a social media site such as StumbleUpon, Digg or Reddit or other applicable newsgroup or forum.

3. Email Steve the answers to 5 easy questions relating to his site along with confirmation of how you implemented steps 1 and 2.

Pretty simple and easy. You have nothing to lose except a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift cert, a $25 iTunes gift cert, or the grand prize $80 in free online advertising,( which, by the way, is worth way more than $80 considering it will stay in place for at least 3 years!)

So don’t delay. Get signed up right now!

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Easy Contest, Great Prizes!

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I used to be a runner back in high school and college and then I got busy with career, living life, and starting a family. In recent years I was dedicated to brisk walking most days of the week, and sometimes I would even jog a little. But I was never able to get back into running.

Until recently. I made one simple change and it has made the difference between being a walker and, now, being a runner. (Well, jogger, at least!:)

So what did I do differently? I went from exercising for time to exercising for distance. In a nutshell, what I did was just start. (Right after I had my annual physical. ) I jogged as far as I could go on the first day, and then each day after that I went just a little bit further. After about a month, I’m now jogging 3 miles a day, 5-6 days per week. I feel great and I can already see my body changing for the better. I’ve also made some other changes that have made my health skyrocket if you’re interested.

How YOU Can Become a Runner

Mentally

1. Decide that you want to try jogging. Don’t over think it. You can always go back to walking tomorrow if you don’t like it.

2. Focus on the reasons why you want to become a runner or jogger. Some good reasons: improve your cholesterol, improve your body shape, lose weight, feel better, gain more energy for daily life, etc. Whatever your motivations are, write them down and post them where you will see them every day. This will be very helpful on the days that you don’t feel like running.

3. Fail-Proof it. Create a time in your schedule when you’ll be sure to have the ability to do this. For me it means mornings. If I wait until later in the day, then my energy is lower not to mention all the other activities competing for my attention.

Physically

1. Get the OK from your doctor. Have an annual checkup where they check your heart. Don’t skip this part. You don’t want to have a heart attack when you’re trying to become healthy. Find out what is an OK level of exercise for you. And while you’re at it, get your cholesterol tested so that in 4-6 months you can go back and see the wonderful improvements you will have made!

2. Just do it. Don’t wait to feel energy or to feel like you’re in the mood. Just put on your sneakers, bring your mp3 player (or not), and go!

3. Start slow. Try very slow. In track we used to call it the “Buffalo Shuffle.” Run at whatever pace that allows you to go the farthest distance possible. On day one, maybe this will only be a quarter or half mile. That’s totally OK. You will be so much more likely to stick with it if you start small and build a little bit each day.

4. Distance. Go as far as you can comfortably go and then turn around. Don’t pay too much attention to your watch. If you need to walk a little and then start jogging again, do that, but if you can keep going slowly, that’s what you should strive for.

5. Increase distance each day. Each day, pick a new landmark that is past where you went the day before. Use that as your turnaround point. And then the next day, go yet a little further.

Restoration & Support

1. Stretch after exercise. Take 10 - 15 minutes after jogging to stretch. Stretch your calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, and upper body too. Check out this resource for some good yoga/stretching videos that I recommend which can instruct you on how to stretch.

2. Rest your body. Take at least one day off per week. Eat a super healthy diet that gives you the most energy while helping you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Get enough sleep each night so that your body can make the repairs and build the tissues that will make you stronger tomorrow. Find out more in Why Exercise is Good For You.

3. Buddy up for support. Find someone to run with or join a running group.

4. Advice for the tough days. There will be days where you really don’t want to run. Unless you’ve got an illness or an injury, do this: make a deal with yourself that you will run for at least 5 minutes. That’s about how long it takes for the endorphins to kick in. Once they do, it will be much easier to continue. And of course when you’re done with your run, you will feel so glad you did it!

5. Remember: You Can Do It! Repeat simple positive affirmations in your head even when they feel like they are not true. Over time they will become true. Some examples:

• I can do this!
• Everyday I get better at this!
• Running becomes easier for me each day.
• This is so healthy.
• My body is becoming stronger with each step.

Resources

• “The Secrets to a Healthy Life.” Find out how to live a healthier, more energized life in my ebook.
• Track your mileage with Gmaps Pedometer.
• 100 Beginner Running Tips.
• Runner’s World - many good articles on running.
• Beginner’s Guide to Running

Please Share!

How has running changed your life? If you’re a beginner, what is your motivation? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

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How to Become a Runner: A Simple Method for Beginners

For those of you who want a healthier heart, a safe and simple weight loss program, and a longer, richer, more energized life, I am excited to announce that my new ebook, The Secrets to a Healthy Life, is finally available. It is priced at only $9. It is a concise guide that gives you everything you need to know to become healthier, more vibrant and alive with joy. And you risk nothing by purchasing it. It comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee if you don’t find value in this ebook.

It is a short read with powerful guides and tools to track your success. It has crucial information about improving your health that simply does not reach mainstream America, Europe, Australia and beyond. The doctors in our system are too bogged down with patients to discover and deliver the correct advice for health. It’s often easier for them to prescribe a pill and move on to the next patient. That’s simply not good enough for you!

Who should read this book? Everyone! Seriously, anyone who deals with one of these concerns listed below or anyone who simply wants to live their longest, healthiest, and happiest life with no need for drugs should read this book. I guarantee you’ll find value or I’ll refund your full purchase price. You have nothing to lose!

Common Health Problems

Do you struggle with these issues?

• weight gain that keeps creeping up every year
• poor heart health
• fatigue
• mood swings
• lack of patience
• loss of mobility - movements that used to be easy are now difficult
• fear of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and more
• scattered mind
• anxiety
• high cholesterol
• aches and pains
• unhealthy skin
• lack of motivation

If so, it is important to know that you can alleviate all these problems by becoming a little healthier every day. As Tony Robbins likes to say, if you improve just 1% each day then in one year you will have improved 365% and that’s not even factoring in compounding!

Benefits That Can Be Yours

Here are the benefits you can experience, many of them very quickly, by taking action each day to become a little healthier:

• have more energy
• lose weight easily with no calorie counting and no starvation! (true!!)
• improved heart health
• more mental clarity
• increased stamina
• increased flexibility
• less aches and pains
• bright, healthy, and younger looking skin
• relief from chronic stress and anxiety
• more contented happy outlook
• lower cholesterol
• lower chance of life threatening diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, & more)
• reversal of life threatening diseases
• relief from auto-immune diseases

Healthier Each Day

How can you become a little healthier each day? Take one small step each day. Learn how in my ebook, The Secrets to a Healthy Life. This book is based on scientific studies as well as my personal experience. My goal when writing this was to share important and impactful health information that is systematically withheld from you and me.

Find Out the Information that Is Being Kept From You

There are many books on becoming healthy, but in America, most of these books miss out on some very important information. For instance we all think that “milk does a body good,” right? Well it turns out that that is not true and in fact “milk does a body BAD.” Why is incorrect information fed to us every day about true health? Some experts do so unsuspectingly because they don’t know the truth and they don’t realize they are delivering incorrect information. The biggest reason, though, is MONEY!

When you watch the daily news, what are the commercials for? Prescription drugs! “Talk to your doctor and ask about our purple pill.” And what does your doctor do when you talk to him? He gives you the purple pill. Why do we “need” all these pills we see advertised? It’s because we are being advised to eat all the wrong things.

The food industry that brings you the advice on what you should eat is not the idyllic, wholesome mom and pop farmers you think of. It’s agricultural corporations who know that what they are serving up is bad for you, but similar to the tobacco industry, they don’t care. And similar to the Wall Street crisis, they are in bed with the regulators and government officials who are supposed to be protecting you! They have too much at stake to tell the truth. But what you have at stake is even more important, your life! The shocking truth is that the food most people are eating daily is poisoning them and making them more and more unhealthy each day.

You Have Control Over Your Health

Here’s an amazing fact: Did you know that many people can make themselves healthy without drugs and their harmful side effects by making simple healthy diet changes? (And, no, it’s not the mainstream diet advice you hear everyday on TV.) Make a few more simple habit changes and you can add many healthy years to your life! The Secrets to a Healthy Life tells you how. (There are no special products to buy! This is a super low cost way to improve your health!)

I think many doctors are too busy to either research or advise us on the real ways to become healthy. They barely have time to meet with you much less serve as a health consultant. It’s not their fault. The insurance industry has too much power and financially squeezes doctors forcing them to handle patients like an assembly line. So prescribing a pill is an easier fix. But it’s not the right fix. And that’s why I wrote this book, to give you the right fix.

Am I saying you shouldn’t use conventional medicine when needed? No. Absolutely not. What I am saying is: do your research. The person who cares most about your health is you, so don’t accept everything you hear from doctors and experts at face value. Find out as much information as you can about being healthy. That’s what I did and I hope that my concise and powerful book will get you on the road to vibrant health.

What About Exercise?

Also, what kind of exercise is best? How much should you do daily? What is the minimum amount you should do? My research will leave you pleasantly surprised. Often we give up on exercise because we think it has to be super difficult to make a difference. That’s simply not true.

Other Health Factors - Stress, Social Support, & a Meaningful Life

What else contributes to health besides diet and exercise? There are many things that contribute to your overall health and sense of well-being. It’s not just what you put into your stomach and how you move your body. It’s also how you nourish your heart and your dreams. We live chronically stressful and socially detached lives. If you’re tired of being in a rut, read my book to learn how to really take CARE of you.

The Secrets to a Healthy Life includes information on stress reduction techniques, your total support system, and how important living a meaningful life is to your health.

Are You Ready to Change Your Life?

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Maybe you want a better way to lose weight that is truly easy. Or perhaps you simply want to live a high-quality, long, and healthy life. If you are really ready for a change and would like to become healthier and feel better, please check out my new book, The Secrets to a Healthy Life.

I am confident you will love it. In fact I offer a 100% money back guarantee if you don’t feel the book offers you value. Is improving your health worth $9? We spend much more on things that bring far less value than lasting health. You have nothing to lose! Buy the book risk free today!

Sell This Book and Earn Cash

If you want to spread the word on how to become healthy and would like to earn some cash, you can become an affiliate and sellthis book on your blog, website, or myspace page. You’ll earn 30% on each sale you refer. Click the link below to sign up. It only takes 2 minutes to sign up.

How to Become an Affiliate

Here are some of the banner ads you can use on your site:

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Read what others are saying!

Steve Speirs of Run Bulldog Run says:
“Secrets to a Healthy Life is an excellent eBook which outlines a five-step approach to to help you lead a better life. The book is deceptively concise, yet packed full of common sense ideas that are backed up by science.”
..read more of this testimonial.

Xen of The Lazy Vegan says:

“Many of you might now think this is yet another self-help book that will give you strange “hippie” advice and put you on an extremely strict diet; but that is where you are wrong. The book tells you what you should change in your life to become healthier in a non-forceful way. The author lets you know that changing your lifestyle is nothing that can happen over night, but is something that you need to do at your own pace.

The book is short, but it gives a lot of information from many good sources. It does this without giving you a headache or making you feel that you’re getting overloaded with information. Sometimes books like this tend to get a bit too in-depth. The author manages to give you just enough information to start your quest towards a healthier lifestyle.

This is a book I can recommend to anyone that already lives a healthy life or is just curious. It’s written for everyone and more or less any age group. I would also say it is written in an encouraging way rather than an intrusive way.”

Read more of Xen’s testimonial.

Read more testimonials.

Please Share!

What health issues do you have that you would like to improve? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

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The Secrets to a Healthy Life

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I wrote a guest post over at Barry Moltz’s website. It’s not the typical advice for getting the advantage in business. Please check it out and let me know what you think. If you like it, please give it a thumbs up on Stumble Upon. Thanks! Here’s the link:

Guest Post: Simple Tips to Get the Edge in Business

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Simple Tips to Get the Edge in Business

Benefits of a Wordpress Blog Redesign

These are the improvements I’ve attained from my redesign:

1. More Functional Layout

Makes it easier for readers to find the best stuff on Life Learning Today.

How to Do It Yourself: Purchase a premium Wordpress theme from Solostream. There are several highly functional and elegant themes to choose from. I use WP-Glory. The pricing is very reasonable and the support alone is worth the cost. Customizing is a breeze with these themes. If you’re looking to redesign your Wordpress blog, do yourself a huge favor and consider a theme from Solostream! You will not be disappointed like you might be if you spend a lot of time installing free theme and then find that it’s hard to get support when you need it.

What’s Great About Solostream Wordpress Themes:

• Dedicated support site with online video tutorials for customizing your theme.
• Highly responsive email support.
• Easy to customize.
• Very functional design.
• Visually pleasing design.

2. Better Handling of Site Traffic

I can now handle a larger amount of visitors at any given time. I can handle a Digg load of thousands of visitors with no problem. Why? Because my new web host, Media Temple, has a technology for web hosting called Grid Service, where multiple servers work in tandem to be able to handle massive spikes in volume. Truly brilliant. Customer support is excellent too. They also have One-Click Install for Wordpress!

How to Get Better Web Hosting: Sign up with Media Temple and please tell them that Life Learning Today sent you! Thanks!

PS: You can even manage your Media Temple web hosting from your iphone. Pretty cool:

3. Professional Help Upgrading Wordpress

Chris Cree of Success Creations helped me with my overall blog redesign. He was the single most important factor in the success of this process. I am so grateful to him and I recommend his services to anyone considering adding a Wordpress blog, upgrading a Wordpress blog, switching web hosts or any other Wordpress support you might need. And his prices are very fair and reasonable.

Here’s what Chris did for me:

• Upgraded to the latest version of Wordpress.
• Moved my blog from my old web host to my new web host, Media Temple.
• Installed my new Wordpress theme.
• Provided guidance on choosing a Wordpress theme that would be compatible, easy to use, and would look good.
• Overall expert consultation on the process of upgrading and redesigning my blog.

How to Get Professional Help with Wordpress: Call or email Chris Cree. Visit his website, Success Creeations, to learn more about him. I wanted to get this done for a long time and by employing Chris’s help it was easy! Thanks Chris!!

If you have any questions on any part of my Wordpress blog upgrade or redesign, please leave a comment below or contact me via email.

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Have you redesigned your blog? Drop us a link to share with the rest of our readers! All comments big and small are very welcomed!

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3 Tips to Redesign and Upgrade Your Wordpress Blog

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This soup is first and foremost, delicious! But more than that this soup will:

• give you great nutrition- calcium, beta carotene, lots of vitamins and minerals
• prevent junk food cravings- why? because your body will have the nutrition it needs. When we don’t have enough nutrients, we crave junk food.
• give you plenty of fiber for a healthy digestive system
• help you lose weight - why? when you eat plant-based whole foods, your body naturally sheds excess weight. Want proof? Check out Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedmand and Kim Barnouin.
• help you reverse and prevent major life threatening diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and debilitating auto-immune diseases. Want proof? Check out The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II.
• easy meal for a few days. Cook once, eat for several days.
  
• give you a yummy eating experience! It’s the vegetables that make chicken soup taste good so give it a try!
  

So here’s the recipe:

Wholesome Vegan “Chicken” Soup

Ingredients

Step 1

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium-large Vidalia or yellow onions chopped
• 6 Celery stalks chopped
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 8 oz chopped mushrooms
  

Step 2

• 1 elephant garlic clove or 3 regular garlic cloves finely chopped/shredded.
  
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or water + bullion cube)
• 1 small bag of organic baby cut carrots
• 2 red potatoes diced into 1/2 inch squares (or whatever size you like) (no need to peel, just wash)
• 2 cans (rinsed) navy beans (or your favorite beans) (15 oz each)
  

Step 3

• juice from 2 lemons
• 1/2 - 1 pound chopped kale
• 1/2 - 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
• few fresh basil leaves chopped or 1/2 tsp basil flakes (if you have it - it won’t break the soup if you don’t have it)
• salt & pepper to taste
  

Cooking Instructions

Crock Pot Instructions

You can throw this all in one large crock pot and leave it while you go to work. If you do that, depending on how you like your kale, you could wait to put the Kale in 20 minutes before serving. But the simplest way is to put everything in together. If your crock pot is small you can cut the recipe in half.

Stove Top Instructions

1. In large stew pot saute all the ingredients from step one on medium-high heat, stirring as needed. Cook until the veggies are soft.
   
2. Add garlic and stir for 30-60 seconds on medium heat to prevent burning the garlic.
3. Stir in water and vegetable broth.
4. Stir in carrots, potatoes, and beans. Adjust heat as needed to produce a very low simmer.
5. Add lemon juice.
6. Add chopped kale one handful at a time stirring it in as it wilts.
7. Add spices: red pepper flakes, basil, salt and pepper.
8. Cook for a minimum of 30 more minutes. For richer flavor let slow cook on low heat for longer, say 1 hour or even more. Keep the lid on, keep on very low heat, and check every so often for a stir.
9. Serve and enjoy!

Feel free to add your favorites to this such as noodles, rice, barley, etc. You’ll just need to add more water.

To your health!

Please Share!

What’s your favorite soup recipe? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

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Vegan “Chicken” Soup