“Your focus determines your reality”, this famous line was spoken by Qui-Gonn Jinn of Start Wars-The Phantom Menace fame.

Ok, perhaps it is really infamous and you don’t remember that quote. Nonetheless, think about it for a moment. Would you agree or disagree?

I’m about to show you why I emphatically agree with this certain Jedi Master and not just because it’s from Star Wars…well not completely No I’m going to show you how your focus relates to anything you want to be successful in and then more specifically your Christian life. Ready? Let’s Go!

“Close or narrow attention; concentration” - so says Mister dictionary.com. When you are focusing on a certain aspect of anything, you generally ignore the rest of the picture. You’re concentrating so hard that the rest of it at the very least becomes far less important and occupies less of your mental powers.

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Gnothi seauton,, said Socrates. "Know thyself."

These words remain as true today as in the days when the portly philosopher in his rumpled tunic sauntered through the dusty agora of ancient Athens and pondered aloud about the riddles of the human experience.

"What is man?" he asked. "What can he become?"

This is a fascinating question. Once we set out to know ourselves, we also pave the way to become more authentic and powerful in our lives.

While we may appear predisposed, due to genetics or environmental factors, to certain character traits, we are, as far as I can tell, creatures of infinite possibilities and amazing self-invention.

Who we are, then, has less to do with knowledge and more to do with imagination. We appear to be who we choose to be rather than merely the consequences of our experiences.

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Whether you are writing a magazine article, composing a press release, or editing the sales copy on your website, the end goal is always the same - to influence the thinking, and probably actions, of other human beings. To do that, your writing must instill confidence in a mind that is inclined to doubt you.

Here are a few tips on keeping the reader on your side.

Keep your word count under control. Keep it simple and don’t say any more than necessary; when you write, limit your word count from the start. Never spend 1000 words covering ground that could have been covered in 200 words - the extra material looks exactly like the useless filler it is.

Don’t hedge. At all. Sometimes a writer is worried about offending the reader, and so either avoids making direct statements or pads the statements with language designed to soften the blow. Don’t hedge - be bold and direct, and let the reader be offended. You can’t make everyone happy, and you’ll look like a fool if you try.

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What the Animals Tell Us

"I am the Sun’s son.
I sit upon a turquoise horse
At the opening of the sky"
Navajo Horse Song

Each animal has its own nature, its own traits and is a representation of a power such as strength for the lion or speed for the jaguar. By learning about animal strengths or powers a Shaman comes to understand why people are attracted to certain favorite animals and repulsed by others. These attractions and repulsions actually become a tool that tells the Shaman what is needed or missing in a person’s life.

There was a woman who no matter how she tried, kept missing the boat, missing out on opportunities that would have brought her the abundance and connections she needed to succeed. In hindsight she could see every instance in which she had failed to recognize the chance to get ahead. It was very frustrating for her but she could not find a way to break out of this rut.

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Again, let’s call attention to our text: "Let her be covered."

One more question: "Why?"

Well, I hope that some answers have already gotten through to you. To all that, I would add this: Wear the headcovering because you know God wants you to! I cannot supply you with a more valid reason for the performance of any deed than simply to know that God wants you to do it. Can you? Can you think of a more valid reason to motivate any action? For every pliable saint, what God has written right here should be enough to settle the matter.

It is here made apparent that God wants to preserve an awareness of His divinely established order. That is urgently needed in today’s society. Furthermore, he wants YOU to have a part in that, not only the sisters, but also the brethren. He wants both Christian men and Christian women to give visible evidence of their pledge to abide by that order. For the man, that visible witness is given by the non-wearing of a religiously significant covering. For the woman that witness is given by the wearing of a religiously significant covering. The God-supplied long hair will not suffice for this because it is not a personally supplied witness. It doesn’t necessarily reflect a personal endorsement of God’s arrangement. It doesn’t convey the clear signal that "I’m voluntarily submitting to man’s leadership." The humanly supplied covering should be worn to convey that signal. To all who see it, it proclaims this message: "I will not attempt to dominate, I will not attempt to manipulate my head. I submit to God’s plan."

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When was the last time that you truly took a mental break from work? Many of us in North America are now getting out our calendars to gear up for summer vacations, so it’s timely to discuss how we use our "downtime" to enhance our ability to excel in our businesses and our workplaces.

The book The Power of Full Engagement, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, 2003, uses an enlightening analogy from their studies of world-class athletes. They remind us that muscles are grown most effectively by stretching beyond the limits of comfort and then allowing them to recover. Alternating activity with periods of rest is a training method used by elite athletes throughout the world. To quote Loehr and Schwartz, "The key to expanding capacity is to both push beyond one’s ordinary limits and to regularly seek recovery, which is when growth actually occurs."

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Well, with the success of my article, “Wrinkle Remover That WORKS!!”, I realize that there is a really strong interest in getting information that is going to do something for you, rather than generalities that come under the “same old thing” category. And, as you know if you read the article, we found a great and effective cream that does a knockout job of actually reducing wrinkles.

Funny thing is that the product started out as a solution to a completely different problem (and they tell you all about that on the web link I mentioned in the article), which is kind of like the situation of the equestrian horse product, a coat conditioner, that was flying off the shelves and it took an incredulous tack shop owner’s question to uncover the mystery. I mean they were selling more of this stuff than any over fastidious horse community could possibly use, they would have had to be conditioning their horses coats every day or even twice a day to use that much.

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Cockatiels are one of the most lovable pets in the world. They are a valuable treasure to the owner. Cockatiels, just like humans, need a lot of attention and care. Parrots as pets are delightful but they can become extremely moody and temperamental. This may also depend on its health and diet.

Good cockatiel care involves not only regulation of diet but also of hygiene and cleanliness. Cockatiels, like most of its cousins in the parrot kingdom, are prone to some typical illnesses. Unfortunately, many are fatal and result in death even before the malady is diagnosed. As a result, cockatiels should always be kept under close supervision.

A wise owner of cockatiels is one who is aware of common cockatiel illnesses so that he/she can at least try and help. Many maladies are airborne and they set in even before you realize. It is advisable to seek professional advice whenever you suspect a crisis.

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I met Sean a year and a half ago in a crowd of 50,000 people. We struck up a conversation and really hit it off. He gave me his number, which I forgot. I thought about tracking him down, but figured if it was meant to be we would meet again. Three weeks later I got a phone call from him, and we have been together ever since, until about a month ago.

I left my friends and my life that I was used to. Everything was fantastic, we were in love, we thought we were going to get married. We just mentioned it a few times, but it wasn’t really a topic of conversation. Anyway, something changed in Sean two months ago.

He didn’t cheat that I know of, but in a week’s time he broke up with me, demoted himself from a high ranked position at his job, and became depressed. He went to the doctor and is doing better now, but I am confused. How can everything be so great and all of a sudden he changes his mind about everything in his life?

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For centuries man’s progress has been lighted by candles. However, people know only very few things about the origin of candles. It has been written that the first candles were made by the Ancient Egyptians. They used rushlights, or torches, made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow. Unlike the candles, the rushlights had no wick. The Romans were the ones who it is said to have developed the wick candle. They used it to help travellers at dark, and to light homes and places of worship during the night.

America’s first contribution to candle-making was made by colonial women who discovered that if they boiled the grayish green berries of bayberry bushes they got a sweet-smelling wax that burned clean. But it was extremely tedious to extract the wax from the bayberries so their popularity soon diminished. The first important change in candle making since the Middle Ages was bought by the growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century. Spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil, was available in large quantities. The spermaceti wax, as well as beeswax, did not smell unpleasantly when burned. Even more importantly, spermaceti wax was harder than tallow and beeswax and it did not soften or bend because of the summer heat. Historians write that the first candles as we know them were made from spermaceti wax.

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Take a look around you right now. Look away from the computer screen and scan around you - the surface of your desk or table, now scan farther to look at the rest of the room. Close your eyes and imagine the rooms you can’t see from here; particularly the space where you most often work on your creative projects. Take a deep breath and really take in the image. What’s the impact?

If you’re like me, a reformed pack rat and clutter-magnet (and I think many creative people are), you might even find it difficult to breathe - almost like the piles, mess, unwanted and un-useable items are taking up air. Well, they are!

Clutter, essentially anything you don’t need, use or love, affects your creativity on many levels. In your workspace, it’s messy and makes it harder to find and use what you need to get your work done. In your schedule, it creates chaos and a feeling of a lack of time. In your mind, it clogs the pathway to your intuition and feeds fear and self-doubt.

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I very often see rants, complaints, wishes and dreams that have a similar theme, and that theme goes something like this:

“Here is my dream and here is what I have been able to do, but I can’t seem to get any further and it feels like I’ve hit a brick wall. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to bring more (customers, gigs, sales, days, money, friends, etc.) in to support this dream. I don’t want to drop it but I feel I might have to in order to make ends meet (or, conversely, the ends aren’t meeting and I can’t drop this because this is all I have/know/want to do) and so on. Help!”

This is a wicked bad situation to be in, I know, but I think I may have at least a partial idea on how to move forward. Basically you are hitting a spiritual and emotional brick wall, a very real one, and it is what I call the “Gratitude Toll”.

Huh? Yeah, the Gratitude Toll. Read on.

Too many of us set out on a dream and start to do the things we need to do to achieve it. But our first successes, being the anemic weaklings they usually are (and cannot actually be expected not to be, given our inexperienced nature), often do more to antagonize us and torture us when held up to the light of their brilliantly glowing parent-dreams, than to persuade us that we are on our way. We see what little we have accomplished, and how far we have yet to go - not only to make our dreams come true but even just to make the whole process self-supporting and us-supporting. We wail and despair and fling ourselves into the work with desperate abandon - but to no avail. We’ve hit a wall. Despite our most determined efforts, our most energetic marketing, our perfectly engineered whatzit, our professionally designed website (not to mention our blood, sweat and tears), nothing progresses. We get no further than we already have. WHY????

Simple - because we haven’t paid the Gratitude Toll. The universe will give us anything we want (in some measure or another), but it reserves the headiest successes and fortune for those who know to recognize those brick walls for the toll booths that they are - a sign that it is time to pay the toll of appreciation for what we have been given and express our gratitude for our successes, such as they are, before we can move on.

True, we often think that what we do have - a handful of toys that we can’t sell, a website that gets less traffic than a dead-end road, an idea that no one is buying into, a passion that is withering on the vine - is hardly worth cheering over. But we must! We must express our thanks for any little bit we have gotten, and we must learn to willingly adopt the attitude that whatever the universe sends our way, however small in our eyes, deserves thanks and celebration. And (this is very important) we must learn to accept the fact that not only may this be all we get, but that we must learn to be happy with it should that be the case.

Oooh. Dead silence. “But, I don’t want to be happy with just this,” you say. “How can I be? It’s not even paying the bill for the brochures I printed to advertise it! It’s barely more than nothing!” And that may be true, but you must be grateful for what you have been given and prepared to accept it as your gift, en toto, before the universe will give you more!

You see, like a child who complains about a not-quite-perfect Christmas gift, our Divine Parent is often loathe to squander the Universe’s blessings on those who are not capable of being happy with what they already have. I don’t blame Him/Her. Do you?

If you offer someone an inch, and they are so unhappy that they bitch and whine about not getting a mile, how likely are you to give them more? NOT! So pay your toll. Be grateful and satisfied with what you have. And it has to be real, too - you can’t just go through the motions. Trust me on this folks, if anyone can catch you faking it, God can!

But do it right and before you know it the Universe (being well pleased with your attitude of gratitude) will deem you worthy of even more blessings. And more. And more. And even more, far beyond your wildest dreams of more. Those who get the greatest blessings out of life, if you pay close enough attention to see, are often those who would be - and have been - just as happy with far, far less.

(c) Soni Pitts

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You have only 10 seconds to impress your potential buyer.

Your Web site visitors don’t care about you. They care what you can do for them. Give them a reason to buy. If you haven’t reaped the sales you deserve apply these ten tips:

Part one of this article is available at http://www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-56.shtml.

6. Make your layout clear, clean, and consistent.

An unorganized, unclear site tells people you didn’t do your homework by writing excellent copy to convince visitors to buy. If you don’t know how to do this, contact a copywriting coach or web writing coach. Take advantage of the smaller priced teleclasses. These professionals can show you how to write the best copy, and help you put in your personality rather than a “one size fits all” kind.

Organize each page in the same layout-such as left centered, right centered, or centered. Go to other Web sites and choose a design that resonates with you. Keep every page in the same format.

7. Use color on your Web pages that doesn’t jar your visitor.

Make the background light with black, blue and red lettering in the copy. Use simple font changes such as Times Roman for headings and sales letter headlines, and Arial for the copy beneath. This format is the opposite for formatting a book, since Arial 12 is easier to read online than Times Roman 12.

Don’t be tempted to use large graphics or pictures. Use small graphics to spice up your site that can be a hyperlink to the larger picture if your visitor chooses to use. Always remember each page must load under 10 seconds. Always use a lot of white space to make it easy on the eyes.

Easy-to-read and clear navigation helps keep your visitors on your site longer. If you are like me, and have a content-dense site, full of articles and tips, you can include long copy so long as you present it in short chunks. Potential buyers need enough pertinent information to make the decision to buy.

It’s a good idea to check your site often to see if you have any glitches. Another good idea is to visit your site with a visitor mind set. What turns you off? What do you like? Ask friends or associates to give you feedback. Give them a fre.ebie for their trouble.

8. Put your Web site information into short paragraphs.

When a visitor sees a long line of print, he gets discouraged because he want his information fast, clear, and concise. Make each paragraph only 4-6 lines. Online readers want easy-to- read material they can get the main points from and they want it faster than light rays. Remember clear, compelling copy is always the rule.

9. Be consistent with your heading and body fonts.

Do not use all capital letters in your articles or headings. They are hard to read. Use only a few for emphasis; for the rest, make them upper/lower case such as “Sell More Books with a Powerful Back Cover”.

Do not use the same font for headlines and titles as you do for the body of information beneath. This mistake makes it hard to distinguish the two.

10. Use dividers such as ==== or ——- when you change topics.

These add variety and help your visitors to see your message more clearly. These are often used on business ezines for different categories of information presented. Each publisher’s personal choice makes their ezine unique.

Remember your home page must give your visitors a reason to buy. Use these “Marketing Pizzazz” techniques throughout your site. Think right now, what is it I need to act on next to manifest more dollar success on my site?

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” and “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com

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Continued….

When I turned 18 years old, I met a new guy, I actually went to school with him when we met. I dropped out of school my senior year, guess why?? Because he did and I thought he was cheating on me so I had to keep an eye on him. I was so stupid I did go and get my GED though, I am proud of that and thank God I did. I stayed with this guy for while. I got pregnant at 18.

When I was 4 and half months along he beat me and threw me down and the baby died. I had went to the hospital because of cramping and bleeding and that was when I found out. That wasn’t the first time he had hit me either. The first time was when he called me a slut because I was talking to a guy friend of mine, I slapped him when he called me the name and he turned around and slapped me back and busted my lip. But I had hit him first so I deserved it right? That is what I thought anyways. We had been arguing the time he beat me (when I found out about the baby), he just went off that day. After the first time it was not often but it gradually increased and became worse. He always begged me to come back. And he would cry and I had such a hard time at home I just wanted out of my house.

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Imagine being firmly committed to your deepest ambitions. Imagine feeling energetic and enthusiastic about your relationships, career, and all the things you want. Envision a future as bright and promising as any you have ever imagined.

Is this your typical day-to-day outlook? Do you adjust easily to unexpected obstacles and handle stressful situations resiliently? Do you thrive on challenges, or do you tend to withdraw from them?

Henry Ford said, “You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. Enthusiasm is the spark in your eye, the swing in your gait, the grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of your will and your energy to execute your ideas.”

Enthusiastic people are inspired by great ideas. However, they live and thrive on action.

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If you are looking at ways to increase traffic to your website there are many things you can do. Here are 10 tips to avoid getting ripped off by the mounting army of web traffic experts. Most of them will just take your money and waste your time.

1 - Unless you are particularly lazy or have plenty of money to waste, do NOT pay for information that is easily available FREE of charge. A good place to find FREE web traffic information is http://www.IdeaMarketers.com. Many knowledgeable people post all sorts of valuable information at this site. Just put the word “traffic” or “hits” into the search facility and start reading. Another good site to visit is http://www.searchengines.com/optimization/

2 - Explore all avenues of FREE information and FREE search engine submission before you start spending money. If you do this you will have a “benchmark” of statistics against which you can measure the results of the techniques and information you pay for. Also, implement just one change at a time and monitor your statistics for a few days before making further changes.

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Have you ever experienced a traumatic event? I’m sure the answer to that question is an unequivocal yes as it appears to be embedded in the nature of the reality that we exist in.

So having said that, if I ask you to focus on a particular memory of a traumatic event that you may have experienced, I think you will, without a doubt say that “it happened”. That is, the event you are currently recalling happened to you.

In other words, if I were to suggest to you that it “didn’t actually happen” to you, you would likely think me to be either obstreperous, crazy or both.

In my experience working with individuals with a new process called the Mind Resonance Process(TM)(MRP) it has been my personal experience and those of my clients that after releasing a traumatic memory from one’s consciousness, body and energy field the event no longer feels as if it happened to the individual.

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Even if you’re not overweight, you still could have a junk food craving; especially if you’re cooped up in an office building, working 9-5 and not exactly having the best day.

If you’re like almost anyone else, you’ve probably had your share of cravings for some kind of excitement or satisfaction in the form of junk food. It’s all around us, and once you try it, it’s so easy to end up wanting it again. After all, there aren’t many things in this world which can compare to the relaxing, creamy, sensual experience of chocolate.

So, what are you and I to do? I have the same problem to deal with because I like Whatchamacallit bars and a good cheeseburger every now and then. Ideally, the solution is to gather together all the will power you have, and force yourself to stay away from junk-foods for at least one week and begin doing cardiovascular exercise 5 days a week.

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I bet you already know all the health benefits for keeping slim. You have probably tried every diet; the Atkins, the Southbeach, the metabolic, the fruit, the water or just plain starvation. In fact, you may even have gained extra weight. You know all the intellectual stuff about keeping healthy, exercising and eating consistently. But you are still as heavy as ever.

How is it that all those intellectual knowledge is not driving you towards weight loss?

This is because the human body is driven by passion and not intellectual knowledge. Knowledge teaches us techniques; passion dives us to make it happen.

In this situation, external circumstances are not conducive in igniting our passion for keeping healthy and slim.

If we have failed numerous times in our weight loss efforts, it may be time that we evaluate our external environment. That may be the cause of our failures.

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Michael Jackson was born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958 (making him 47 as of year 2005) to Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine siblings. The Jackson family was raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses and practiced door-to-door evangelization. Despite being known as the cute and talented lead singer in Jackson 5, a band that he formed together with his other siblings, he is now better known for his flamboyant style and negative press.

Jackson 5 was soon discovered and grabbed up by Motown Records in 1969 and the family moved to California where the 5 siblings could continue with their newfound career. Their first four singles, "ABC", "I want you back", "the love you save" and "I’ll be there" instantly became hits. During this time, the Jackson 5 recorded 14 albums together while Michael Jackson recorded 4 solo albums. In 1976, they left Motown and called themselves simply as the Jacksons and they went on to produce 6 albums together, toured internationally. Both Jermaine and Michael started out on successful solo careers as with Rebbie, Latoya and Janet.

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