Paul Palmer, proud to be a pisces man

It wasn’t of the magnitude of 9/11, but the news stunned the nation just the same. Pat Tillman was dead. The man who personified the “can do” spirit of America, the ultimate volunteer, had fallen in battle. His courage and willingness to stand on his convictions for the benefit of this country mirrored the example set by the founding fathers. Like them, he walked away from personal fortune and fame, risking his life when he did not have to, pushed on by the dictates of a patriot’s heart. No price could have kept him from what he perceived to be his duty; no cost could have persuaded him to reconsider.

Working hard to achieve personal readiness for combat, he pushed himself relentlessly, as he had done in the National Football League. His arduous training complete, he arrived on the battlefield a distinguished Army Ranger and became the darling of the American public. Collectively, perhaps without even realizing it, Americans channeled their zeal and support for the war effort through this one towering volunteer. Tillman had become the Audie Murphy of our day, capturing the hearts of most Americans.

Now he was gone. If that was not enough, we were to learn that he fell, not at the hands of terrorists or insurgents, but rather from accidental friendly fire. The delay of this news and the apparent attempt to cover up the circumstances of his death, led to public indignation and an understandable response of outrage from his family. That notwithstanding, Tillman’s wonderful example of selflessness should not be diminished in the minds of Americans, especially Christian Americans.

What set him apart from the other great men and women of our armed services was his willingness to subordinate himself when he was on top of the world. By his own admission he felt he owed a debt to society and he willingly volunteered to pay it. Although sadly, Tillman himself claimed to be an atheist, we Christians would do well to emulate his altruistic and sacrificial spirit.

There are many similarities between Tillman’s situation and that of the believer. In Christ, we also are on top of the world, figuratively speaking. Romans 8:37 (kjv) reminds us that “…we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”. Additionally, we too have a debt to society; to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to them. We too must subordinate ourselves, assuming the role of soldier and servant in order to accomplish our mission and win the battle.

Moreover, like Tillman, we are volunteers, or at least we should be. Of course we have a mandate from the Lord to “go and teach all nations”; I won’t argue that. Clearly, Jesus was not asking for volunteers. The reality is however, that many Christians do not go, because they chose not to. God allows us to exercise our free will and we are free to disobey.

Could God force us to obey? Of course he could…but he doesn’t. God does not want us to be mindless drones without conviction. He wants us to willingly and purposely obey him. He desires for us to voluntarily submit to his will and to carry out the great commission to evangelize.

While we can do nothing more for Pat Tillman than to celebrate his service to America, he can do much for us by the example he set. Christians need to catch hold of his selfless zeal and surrender themselves to the work of the Lord. The Lord loves a willing heart.

Gary Kurz
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/pat-tillmans-example-114539.html

Would you believe that what you believe is alive and well in every aspect of your life today? What do you have faith in? What do you believe to be true? If you let this question live in you for a while, you may be surprised at some of your many answers.

You each probably have faith that the sun will rise every morning and usher in the light of day, and that it will set each evening and with it, the light will dim. Here in the coldest of Boston winters I have faith – when I remember to tune in – that despite appearances, tiny little crocus heads will quietly and beautifully break ground and trumpet in the Spring season of new growth and warming temperatures in March.

DO YOUR BELIEFS SUPPORT YOU?

Then there is the wide array of beliefs we have developed about the ways we are, the ways other people are and the way life is, most of which has been learned. How many times have you heard someone say some version of “That’s just the way I am,” “That’s the way people are,” or ”That’s just how life is?” It follows that we naturally look for and find evidence that supports our beliefs. We also think, speak and act in ways that support them. The question is, “Do your beliefs support you?”

The doubter’s credo, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” is a statement that puts an exclamation point on something (s)he already believes to be true in a way that closes off any other possibility or new way of looking. Some different ways of saying the same thing are “Yeah, right; No way; or That’s impossible.”

If you slightly rearrange the words of the previous statement you get a spiritual truth that has been scientifically proven – “I’ll see it when I believe it.” I want to underline the implication that you will see, eventually, what you believe. It, whatever “it,” is will always show up in your life if you truly believe it.

FAITH IS THE EVIDENCE

Some 2000+ years ago, it was written that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.” I want to add a word to this quote and restate it. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not (yet) seen.” The “yet” is important because whatever you believe will eventually show up or manifest. Your faith or belief is the evidence.

How can we use faith to have a better life, to become our best self, to fulfill our potential, to have greater joy and aliveness? First we can trust the process of life. This is easier to do when you realize that the purpose of Life is to create more life. That’s what Life is, always has been and always will be about. Each one of us is a unique individualization of Life. Our spiritual DNA compels us to increase and expand; to be, do and have whatever brings us greater aliveness.

Life is naturally conspiring on your behalf. If you don’t already believe that, try it. This belief alone will positively change your life in both subtle and profound ways.

Second, faith is key to the process of consciously creating our lives. “Consciously” is the operative word here. Life is continuously creating and since Life flows through us as us, we are always creating something. You can look around you and see “what” you are creating. The question becomes “how” are you creating? Consciously or unconsciously? In other words, deliberately or by default? Creation begins with a thought. Consciously creating begins with focusing on the thoughts you choose to think about. The object of creation comes to fruition, or not, based on what we believe.

THE KEY TO THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

There is a short version of the Process of Conscious Creation that I call the Two-Step:

• The first step is get clear, very clear, about what you really desire.
• The second step is believe that you can have it.

Faith or belief is the key to living the life you really desire. You can practice all the many versions of conscious creation that you may read or learn about but if you doubt that you will achieve what you want, you won’t. There is a great quote by Henry Ford in The Secret film that speaks to this, “Whether you think you can or can’t – either way you are right.” So let’s get your beliefs in line.

ACTION STEPS

1. Write down something heartfelt that you desire to be, do or have.

2. Ask yourself, “What would I have to believe in order to achieve this desire?”

3. Make a list of all the beliefs you would need to have to manifest your desire.

4. Practice each of these beliefs for one week by acting as if it is true for you.

5. During that week, look for evidence that matches your belief.

And most of all remember, You are a natural! You are brilliant! You are magnificent! Simply by being you. Let your light shine!

Reggie Odom
http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/would-you-believe-114257.html

Personal development may turn a lot of people off because of its image. You always see these self-proclaimed gurus, peddling their tape sets and e-books, telling you that you can be happier, become a millionaire, lose weight, learn to use superhuman powers and read “War And Peace” in 15 minutes… if you’ll just buy their CD set or e-book!

It’s no wonder this can turn people off. Personal development might seem tacky or new-agey to you, but if you look a little more closely at what they have to offer you, you might find something very useful there.

“Personal development” basically means working on yourself. That’s it. It’s a pretty general category. It’s something that athletes, artists, celebrities and business owners all to in order to achieve their personal best at what they do. If you consider simply that personal development means doing what you do the best you can, it starts to make a lot more sense.

Maybe you don’t want the Maharishi’s 10-Day Weight Loss Hypnosis Program, or the Brainwave Machine that unlocks the millionaire giant within; but what about some tips and strategies to help you use your time better, deal more effectively with difficulties in your professional life, or improve your skills and abilities? Here are some common subtopics in the wide field of personal development.

Coping strategies. Stress is no joke. Little things that happen everyday can cause you a lot of frustration and health trouble. Everybody has their way of dealing with stress, but personal improvement can help offer you some new ideas for how to deal with little daily difficulties.

Getting the most out of everyday. Everybody could use more time in their busy lives. But honestly, if you had more free time, don’t you think you’d end up wasting it somehow? We don’t need MORE time; we need to use the time we have more effectively. Everybody I know could use a little help getting organized!

Overcoming personal problems. We all have little things that keep us from doing what we want to do, and they differ from person to person. Have you ever heard the saying “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference?” Personal development can help you figure out how to deal and live with your own personal problems.

Dealing with difficult people. You are bound to have to deal with people at your job or in your family that give you a major headache. You can work on yourself so that you can handle other people and not let little things get to you.

Working around life’s obstacles. Things aren’t ever going to go the way you’ve planned, and you will always face difficult times. Personal development can teach you ways that you can handle life’s crises without destructive consequences. Nobody can totally go it alone.

Increasing your brain power. In your everyday life, you only use a small fraction of your brain. Wouldn’t you like to improve your memory, control your mind and get more out of your grey matter? Personal development can show you all kinds of new ways to use your brain. There’s a lot going on there that you don’t know about!

Probably the most important thing personal development has to offer is a way to stay positive. It’s not always easy to do. It’s much easier to develop negative patterns of thinking that only drag us down in the muck.

If you’re a skeptic, like me, surf the net a little and see what you find. Don’t be close minded; personal development may have something to offer you.

James Allen
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/what-is-personal-development-and-is-it-right-for-me-107475.html

Many people have a very difficult time moving beyond dysfunction.  Perhaps it is because they have a problem letting go.  Dysfunction, to some, can be a friend.  But I consider dysfunction to be an enemy.  An enemy of the soul and mind.  It is an issue that permeates the heart of many and for many,  its an issue that eats away their being little by little until there is nothing there but dry, sour, emptiness.

With dysfunction comes depression.   With depression comes emptiness and with emptiness comes anger and hostility.  Many people are unable to move beyond these issues for varying reasons.  Perhaps the drugs they are taking don’t work; perhaps they can’t afford proper medication or proper medical treatment; Perhaps they drink as well as take medication; Perhaps they don’t realize their depression can be helped through counseling or medical treatment and they go through life miserable, affecting everyone in their path.   For a person who is depressed and dysfunctional,  their world is a gloomy place.  They blame everything that happens to them on others, not wanting to consider that the problem might be within themselves.  They lash out at others.  They go out of their way to make others as miserable as they are themselves.

Perhaps dysfunctional people can’t move forward because they are afraid of moving beyond their status quo.  Perhaps they are afraid of death.  In a sense,  moving beyond dysfunction and depression does mean death of sorts.  But that type of letting go…that type of  death is a positive thing. Letting go brings changes that could be very positive for the person hanging on. 

 Many people afraid of learning how to live life without dysfunction are afraid of change.  For so long,  depression and dysfunction has been their normal pace of life.  Both issues  have become their friend.  Something they can rely on.  In this frame of mind,  people sometimes prefer what is familiar rather than something that isn’t.   After all, learning to live a life without dysfunction and depression means possibly living a life of the unknown.  Perhaps by letting go of dysfunction and depression,  it would change their comfort zone.

Once you have learned how to move beyond dysfunction,  you can live your life without fear.  Really…it’s true!  You can live your life authentically.  You can be true to yourself.  Living without dysfunction means  no longer being paralyzed by what people think of you or what they say of you or fearing the unknown.  Once you know that you can escape a life of depression and dysfunction, you can learn to embrace life and the wonderful things that living true to yourself will bring.

Is there a prescription that will help you live your life without dysfunction?  Without depression?  Well…yes and no.  There are medications available that can be prescribed to you by your doctor.  But why rely on drugs to change your life for the better?  Why not just start by changing your attitude towards life and changing your ways of living?  Isn’t that better than relying on a drug?  Perhaps some forms of dysfunction do require medication.  I’m not a doctor.  But I myself have come from a severely dysfunctional family who to this day remains severely dysfunctional. I very much feel  like the lucky one!  I  came out a survivor and did not rely on medications or drugs in order to come out a survivor.  I didn’t have to rely on therapy.  I didn’t rely on a doctor.   How did I do this?

First of all,  many years ago, I  decided to forgive my parents for raising me in  a household full  of dysfunction.  I forgave them for creating the environment with treacherous dysfunction that causes my estranged family members to remain living a life of dysfunction.   I chose to  let go of the past.  Letting go of the past will set you free.  Secondly,  I removed the toxic people from my life who were contributing to the dysfunction.  That meant distancing myself from everyone in my family including my own parents.  My father passed away in 1994, but I had distanced myself from him years prior to his death even though I loved him very much.  Distancing yourself from those who are toxic doesn’t mean you can’t love them.  It just means you can’t have them in your immediate life or share in their enjoyment of being toxic to those around them.   Leaving toxic people in your life will not allow you to make the  positive changes that are required if you want to live a life without dysfunction.  You have to make a clean break and leave all of the  toxic people behind you.  That is a requirement,  otherwise all of your efforts will be in vain.

Thirdly, living life with a meaning is key.  Find something worthwhile and find something that has meaning.  Not to others, but to yourself.  Once you find something that is worthwhile and that  has meaning to yourself,  branch out and become an expert in whatever you’ve chosen to take on.  Take up a hobby or learn something new.  Live your life with positive energy and positive energy will come back to you threefold.  Of course you will always have those nasty dysfunctional, toxic people you left behind swirling in the mist behind you, always trying to find a way to penetrate your new existance and for some strange reason, following behind you…….but disregard them completely and continue moving forward.  If you allow toxic people to block your progression and hold you back from living a life free from dysfunction,  then you’ve gained nothing and have lost the battle.  Keep toxic people  at a distance and over time you will see the  distance growing wider. There is no catching up to you once you’ve truely left them behind for good.

You must ask yourself,  “Who am I?”…..”What is it I want out of life?” and “What does my life mean to me?”.    My process of awakening began with a near death experience many, many  years ago.  Perhaps with some people,  it will take a similar dramatic event to make them wake up and smell the coffee.  I chose to change my life and to move forward and never look back.  That doesn’t mean that you won’t have negative people constantly trying to infiltrate your existance because it seems the more positive you become,  the more negative people who are drawn to  you.  But you have to make the conscious  decision of whether to be sucked back into the negative energy or leave it behind and keep moving forward in a positive manner.  You can not expect others to make you happy.  You can not expect people to love you or like you.  You can not expect doctors or nurses to make you better or feel better.  You have to fix YOU.   You can learn how to become a better individual just by doing it, living it  and taking the necessary steps at becoming better.

You have to remember that each person’s journey is truly one of aloneness and that whatever happens in your life, is only you.  It will always only be you.  You will die alone.  No one is going with you in the end.  While I do believe that we merely change our energy when we die and we still live on forever….just on another plane of life….we still must make this journey alone.  Furthermore, in order to really come away from dysfunction, you must learn to hear the truth and to only  speak the truth and to only  live life with the truth.  My philosophy in life is that if you can’t speak the truth to me or if you can’t  tell me the truth, then don’t bother telling me anything.  To me,  there is nothing in this life except for the truth.  I live life with truth.  Not lies.  Not with deception.  Not through smokey windows or smoke screens.  This is me.  Take me  or leave me.  I am who I am and that is all I will ever be.  I live for me.  I do not live for anyone else.  If you happen to going in the same direction as I am,  then I’m happy to share your company.  I don’t put on airs about myself,  nor have I ever lived my life putting on airs.  I use to think that by having many  possessions and having beautiful things constantly being  around me,  that this made me who I was.  I could not have been more wrong. I do not need possessions to feel good about myself.  I do not need to keep up the same life style as others nor do I need to share the same beliefs as others in order to feel good about myself.  You have to like you for you before others can like you for who you are.  After all,  if YOU don’t like YOU…then why should others?

Joining the military was the best thing I could have ever done for myself because I was taught how to live life without possessions and I learned that I was still okay with just myself.  I was taught how to push myself to the limits and I was taught to face my worst fears.  I faced my fears and I came out of it okay.  When I realized my fears,  then I was able to live life without fear of the unknown.  I was able to live life without the fear of what other people thought of me or said of me.  I no longer care how I am judged by others.  I am my own judge. I set my own standards.  Others can not set standards for me nor do I live my life by standards set by others.  I do not set standards for others,  nor is it my place how to tell others how to live their lives.  Their life is not my life.  Their standards are not my standards.  I do not walk in their shoes nor do they walk in mine.  Others are not in control of my thoughts or how I express myself nor am I in control of their thoughts or how they express themselves.  Yes of course I do  get angry when people make up lies or tell others untruthful things just for self gain  or when people go out of their way to hurt others through their lies, but if they live their life through lies,  that is their journey and it is not mine to follow.   Some people live their life through denial because they wear a mask.  They live their lives through a mask and they pretend to others to be something they are not. These are not inwardly happy people.  They are dysfunctional people caught up in their disease.  A disease called dysfunction.  These are people who choose to remain living with their disease instead of living a life healed.

My life is measured of how I judge myself, not of how someone else judges me.   No man is my judge. No man is your judge.   No one has the right to judge who you are or how you chose to live  because to do so would mean that they are above you.  No one is really above you.  No one is above me.  We are all equal in reality.  We are all human carrying similar baggage.  All of us eventually get sick and die.  All of us are born and all of us will die.   We all must go through the similar  things in  life even if our  story line is a bit different.  When you no longer live life with dysfunction,  the things you thought mattered, no longer matter.  You see life in a completely different perspective. Leaving dysfunction behind changed my life for the better.

By merely looking inward,  of course I had to re-experienced the pain of my childhood.  My childhood was painful.  But that doesn’t mean my adulthood has to be painful.  My parents thought they were doing the right thing by staying together even though they never should have stayed together.  They were dysfunctional people  together and because of that,  they basically ruined the lives of their children through their shared life of  dysfunction.    Yes, this is a very difficult statement for me to make because by making this statement,  it seems to others that I am blaming…but I’m not blaming anyone.  Do not make assumptions about me because you will be very wrong.  In order to leave dysfunction behind,  you must be honest with yourself and you must see the truth for what it is.   I make the statement because it is my  truth.  Speaking the  truth will change your life.  Living the truth will change your life forever. 

I appreciate my parents for their many fine qualities as individual people.   I appreciate my parents for the fact they enabled me to come into this world so that I could then do something for others in a meaningful way.  I appreciate my parents in many, many ways.  As individuals,  each had their talents that were passed on to their children, however small or great.  I loved my parents,  but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed sharing their dysfunctional life or enjoyed sharing their  home that had  dysfunctional  people in it.  That doesn’t mean I appreciated living a childhood with dysfunctional siblings or relatives.  Loving someone and appreciating someone doesn’t mean you have to live with them or share in their dysfunction.  Their journey does not have to be your journey especially if you know that you want your life to be better.  Recognizing dysfunction and knowing you must leave it behind you helps you to heal and to live your life healed. Sharing in the dysfunction or remaining in a life of dysfunction causes you to live your life miserably,  right up to the end.

Learning to live life without dysfunction means realizing that your life is about you and no one else.   It isn’t about your parents.  It isn’t about your siblings.  It isn’t about your friends or other family members or even about the  strangers who enter your path.  It isn’t about anyone who may be following your journey.   Your life is about you.  It has always been only about you.  It is up to you to take control of your life and it is up to you to make the necessary changes in your life to come out a survivor, free of dysfunction.   Everyone must learn to seperate themselves from their family of origin in order to learn how to be an individual.  This is the only way you can become your own person. 

Your family members, your friends and total strangers  will place expectations upon you as you go through this journey called life.   It is up to you to say, “I don’t want to play this game anymore” and leave it behind.  If you do not learn how to live your life without dysfunction,  you will live your life in turmoil right up to the end.  Who wants that? Dying bottled up inside would be a horrible thing.   Who wants to carry this type of baggage  around for all eternity? 

Back in the early 80s, I made a pact to change my life.  I made this pact with myself.   I chose to  live my life for myself.  I do not require approval from  family members, friends  or total strangers to tell me how I should live my life.  Their approval is not required nor needed in order for me to be happy with how I live my life.   You do not need permission from anyone in order to live a life free of dysfunction.   I am free from dysfunction because I chose to change my life  and I am proud to say that I’ve never been depressed.  Ever.   I can’t think of ever a time I felt depressed over anything.  Sad…but not depressed.  Changing my life didn’t require medication or drugs.   I merely made the decision to change my life for the better and to leave toxic people out of my life.  Low and behold,  some toxic people to this day  continue to follow my trail and scent like a bloodhound. For some strange reason,  they are hellbent on injecting their negative energy towards me….but I brush them off and I don’t look backwards.  I do not allow their negativity to penetrate my existance.  It is okay to know that negative people surround you or are behind you.  It is important to know that you will always have negative people trying to block your journey.   But you must not acknowledge them.  To acknowledge them would defeat your purpose of positive living.   Sooner or later,  the distance between yourself and the toxic people who follow you  will be far greater and wider and they will eventually  exist no more. 

Toxic people wear many  masks.  The one mask they do not wear is the mask of truth.  They have not yet learned how to resolve their personal issues, therefore they can not live their life in truth.  Instead, their reality is not authentic.  Toxic people appear to be someone they are not.  If you live your life in truth, the truth will always allow you to see toxic people for what and whom they really are.  Truth will allow you to see through a toxic person’s smoke screen.   Toxic people can stop playing games and they can learn to be honest with themselves and with others,  but for some reason,  toxic people can’t seem to move forward.  They are basically stuck on a very low plain of life. 

Don’t live your life with dysfunction or depression or in denial.  Life is much shorter than we think and there is so much more to life than living it full of negative energy or allowing others to pull you through life through their own negative energy.  To live life without truth is to die wounded.  To understand one’s truth is to die healed.    Dysfunction is a disease.  Don’t lie to yourself, because that only makes it more difficult to fight the disease we call dysfunction.  By telling yourself the truth and by living your life in truth,  you allow yourself to heal.   Once you have healed,  you will then be able to live your life through your own eyes and not the eyes of others.   Your life only belongs to you.  Live life to the fullest and expect nothing less.

Dee Gerrish
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/moving-beyond-dysfunction-736072.html

Trichotillomania, also known as compulsive hair pulling, is a form of self-harm. There may be different reasons why someone becomes a hair puller, one of which may stem from unresolved emotional distress or trauma. Hair pulling can quickly turn into a virulent habit or addiction.

The way each person deals with a compulsive behavior like hair pulling is greatly influenced by the culture in which you live. What are your beliefs? Do you believe that you can completely free yourself or that you must live each day attempting to control your hair pulling problem? Do you believe that someone else holds the key to ending your suffering?

Here are some powerful ideas to help you see your situation in a new way and to move forward to completely free yourself from trichotillomania:

1. Become aware of your fears, personal biases and the compromises you make as you choose a method to help you end hair pulling. Think about whether you want natural healing and personal growth or a conventional solution with a traditional cure.

2. Resolve the hidden issues that lead to mental and physical problems. “Authentic Healing” uses an invisible natural self-healing system inside each of us. Everyone has this system and can learn to use it. Authentic healing experiences always increase your personal power and help you to grow as a person.

3. Empower yourself through authentic healing to listen to and trust your instincts about what you need. Authentic healing is holistic and encompasses all aspects of human life, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It always brings these four aspects of you into natural balance. When you use this method of healing, you become the true expert about what you need to resolve each problem.

4. Address your addictive nature. Traditional cures come from outside of you, are done to you and are usually “generic” in nature. They don’t help you to uncover the root-cause of your hair pulling but simply attempt to rid you of the urge to pull (symptom) and the unhappy consequences of your pulling. Sensitive hair pullers may find this approach disempowering because it doesn’t help you to become balanced, evolve, take into account whom you uniquely are or completely resolve why you became a hair puller in the first place. This approach is likely to cover over your addictive nature rather than address it.

5. Increase your personal power. Trichotillomania sufferers often desperately hope that if they can find the right expert, they will find a cure. But cures don’t increase your power because they don’t help you to grow or use your intuition and feeling-sense to help you to fully resolve your hair pulling. This approach may decrease your feelings of personal power.

6. Reduce your anxiety by taking an active role in freeing yourself. Many hair pullers struggle daily with chronic anxiety. Western society tells us that outside experts know more about our emotional and physical health than we do and that others hold the answers to our suffering and the power to fix us. In our age of managed care and HMO’s, this message is so pervasive that it causes chronic anxiety and feelings of powerlessness. A natural way to increase your personal power and decrease your anxiety is to take an active role in your own recovery by using your own authentic healing system.

7. Take responsibility for yourself. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” (Lao Tzu) Authentic healing is a lot like knowing how to fish and being capable of feeding yourself whenever you need to. It automatically increases your personal power and self-esteem because it uses your intuition, creativity, courage and independent thinking. Once you learn how to self-heal, you can do it again and again for other issues, each time gathering more power to you.

8. Put a “Gone Fishing” sign on your door. Being cured is like being handed a fish just for tonight’s dinner. While a cure provides a solution to this one issue, it may also create dependency. You will always need to return to the outside source for another cure. This dependency is like an “addiction” because it decreases your power and self-esteem.

9. Look for the real cause. Seeking a cure for hair pulling may provide you with a short-term solution but won’t ultimately rescue you from doing the inner work to fix what caused you to pull in the first place. Authentic healing guides you look at the real cause of your hair pulling and to fully resolve that.

10. Learn to use experts as consultants and “tools” to assist you in your own process. Because authentic healing is a personal journey, you can continue to use experts but in a different way.

11. Stay only with empowering healing partners. Some experts may hold a negative “my way is the only way” mindset, while others may empower you to take personal responsibility and to find your own power. Stick with the latter.

12. Find and use great support tools. There are many wonderful healing techniques and tools available and more arrive on the scene daily. While there is inner work to be done, you don’t have to go it alone more than is necessary. The key is to find what’s right for you by trusting your intuition and feelings to guide you throughout your healing process.

Abby Rohrer
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/12-powerful-ideas-to-help-you-claim-your-freedom-from-hair-pulling-107154.html

I was surprised to find out the words tutti fruitti actually meant all fruit in Italian. Christians are to be tutti fruitti! This would be someone who has cultivated and developed the seed of God’s divine nature. Let’s look at this outline for becoming spiritually fruitful:

* Planting
God’s seed was planted in us at the new birth. There is power in a planted seed. His divine power was imparted to us, giving us new life…everything we need for living a godly life.

He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.

* Growing
Philippians 1:12 says to, …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. Growth is a sign of life. We are to work out our salvation as if we were mining for gold.

Make every effort to discover the treasure you have on the inside. Be diligent, eager, and earnest, making it your business! Mine it like a gold mine. You are carrying treasure – you are a treasure chest full of everything you need to live life abundantly in this world.

* Pruning
Jesus said in John 15:3, You are cleansed and pruned already because of the word which I have given you.

Renewing our minds to the things of God by the Word of God is actually pruning us. It clears away the dead or unfruitful ways in our lives so that we may become even more fruitful.

* Feeding
God wants us to grow. There is no other way to get out of an immature, unfruitful state except to grow out of it. Peter said, Desire the sincerely milk of the Word that you may grow thereby.

If you are ever going to grow and develop out of babyhood Christianity, you will have to feed your love nature on the word of God, and exercise this love nature in the arena of life. Then you will grow in love and all the other aspects of a fruitful life in Christ.

* Fertilization
If you want to see growth, then expect some fertilizer to come your way. Tough situations will come when we must choose to be a doer of the Word. In exercising the right choice – the God-way, the way of the new man – then you will develop and grow.

We can become partakers of the divine nature by making every effort to apply the benefits of God’s promises to our life. (See 2 Peter 1:5-7 AMP.)

When you exercise a muscle there is resistance. The only way for that muscle to develop and increase is when it meets resistance. Sometimes we get tired of exercising love or self-control but the more we do it the easier it gets. We get tired exercising but if we want to develop then we must exercise our godly nature even in tough situations!

* Watering
The Holy Spirit is often symbolized as water. Nothing grows or becomes fruitful without water. Even the Word of God is made alive by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6).

Sometimes we get so bombarded and weighed down by the natural that we forget to get over into the Spirit. But God gave us the Spirit of Truth – to lead and guide us into all truth. He doesn’t even speak on his own; he speaks only what he hears, and he tells us what is yet to come.

Get to a place where you can get in the Spirit and hear from heaven. The Holy Spirit is there to counsel us, comfort us, and teach us. We need to access Him when the pressures of life begin to overwhelm us.

Remember, you have a supernatural advantage over this natural life! God has given it to you to cultivate and develop but it reaps great rewards.
Life Application – Getting a Jump Start

1.Remember you are in right relationship with God.
You have been made in right standing with God. Choose to say what God says about you. If you don’t let go of your past, it will destroy your future.

There is a certain negative edge that your old man will want to wallow in. You may think you were a mistake or that you have no value or purpose. If you feel that way, it’s because of your own way of thinking, not what God would do with you if you would give Him a chance. Stir yourself up to your new nature.

2.Get some good worship music.
Be filled with the Spirit by singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Instead of grumbling, try singing or humming. Take your mind off the situation and a song of deliverance will come.

In His presence is fullness of joy. He fills and inhabits the praises of His people and He fills the people that praise Him!

3.Meditate the Word – This is an example of meditating:
Think about how the joy of the Lord is your strength. Happiness is about what’s happening. But Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

o Joy looks beyond what’s happening to the Promise.
o He thought against the shame – He didn’t agree with and accept a lie.
o He set down – He rested in who He was and His position in God.
o And YOU are seated with Him in heavenly places.

4.Pour out your heart before the Lord.
Clean out your heart like you’d clean out a closet. Take inventory. What do you really need to keep? What things need to be taken out in the trash? What thoughts need to be reorganized?

5.Pray
Get over into the Spirit where you start really praying out the will of God. You’ve got to get past just praying prayers from a needs perspective.

By the Holy Spirit you can get beyond the limitations of the natural with all it’s pressures and demands. If you let the Spirit pray through you, together you can pray out answers you didn’t even know you needed yet.

Sandra Hughes
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/becoming-spiritually-fruitful-110737.html

Cross-stitch is not just an activity for women. Plenty of men love to pull out those needles and flosses to cross-stitch projects that they enjoy. For most men who cross-stitch it is about creating “art” or having a special interest in the design… and of course Cross Stitch is wonderfully therapeutic when it comes to de-stressing.

For some it is just not “manly” to call it a “craft”. While men do not make up a large percentage of cross-stitchers, they most certainly do exist. Yet, many people wonder about men who like to cross-stitch, and it brings up a number of interesting questions:

Are Men Better than Women… at Cross-Stitch?
The simple answer to this question is that of course men are not better than women, just as women are no better than men either. Cross-stitching is a learned skill, and any person who cross-stitches is only as good as they allow themselves to be. Practice, practice, and more practice make a person a better cross-stitcher, not their gender.

Do Male Cross-Stitch Designers Exist?
Yes! Of course there are male designers. Why ever not? Cross-stitch design is an art form and certainly not restricted to the female gender. There are many men involved in creating their own cross-stitch patterns. For some it is a direct offshoot of their art – like Thomas Kinkade. For others, they are part of a design business, like the husband and wife team at Heartland House. Men are involved in designing and bringing you some of the great cross-stitch patterns. Some cross-stitch designers are also fashion designers and use their thread and floss to create patterns on the attire that they create.

Which Patterns are Popular with Men?
Men tend to choose more art-like patterns than women. They may not be as open to you choosing a teddy bear pattern for a pillow.

Often men are drawn to the things they like. If a man likes sports, he may choose a kit that represents his sports team. If a man is into architecture, then he may choose to cross-stitch a pattern based on Frank Lloyd Wright. There are even some gamers that have cross-stitched their favorite video game characters.

Other men use cross-stitch to create designs on their clothing, too. If you are choosing a pattern to give to a man, then you should take a look at what they like. Go with their interests.

How Do Men Get Into Cross-Stitch?
This question really depends on the man. Some men get involved simply because someone they love does it. A little boy may have wanted to do what his mother was doing. A man may help his wife finish a project only to find he liked it. Other men need something to do, and it is a craft just lying around. Often men do not find that they seek out cross-stitching, but it finds them one way or another. Some men believe it makes them look attractive to women, so they use it as a way to “pick someone up”.

How Do I Handle a Man Who Wants to Cross-Stitch?
Embrace it. It takes a lot of courage for a man to put aside an image of masculinity to admit they want to try a “girly” craft. If the man is a significant other, then take pride in the fact that your man wants to share something with you. If it is a young man, then encourage the creativity that will come from the craft.

It is not often that men can put away the machismo to do something enjoyable like cross-stitch, so open up and be willing to teach and inspire. Who knows… the cross-stitching man in your life may find a way to inspire you too!

John Wigham
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/cross-stitch-and-men-crossing-the-gender-barrier-98161.html

The Word of God reminds us, that we should “Be very careful, then, how live – not unwise but as wise, making every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5:17-17).

Our life is really full of mystery and questions, on how we can build and improve our life to the fullest heights of improvement. In this world, if we did not continue on polishing ourselves, we will be put us behind in the careers of life, and we will find out lately, that we are no longer belong to the first class group of individuals.

Especially nowadays, we are in the globalization age, and the demand of time is too great, and the only people who can qualify in these challenges are those individuals who are keep watching and keep improving their being.

Why we should to continue improving ourselves? And what was the purpose of it?

God said: Build a better world. “I asked, How? the world is such a big place, cold and complicated, I’m too young. There’s little I can do.” But God in all His wisdom said: JUST BUILD A BETTER YOU.”

We need to improve ourselves because in this world, we have a lot of competitors, as well as people who are trying to put us down in the arena of life. They exert all their efforts and use a honey words in order to put their victims in their trap. These people that I think we should give more attention and tactful in dealing with because these groups of individuals are hazardous, dangerous as well as poisonous. They are like a virus that trying to fry their victims live that even the medical surgeon cannot help them heal their diseased and has experience difficulty to cure the poisons and scars of their victims.

The crimes of their tongues are words of unkindness, of anger, of malice, of envy, of bitterness, of harsh criticism, gossip, lying and scandal.

According to William George Jordan, theft and murder are awful crimes, in any single years the aggregate sorrow, pain and suffering, they cause in a nation is microscopic when compared with the sorrows that come from the crimes of the tongue. At the hands of their thief’s or murderers few of us suffer even indirectly. But from the careless tongue of friend, the cruel tongue of envy, who is free?

He continued and commented “no human being can live a life so true, so fair, so pure as to be beyond the reach of malice, or immune from the poisonous emanations of envy. The insidious attacks against one’s reputation, the loathsome innuendoes, slurs, half-lies by which jealous mediocrity seeks to ruin its superiors, are like those insect parasites that kill the heart and life of a mighty oak.”

Finally he lamented, “so cowardly is the method, so stealthy the shooting of the poisoned thorns, so insignificant the separate acts in their seeming, that one is not on guard against them. It is easier to dodge an elephant than a microbe.”

So how can we protect ourselves against them before they will knock us down?

Below are the strategies and tips. Read them carefully and apply it to yourself, dear readers. Use it as your shields and weapons against them. I’d written it here, so that you will not be the next victims of these hazardous, poisonous toxic individuals. I’ll pray to God that may this article, may give you a great help as well as source of guidance to your daily living as well as progress in life and lead it to bring you closer and nearer to Him.

1. Nurture your character. For your character will be your only and best weapon to close the mouth against the evil-tongues of your enemies. For your character will cover and protect your reputation.

2. Be an open-minded person. Give enough time and space to lend your ears and analyze their point of view. If you’d think there is no sense in their words, ask them with this question: Do you think that I need a critic right now?

3. Control as well as manage your tongue and temper. Keep on silence and watch on them. Remember there is a great power in silence. It will make your opponent to feel distressing, embarrassing, unpleasant, uncomfortable, and ill at ease.

4. Close your eyes and ears. Close your eyes and ears against the negative, toxic someone that shall open his mouth secretly against you. If you receive not his words, they fly back and wound him. If you receive them, they fly forward, and wound you!

5. Never to criticize them. Criticizing it only marks, shows as well as acknowledges that you are an inferior person. Always bear in mind that a wound from a tongue is worst than a wound from the swords. For latter affects only the body; the former affects the spirit. Always remember to be patient in dealing with people for you are not dealing with a people of logic but you are dealing with a people of emotions.

6. Show to them your kindness. I’ve learned these secrets that the noble way to destroy an enemy is not to kill him but with kindness you may change him that he shall cease to be so, and then he is slain.

7. Be humble always. I’ve learned these new knowledge and wisdom that we cannot control the evil tongue of others but a good life enables us to disregard them.

8. Expect always that there is a traitor. In my 26 years stayed in this planet earth, I’ve learned that no one is safe from gossip and slander. The best way is to pay no attention to it, but live in a humble as well as in innocence and let the world speak. But for those who are fun of planting a fire…do what you like but pay for it! For God said, Vengeance is mine!

9. List down all your weaknesses and eliminate it daily. Every human being has their own strength and weaknesses. So starting today, examine as well as evaluate your being. List down all your weaknesses and promise to yourself that you should try with all thy might to eliminate step by step all thy weaknesses. By doing it so, you will become the master of yourself!

10. Keep on praying and Trust in God. For with men everything is impossible but with God nothing is impossible. And always recall these words, again and again to yourself: When you are at your weakest, God is in His greatest. So, don’t worry, be happy. You can if Think You can!

For those who are fun of planting a fire, think of these carefully:

The great teacher of all times, the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us that our words are important. In the book of Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus exclaimed “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned” (NIV).

James, the disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, asserted that “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless” (James 1:26 NIV).

Always recall these dear readers, the clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop; at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, work with a will. Place no faith in tomorrow, for the clock of life may then be still.

For thousands of men breathe move and live pass off the stage of life and are heard no more. Why? They did not give a particle of good in the world. None were blessed by them. None could point to them as the instrument of their redemption. Their light went out in darkness and they were not remembered more than insects of yesterday. Will you live and die? Live for something!

Remember your life is like vapor that appears for a moment and then disappears! Therefore use your life as an instrument of encouragement and instrument of inspiration to them.

Instead of giving a stings to your neighbors or to your co-workers, why not encourage thyself to give them a honey? Why not encourage thyself to say these words when you are alone:

Dear Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me show love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light Where there is sadness, joy; Where there is an idle tongue, help me to keep away from them.

Before I will conclude my message, I would like to leave a special message for you, dear readers.

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.

If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.

If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.

If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.

If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.

But:

If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.

If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.

If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.

If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.

If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.

If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.

If you plant greed, you will reap loss.

If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.

If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.

If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.

So be careful what you plant now, it will determine what you will reap tomorrow.

Wish you many blessings to come and God Bless!

Moises Reconalla

Moises Reconalla
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/top-ten-strategies-on-how-to-deal-with-difficult-people-114687.html

Do you have the mindset necessary to become a billionaire?

One of the things that set billionaires apart is where many people see only a problem; the billionaire mindset will identify an opportunity and have the courage to act.

In Australia, the 2008 BRW Rich 200 List identified 38 people as billionaires. The fortunes of these people come from diverse business interests including mining, property, shopping centres, technology, finance, retailing, textiles and clothing, media (television newspapers, magazines) hotels, gambling, liquid ammonia production, cardboard cartons, transport and health care.

Some of the advice from these billionaires for creating and keeping their fortunes is to remain married, work for you, spend wisely, invest in shares and property and gain work experience overseas.

For people with an interest in astrology you will be interested to learn that six of the 38 billionaires on the list were Aquarians, more than any other star sign, with total wealth of around $12 billion. For mere millionaires Leo is the dominant star sign followed by Sagittarius with Taurus being the least successful.

Billionaire iron ore miner Andrew Forrest, Australia’s richest person, faced and overcame a range of setbacks before he became successful as the CEO of a company with a market capitalisation of only $3 million at start up. In 2003 when China’s ruling party stated it wanted to quadruple the country’s economy in the next 15 years, he identified an opportunity and punted on the demand for iron ore exploding and became a billionaire in the process. As with many other ideas that went on to create billionaires, Australian institutions initially refused to back the company.

Many readers will have lived in a Meriton apartment at some stage, the creation of billionaire Harry Triguboff, who immigrated to Australia from China as a 14-year old with his Russian parents. Triguboff attributes a large slice of his success to building in inner-city locations. “Why would you want to go anywhere but a few good areas?” he asks.

Probably every single person in Australia has spent some time at a Westfield shopping centre, the brainchild of billionaire Fank Lowy who arrived in Australia in 1952 at the age of 21 with only seven years of formal education and no material possessions after suffering the ravages of war in German-occupied Hungary.

Lowy is regarded as Australia’s most successful immigrant and attributes part of his success to having a secure family base. His success story is well known from a delicatessen in Blacktown in what was then Sydney’s outer-west, then buying surrounding farmland and creating housing estates and then modeling another builder by building a shopping centre in 1959. Westfield floated on the stock exchange in 1960 and today Westfield has more than 100 shopping centres in Australia and the U.S. Financial engineering has been an important part of Lowy’s success and he also admits to his intuition being his driver. “If I have a bad feeling about something, it has to go away before I can progress.” Technology is important to Lowy and he was one of the first to acquire a fax machine in the early 1980′s. To maximize the use of his time Lowy always travels with a laptop and his BlackBerry on his corporate jet.

U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, the ‘Sage of Omaha’, is generally considered to be the world’s most successful investor. His investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway, is legendary. In the last 40 years, Buffett has increased the book value of the company by 286,865 per cent. Buffett has made some brilliant moves in his career, such as turning a $1 billion investment in Wells Fargo into $4 billion; making 500% profits on a massive investment in Geico and – in one of his best known and most talked about plays – turning $1 billion into $8 billion with Coca-Cola. Buffett is famous for droll quotes such as “I got interested (in business) when I was seven or thereabouts. I wasted my time before that. Buy businesses that an idiot could run, because one day one will. We really want to buy from someone who doesn’t want to sell. Investors should be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”

According to respected U.S. business magazine, Forbes, while there are numerous business school courses, self-help books and magazine articles devoted to analysing a billionaire’s investment strategy or entrepreneurial skills, few, if any, pay close attention to their personality traits. Forbes claims it has been observing billionaires for more than 20 years and says it has detected very pronounced similarities among the majority of billionaires which can roughly be categorised as: A. Master of the Universe; B. All Business; C. Sports Fan; D. Geek; E. Old Money.

It seems there is no common model to emulate and become a billionaire when comparing the success stories of billionaire’s world wide – every billionaire has had a unique route to success. Some had to face terrible tragedies and hardship, which would have destroyed many other human beings. Others did not have these hurdles to overcome but all of them had to work really hard. All of them had to integrate aspects of themselves, which could be called the ‘dark side’ or ‘the shadow’ as psychologist Carl Gustav Jung called it, into their personality and function convincingly among other human beings. The greatest effort people invest in order to become successful is with their own selves.

Self-management is the most difficult part of management skills needed to become a billionaire. Along with this skill for self-management, there are however, four additional common factors in all billionaire life stories. They all had a burning desire to be successful, and they relentlessly pursued their goals without losing faith in themselves.

Secondly, each one of them had an inner conviction. They saw themselves as successful in their mind’s eye and did not give up in spite of all difficulties. This ability to first visualise success and maintain this vision seems to be a key component for success in all fields.

Thirdly, they all took major risks in thinking out of the box and acting consistently. Lastly, they all understood the value of networking and engaging other gifted people.

In Australia the road to mega-riches is paved in rust-red iron ore. The 10 richest investors in Australia’s red-hot mining sector boast a combined net worth exceeding $15 billion, according to a magazine survey. The second-largest category for wealthy mining investors was coal, which is one of Australia’s top two exports, along with iron ore.

While Australia may be a great place to move from being poor to being middle class, places like India and China will be the best places in the world to come up with transformative business ideas that can catapult people into billionaire status. Early in the 21st century, technology and the Internet fueled much of the wealth to create new billionaires. Recently in the US finance created 27 fortunes, real estate was the source of 16 and food and beverages created 12.

However, a good trend is that worldwide most billionaires are still self-made. That means people coming from humble beginnings around the world have the economic freedom to leap into the billionaires’ club in a single generation.

You don’t have to come up with the next Windows or Google or Facebook to be a billionaire. You can also do it being a supplier of potatoes to McDonald’s as one man did in the U.S. Although Google is a lot more exciting to write about and learn about, you can also come up with a better business model for providing cola companies with sweetener or figure out how to become a dominant supplier of asphalt in Victoria. Don’t think that the road to riches is hidden solely in these old business models.

I can do it. The first million may be the hardest. But the simple fact is Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin – did not have any more hours in their day than you, or the ability to shoot laser beams with their eyes, or help from alien beings. They made their wealth in a single lifetime using the same 24-hour days you have. If you want to do it, and become a billionaire there is no reason why you can’t.

Some final advice for those wishing to achieve billionaire status. At some stage every billionaire has had to add more value in order to create wealth. One way to do that is by developing your financial education skills. These skills are. The ability to think creatively and solve problems. The ability to communicate more effectively. The ability to market an idea or concept and bring that idea to reality and commercial viability. The ability to negotiate.

Jamie McIntyre, the founder of 21st Century Education, is setting big goals for himself and last year he set a goal to become a billionaire by the time he is forty. That’s in 10 years in case you were wondering.

It is not that becoming a billionaire for material means or lifestyle is what made Jamie set himself this challenge, but more so that he knows that money can be a powerful tool to serve and he knows the influence that being a billionaire can bring to creating positive change in this country.

For Jamie setting this goal came about when he personally met a billionaire some 18 months ago. He was asked by the billionaire how long it would take to become a billionaire using his current wealth strategy.
As Jamie had never seriously considered that as a goal his response was at least 30 or more years if ever. The billionaire asked Jamie “why not in 3 years?”

If the guy wasn’t already a billionaire then Jamie would have said you’re “on drugs or deluded” but the fact that this guy had become a self made billionaire within less than 10 years made Jamie take him seriously. And that day a seed was planted.

Since then Jamie has had several billionaires come into his life where he has personally had the chance to sit down with them for personal chats including one very famous one, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin fame as well as an Australian who just became one of our latest billionaires in the space of a few short years.

Jamie was recently invited to meet and speak alongside another famous billionaire – Donald Trump – to share what it takes to develop the Mindset of a Millionaire.

Jamie McIntyre is renowned for his ability to present things in down to earth simplistic language so the average person can understand and implement with ease, but until now has been reluctant to teach others the actual mechanics and strategies to become a billionaire that he has learnt firsthand from meeting billionaires as he thought it too advanced for the average person to be able to replicate and apply any lessons from.

But recently this has changed as he now has figured out how an average person could actually replicate the same strategy to make a lot of money.

Of course for most people, not a billion dollars and for many not even a million dollars but certainly for many several hundred thousand dollars in assets up to several million with virtually no outlay.

Already one of his 21st Century Homestudy Members has used the exact same strategy many billionaires use to make $27 million dollars. Another business partner of Jamie’s used the same strategies to make $60 million dollars – all within the space of a few years.

For details of Jamie’s leading billionaire strategies
go to: www.Luxury4Life.com.com or
Email: info@luxury4life.com

We have a range of books by Jamie McIntyre available, including:
What I Didn’t Learn at School but wish I had
What I Didn’t Learn from my Real Estate Agent but wish I had
What I Didn’t Learn from my Financial Planner but wish I had
What I Didn’t Learn from Google but wish I had
What I Didn’t Learn From My Stock Broker but Wish I had (Just Released)

These books are available from good bookshops or from:
http://www.Luxury4Life.com/BooksForSuccess.asp

I hope you enjoyed this article. I would like to offer you a FREE Ebook & DVD written by Jamie McIntyre “What I Didn’t Learn At School But Wish I Had” This normally retails for $34.95, but for a limited time the DVD and Ebook are FREE for readers of this article.

For Jamie McIntyre Ebook & FREE DVD go to www.Luxury4Life.com/Dvd.asp

Lou Harty
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/have-you-ever-wondered-how-people-become-billionaires-learn-to-think-like-a-billionaire-746576.html

Are you an immigrant woman who once had dreams and goals for a brighter future?

Have you lost your self esteem and confidence in your ability to create the life you want?

Here is how to restore your self esteem and achieve your goal:

1. Be proud of who you are!
The fact that you have moved to a new country doesn’t make you a nobody. You don’t have to feel worthless and invisible. You are somebody! Living in a new country doesn’t change the fact that you are a strong, courageous, intelligent, woman who had the guts to move to a new country and start a-fresh. You are the woman who now has a chance to create a better life and achieve her hearts desires. Don’t look down upon yourself. Be proud. Stand tall, love and value who you are and what you represent. Don’t let your courageous spirit die or let your voice be silenced. You too, have an important contribution to make to the world.

2. Stop playing small and start playing a bigger game.
There is more to you than meets the eye. You have so much potential and there are so many opportunities awaiting you. You needn’t waste any more time shrinking from life and settling for less than you deserve. Think about how to make your life work. Stop applying for jobs for which you are overqualified. Stop wasting your talents, talking about achieving your goals and yet doing nothing to turn the situation around. Raise your game and go for what you deserve. Always remember who you area courageous woman!

3. Have a plan for your life.
When you move to a new country, it’s very important to have a plan for your life. The saying goes, “If you don’t have a plan for yourself, you’ll be a part of someone else’s.” The question is…do you have a plan for your life? If you don’t…whose plan are you on? Do you know what you want to do with your life? What is your life’s plan? Why is it important to you? How will you achieve it? How committed are you? Begin to live life according to your plan.

4. Act on your goals and dreams.
If you have dreams and goals, you can still achieve them and turn them into reality. Living in a new land does not imply the death of the dream. You can still achieve what you want, if you don’t allow obstacles, personal insecurities and a victim mentality to rob you of the pleasure of achieving your goals. Take control of your destiny because no one will do it for you. Believe in yourself, develop a positive “I can do it” attitude and become unstoppable. There are so many inspiring stories of immigrants who overcame obstacles and achieved great things. You too can become that story!

5. Take control and pave your own path.
Be determined and aggressively pursue the life you want. Don’t let society and other people’s opinions define who you are and dictate the course of your life. Identify what you want to do and then make plans to achieve it. Go back to school if necessary, join associations and network with progressive people who will support you in achieving your goals. Take control, expect great things for yourself and be open to possibilities and opportunities. You can make it and you better believe it!

6. Be assertive. Speak up for yourself.
Speak up for yourself and take control of your life. You don’t need anyone’s stamp of approval, so, don’t be afraid. Draw your boundaries and let people know when you don’t like what they are saying or doing. Regardless of where you are from, you are a beautiful human being who has rights and no one has any right to violate them. Be assertive and learn how to communicate your feelings and opinions honestly and openly. Find your voice and start by simply learning to say NO.

Caroline Jalango
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/self-esteem-for-immigrant-women-who-want-to-achieve-their-goals-68534.html