Tuesday 30 September 2008

Growth revisited

When I grow up, I wanna be a...

Do you remember saying such things to yourself when you were a child? Now that I'm an adult, I am so thankful we never fully grow up. It's nice to know you're never fully grown. I think I mislabled this post when I wrote it last year...

http://bikewithjackie.blogspot.com/2007/05/growing-growing-grown.html

What do you think?

Special Motivational Quotes

Special Motivational Quotes

Monday 29 September 2008

Practice patience revisited

This post was one of my early posts; I hadn't yet clarified the blog description. At least, not enough.

So it's funny to go back and see what I wrote when I was just getting started. For those of you who are new to my BIKE blog, please leave a comment and let me know what has brought you here.

Are you looking for ways to improve your life? Practicing patience is a good way to start. What do you think:

http://bikewithjackie.blogspot.com/2007/05/practice-patience.html.

Beautiful Love Quotes

Beautiful Love Quotes

Sunday 28 September 2008

Temporary leave

I'll be semi-absent the 100-day Blogathon for a few days. But I'll be back in full force on October 7/8.

Until then, enjoy a few posts from the past. I'll post a new one every day.

Saturday 27 September 2008

Do you know what you're good at?

I was thinking about this very question (What am I good at?) at the meeting with the members of the Arizona Book Publishing Association this week. I'd been invited to speak to the group about blogging.

I arrived ready and prepared to speak. I was energized. I was excited. As I was distributing my hand-outs, a woman stopped me, "Jackie, do you remember me?"

Of course I did. It was Dee McVicker, a writer I know from my past life. She'd actually entered my subconscious mind a few weeks ago, though I can't recall why. So it was with great comfort that I saw her in person. She was a part of a writers' group called The Word Association I'd helped organize several years ago. We disbanded shortly after I became separated from my husband. For me, writing stopped, and I stopped going to the meetings, the same meetings that I had so carefully planned for so many months. It was my baby, and I was very proud of the work we'd accomplished. Through that group--it started out with four or five friends and grew to about 20 writers Valleywide--we were meeting editors, getting more assignments, and feeling more worthy of what we could contribute. I even managed to attract heavy duty guest speakers. It was a very satisfying effort. We never regrouped, however, and my interests changed and grew beyond just writing.

So I was happy that Dee sat near me during this meeting. We had a few moments to catch up. During our conversation, it occured to me that I'm very good at bringing people together and helping them find new opportunities. That's what I was doing at this meeting that night. This kind of empowerment very much relates to my work with the mental BIKE, and my travel, and now the blogging. I told her this. She agreed.

Today, after I wrote an article about organizing a blogathon that will be published in the ABPA newsletter, something else occured to me: my new 30-second commercial. I'm going to write it out for the first time right here:

"I'm Jackie Dishner. Whether through travel, blogging or my special brand of BIKE, I open your eyes to new opportunities."

That's what I do, and I'm proud of my work.

So, now I ask you: Do you know what you're good at, and do you take advantage of that in your personal and professional life?

Post a comment and let me know.

Meaning of TEAM

Meaning of TEAM

Friday 26 September 2008

It wasn't really a missed opportunity

I love this story. I was still beginning to understand how meaningful my BIKE message really is, how much it's needed.

But I was still finding my own way with it. I loved my motto, but I think I loved my motto too much. It doesn't stand alone. It needs explanation.

So the missed opportunity I mention in this post below, wasn't missed after all. It was really another learning opportunity for me, especially as I re-read the post. Here it is:

http://bikewithjackie.blogspot.com/2007/05/missed-opportunity.html

Can you think of a time when you revisited a memory and learned something new from it that second time around? If so, please share it with us right here.

The Blogathon That Never Ended

After being asked to speak about it publically a few weeks ago, I'm getting a lot more questions about this Blogathon thing. What is it? Why participate in it? How? For those questions, I refer you to this earlier post.
And let me tell you, it's a gamble on your time that generally pays off in so many ways.


For the two groups that I've participated in this with, it's been such an energy booster. Especially for those of us who weren't posting much on our blogs in the first place. For me, it was a natural route to take, and it follows part of my BIKE philosophy: when you need help, seek it. I needed help to boost my blog, to start participating, to get it off the ground. So when I was invited to participate in my first Blogathon, I jumped.

I'm so glad I did.

A Blogathon is like a shot in the arm for the blogging resisters or those who otherwise would be overwhelmed by the idea. It sort of forced us to start writing, and write regularly, so readers will come back again and again to see what we've posted next. If we're interesting enough or entertaining enough or enlightening enough, you'll come back. If we comment on your blogs, you might come to see what we have to say on ours. If we link to your site, you might link to ours.

That just happened to me this week. Maybe you can see my blog roll on the left-hand side of my blog. It's a list of other blogs I've read and would like to read more of, and do when I can. It's a list I thought worth sharing. There are many other blogs that I want to include there, but I haven't yet taken the time to ask. And you do want to ask permission before posting, because for that win-win you also want to ask if they'll post a link to yours. My latest inclusion is Serenity for the Self-Employed blog. It's written by Heather Boerner, a freelance writer I know from the Freelance Success site--the group that led me to this topic in the first place.

We're building community, that's what we're doing. We're sharing. And, hopefully, we're helping someone somewhere with something.

So, if you're asking, how can I possibly blog daily? What will I write about? Where will I find the time? Here are some answers:

You can blog daily, but only if you consciously decide to make that choice. It's a habit, and it can be learned. A blogathon can help. But you don't have to blog daily.

You can write about anything that is relevant to you and would or could be relevant to your audience. Read the news and comment on what strikes you as comment-worthy. Read a book and write a review, or review a book you've already read. Post about your favorite quote and what it means to you. Ask your readers if they can relate. Post charts, graphs, photos, images, anything that might be meaningful to you and might spark a conversation. You want to inspire dialogue with your blog.

The topics are endless. If you've written a book, especially non-fiction, pick a chapter and write about the research involved in doing the work to complete it. It's up to you. But it also helps to read other blogs in your genre or your niche and find out what others are writing. Try to differentiate yourself, because your point is to add to the discussion, to further it along, to help someone understand something better, or to validate their own believes--for or against.

Finally, to answer the question, "Where will I find the time?" You will find it, when and where you decide to find it. Once you realize the benefits of blogging, you will take as much time as you can. It doesn't have to be daily. It doesn't have to be many times daily as some bloggers believe. It just has to be frequent and it has to be regular. You're creating an expectation, and you don't want to let your readers down. They'll stop coming. They'll stop reading. And you'll have a blog that doesn't work.

If you're like me, you'll become addicted to the blogging effort, anyway, that you're bound to begin blogging regularly. It's so much fun to research topics, to look for ideas, and then to write about them. You'll discover a desire to share what you learn.

Hopefully, you'll also seek balance at the same time. The blogosphere is growing, and you'll want to become a part of it. But it's not all that there is. You still need to participate in the world outside of Cyberspace. That's only going to enhance your life and add to the dialogue.

Any more questions?

Special Inspiring Quotes

Special Inspiring Quotes

Thursday 25 September 2008

Wednesday 24 September 2008

100-day count down

The Blogathon is back. One of my fellow Blogathoners, Suzy Graven, a savvy woman herself, got the great idea to re-start our blogathon from July and go on through to the end of the year in what she's calling the 100-Day Countdown. That began a few days ago, and we're now on day 98...and counting.

If you're interested in following us around, I'll find out who all is participating and post links to their blogs as soon as I get all the details.

We'll still be posting daily, or as often as those who chose to participate can. I've also promised to help at least two NSA members get their blogs up and running. So expect to see a few new names.

I also want to note that I'll be speaking about starting a Blogathon, and the benefits thereof, to members of the Arizona Book Publishing Association this week. Gwen Henson, the executive director, invited me to participate after she heard so many good things about the July Blogathon I started with National Speaker Association-Arizona members and candidates. We had a blast kick-starting some of the members blogs and helping people get one started in the first place. We learned so much, though there's so much more to learn and discover.

It's a journey that is becoming more and more a part of mainstream culture. When you hear more and more stories about bloggers quitting their day jobs so they have time to post because their blogs are monetized and earning enough money to support the family, it's hard to ignore. The social media networking frenzy is today's reality. You really want to find a way to jump on board.

So it should be fun to watch the 100-day countdown and see how well we do. For anyone who resists posting daily, post as often as you can, one a week, even. Anything. There really are no strict rules. It's just about showing up and doing the best you can with a limited resource (time).

Please come back and learn more about it in the next few days.

Happy blogging!
Jackie

Best Motivational Quotes on Strength

Best Motivational Quotes on Strength

Tuesday 23 September 2008

Enlightening visit

I've been having very successful BIKE coaching sessions with a client who I am so impressed with right now.

She's been making progress each week, and we're in our third month right now. She did feel the usual resistance coming into the fourth or fifth week. But despite that, what really strikes me is her eagerness to achieve. She'll get stuck on something, but she'll still persevere. She's not fully aware of her strengths and weaknesses yet, but she's picking up on them--and mostly on her own, which I love to see happen.

We are all given tools to continue our personal growth, but we don't always use them, or know how to use them or where to find them. But once all of that becomes clear, I say, "Watch out world! This is going to be a person who makes a difference."

That's what I think is going to happen very soon with my client.

Then again, there are those of us who stick with the status quo and are okay with that. They should be--it's a personal choice.

On the other hand, when you do seek assistance--and we all need assistance in some way or another at some point in our lives--it's good to embrace it, to be patient and see what happens, to find out if there's something in the learning that can benefit us.

Ultimately, this will prove to be true.

For those people who think they are not coachable, I say, "Not so." To me, that implies you cannot learn. I don't believe that's correct. What I believe, instead, is that perhaps you're just not ready or may not feel the need for the growth you have may have attempted to seek. Or, maybe the "fit" isn't quite right. Whatever the reason for continued resistance, it is good to listen to it, to pay attention. That is the healthy thing to do.

And there's never anything wrong with changing your mind. I like a person who can decide on something and realize later that it's not quite what he or she wanted and decide to make another choice, instead. That's personal empowerment, taking care of yourself, seeking what will work best in your life.

So I'm really impressed with my client. She's a doll. She's funny. She's smart. She's got great ideas. What I want for her is to be able to appreciate all that she has to offer herself. I think that's always the goal with this BIKE philosophy of mine.

There's so much to learn when you look within. That's what the BIKE is there for, to remind you of your gifts, that everyone has the capacity to be their Best self, that they can access their Inner strength, that when they pay attention to their thoughts, words and actions, their Killer instinct will kick in, and that when they need help of any kind, our own Expressive voice waits for the call.

I absolutely believe in this. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to share it with others, nor share it with you.

Have a great day. And if you get the chance, visit me also at The Phoenix Traveler.

All my best,
Jackie "The BIKE Lady" Dishner

Monday 22 September 2008

Little Hinges Swing Big Doors to - Bring Your Toasmasters Club to the Next Level

Empowering Member's Inner Force Using A-B-C

Introduction

Just slightly over a year and 9 months ago, our membership fell below charter strength and we were on the brink of deciding whether to return this Club to its former glory or let it crush into oblivion .....

Once the decision was made by members to revive the Club, we scrapped through 9 months, breaking the vicious cycle of low members' turnout. We achieved more in just one year, than we had in the past 7 years since our Club was chartered!!

Our Club accomplished 10/10 DCP goals, attaining the President's Distinguish Club status for the very 1st time in our Club's history.

How does a Club which was in such severe recession swing itself upwards to such great heights in just a short period of one year? A Chinese proverb goes like this "Success is when opportunity meets preparation"

We analyzed and discovered certain strategies that were in place that contributed to the boom of our Club. We summarized and simply named it A-B-C ideas. These are no more than simple, practical, easy to follow tools, which aim to aid members, Clubs, Divisions or Districts to succeed in achieving their Goals.

1. Aim For The Stars

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now - ALLAN LAKEIN

At the very beginning of the term, we set a precise goal and developed a comprehensive action plan. Our goal back then was to achieve 10/10 DCP goals by 30 June 2008.

We thought then it was already an impressive goal until our Area Governor, ACS Dennis Wee, called, "Hey, what if your Club could achieve 10/10 DCP goals by 31 December 2007 and be the 1st Club in District 51 to achieve it!?!?".

That idea blew our minds OFF and it got us all excited and we set to achieve our goals by 31 December 2007. That is the starting point that empowered the members to such miraculous results today.

We also did something different that we announced our Club goals loud and clear in our Installation Dinner to all members and guests. Psychologically, this helps to held the EXCO members accountable to the goals.

Then to keep the momentum, we must first lead by example. A Leader Walks his Talk. A leader can't motivate the members to progress if the leader themselves did not progress. Action speaks louder than words. Therefore, to live up to the standard we set, few of the "hardcore" members (Meyyappa, Derek, Kheng Chuan and myself) to achieved their goals in the first 6 months. Their relentless efforts have unconsciously set the momentum of the Club!!

Here are the elements we think are essential to formulate a Club Goal:

a) Excitement Drive b) Well announced c) Time buffer d) Lead by Example

2. Barter Trade Concepts

The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably, thought and act - ORISON SWETT MARDEN

Prior to the use of currencies as we all know, in the past goods were exchanged on a one-on-one basis with the intent that the value was of relative equal hence the birth of Barter Trade.

One of our main challenge was to get the members to progress on their Basic Communication Manual. To overcome this we simply barter traded with them!!

I remembered when one of my fellow members asked me before I went on a vacation, "Can you send me a postcard for my personal collection during your vacation overseas?".

I responded, "Certainly, but..... can you do a speech on either Jan 9 or Jan 23?" Whichever options she chose, she committed herself to a speech slot.

I've also barter traded in these for speech slots:

1. A drive home after TM meeting 2. Time spent on mentoring a mentee 3. An opportunity to attend semi annual TLI training 4. Helping a member to take up a pre-assigned role play (eg. Substituting as TME, Ah Counter etc) 5. Information or news sent to members

Currently, only few members in our Club discover this powerful concept and it had already brought us astonishing results. What if ALL MEMBERS acquire this as a habit? The effect would probably spiral up to other clubs, divisions and even districts.

Other crucial factors when encouraging members to do their speeches are:

i. Timing Ask at the correct time. We encourage member to take up a speech slot usually after our TM meeting, Club Visits, Contests or after the members completed their speeches, as these are the times when they are "H-O-T, High on Toastmasters".

ii. Put them on a ferries wheels Schedule members for speeches early (a month in advance), to minimise the "last minute pulled-out syndrome". The key is to communicate with mentor to do the follow up and remind the member again 2 weeks before the schedule date. In that case, the Club will get its speech slots filled continuously

3. Coaching and Connections

True success comes only when every generation continues to develop the next generation - JOHN C. MAXWELL

Mentor-mentee system was established in our Club to provide coaching for members. Our motto all members are keen to present their speeches until proven otherwise. All they need is guidance, like a toddler learning how to walk.

If members are prepared, they are more confident, and when they are confident, they are more willing to present their speeches, and this massively increases the likelihood of giving a speech.

But....... Will mentor be regarded as "pushy" if he keeps asking the mentee to do speeches again and again, one after another?

Possibly, and as such, we sourced and spread the mentor's responsibility to others. For example, instead of encouraging the mentee directly, the mentor could indirectly encourage the mentee by asking the AG, Assistant AG, President, VPE or even ask TMs from other Clubs to invite mentee to do speeches in or outside of the Club!!

This may come as a surprise to you, but we found that many members are much more inspired and motivated when invited by TMs from other Club!! This also opens up the networking door for our members to flourish outside our home ground.

Conclusion

On its surface, the A-B-C ideas shared here may appear simple and provide a mere subtle effects, but if these ideas were put into practice it will yield astounding results as they did for us. Through the A-B-C ideas, we recruited 13 new members, achieved 6 CC's, 2 AC's, 2 CL's and crowned President Distinguished Club, the very first since this Club was charted in Sep 2001, 7 years ago.

On behalf of the Club, I wish to express our gratitude to my Exco's and all the amazing individuals that have contributed to this success namely Sue Ding, Dennis Wee, Meyya, Stephen Fernando, Vincent Hor, Bill Sim, Parames, Daniel Teh, Sheila Wong, Dominic Joseph, Ramdas Nayar and Ron Lau.

Alas.. I'm proud to say I belong to a President' Distinguished Club

Ken Tan, President of Deloitte KassimChan Toastmasters Club 2007/2008

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How to Stay Young, Vital and Mentally Sharp - And Maybe Even Live Longer and Happier

By Katie Evans
1. Learn something new this week. Learning keeps our brains young and keeps you vital.

2. Laugh out loud at least 5 times a day. Laughing is like jogging on the inside. Kids laugh over 100 times a day; adults less than 20 on average.

3. Do something nice for someone without them knowing it. According to Ghandi and Mother Teresa, we are most fulfilled when serving others.

4. Do the same thing before going to sleep at night. If you have trouble getting to sleep, a routine prior to bed will help your brain get you ready.

5. Wake up in the morning thinking about your ideal body/life. This will help your behaviors become healthier more easily.

6. Get a pet. People with pets exhibit less stress and live longer. Be sure the pet fits into your lifestyle.

7. If you volunteer for nothing, volunteer for something. Become engaged and give back to your community. Pick something you like to do and it will change your life. Google "volunteer opportunities" for your city.

8. If you volunteer too much, cut back. If you find yourself complaining that you have no time (for yourself), you may be giving too much away to others. If so, the following suggestions are just for you!

9. Balance your life: work some, play some, laugh, sleep, rest, eat, love, talk, move, and participate.

10. Get a manicure, pedicure, facial, massage or reflexology session.

11. Plan and take a vacation. Make sure it is a vacation that you want to go on. If you have always gone camping and you work too hard camping or it's not really fun anymore, do something else!

Many of the above suggestion will require you to do a little thinking and soul-searching. That's a good thing. Spend a little time on yourself and you will feel better all around!

I would like to invite you to continue on your path to better health by receiving "Your Lighten Me Up Tip of the Day". Claim your FREE subscription by simply going to http://livinglitenow.com/intro.htm

19 Need-To-Know Facts About Shyness

By Scott Ginsberg
1. Shyness affects approximately 40% of all people, according to bestselling author Bernardo Carducci.

2. To increase your attitude of approachability, assume and expect that people are friendly and will welcome you into their conversations and lives.

3. Social anxiety, a more clinical and severe form of shyness, is a combination of three influences: physical (what you feel), cognitive, (what you think), and behavioral, (what you do).

4. Shyness is the result of thinking that losses outweigh the gains in an encounter.

5. Your behavior will only change when you decide to change it.

6. All shy people have this in common: they've been called shy by other people.

7. You are what you are because of the way other people see you.

8. Change your attitude = change the way you act = changes the way people see you = change the way you see yourself.

9. Self-confidence grows from the way people responded to you in the past.

10. A cause of shyness is thinking, "Nobody likes what I like." Really? Go online, type in what you like, and just WATCH how many like-minded people are out there!

11. Passion = approachable and attractive. So, find a way to get on the topic of your passion in every encounter. People need to see you talking about and doing what you're really good at and passionate about.

12. Shy people believe that trouble in communication is inevitable and that any triumphs they've had have either been flukes or not their fault.

13. Avoid telling people that you're shy or introverted. They will believe you and it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

14. Don't Suffer a Toothache = I'm too tall, too shy, and too low in company hierarchy, too busy, too important. Don't let these self-limiting beliefs stand in your way of approaching someone.

15. Being told repeatedly that "you only have one chance to make a first impression," and other pressure/fear based warnings will cause someone to overly concern themselves with first impressions, and as a result, make mistakes.

16. Catastrophic Thinking - when you exaggerate the importance of some event, i.e., "This is the most important speech of my life! If I mess up, I'm finished!"

17. Black & White Thinking - oversimplifying events, perfectionism, i.e., "I have to ace this interview. I can't mess anything up at all."

18. Shy people excessively apologize to seek reassurance.

19. Shy people use "Safety Behaviors," a form of avoidance that controls anxiety. Examples include: sitting in the back or arriving early so they're not the center of attention when they walk in the room.

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.
Scott Ginsberg, aka "The Nametag Guy," is an author, speaker, award-winning blogger and entrepreneur. As the creator of NametagTV.com, he teaches people how to GET noticed, GET remembered and GET business. To rent Scott's brain, call 314/256-1800 or email scott@hellomynameisscott.com.

Life Fulfillment Factors For Teens

By Sharon C Frith
During your teenage years there are various different future goals to be aware of for success. These include not only your health and your self esteem but also your relationships with other people. There are all sorts of life fulfillment factors for teens to consider so that life can be easier to life and so that you can feel better about yourself in the future.

First, it is essential to work towards time management. One of the main goals for life fulfillment is to be able to feel that one's life is properly being organized. This includes knowing what you should be taking more time to work on in life and that you are using it in a responsible manner. Also, figuring out the priorities that you should be following is essential.

Self esteem is a very important thing to consider for life fulfillment as well. It is essential to build self confidence in that life fulfillment cannot be fully achieved if you do not feel as confident in what you are doing. This is needed so that you will find it easier to be able to go places and to reach your future goals.

Your health is essential for your life. Your health can mean a great deal in terms of how happy you are with your life and how you are feeling with your own image. It is best to consider how you feel about your health, what you feel you can improve and what you feel you can do to reach those improvements. Your health will last you a great deal of time if you use the right methods for taking care of it, and in many cases it can mean a great deal towards your future goals.

Another of the important factors for life fulfillment factors for teens is to consider the education that one is going to be getting. An education can mean all the difference in terms of what opportunities are going to be available in the future. For life fulfillment it helps to have a better idea of what you are going to be doing for your education so that you can feel better about yourself.

Having good relationships with other people in essential for life fulfillment as well. You should look to have your relationships not only well built but also strong in terms of how positive you are with those relationships. Having the right connections in your life can be essential for any future goals that you have.

These life fulfillment factors for teens are all important to consider for your life. At this point in your life you should look to work towards all sorts of aspects for life fulfillment. These include your time, your self esteem, health, education and relationships with other people.

Tips For Business Fulfillment

By Sharon C Frith
Life fulfillment can go for more than just your own personal life. It can go towards your business as well. Business fulfillment can be achieved by following the right goals. When this is done you will find that your business is on the right path or you will see what to do so that you can get your business to your right goals.

First, you should look into the goals that you have for each department for your business or possibly for your entire business. Each different part of your business will have its own objectives and they can be important to follow for your own business needs as a whole. In many cases these will work together to improve the quality of your business but in some cases certain goals should be reached by all parts. It helps to consider what your business can do better and what it is doing right to see if you are comfortable with where it is going.

Motivation is always important for life fulfillment and this can be the same for your business as well. It helps to have everyone involved in the business process feeling good about their roles and how they are doing. When the right level of motivation is used it will be easier to get your business in track so that it will be working at a more effective rate.

Keeping relationships with employees active and positive is important as well. This is needed so that you will find your employees and yourself feeling better about one another. This is especially valuable for businesses that have a smaller number of employees. Part of business fulfillment involves everyone feeling positive about each other just like in life fulfillment.

Being able to stay on track with goals for your business is also important for business fulfillment. Knowing how to stick with the goals that your business has reached is vital. Being able to adjust those goals can be just as important because they can be very important for your business in that you may have to change your priorities. This can be a difficult thing to do for some people but it can be necessary in that it will help to make your business better in that it will know just what it should be doing in terms of its goals.

These tips for business fulfillment are important to consider for your business. These goals include working to see what your goals are for the entire business or for certain parts of the business. Being able to get everyone properly motivated and to have all relationships in good standings is also important. This is so that you will find your business to be better and more productive because it will know what goals are required.

Tips For Life Fulfillment For Seniors

By Sharon C Frith
At older ages in your life you may feel that improving your life is something that can be very difficult for you to do. The truth is that you can work towards improving your life. There are various tips for life fulfillment for seniors that you should look towards following. These include working towards what you should be doing with your career and how your relationships with your grandchildren or other family members are.

First, you should greatly consider your career for your success in improving your life. One of the main factors for life fulfillment here is that of whether you should be retiring or not. Part of life fulfillment for seniors involves how the person is feeling about one's career and whether or not the career can go anywhere else or if it has gotten as far as it has already. Don't forget to consider your motivation for working at this junction in your life.

If you do decide to retire then you should look into your passions and interests in your life. One of the best goals for life fulfillment is what you are going to do with your time after you retire. You should look to find out what you are more interested in so that you can find a good hobby or other interest to follow after retirement. This can be very valuable in that you will feel that your life after work is heading into the right direction.

The relationships with family members is important to have. Over time your children may have children of their own, so it is important to look into the role that you are going to have as a grandparent. This can be vital for your life in that you will need to consider how you will be a factor in the lives of your grandchildren and other family members. This is needed so that you will be able to feel that you have a good level of relationship with others in your family.

Over time you may end up having chronic health issues. It helps to work towards improving your life by evaluating your health and learning how to cope with the chronic health issues and other factors that you have regarding your health. When you are feeling more comfortable and more controlling of your body you will find that it will be easier to get your life to be on the right track.

Life fulfillment for seniors is important to consider in that as you get older you will still need to consider various factors in your life. You should look into your career and whether or not your should be retiring, and you should also be looking into how your life is going in terms of what you are going to do after retirement. Your individual interests and your relationships are also going to be important. By focusing on these factors for life fulfillment you can find improving your life to be easier to do.

Understanding the Meaning of Fulfillment

By Sharon C Frith
When it comes down to understanding the meaning of fulfillment, you may be the master of your own life. Just imagine creating absolute true joy and light within your life and heart. In relationship to this image, what are the feelings that arise, anxiety, excitement, fear, and uncertainty? Are you able to see yourself doing everything that you love and being able to earn money by doing so? Are you like several individuals that toil at jobs that they hate and are condemned to work with individuals that seem to bring out the absolute worse in them and sometimes within yourself?

Are you aware of what self-mastery is? A broad definition of this term would be the journey and concept that allows an individual to be their very own master of destiny. Each of the following steps will help you to create the basic foundation for self-mastery which will help you with understanding the meaning of fulfillment.

1. Always remember that no matter what your age may be, you are never too young or never too old to turn your life around for the better. One of the most common reasons that people are willing to continue working at the jobs that they hate, is because of the fear of change. Accompanied by change comes motivation, empowerment, and light. The term stands for false evidence appearing real, because you are the creator of the fear that you possess. Fear isn't just something that comes on you whenever you aren't looking. The sense of fear is created through your thoughts.

2. Even though searching deep within is going to be difficult at first, if you continue to strictly focus on the individual that you are and what it is that you want. In the end, you are going to discover you possess some awesome characteristics. You may also discover some of the characteristics that you wish you really didn't have.

3. Forgiveness, Love, Compassion, and Truth, these things can only are shared among others whenever you have first experience them for yourself. You should explore the pioneer, the visionary, and the seeker of your truth. Always remember that the wonderful thin about this journey is that this journey belongs to you and you alone.

The meaning of fulfillment is for you to be yourself and be happy being you. You can't attempt to be someone that you're not because it isn't going to work out that way. You always have to be prepared for anything and everything, and you can't let it affect who you are as an individual.

The meaning of fulfillment is to seek out who you truly are, and that is the road that you are going to follow.

How to Create Your Vision

By Ivan Campuzano
Creating Your Vision "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" Albert Einstein

I feel that one of the most important ingredients in your formula for success is having a clearly defined and vivid vision of where you want to be. At first the "how" is not that important, you need to create a vision that gets you so excited that you develop the mentality that you will stop at nothing to get what you want. Many people first focus on the how than very quickly find themselves overwhelmed with too many details and just as quickly talk them selves out of pursuing their goals. You have to take a leap of faith and trust that the how will be shown to you as you go along. Do you remember the days as a kid with dreams of epic proportions? What happened those dreams? You got older and domesticated by a society that says that having those dreams is foolish. That's nonsense, why wouldn't you want to accomplish the things that even as a kid you knew would make you happy. I encourage you to dream like you once used to.

"Shoot for the moon...even if you

Miss you'll still be amongst them stars"- Beanie Sigel (rap artist)

One way I keep myself motivated and keep my vision alive is through my picture book. In my book I have everything that I want and every morning I look at it to remind me what I want in life. Go right now and get some magazines and cut out every picture of the things you want and places you want to visit, don't be thinking if you can actually get those things now, dare to dream. Remember your mind thinks in pictures, look at your picture book until in becomes as vivid as possible in the theater of your mind. Your mind cant tell the difference between something you remember or something you experience in real time.

Visualization Exercises(meditation):

(Please read this whole section, I will explain why almost all self help fails to produce the results people want)

You can think of meditation as conscious sleeping. Just as you sleep to gain energy for your daily functioning, meditation is conscious sleeping that gives you all the energy(creative abilities) you need for what you intend to accomplish.

I also use lucid dreaming as another way to increase creativity, I will soon write an article on lucid dreaming.(Lucid dreaming is when you actually become aware in your dream that you are dreaming, once properly trained you can control your dreams)

Use the power of meditation to help you achieve your goals. Strive to everyday meditate one minute for each year of your current age. I am 24, so everyday I try and meditate at least 24 minutes. If you are new to meditation check out this website on transcendental meditation There are many techniques find something that feels good to you.

Daily Routine:

1. Pick a nice comfortable place where to meditate. Have an intention on what you plan to meditate on before hand. Ex. A destination you want to visit.

2. Find a comfortable position to sit. Sitting on a chair or on the floor, does not really matter as long as it is comfortable for you.

3. Cross your legs, clasp your hands together.(this helps make your own energy circuit and gives stability)

4.Close your eyes, than stop inner and outer chatter.

5. Relax, begin thinking that your whole body is becoming extremely relaxed.

6. Eyes should be closed.

7. You will notice that your mind is full of many thoughts. Your mind will than begin to ask questions to those thoughts and try and come up with answers whether they are known or unknown. This is why your mind (ego) can be your enemy if it mostly thinks in negative terms.

8. You will need to transcend your mind and thoughts in order to meditate. Your mind and thoughts are what separate you from your higher self, you can also think of your higher self as your subconscious mind don't worry about the labels.

9. You transcend your mind by simply observing your breath. Don't inhale/exhale consciously just observe your natural breathing. Don't go behind your thoughts, if you catch your self drifting just always come back to your breathing. Slowly the amount of thoughts reduces and your breathing becomes thinner and shorter. If you are able to keep all your focus on your breath, you will get to the point of no thought and no breath. This state of no thought is your connection to your divine being and energy body. The more you meditate the more benefits and energy that you will receive. Your own self awareness and consciousness will also expand.

10. You will feel a very pleasurable feeling meditating. If you feel any discomfort in your body these can be possible areas of disease or illness. If you meditate everyday you will heal your body naturally.

11. Now that you are in a state of no thought and total relaxation. Begin to think only on your intention. Remember whatever you think now is in a state that will be impregnated directly into your subconscious. It is incredibly important that you don't color any of your thoughts with any lack,limitation,dis belief or doubt. This is why almost all self help material does not produce the results people expect. Wishing for more money(or anything else) never works, the thought of wanting more money also has the thought of doubt attached to it. Ask your self how many thoughts that you think about have been modified in a way that is not beneficial to you. You just never realize that you are programming your sub conscious all day. This is why meditation is so powerful. You are able to make suggestions to your subconscious where the thought is not modified in any way shape or form. Just as a computer programmer gives a computer instructions to complete a task, you program the most powerful computer you have which is your subconscious. Your conscious mind acts as the gate keeper as to what thoughts you let in. Now that you know this choose to become more aware and conscious about what you think all day long.

Thoughts = feelings = actions = results (just like that you can begin to shape your life)

12. Mentally rehearse every moment of it with all your senses. Dare to be like Peter Pan :)

13. Visualize in vivid detail, your intention as established fact. Also make sure you meditate only on days you feel good. Remember you want your thoughts to be as pure as possible. This also means that you really find out what you want, make sure its not something you want solely for ego purposes. Thoughts that involve the ego are usually always colored with negativity.

14. With time you will begin to be able to hold vivid pictures of anything (you will develop you third eye). The more you are able to hold onto an image in your mind the more power you give it.

15. Get up and go have a great day :) notice how much energy you have the rest of the day. As you advance in your discipline, you will have a lot of fun basically creating your day before it starts.

Beliefs:

To start making that vision a reality you will have to change some of your beliefs and adopt beliefs that will help you reach your goals. Because if you have this great vision of you retiring on your own private beach but deep down you don't believe you can do it, you have already sabotaged yourself. Your desire and your belief are in conflict with each other and therefore you will not manifest what it is that you want into your life. If you want to be a good leader one day but you currently have the belief that you are a shy person, it will not happen. You need to truly make a decision to adopt the belief that you are really outgoing. When you truly decide to do something you will find a way to do it.

"Nothing happens unless first a dream" - Carl Sandburg

Some Ways to shape your beliefs:

1.Always think Success- as soon as you think about failure forget about it and don't let anymore negative thoughts snowball. The more attention you give a thought the more powerful it will become than you will make it harder for yourself to get back to a productive mind state. The only way to change how you feel is to think about something else. Whenever you feel doubt, fear, and failure creeping into your mind have a default thought that you can use to avoid giving attention to mental poison. As soon as I feel I am entertaining thoughts of negativity I immediately begin to think about relaxing on a beach and affirm to myself that "I attract abundance to all areas of my life". The more I try and have the feelings of being on the beach with no worries and remind myself that I am in complete control of how I feel, I immediately feel the negativity begin to melt away as I begin to focus on my new positive thought.

2.Develop the belief that you are better than you currently feel- don't look at your weaknesses as a burden but as an opportunity to improve your self. When I find something I don't like about my personality I don't get down on myself for it, I just realize that now I have something I can work on to make myself better. Most importantly love and accept who you are, not who you will or should be.

3.Believe that sky's the limit- if you have little goals you will have little success, the bigger your dreams the more potential for your possible success. Even If you think your dream is too big, strive to reach that dream, because you will end up at a better place than if you would have set your sights on a smaller goal. The trick is to really believe you can do it, this just isn't wishful thinking. Wishful thinking never got anyone anything, you need to find out what you want and get out there and get it. If you really want that house on the beach your mind will come up with ways to help you get it.(develop faith in your self)

How to remove junk beliefs:

1. Meditate on your old belief and tell the truth about it. Now replace it with a belief that will better serve you. Meditate on it until you feel you have changed that belief.

Now when you accept these beliefs it means you will have to raise your standards and develop a strategy that will put you on the road to accomplish what you set forth. Do whatever you have to do. Read any books that will spark your interest or help you discover any distinctions that will point you in the right direction. Find a role model, a person who has already accomplished what you want. Find out what some of their beliefs, interests, body language, image, etc. is and adopt them as your own. Your role model can serve as a blue print, the goal is to cut down on the trial and error so you can get where you want faster than you ever thought possible. You can take all the qualities from all the people you admire and add your own personal touch. Just think of if it as if you are trying to build the person you want and know you can be. Thomas Edison is one of the greatest inventors in history, he was able to elaborate, modify and adapt on other peoples ideas. You don't have to recreate the wheel just constantly be aware of any success ingredients you come across and make them part of your identity. Think of your mind as a warehouse the more you learn and store will eventually serve as an inventory for future reference, which will breed new ideas and perspectives.

Consistency is key we are all creatures of patterns and habits. In order to become the person you desire to be, start by changing your patterns. Think of all the quality traits you must possess, make a pattern which uses those traits efficiently than strive to be consistent. Consistency will develop into habits and this is key because if you fail to be consistent with your actions you will not be consistent with who you desire to be. This lack of confusion between your actions and what your mind knows you are capable of leads to tremendous amounts of stress, confusion, and even depression. Many other consequences also come from a lack of consistency.

This is why awareness of self is critical; you need to be constantly evaluating your self. Decide if the persona you are currently displaying is the reality that you want for yourself,because with enough time thats what your reality will become.

Thank you for reading my hub, I love to hear anyones opinion or suggestions. Good luck to everyone.

Copyright © 2008 Ivan Campuzano
Ivan Campuzano - EzineArticles Expert Author

Friday 19 September 2008

Thursday 18 September 2008

Nursing Continuing Education Online Launches using Open Source Solutions

Open source solutions for the web bring nursing continuing education online. Online classroom implementation has never been easier than with open source content management and learning management systems. Now, nurses can receive nursing continuing education credit at www.healthcmi.com.

Santa Cruz, CA (PRWEB) September 5, 2008 -- The Healthcare Medicine Institute (HealthCMI) launches nursing continuing education online courses using open source solutions for the web at www.healthcmi.com . "Open source solutions allow our learning management systems to operate on any type of server and all browsers including those for Mac OSX, Windows, and Linux thereby bringing the online classroom to all nurses with access to the internet," notes Adam White, President of the Healthcare Medicine Institute. At HealthCMI, nurses simply download course materials, take an online quiz, and automatically receive a certificate of completion for nursing continuing education credit. "HealthCMI provides California Board of Registered Nursing approved online courses. In addition, HealthCMI is adding Florida Board of Nursing certification as well as certification for Washington D.C. and national certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center," notes Adam White.

It seems that integrative medicine may be the future but HealthCMI's integrated technology is in wide-scale use today. HealthCMI uses the Joomla! open source content management system to implement learning management systems for end users such as acupuncturists, nurses, and dentists. Joomla! gets financial support for code development projects from Google and open source organizations. Joomla! is considered one of the largest and most powerful open source content management systems in use today. It is employed worldwide for everything from small-scale websites to large-scale corporate applications. The advantage for HealthCMI is that multitudes of plug-ins are produced by the open source community for Joomla! . This facilitates the secure, powerful, and ergonomic implementation of systems for operating an online classroom.

Known for its acupuncture continuing education online division, HealthCMI launches the nursing continuing education online division with three important courses on the treatment of high cholesterol and triglycerides. "The hyperlipidemia series of nursing continuing education online courses addresses the acute need for education concerning this serious medical condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Part one of this series provides the western medical understanding of high cholesterol and high triglycerides. Part two provides dietary remedies for high cholesterol and triglycerides while part three provides herbal remedies from the Chinese medical tradition," notes Adam White. Mr. White explains that open source learning management systems used by HealthCMI allow authors in China and the U.S.A. to seamlessly collaborate on research and educational documents. This allows for the sharing of information between the acupuncture and nursing continuing education divisions of the institute. The result is a comprehensive approach to addressing high cholesterol and high triglycerides with the best of western and Chinese medicine combined. "The future of medicine is integrative medicine -- East meets West. People want solutions and a combined effort raises the bar of educational standards," notes Mr. White.

"Nursing continuing education online has never been easier and it now joins our acupuncture continuing education online classroom presence on the internet," notes Mr. White. Next, HealthCMI plans to complement its medical education offerings by implementing an online classroom learning environment for its dental continuing education division. "At HealthCMI, we are dedicated to quality educational materials for medical professionals. We strive to improve the quality of information available for the acupuncture, nursing, and dental communities," notes Mr. White. In addition to its educational offerings, the Joomla! open source system employed by HealthCMI allows for the distribution of HealthCMI's medical news and information systems.

About HealthCMI: HealthCMI is the online division of the Healthcare Medicine Institute. HealthCMI provides online continuing education courses to medical professionals for acupuncture, dental, and nursing applications. The Healthcare Medicine Institute is dedicated to supporting a consortium of authors and presenters in providing valuable, useful, and interesting medical works in an effort to raise medical standards of education worldwide. For more information, check out their website at http://www.healthcmi.com/

Neural Stem Cells May Help Repair Spina Bifida in Utero

Pilot animal study shows promising results in the treatment of a this congenital defect before birth.

(Vocus) September 9, 2008 -- A pilot animal study led by researchers from Children's Hospital Boston provides preliminary evidence that delivering neural stem cells (NSC) into the spinal cord, along with surgical coverage of the defect while in utero, may help repair spina bifida before birth. The delivered cells engrafted selectively in the most damaged areas of the spinal cord, remained viable, and produced neurotrophic and neuroprotective factors locally, the first steps in initiating a reparative process. The findings appear in the September issue of the journal, Surgery.

Spina bifida is a condition in which a portion of the spinal cord and its surrounding structures develop outside, instead of inside, the body. The defect develops at around the fourth week of gestation and can occur anywhere along the spine. Children with spina bifida suffer from partial paralysis, urinary and fecal incontinence, and musculoskeletal deformities. The condition has an overall mortality rate of 14 percent at 5 years.

Fetal surgery to repair this defect has been available for over a decade; however, the outcomes have shown limited improvement on spinal cord function. Only now is a large multicenter clinical trial comparing fetal repair to postnatal closure underway.

The Children's Hospital Boston researchers hypothesized that the surgery needs to be augmented by tissue regeneration techniques.

Dario Fauza, MD, of the Department of Surgery and Advanced Fetal Care Center at Children's, and colleagues studied a model of spina bifida in fetal lambs, involving a severe form of the condition known as myelomeningocele, in which a fluid-filled sac containing the spinal cord and nerves is visible outside of the back. Hoping to reverse a portion of the spinal cord damage, they used NSCs, which have previously been shown to mediate repair in a number of central nervous system abnormalities. To maximize the cells' regenerative impact, researchers administered the NSCs at 97-112 days of gestation (full term being 145 days) during the development of the spinal cord, rather than operating later in the more mature fetal stages. "To date, all that has been attempted is the prevention of further insult to the cord, rather than repairing the damage that has already occurred in utero," notes Fauza.

The Children's researchers, along with colleagues from Harvard Medical School and the VA Boston Healthcare System divided the animals into three groups. Group I saw no repair; Group II received standard surgical repair, with the open neural tube being covered by skin; and Group III received the same repair, plus an injection of NSCs directly into the spinal cord.

Once the surgery was completed, researchers monitored the fetuses through the remainder of gestation. Upon the birth of the animals, two examiners performed a basic clinical evaluation to check motor and sensory skills. The survival rate was significantly lower in Group I (44 percent) than in Groups II (86 percent) or III (89 percent). The incidence of partial paralysis was also significantly worse in Group I compared with Groups II and III.

Group III showed a slightly lower incidence of partial paralysis than Group II, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. "In this introductory study, our goal was to validate the model and therapeutic concept by documenting the NSC survival, engraftment and early phenotypical patterns," said Russell Jennings, MD, of the Department of Surgery and Advanced Fetal Care Center at Children's. "Furthur studies will look at different forms of NSCs and alternative delivery methods, and will also provide the longer-term data needed to get a better idea of how successful repair in utero will prove to be for humans."

Though this research is in the beginning stages, the initial findings, paired with the vast amount of information on the use of NSCs in other forms of spinal cord injury, support further investigation into this prenatal approach.

The study was supported by a grant from the former Harvard Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery and by the Kevin and Kate McCarey Fund for Surgical Research, at Children's Hospital Boston.

Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 12 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is a 397-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's also is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about the hospital and its research visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.

7 Wonders of Friendship

7 Wonders of Friendship

Wednesday 17 September 2008

Time for renewal

As the summer comes to a close and fall arrives, I've noticed a feeling of renewal within myself.

I took some time off to turn my attention to other things, namely, my book project, but found out that I missed the regular blog posting activity here. Now I'm back with a renewed sense of self. This could be due to the nicer weather outside here in Arizona, and to the fact that I'm hiking again. Exercise can fix a lot of things. But no matter the reason, it's good to feel refreshed, renewed and ready to take on a new season.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Many times throughout the year (Maybe it's quarterly? It wouldn't surprise me, if that were true.), I find myself needing some time out, or a change of some sort or another. If I'm paying attention to that "need," then I'll step back and attempt to see the whole picture. I usually find that I may be focusing on one thing too much and not spreading out my self-care enough. Think about it. We have to take care of our physical side, our emotional side, our intellectual side, and our spiritual side. That's a lot to care abut. But it's important that we do. When we don't, that's when we start to feel off-kilter. That's when we begin to feel an overwhelm. We forget to think minfully. We're just going through the motions.

After weeks of that, we start to feel sluggish. Bored, even. And if we're not careful, we'll hit a depressed state of mind.

Oops!

We know then that something's missing, right?

That's exactly how I'd been feeling not too long ago. In fact, I was so sluggish, I didn't feel like to going to any of my meetings, seeing friends, or even exercising. It was all I could do to make a date and stick to it. I just didn't have it in me. I was on overload and feeling overwhelmed.

Whew!

I had to get a handle on that, or it was going to pull me down too far, far enough that who knows when I'd get back up again. Luckily, my BIKE calls me on this. It reminds me that I have it in me to overcome this. I have the mental tool to use to get back on the right track. Once I was willing to notice this and act on it, I was able to step back and consider what I was missing. What was I NOT taking care of?

Once I asked myself that question, I had to answer it, of course. It's really very simple. The BIKE is there; listen to it; and do what is says. That's your internal system working, but it needs a tune-up every now and then, doesn't it?

So I started paying attention, answered the questions and realized the first thing I should pay more attention to was my body. It needed exercise. So I got busy with that. And then it told me that I needed to watch my diet. Figures. My goodness, I was eating whatever was easiet. Not good. So I started watching that. Then everything else just seemed to fall into place. More importantly, my attitude shifted.

Paying attention made me become aware. And once I became aware, I could attend to what my body, mind and soul was seeking. I'm now exercising daily again, paying more attention to my diet, and getting connected spiritually. All of this is so important to reconnect with the vigor that is supposed to be my life. Now that I feel its return, I'm good to go. I can get out more. I can call people. I can get back to work and know that I'll accomplish what I need to get done and more.

It was definitely time for my renewal.

Are you need of a renewal as well? Could the mental BIKE assist you. If so, post your comment. I'd love to hear from you.

All my best,
Jackie

Thursday 4 September 2008

Secret #136 Dare to Ask Yourself Questions that Make You Reflect Deeply

If deep and honest reflection precedes life change, then, from time to time, we should engage in deep and honest reflection—especially if we want to make the most of our lives and time. Here are some questions to get you thinking... reflecting... and changing.

1. What is my single greatest strength?

2. What three decisions are causing me the greatest stress?

3. What is overwhelming me?

4. What impassable roadblocks have me stuck?

5. If I could only do three things in my lifetime, what would they be?

6. What should I resign from or drop out of?

7. What can I postpone?

8. What things on my to-do list can someone else do at least 80% as well?

9. What are the elephants in my schedule?

10. What three things could I do in the next three months that would make a 50% difference?

* Source: Bob Biehl