Improving Your Knowledge On a Daily Basis

In this era of times, I think we all can agree that no one could ever receive too much education. We all can benefit by improving ourselves and expanding our knowledge. The best way for self-improvement is by reading books. Books have a world of knowledge, and you can learn something new with each page you read.

Did you know that we actually can hurt ourselves by not having the proper knowledge? Without adequate learning skills, we could actually miss a promotion at work, or lose your position to someone more knowledgeable and qualified. You may not be accepted into college due to test scores, or you waste money on repairs you can actually do yourself, if you took the time to read up on it.

Most people will look for information to help increase their knowledge, by either reading books, doing research on the internet, or going to an expert. You can become an encyclopedia of knowledge by just doing research. You could be the person everyone will go to if you increase your knowledge and technical skills. You may find you gained the knowledge yourself, or you may know exactly where to find what someone is looking for. You may even know someone who can help someone else with a project. Sometimes you could be surprised because knowledge can actually find you.

If you want to increase your knowledge skills, use some of these tips to help:

• Bring a book when you have appointments or have to wait for things to be done.
• Turn on your TV and watch the how to programs, you would be surprised how much you learn from these new TV shows.
• It is a good idea to make friends with people who different skills that you are interested in and they can teach you.
• Go to your library and use cd's and listen to them in the car, when you clean the house, exercise or walk.
• Take some time everyday no matter how little, to learn something each and everyday.

We all have the opportunity to learn new things and expand our knowledge by just asking questions. So do not overlook the simple and easy ways to increase your skills. You can learn something from pretty much everything.

Remember, you are never too old to learn something new, not one person will know everything on one subject, so education should be a part of our daily lives.

I have learned....

I have learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.


I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....
That I should keep my words both soft and tender, because tomorrow I may have to eat them.

I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....
That it's the small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned....
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take theones you miss.

I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....
That when your newly born child holds your little finger in his little fist, you're hooked for life.

I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occur while you're climbing it.

I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done

A Better You

I seem to lost count on how many times I've read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don't), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.
There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.
So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.

KNOW YOUR PURPOSE

Are you wandering through life with little direction - hoping that you'll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.
This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there's always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.

KNOW YOUR VALUES

What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2005 - check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn't align with any of your top five values - you may want to reconsider it or revise it.
The number shouldn't discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

KNOW YOUR NEEDS

Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it's too late!

KNOW YOUR PASSION

You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.

 LIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT


Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it's hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There's sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.

 HONOR YOUR STRENGTH


What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three - if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.

 SERVE OTHERS


When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit - your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.

Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn't always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.

The "You" That "They" Don't Want You To Know

Every reality you have ever experienced began in your mind.
Believe for a moment, that everything you believe is what you see. You might want to take a moment to pause and think about that statement.

I am not the only one who believes this. In fact, most people who are abundantly successful in life, at will, will assert that this is more than a hypothesis, that it is the truth. Think about it. Have you ever noticed famous athletes in commercials, or other stars on TV carrying the notion similar to, "If you can dream, you can achieve". It's not all the hype that it seems to be. The problem is, how often do you see this? Not often. It is as if it is a secret that is only slipped out on rare occasion, and if you blink your eye, you'll miss it. In fact, I can't honestly remember the last time I have seen a billboard or a celebrity on TV motivating others to "Just Believe". There is far more negativity beaming through the TV everyday. However, my curiosity has driven me to find a positive truth to how we as humans live. You see, the last thing the media or society wants to do is pay all their money towards things like motivating others to dream and become rich and successful, or, in other words to become independent of their own thoughts and not to be controlled by things such as negative influences and subliminal messages, which have a lot to do with "puppeting" consumer actions, of course. Nevertheless, it is up to individuals like myself and you to discover the truth on our own, and spread the word.

The general media puts it in our head that it is actually hard to break out of this mindset that most of us have. We are reminded every day, consumed by the negativity that blares through the messages that are being sent to us through media and outside forces. It is the way people have been conditioned to be, and it seems to be all that most people know. Many people even feel obligated to watch the news everyday and read the papers that are filled with negativity. They are conditioned to do so and has become habitual. Taking risks, and doing, or thinking "different" is fearful for most, and they would rather not do it. They would rather ignore their fears of life and continue on in the conditions that they are in, and thus, continue thinking the way that they are thinking, even if it means that they will not be able to reach something such as a "dream".

Take for example, the world of consumerism. It depends on the financial ignorance of the public to a certain extent. People who are not educated on economics and who do not seek to lean this topic are surely victims of timeless sales tactics and manipulation of their hard earned money. Now, take the Standard American Diet also known as the SAD diet, for an example. This is a diet that is depriving many of their life, energy, and true vitality as a human being. The more you think about it, the more absurd it seems. Not only do unhealthy diets contribute to a vast amount of diseases, but little do people know, the right kind of diet can have the power to heal. These are just a couple of examples of the type of "system" that we are in. It's obviously a system that is fueled by confusion, ignorance, and fear. This formulated condition leaves little room for people to become aware or awakened, and is why so many are not living a higher quality of life.

With that being said, it is each individuals' responsibility to learn outside of their condition, become more in tune with their innate self, and seek truth and new habits.

It's the End of the World - Oh Wait Never Mind!

May 21st 6pm CST came and went and guess what, the world didn't end, the rapture didn't happen and there was no giant earthquake that consumed the earth. Although some were completely surprised to still be here on earth, the vast majority of the world isn't and is laughing at those people. However Harold Camping and his believers may have inspired something great and that is to live everyday like the world is going to end!

         While most of us continue to waste our evenings and weekends away by watching TV, lounging on the couch, shopping at the mall and watching sports the more successful sector is reading books, networking, working on their business and learning. Don't get me wrong we all need that down time to relax and unwind and there is nothing wrong with catching a football game or watching that new episode of your favorite tv show in moderation. The keyword there is moderation, do the math if you get home from work (not to mention weekends) and just watch a few hours of TV or sports before bed in a weeks time you will have wasted 15 hours of productive time. In a year 32.5 days (780 hours) and that is less than the average (4 hours a day!) Now think about it this way if you were to just cut that time in half (so you still get some unwinding time) you can add 16 days of productivity back into your life.

            Imagine if you spent an extra 16 days a year learning a skill or gaining a better understanding of your career you could easily learn enough that could earn a raise or a promotion in one years time! Or even better (what I would strongly recommend) is start a side business. You have many different options if you do a simple Google search for work from home you will find over 369 million results there are tons of businesses you can work on the side and grow slowly and eventually make enough to allow you to quit your J.O.B. (just over broke). You can also start a simple blog talking about what you love or what your interested in and by consistently adding content you can grow it into a profitable business. (Side note: please don't fall into the hype online there is no magic bullet or special trick to making money online there are lots of people out there that would have you believe if you buy their course you will get rich overnight online that is simply not true, the only way to make a steady income online is through consistently posting new content that people want to read period.) Some people even get a part time job, wouldn't you rather say 'I made an extra $150 this week' instead of saying 'I watched the reruns of my favorite shows?' Especially if you just save the money away in a year you would have enough to travel to almost anywhere in the world for a week!

         The point is to live each day as if it were your last even if you don't need the extra income then spend the time with your family, friends or volunteer and help those less fortunate. You will never be on your deathbed saying 'I wish I had just watched more prime time TV I wasted my life!'

But You Have To!

How Perceived Obligations Get in the Way
We tend to get fussy when we think that someone owes us something and then doesn't come through. We feel cheated, hardly-done-by, perhaps even hurt. Often, though, these kinds of "obligations" are internal; that is, they weren't agreed to or even discussed with the other person. We just, well, created them ourselves.
A husband expects his wife to take on certain responsibilities. But she doesn't. He becomes upset when the "thing," whatever it is, isn't done. The problem is, he hasn't discussed it with her, hasn't asked her what she thinks. Maybe the "thing" he expects isn't something she wants to do, or maybe she simply doesn't see it as something that must be done. Either way, he's upset, annoyed. Tension builds between them.
What's the source of his irritation? An internal deal or contract he created, all by himself. How often do we imagine that someone owes us something only to be upset or stressed out when they don't come through?
The Source of a Lot of Trouble
The truth is, people usually don't owe us anything (unless you have a contract that all parties involved understand and agree to). Parents don't owe their children Disney World or a car (new or used) or a particular vacation or set of clothes... the list goes on. Parents can give their children those extras, but out of love and grace, not obligation.
The person at the grocery store doesn't owe us a "cut-in" because we have 2 items and they have 20. They can let us jump ahead out of kindness, but they're not obliged to do it. Adult children don't owe their parents a phone call each week, but if the kids choose to call, it's out of grace (who wants someone to talk to them strictly out of guilt or obligation, anyway).
A Caring and Free Life
We're not talking about neglecting to love others or living a selfish life. But we are saying that one of the most difficult lessons in character formation is to realize that no one owes us anything.
When we get this, we increase our peace. We don't get fussy with people or live with inner stress because someone "should have" done this or that for us. Instead, when the kids call or when someone does something nice for us, we realize that they didn't have to do it-and we're grateful. If they don't do it, that's OK too. They didn't owes us to begin with.
Gratitude
A grateful heart is a heart at peace with God, itself, and others.
Can you think of a time when you became angry or upset because someone didn't come through? Were they really obligated to do what you wanted, or was it something you created in your own mind?
What are your thoughts on obligations?

What Is Your Name?

Courage is not the absence of fear but realization of something greater than fear. -- Ghemi Efunuga.

      Every human being has (3) names. The first one is the name you inherited from your parents which is called SURNAME. The second is the one they gave to you at birth and the last is the one you gave yourself. Out of the three names, the most important one is the one you gave yourself. In our society today, we are familiar with some various names. In the time of challenges, there are some names that naturally ring bells especially when it calls for solutions. There are names that open doors, some will open gates and while some will open borders of nations but unfortunately we still have some that cannot even open windows. What is your name and how much respect can your name command? How much value does your name carry?

I saw a film recently popularly known as TROY. There was a young man called Achilles. Achilles was a warrior, hero and a gifted killer. He specialized in dethroning kings and rendering princesses useless. It paid allegiance to no nation and honored no flag. He was usually hired by kings. As a result of Achilles non allegiance to any nation, no king was in love with him, which he knew himself because he fights for his own personal glory. There was also this nation called Troy. Troy had a great wall which had never been conquered by any nation before. There came a time one of the kings Achilles usually fought for needed to conquer troy. So they came calling for Achilles to lead the battle. Achilles in his usual custom needed to consult his goddess mother in a place called Luriso. Then the mother told him saying "I knew they will come long before you were born, I knew they will come. They will want you to fight in troy, "mum tonight I decide"-said Achillies. If you stay in Luriso, you will find peace, you will find a wonderful woman, you will have sons and daughters, they will have children and they will love you but when you have gone, they will remember you, but when your children are dead and children after them, your name will be lost, But if you go to Troy, glory will be yours. They will write story about your victory for thousands of years; the world will remember your name. If you go to troy, you will never come home.........I should never see you again"

Achilles chose to go to troy but he could come back. No wonder some of the literature books people read today especially in secondary schools, students refer to the victory of Achiles. There are names that ring bells as long as the bearers are alive. But once they pass on, nobody remembers them any more. Some will last up to a century after the death of the bearers, some will last a millennium while some will last eternal. Abraham Lincoln of the United State has lasted over a century; Martin Luther King Jr has lasted over 5 decades. How far will your own name go even after you must have passed on? Names do not just ring bells on a mere confession; we must dare to do that which looks so impossible. God loves name makers. No wonder he regarded his people as "salt and light" to this world. Some of us will have to resign from our jobs to find our place of primary assignment before our names can be heard to the glory of God. Some people will not amount to anything in life except they are threatened. So they will want to prove people wrong.

Life is not all about duration but in donation. How impactful is your life to your immediate environment. Are you a blessing or a curse? God is not interested in mediocre. Mediocre are those who will prefer to live an average life to making impact. God loves darers and especially those who will leave posterity behind. Those who will take courage to go for what seems impossible. The scripture says in Exodus "and there arouse a king in Egypt that knew not Joseph" That was the genesis of the suffering of the children of Israel. Then I asked myself a question that " what could have happened or gone wrong with all the great and mighty things that were done in Egypt by the hand of Joseph that could have made his name suddenly disappeared like a smoke in the record book of Egypt? The answer I got was that though he was successful but the significance of the success was very limited. It was a battle of posterity.

We must all dare the impossible. We must all be persistent and consistent in faith in God even when obstacles and discouragement are obvious. Those who do not go in faith with God will always return with evil report. Life is all about decision making. There is a league of the conformists while we have another one called the tranformists. You must choose one but do not stay in the middle unless if you have decided to be deformed.

Living Outside the Bubble

If you didn't know you had a problem - Would You?
Every day we read and listen to people telling us how bad things are getting and how much worse they will get. What if you didn't listen to any of that and just went about your way happy in the knowledge that your life was moving forward as planned, and as needed.
No television, no Radio, no Newspapers, no Internet, telling and showing you the most attention getting, shocking things they can find in order to get your attention; like a spoiled child talking to loud in a quite room or someone who needs your attention in order to feel needed. They exist to sell you their emotional drug - you need not buy it!
The Republican Party is full of people who hate all of the unions and are all racist.
The Democratic Party is full of people who hate anyone with money and hate all companies.
The gas price is up and the oil companies are involved in a conspiracy to do something to all of us poor peons.
It is our duty as country to fight wars everywhere - it does not matter who wins - just fight.
Women hate men for keeping them down Men hate women for becoming more like men.
Whites hate blacks and blacks hate Hispanics and the Chinese are taking over the world.
Hate - Hate - Hate
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
What if all of the doom and gloom is a form of mental illness that over -takes a society when it loses its way and "exists to exist" to arrest your attention and control.
What would happen if you just enjoyed living - took walks and watched the sunrise and sunset each day, never the same, different and wondrous in the ever-unfolding change.
If you took 30 days off from the part you now play in/on the stage of your life and consciously avoided the weight of society - lived outside of the drama for 30 days - could you come back to the insanity of the play? Would you want to?
It's as if the carousel is spinning faster and faster - trying to throw everyone off
Try to live outside of the bubble for one month - it will not be easy and you may find that the world really has gone insane and there are very few people left who are not affected...

5 Reasons Why We Make Excuses

We all have the freedom to choose, and making up excuses is a choice too.
Someone Once Said:
"An excuse is worse than a lie, for an excuse is a lie, guarded."
We human beings make excuses all the time. We talk about what we want to change and make a million and one excuses as to why we cannot get what we want. If someone says to me, "I want to start exercising," and then proceeds to tell me 5 reasons why they can't, one being that they cannot afford a gym, I know that is just an excuse. While it may be true that they may not be able to work out like an athlete, some activity is better than nothing. If the person is able bodied, they can walk or hike and that is free.
 Heck, I am not excuse free. However, I can recognize when I am lying to myself and justifying my reason with an excuse. I am after all human. While I am not perfect, I am conscious and aware of my excuses.
Being awake is a gift and being aware of your excuses and then letting them go is something that you can learn to do.
The most popular excuse these days is, "I am too busy to do that." And it is true, we are all busier. However, we do make time for those things we want to do. Transformation requires new routines and most people are resistant to that. It is easier to justify it with an excuse.
There are 5 main reasons that we make excuses:
1. We make excuses because we do not want to face the truth.
2. We make excuses because we do not want to take responsibility.
3. We make excuses because it is easier to complain and stay a victim.
4. We make excuses because we are afraid of the unknown.
5. We make excuses because sometimes having our heads in the sand is easier.
But is it really?
Having our heads in the sand is like living a life with blinders on and not being able to see the wonderful things that come our way. We often spend so much time being afraid or living in the dark that the joys of a life of self love and honest realization seem to hard to get to. It is so much easier to just make up and excuse of why it can't be. Can you see how there is not much room to change when one lives in the land of excuses rather than the land of possibility? One way of being is liberating and the other very constricting. However, you can choose to make the change and stick to it. You can choose the land of possibility. That is the first step.

5 Books You Need to Read

1.) MIDDLEMARCH, by George Eliot. MIDDLEMARCH is a sharper, smarter, more tragic and hilarious PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.  An early 19th century tale about a girl who thinks she has it all figured out and then realizes she knows nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing at all, a situation I know too well as it has repeated itself enough times in my own life to form the most unfortunate of patterns. I have the hardest time picking my favorite book (it was a sweaty, teeth-gritted struggle to get it down to fricking five) but in the gun-to-the-head hypothetical, I pick MIDDLEMARCH. This book encapsulates the human experience for me. Or, at least, it encapsulates my human experience.

2.) THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, by Stephen Chbosky. If you are under the age of, I’m just going to arbitrarily say 28, you are yelling at the screen right now “YES, PERKS IS MY JAM.” A 90′s epistolary novel about a high school freshman boy writing anonymously to a stranger about his first year of high school, this book captures everything that is gorgeous and excruciating about figuring out how to be an adult when you weren’t even sure you knew how to be a child, discovering how to take an active role in your own life (hence, title), and learning how to belong to others and let them belong to you. This book is so f—ing exquisite I can’t even stand it. This should be the model that YA holds itself to, this and HARRY POTTER and A WRINKLE IN TIME and THE GIVER, but especially this.

3.) THE RAZOR’S EDGE, by Somerset Maugham. I was not ready to jump back into Maugham waters after OF HUMAN BONDAGE (I mean, it’s good and all, but if you’re raring for more Maugham after that you are either a librarian with six cats and/or insane.) I was working at an indie bookstore (rah, rah) at the time and a fellow employee practically pushed RAZOR’S EDGE on me. “No, I know about HUMAN BONDAGE,” he acknowledged, “Just trust me on RAZOR’S EDGE.” An early 20th century tale that follows Larry, an American pilot, traumatized by his combat experience in the first World War, who sets off on a messy, confusing, stumbling quest for meaning in life that none of his straight-laced friends (who narrate the story) can understand. As the chorus of “normals” suffocate in the confinement of their conventional choices, Larry actually turns out kind of okay in the end. The ultimate “F— everyone who says you’re crazy for being different and wanting more” book, this is the book for the times in your life when you feel lost or stuck and everyone won’t shut up about how you are lost and stuck and you need to believe that you aren’t crazy for wanting to beat your own drum as you walk down the road not taken.


4.) THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, by Haruki Murakami. A Tokyo man loses his job, his cat, and his wife, and then things get REALLY twisty, dark, magical-realism nuts-crazy. I love all of of Murakami, I don’t care if he’s overexposed in the indie-reading community and everybody and their skinny-jeans-unwashed-hair-dour-expressioned-barista-by-day-bassist-by-night-boyfriend is obsessed with Murakami, I’m obsessed too, and this is his opus. He sends my imagination to the stratosphere and back, part novelist, part philosopher, part magician, I love Murakami and TWBC to itsy, bitsy heart-shaped pieces.



5.) THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, by Margery Williams. “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” This book, you guys. Just, this book. I can’t even be articulate. I’m crying so hard all over my keyboard right now. United States of America, are you listening? Turn off REAL HOUSEWIVES and please effing read this.