I was hit with a random act of kindness........

One of the things (sometimes way too many things) that I am involved with is coin collecting.  During the past 10 years I had been quietly assembling a collection of the 50 state quarters that were being released for circulation and for some reason decided I would go ahead and gather enough to make 10 complete sets.  The first book I began to work on came with some clear plastic sheets that would slide between each of the pages holding the quarters in order to hold the quarters in place.  The other nine books that I was in the process of filling up just had a space to press the quarters into.  By the time I had gotten up to 45 quarters having been issued, for some reason I misplaced the sheets that were for holding the final five quarters in place and for the life of me I could not find them.  So I continued to fill up the other nine books and the 10th book remained incomplete.  This went on for the last several years.

Earlier this month I decided I would make an effort to finish the final book regardless of what was required.  I went to the bookstores to see if they had any of the books designed for the 50 state quarters similar to what I had and I could not find any.  The books themselves had also been changed to allow for the US territory quarters that had recently been released to be included as well.

I decided to go the the coin shop located here in town to see what they had in stock.  After all, this was one loose end that just needed to be tied off!  Much to my chagrin, they did not have any of the books I needed.  I decided I would go ahead and get one of the coin books that included spaces for the US territories but I was then informed that they no longer had any of the coins for either the states or the territories!.  Feeling somewhat disappointed, I began to leave the store when suddenly it occurred to me to ask the lady if they had any of the transparent plastic sheets I needed so that I could use the book I already had.  She did!  They happened to be just the right size and when I offered to pay for them, she declined and said they were mine to keep.  So I was able to achieve what I set out to do and no cost was involved thanks to her generosity.  Needless to say I was feeling pretty good about how things turned out that afternoon.

So with that in mind, I will always remember how significant a small gesture can be and endeavor to "pay it forward" at some time in the future.  A little be of kindness can make a big difference for someone!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A nice blog to share for the holiday weekend and all year long

Thanksgiving has come and gone and my son is on his way back to college.  I was reminded that he will be returning in three weeks for the Christmas holidays.  My daughter is here for a few more days and then she will be returning to Washington, D.C.  I really enjoyed having the two of them here at the same time especially now since that will not always be the case.  This makes me think of a marquee in front of a church that said " Don't wish for more to be thankful for, be more thankful."  I will definitely not be more appreciative of the time when the kids are home.

Earlier today I came across a blog that applies to the positive thinking forum and I was impressed at the wide variety of related topics that were posted in addition to the depth of detail that was provided in the posts.  I immediately bookmarked the site for future reference and decided that this was a "must-share" item as well.  The name of the website is www.yourpersonaldevelopmenttips.com and the post I read today was titled "7 Easy Steps for Positive Thinking."  It's always good to keep some ideas in place to ensure that positive thinking is maintained!  I am also going to include this blog on my list of blogs that I follow and will make it a point to be well read on the information that this site provides.

So if you come to a point where you find that life's daily challenges are getting a bit much, by all means take some time to review this site as well as read some of the posts contained within.  I am very confident that you will be glad you did.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

Today is turning out to be a fabulous day!  My son turned 19, my daughter is on her way home for the holidays and the weather is absolutely gorgeous.  Later on we will be going down to my sister in law's house for dinner and a family gathering.  I couldn't let the day go by without expressing gratitude.  Yesterday I came across a great video by Katie Freiling which gives some great advice on how to incorporate gratitude into our daily lives.  I hope you enjoy it.  Thanks Katie for the great vid!



p.s.  If you like this video, take some time to check out Katie's blog at www.katiefreiling.com

It's Getting Better All The Time!

This is the title of one of my favorite songs from the Beatles.  Looking back, it seems like in general they wrote many happy songs that were fun to listen to.  But the focus of my point in this post is that if you put your focus and energy into a goal that you wish to achieve, chances are you will see progress evolve that will put you in the right direction.  In Joel Osteen's book "It's Your Time", a favorite phrase of mine that is mentioned is "You're closer than you think."

Where this applies to me is in my current venture of getting established in Internet Marketing.  Now when I first started out I did not know anything and I still have much to learn.  But what's great is that with steady application and inner desire, things that before were mysteries are now understood and it is fulfilling to know that I am getting to where I want to go.  The foundation of this consists of a steadfast desire to succeed and the belief in myself that I will succeed.  In my mind, I visualize myself achieving success and I am getting positive results.  Now there are two philosophies that I have been in conflict with as time progresses.  The first being Wallace Waddles in his book "The Science of Getting Rich" saying that basically in order to get rich you need to do what rich people have done.  The second being my lifelong habit of usually wanting to do things my own way.  This comes as a result of dealing with people who for some reason I just did not feel comfortable with when it came to following their example.

But isn't it great when we have the option to see what works best for us when it comes to trying out new things?  So if you are about to start pursuing a new goal, whatever it is, have a belief in yourself that you will achieve what it is that you are setting out to do.  Use affirmations.  Make a statement to the effect that you are so grateful that it has already happened.  Next, be persistent and don't give up.  The goal of course does need to be realistic but with a sound plan and solid belief, chances are that things will work out just fine!

Use The Power of Affirmations in Your Life!




p.s. While you're here, enjoy this great video from The Beatles!

Everyday should be Thanksgiving Day!

As I was taking a morning walk, I stopped to pick up the latest edition of a weekly magazine that I enjoy perusing through.  I came across an article that focused on the topic of gratitude.  The article further went on to divide gratitude into three phases; focusing on what we do have, surface level gratitude (external gratitude) and the institution of changes that would result in a deeper, inner sense of gratitude.

By focusing on what we do have and being grateful for it we foster a deeper sense of gratitude.  There is always someone who would gladly trade places with us to "be in our shoes".  As I am writing this post, I see the fire-engine from the station just down the street driving off to assist someone in need.  Whereas before I would be annoyed by the noise of the siren, I now acknowledge to myself that someone will be able to receive help.  I look around my home and reinforce my awareness of the gratitude I feel for my family and the things that I have.

Surface level gratitude can be thought of as a momentary pause in our thought process to acknowledge thankfulness for a certain possession or circumstance in our life.  After the instantaneous episode of gratitude that has occurred, we go back to the daily routine of our life.

The process of bringing on an overall, all encompassing sense of gratitude into our lives can be implemented through a series of simple internal changes.  The author of the article I read, Marie Harlow describes a "one-sentence formula" to be used in order to become a grateful person: "Think, Speak, and Act like a grateful person does."  She goes on to say that when a person does these three things on a consistent basis, that person will be consistently grateful.  The changes that come about from this behavior that instills a positive focus will soon begin to evolve. 


In my personal experience I have noticed that when I express gratitude for the good things that happen to me, those things just have a natural habit of reoccurring.  As I am typing this post, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to do so and am grateful for all the other aspects that are involved with it such as being able to see and having access to a computer as well as the Internet so that I can share this with you.  In essence, I try to give thanks for everything!


So if you are ever in a situation where you feel "down in the dumps" about something, be thankful for your awareness of the circumstance and for the possibility of being able to examine your options on what you can do to change it.  Thank you Marie Harlow for the nice article that you wrote on the subject of gratitude.  If you would like to read Marie's article in it's entirety, click on the following link --->> Read Marie's article!
and go to page 12 (title: Thanksgiving - Why Not Be Grateful Every Day?)

A blog that will give you a boost!

I would like to share with you some news about a blog that I came across and found to be very uplifting.  I found out about it from an individual with whom I network with and the website is kelliehosaka.com.  Kellie in her blog provides a wide variety of information dealing with such topics as financial education, health & wellness, home business and personal growth.  She also includes informative videos that complements the articles in her blog posts.  I am currently reviewing her video series dealing with the 8 beliefs that must be changed in order to achieve entrepeneurial success.  Earlier this evening I listened to a video dealing with the "quantum leaps" that people undergo to achieve enhanced spiritual and personal growth.  Very enlightening!  I am looking forward to spending more time reviewing this uplifting blog.

So not only does this blog provide good information on pursuing entrepeneurial success, it provides you with material that gives you a more positive outlook on life as well.  You will definitely enjoy reading what Kellie has to share!

Can't find anyone who matches your frequency?

It is not all the time that we are able to find those with whom we share common interests.  The circumstances contributing to this may be due to not having anything in common with those who you come in close proximity to,  or you may be geographically removed from anyone with who you would share a common interest with.  But with the miracle of today's Internet technology, it is easy to link up with those who you stand a good chance of having a nice conversation with!

Some of the avenues that are available are forums and blogs.  These provide a common "meeting place" that allows people to provide and receive input from other individuals who are joined with you through your common interests.  For example, earlier this evening I went to the Google search engine and typed in "positive thinking" + "forums" and later entered "positive thinking" + "blogs".  Both search results yielded a mass of related search results dealing with the topic.  This can be applied to any topic of interest and will most likely put you in touch with people that you can exchange ideas with.  You can think of them as an online clubhouse!  Since reference was made to the topic of positive thinking, allow me to post links to some of the sites that I found dealing with this positively wonderful subject!

http://positivethinkingeveryday.blogspot.com/

http://www.positivethinkingforum.com

http://www.successconsciousness.com/

This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg!  Isn't it nice to be able to have access to all this information at our fingertips?  I would positively say so!


www.erikvonwerlhof.com

Sooooooooooooooooooooooo Glad that...................

The weekend is almost here!

Speaking of being "So Glad", here is a video from the band Cream.

"I'm So Glad"

Watch it.  You will be glad you did!

When Things Seem To Take a Wrong Turn..............

Well after then end of a busy weekend and the onset of Monday, things seemed to get off to a hectic start.  I must admit, sometimes I think of the daily routine like when the horses charge past the gates at the beginning of a track race.  But in this case, I am not racing against anyone, just driving myself at a pace that is set by me and really has no effect on anyone else.  Is it worth the effort?  Only I can decide.

This afternoon it was brought to my attention that I would be staying at work an hour longer than I expected and I began to suspect that this was engineered without my having a say so in the matter.  During my extra time at work, I was processing some paperwork and committed a clerical error that I would just as soon not have happened.  Just as I was getting ready to leave, someone drops off some paperwork that I should have received much sooner.   At that point, I was not a happy camper.  I vented a bit to my colleagues but quickly realized that what was done was done and it was time to go home.  At least the traffic would be better and I was happy that it was still light out.  That thought alone made me glad that I could still see the good that was occurring that day.

I arrived home to a dog that was happy to see me and I was relieved to see that I did not have any presents waiting for me after my dog's 6 hour stint in the house without going outside.  It then dawned on me that things were a result of how I perceived them to be and that I was the one who could exercise control over that.

So when things seem to take a turn and head south,  ask yourself a couple of questions; "How does this serve me"? and "What can I learn from this"?  At first it may seem strange and pointless but over the course of time, you may find this philosophy very handy indeed.  But then again, you be the one who decides.

So if you ever need to put a little " Zippity doo dah " in your day, just take a look at the following video from the movie "Song of the South"  I hope you find it satisfactional!

It's nice to have the Internet because........

I remember back in the day when there was no Internet and to find out anything outside of what was on the news or in the newspapers, you had to either have an encyclopedia or go to the library.  Does anyone reading this remember the card catalog or the Dewey decimal system?   To find something that may even closely resemble what you were looking for you really had to do some digging.  Even then, you could not be sure it would have all the information that you needed.  This was the way it was back in my high school days and to some extent the beginning of my college days which took place almost 10 years later!  I remembered almost hyperventilating when I found out that you could get a volume of dissertation abstracts on CD during my time at graduate school.

Fast forward to today.  The information superhighway has long been having a profound effect on our lives and to access just about any information you would need all you need to do is enter your search words in Google, Bing or any one of the many other search engines and there you have it.  All this can be done from the comfort of your own home or from anywhere that has a WI-FI connection.  Now how cool is that?  All the time that is saved can result in more productive time being spent reaching your goal as a result of the information that is so easily within our grasp.

Now I must admit that I need to give thanks now and then for having such easy access to this bounty of information because I am fully aware of what it would be like to not have it.  It makes the projects that I am working on so much easier and they can be completed in less time.  Some people focus on the potential dangers that are lurking on the "net" but when you think about it, anything not used properly poses some risk.  A few years ago there was a lawsuit involving a woman who died from drinking too much water while participating in a contest sponsored by a local radio station.  Having access to the Internet also affords more ease in our daily lives.  It has taken the place of the phone book (do those even get printed anymore?), newspaper, maps, going to the bank, shopping catalogs and so much more.  You can even start your own business using the Internet and not leave your home.

A lot has come into being during my lifetime.  Men have landed on the moon. The personal computer has been developed.  Numerous advances in technology have been made and the introduction of the Internet is one of those numerous advances for which I am especially grateful.

Enjoy your days Everyone!

Erik's World!! (and welcome to it): It's nice when you have people!

Erik's World!! (and welcome to it): It's nice when you have people!

It's nice when you have people!

Now I am not talking about the people who are in your family or are related to you, I am talking about those you deal with in your day to day encounters outside of the family.  I liking having people that I feel comfortable with when I go out to take care of business and errands.  It just seems to make the process a whole lot more enjoyable.  For example, if I need car work done I go to Pablo.  When I go to the hardware store there is always one particular individual (whose name I don't know!) that I go to for help.  Johnnie usually greets me at the door when I go to the market and if Francisco is at the health food store I always say "hello" to him.  Yesterday, I met a gentleman named Josh and although he does not know it yet, he is my new cable guy!  Very helpful individual.  When I go get Mexican food I always say "hi" to Anna and I now have a new contact named Jeff who is the tree trimmer.  My pool person is Troy, Miguel is the gardener and if I need some emergency repair work, I keep Jesse's card in my wallet.  Mike is my dentist and Leslie is my primary care doctor.  Oh yes!  I can't forget Paul at the Rite-Aid pharmacy.  If I need a tow truck, I give Milo a call.  When it is time for some delicious Fish & Chips, Mr. Kim and his lovely wife have a great place down the street.  When I have a hankering for a delicious hot dog, Hector is always ready at the Wienery to serve up one of his specials.

Another added benefit to having your own "people" is that they have their people.  So you can always ask "Can you recommend anyone for....."?  So the list of your people always stands a good chance of being able to expand.  It's nice to be able to say hello to a friendly face instead of just going through the mechanics of handing over your money in exchange for whatever it is you want to buy.  It kind of makes things a bit less regimented when you leave the house and venture out into the world.

So if you don't have many people that you can say hi to, introduce yourself to the next person you come in contact with that provides you good service.  Thank them for a job well done and make it a point to see them again next time you visit their place of business.  It will probably throw them for a spin when they see that you are a nice person as well and are not out to get something from them.

The first miner has been rescued in Chile!!

Oh my goodness!

After more than two months in subterranean captivity, the first miner has just been rescued (at the time of this post) in Chile.  It is truly a miracle and a testament to the ingenuity of man and the hope that binds people together.  From what I read, the temperatures were between 80 and 90 degrees F and I can only imagine what it was like being stuck so far below the surface of the earth.  Thank the heavens that the 33 individuals who endured this ordeal were able to have food and water delivered to them as well as being given the ability to communicate with people on the outside.

What a glorious day for the Chilean republic!  Now this is truly something to be joyous about!  Talk about being given a new perspective on life in general.  How grand it is that people are able to band together and put their minds to use to overcome colossal obstacles.

May the families of those 33 individuals who went through this ordeal be overcome with the joy of knowing that they will soon be reunited with people who hold a dear place in their hearts.

Thank you GOD!!!!

If you see someone down in the dumps......take a look at this video!

Donald O'Connor in the movie "Singin' In The Rain"



"Make 'em Laugh!"


As the saying goes, "Laughter is the Best Medicine"

It's October!!

I am soooooooooooooooooo waiting for the Great Pumpkin!

If you have diabetes.......................you may want to give this a look.

Now first of all, since we do live in a crazy world, I am going to rattle off the standard list of disclaimers.  The information that is contained in this post is in NO WAY intended to take the place of professional medical advice.  It is based solely on what has been heard from other individuals and there are no scientific results that I am able to present to back up the validity of the information in this post.   Anyone who pursues any course of action that is related to the information in this post does so at their own risk and in no way will I be held accountable for any outcomes of said action.  The information in this post is only intend to convey a possibility and not probability.  You the reader will be responsible for your actions and making your own conclusions.  This is for information and entertainment only.

But don't let the first paragraph be a downer for you.  This could actually be very exciting!

Back when I was living in Washington state, I watched a movie called "Medicine Man" starring Sean Connery & Lorraine Braco.  The plot centered around an eccentric doctor who took up residence in the Amazon jungle studying the medicinal benefits that could be realized from the plants in the rain forest.  This combined with my experiences from learning about my father's belief in Native American mysticism spiked my interest in what I currently refer to as "Mother Nature's medicine chest."  In my studies over the years I had become aware of various cultures that relied on their knowledge of local herbs and plants to concoct various remedies for a wide spectrum of ailments.

Recently I acquired a book entitled "The World's Greatest Treasury of Health Secrets."  Prior to purchasing the book I read an online advertisement containing an endorsement by Hugh Downs ( the broadcaster from the TV show "20/20") whom I had come to respect.  This came after reading another book by Kevin Trudeau entitled "Health Secrets They Don't Want You To Know About."  What really caught my attention in the first book was the reference to cinnamon as a possible remedy for helping to control diabetes.  It described how it was able to regulate glucose in the body.  Wow!  I thought.  This sounds pretty amazing.  Why had I not heard more mention of this?  The only things that I had heard of up to that point for the control of diabetes were getting proper amounts of exercise as well as eating a diet that contained a minimal amount of sugars and carbohydrates.  Oh yes!  Don't forget the insulin shots.   Being as how I weigh a bit more than I should, I started to take cinnamon capsules on a daily basis.  So far, all the results on my blood sugar checks have been good.  I also have been getting more exercise and trying to eat better.

During a recent potluck at my work to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, a dish containing cactus named Nopales was served.  Several of the ladies I work with made mention of the benefits from eating nopales stating that it was very good for people with diabetes and also was good for controlling cholesterol levels.  Hmmm,  hearing the news of this wondrous possibility to me sounded miraculous!   A simple to prepare dish consisting mainly of a certain variety of cactus had the potential of yielding life transforming benefits for people's health!!  Later on in the day, a good friend of mine who is from India mentioned that a squash type plant known as Bitter Melon also provided benefits that resulted in the controlling of blood sugar levels as well as several other benefits.  She prepared a dish consisting of rice and bitter melon slices (they call it "bitter" for good reason!) and I tried some.  It did take some getting used to but thanks to the excellent preparation involved, I was able to finish the portion that was served to me.  She also introduced me to a product called Bitter Gourd Juice that is from the Indian variety of bitter melon.  Following the instructions on the label, I mixed about 15 ml of the extract with a glass of water. The taste was a bit noxious so after mixing it with about 10 drops of lemon juice it was more palatable.  For more information on the benefits of Bitter Gourd Juice, go to http://bit.ly/9siqGb    I also picked up some nopales at a local Mexican grocery store and took it home.  By itself, nopales has a bland taste but when mixed with onions, cilantro and tomatoes, it makes a great addition to a dinner salad. To learn more about recipes for the preparation of nopales, go to http://bit.ly/9w5E00.

But just imagine!  Here are three natural products that are easily obtained in a health food or ethnic grocery store and the potential benefits for those who have diabetes are enormous!  Now granted, I myself have not conducted in experiments in measuring blood sugar levels both before and after consuming these products but the substantial amount of information relating to this makes it warrant further investigation.  Other factors that could effect sugar level results would be diet, exercise and overall physical condition.

If you are one who does suffer from diabetes and have difficulty with controlling blood sugar, I encourage you to conduct your own research and see what conclusions you arrive at.  As always, consult with your health care professional should you have questions.

May the abundant benefits of nature be yours!

It's nice when...............the kids come home for a visit.

Earlier this year, my son began attending Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.  He is the youngest of our two children so needless to say, my wife and I joined the "empty nesters" club.  I must say it was a bit of an adjustment and we made sure that we kept in touch with him on a regular basis to keep abreast of how things were going.  After several weeks had passed my wife and I decided that we would have to take a trip to go visit him and we received a call that he had already made plans to come down to visit for the weekend and would be getting a ride with some friends.  His mother as well as father were definitely smiling!

At about 4:30 we heard a knock on the door and there he was.  He was carrying a small backpack, wearing his hat on backwards and definitely in need of a shave.  Adding to that, we could see that he was in the process of recovering from a mohawk haircut.  But hey, I guess that college is a time where everyone gets to experience something new now and then.  Almost immediately he headed to the refrigerator and commented on how full it was compared to the one in his dorm room and we all sat down for a visit.  Evan mentioned that things were going well and that he was enjoying college life.  I must say that I am impressed with the all the different things that Humboldt State has to offer its students.   He let us know which classes he was enjoying and that he was even considering changing his major (not uncommon).  After that we took him out to enjoy dinner at one of his favorite Mexican restaurants and upon returning home, he grabbed the keys to his car and went to go visit some of his high school buddies.

As parents, my wife and I were both glad to see that he was healthy and enjoying the transition to being on his own.  I am especially pleased to see that the college experience is turning out to be a positive one but must admit I am eager to see his first grade report.  But as with so many other things I am truly grateful that things are going well for my son.  It was good to be able to hug him once again.  For me this was another reminder to be thankful for what we have.

Tomorrow he will be heading back and we will already be planning for the next time that we can see him.  It took some getting used to having to realize that he is free to go where he pleases and does not have to ask his Mom and Dad for the okay to do so.  But we know that he has a good head on his shoulders and knows what he his doing.  I am proud to be his father.

I have something new to be thankful for !!

     In a way, this is continuing from the earlier post I submitted this day but I wanted to write a separate post since it is something that made me smile and feel refreshed.

    The day before yesterday I submitted an online order for a product using my PayPal account.  After my payment was accepted I received a message saying that the page where I was expecting to activate the download for my product was not found.  Needless to say this was a bit frustrating.  I submitted a dispute form with PayPal and received a response stating that I was awaiting an answer from the seller.  Today I received notice that my account had been refunded!  I am grateful for having been reinforced in the belief that there are honest people out in online "cyberspace" that you can go business with.

    So today I have nothing to say to this person but "Thank You!" and I hope the issue with your website is able to be quickly resolved!

It's nice when you decide to be thankful.

     Over the past couple of years, I have been trying to make a point in my life to be grateful for all that I am blessed with.  A few days ago, I took out a notebook and began writing down a list of things that I feel to some degree are an enhancement to my life.  I was surprised to see how large the list turned out to be!

     For those who may feel that they don't have much to be thankful for, I would like to offer the following advice so you can pause to evaluate if it would have a positive impact upon you.  Take a moment to pause, look around you and see what is present.  Consider what it would be like if the element you are observing was not there.  Granted, it may make no difference in your current life situation but see if whatever it is that you are observing is enough for you to say "Thank you for ___________!".  If whatever it is you are observing, whether it be physical, situational, or mental is something that is having a negative effect on your life, see if there is something that you can do about it.  If there is, that is AWESOME!  Now there is something to be thankful and grateful for!
      If at the moment there is nothing that can be done, you can elect to accept the moment as it is.  In Joel Osteen's book "Your Best Life Now", he gives some excellent perspective on how to deal with adversity.  It helps one to assess the situation and to put things in a new frame of reference.  This has helped me on numerous occasions on dealing with situations that I had just as soon not have been presented to me.  But oh what a joy it was having that kind of guidance to fall back upon!

     There is a myriad of references available on the subject of gratitude and the positive effect that a sense of gratitude can have upon your existence. Try not to focus on what is bad but spend more of your energy focusing upon what is good!

May you be blessed with peace, joy and abundance!

It's nice when you decide to take control (of what thoughts are in your life).

I was on my way to work this morning thinking about how I would have preferred staying at home.  I mean really, who doesn't enjoy taking Friday off and having a long weekend?  It then occurred to me that I had scheduled a group meeting with personnel that work for me to discuss various issues.  Being as how things at work have been a little hectic I decided that today I would take advantage of being able to meet with everyone and get a bunch of items resolved.  So the point of this is that I made a decision on how my outlook was going to be with regard to a specific event in my life.

For every situation that we are presented with, we have the option of accepting it or rejecting it.  If we elect to reject what is going on in the present moment the question comes up as to whether or not we wish to do something about it.  If it is desired to do something concerning the undesirable situation, would it actually be possible?  If the option to change the circumstances of the moment was not available; we could then make the decision to then accept the moment or to continue not accepting the moment.  It has been said to the effect that stress is caused by the refusal to accept what is.  Personally, I would elect to not have the stress present.  Life can be much more difficult when stress is involved.  The resulting calmness that can potentially evolve after acceptance is introduced can be relief giving as well as strengthening.

Coming into a state of awareness with regard to the magnitude of control that one can exercise over the mental outlook or attitude on things in general can provide one with a strong sense of direction in the course of their daily life.  One example that recently applied to me involved dealing with a telecommunications company that pretty much botched the conversion of my phone service from the prior telephone company.  By the time that the technician left my home, my phones had no dial tone, the alarm system was not functioning normally and the Internet service was non operational.  By the end of the day I was definitely not in a state of acceptance of the situation.  I realized that there was not much that I could do (I was able to restore Internet service), so I accepted the notion that I would have to go without regular phone service until another technician was able to return to our home.  It felt good making a conscious, positive-minded decision as to how I would deal with the moment at hand.

So in closing, when presented with a situation that can prove frustrating, ask yourself how you intend to deal with it.  You have the option to choose as to whether or not you will accept or reject the scope of the moment.  Also, take the time to pause and consider how any given situation can serve to benefit you as well as what can be learned from it.

May serenity and calmness be yours!

Oh my goodness it has been awhile!!! (since the last post)

A lot has gone on since the last time I submitted a post.  My son began classes at Humboldt State University on August 23rd and so far seems to be liking it pretty well.  It was a bit of an adjustment having our youngest child move out of the house but the transition has been getting earlier as time progresses.  I am just happy that he has been enjoying the changeover to college life without hopefully too many problems.  Now my wife and I just have to see how his grades turn out when the first report cards are due!

The main reason for today's post though has to do with a very nice conversation I had on the phone earlier with a gentleman I do not even know.  I made his acquaintance on a networking site to which he and I both belong.  At his invitation I contacted him on Skype to discuss various topics having to do with online marketing and the information he provided was most helpful.  It was nice to see the beginnings of a good working relationship and I am looking to benefit from much of the information that he has to offer.  But along with the receipt of such benevolence comes an obligation; an obligation that I will gladly carry out.  Whenever someone performs a kind deed for me, I endeavor to "pay it forward" by helping someone else out in return.  Right now I am involved with learning about online marketing and whenever I learn something from someone that is related to this, I like to respond by helping someone else who may benefit from the knowledge that I have gained.   Over the course of the last few months I have been learning quite a bit about online marketing; mostly from self study but also from my interactions with others as well.

The practice of doing kindness unto others will only yield in rewards and blessings for yourself.  As the saying goes "What goes around comes around"!  So when some goodness comes your way, keep it going by passing it along to others.  This is a philosophy that can apply to all areas of life.

Almost an empty nester.

Yesterday my wife and I drove our son up to get moved into his dorm at Humboldt State University.  We packed up the Suburban full of his stuff and spent yesterday evening and the majority of today getting him set up in his new residence.  Although it will take some adjusting for Betty and I to get used to not having him at home, it looks like he will have the beginnings of a good college experience.  The university is located right next to the small town of Arcata, California just north of Eureka along the coast.  The town has a small, quaint atmosphere and the student population at Humboldt is between six and seven thousand.

My son will start off with a relatively light school load so he can give himself some time to get used to being away from home and he will also be involved with the school lacrosse team.  He appears to be eager to start his new life as a college freshman and I am sure that he will make quite a few new friends.  His dorm room is a bit small but it has a common kitchen and is located in a nice area.  

With the current economic turmoil that our country is experiencing, it is nice to be able to give him the opportunity to pursue a college education.  I am sure that his mother will be with him every step of the way to make sure that none of the classes required for graduation are overlooked.   She is a wonderful woman to whom I owe much and my children could not have asked for a better mother.

Even though the process of getting him up here has been a hectic one, it is nice to have been able to do it being part of a family that is close and cohesive.

The more steps you take.............

The closer you get! In Joel Osteen's book, "It's Your Time", mention is made of the phrase "You are closer than you think." My interpretation of this is that your efforts to achieve a goal may place you in a position "closer than you think" you are to seeing the goal being achieved.

My recent experience with this relates to learning how to better market myself in an online business and to generate more traffic to my website (www.seizetheprize.com).  I had arrived at the point where I felt inundated with all sorts of online advertisements promoting products where they claimed they could help me achieve success in both of these areas.  I was overwhelmed at the selection and finally came across some materials that contained information that I felt comfortable with as far as using.  Lately after much effort I have seen progress in being able to send out advertisements more efficiently and am reviewing some references that seem to simplify the overall process of affiliate marketing.

I have every confidence that my efforts will result in profit ( " I am a millionaire whose money has not yet been deposited into my account" = a favorite affirmation) and I take comfort in knowing that my persistence is paying off.  I don't know when my time will come but I know it will come!

Best wishes for success to everyone!

p.s.  Joel's book (It's Your Time) is awesome!

Good News is Always Good!

At some point during my "forties" life, I had come to the conclusion that most of the news that is presented in the media is pretty depressing. Take a look at what dominates the airwaves nowadays. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Gulf oil spill, the economy, unemployment, etc. Someone recently told me that I need to take a "media fast". Just skip the news period. I mean why bother? Same old depressing stuff day in and day out. I had seen an occasional clip now and then where a TV station would state to the effect that they were only going to present "good news". But the segment was short lived. Do people in general just get off of negativity? So some individuals relish at the sound of another person's woe?

But today I came across something today that was really cool. It was a posting on CNN listing "8 feel-good websites to brighten your day". Something to perk you up and it costs nothing! Thank you CNN for posting this! How about a "GNN" for the Good News Network"? So I decided that I must share this with everyone who may come across this post by listing the link below:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/08/02/8.sites.brighten.day/index.html?hpt=C2

More good news! Good news is what we need! Wasn't there an Anne Murray song where she said that she could use a little good news today? Well in the event that one accesses the website using the link above and the link does not work; I am going to also list the websites individually in addition to including an uplifting video that was posted on You Tube.

www.happynews.com

www.1000awesomethings.com

www.postsecret.com

www.cutebabyfix.com

www.todaysbigthing.com

www.zooborns.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__UHSZHJ9LA&feature=related?cnn=yes

Well I hope you enjoy going through these sites as much as I did. Next time you are feeling a little bit down and out, go through some of these sites and give yourself something good! Plenty of good stuff is out there!

It's turned out to be a great month!

On the last post, I mentioned the time spent with my wife and son at Humboldt State University for the purpose of his college orientation. Afterwards, the three of us drove north on hwy 101 along the California and Oregon coastlines. The scenery was beautiful but I must admit the somewhat windy roads took some getting used to. At day's end we ended up in Tillamook, Oregon and bedded down for the night. Being at a hotel right in the middle of dairy pastures made for an interesting "ambience".

The next day we headed to the Tillamook Cheese Factory which is a must see for any cheese lover. The ice cream there is excellent and the place also has a wide selection of gift items. We later headed to the Tillamook Air Museum (also a must see) where a large number of vintage military as well as civilian aircraft are available for viewing. Our ultimate destination was Salem, Oregon where we went to visit my nephew and I got to meet his wife and their baby daughter for the first time.

Upon return to California, we rested for a day and then got ready to go to Lake Tahoe to watch my son play in a lacrosse tournament. The scenery is gorgeous and I could see why so many people go there. We were a bit surprised to find that the hotel (Tahoe Biltmore) did not have air conditioning but I had to remind myself that the place is primarily a winter resort area. All in all things went very well and now the family is back in Sacramento. It was good to see Evan having a great time playing with his teammates and they placed 2nd overall.

I am spending the remaining vacation time at home working on my business. It seems I have been having to learn a few things the hard way but for me experience seems to be the best teacher. We have some family friends who will be staying with us for this evening so it will be nice to be able to visit. Next month it will be off to Humboldt State once again to get Evan moved into the dorms.

It's nice to spend time with family

My son's orientation at Humboldt State University concluded today. We had just spent the last two days attending various presentations concerning a wide variety of subjects that we as parents would be dealing with while our son was getting aclimated to his new life as a college student. He spent the last two nights in the dormitory while my wife and I opted for more spacious accomodation at a nearby hotel. Overall, things went pretty well and my son was able to get through the registration process without much difficulty. The three of us learned quite a bit ( my wife was doing most of the listening ) and we even got in a fair amount of exercise due to walking all over the campus.

For now, the three of us are in a hotel room getting ready to venture north to Oregon tomorrow. What was especially nice was that we got to spend time together talking about a wide variety of things and we were not hampered by our regular work schedules. It was a good time to get caught up on things. After the days affairs were concluded, we drove out to a local landmark restaurant and enjoyed a nice dinner. My son enjoyed the majority of the attention focus due to his upcoming college career being in the forefront of discussion. Next month we will get him moved into the dormitory that he will call home for his freshman year. It will be an adjustment as a parent not having him home but I am confident that everything will work out. Things usually do.

So if as a family you find yourself not too sure what each of the other family members are doing, slow down and take some time out for one another. You will be glad you did!

I had a turning point!

Wow! Last Friday I flew to Las Vegas to attend a seminar that was put on by Marshall Sylver. He is a renowned hypnotist amongst other things and the name of this particular personal development seminar is "Turning Point". It deals with showing people how to change their outlook on things and to overcome the various obstacles that they may face in their lives. As thorough description of the seminar is mentioned on the website www.sylver.com. This page is a must read!

After having attended only the first day of the seminar ( I needed to return home the following day), I felt as if I had become a new person with a totally different outlook on life. I felt inspired, full of confidence and found myself approaching life in general with a whole new sense of vigor! For the first time that I can remember, I was able to recite daily affirmations with no presence of any sense of doubt. For me the event was nothing short of life transforming. I later spoke with a friend who had also attended the second day of the event and he described it as awesome. At that point I knew I would be returning to attend the seminar once more. I was totally satisfied and felt I had definitely received value. My mind was definitely blown and that was a good thing. For the longest time I had felt in need of a major life change.

Prior to leaving Las Vegas to return home to Sacramento, I went ahead and signed up for another of Marshall Sylver's seminars called "First Million". This deals with the development of skills necessary to be successful in business. I can hardly wait to attend!

If you would be interested in attending a "Turning Point" seminar ( I'll be going back!), email me at erik@seizetheprize.com

My son graduated!

Well I know it has been way too long since I made a post so I figured I really need to get caught up at least to some extent! The last couple of months have been spent making final preparations to get my son ready to graduate from high school and on June 10th it finally took place. For my wife and me it felt like a large load was lifted from our shoulders! No more having to track the progress of his schoolwork or even having to make sure he was actually doing the work!

Looking back it is amazing to see how quickly the time passed from the day he was born until now. Soon he will be taking a trip to Europe with several members of his graduating class and get to visit England and France. Later on this year it will be off to Humboldt State University where he will start a new phase of life and begin to experience being on his own. I must say that I am very proud to have him as my son and I look forward to the next four years to see what unravels for him. All his family has high hopes and I am very confident that his time in college will be very rewarding. Congratulations Evan!

Put your hands together and chant..."Grants for Erik!"

Thoughts...........feelings............actions........RESULTS!! Recently I have embarked on a venture to obtain grant funding for my business. I thought "Why not"? The idea of being able to get money that does not require repayment sounds pretty good! So after getting a copy of Matthew Lesko's
"Free Money for Everybody", I subscribed to a website www.usafundingapplications.org and found something interesting called a "Pay if Forward" grant. The name sounded interesting since I liked the movie with the same name so I am currently working on my application. Wish me luck Everyone! I am excited about learning more and more about how this process works.

So hey! Do you have any thoughts on anything? If so, throw in some feelings and actions so you get your RESULTS! Best wishes to you!

p.s. Don't forget...........add some PEACE and it will be even more wonderful!!

Oddball h*tes them negative waves.......

For that matter so do I! Negative waves ( term borrowed from the movie "Kelly's Heroes") refers to non positive thoughts (call them vibrations if you will) that do nothing but bring people and those who are close by down. In general, I do consider myself to be an optimistic and positive person but yesterday I was not doing too well in this arena. The week at work had been an emotionally draining one, I was not feeling too good and I was allowing my mother in law to get on my nerves. Later on that afternoon, I received word that my son's car would not start so I was not too pleased with having to deal with that ( even though my wife is the one who took care of things). Overall the day was not going as I would have liked it.

Later on that evening, my son decided to talk to me about things and I was able to get some things off my chest and after that felt much better. He was able to give me some new perspective on the situation and in return I was able to start mellowing out and feeling more relaxed. Thank you son for your time with me last night. Very much appreciated!

So in the event things start to get a bit overwhelming, pause to take a minute and gauge for yourself to decide where things are going. Attempt to take control of your feelings that are occurring and remember that you are in control. It's not always easy but it can be done. Think of something to be happy about. Negative waves are never any fun!

For your viewing enjoyment, I have attached the following video clip from the movie "Kelly's Heroes" that gives the movie character Oddball's (played by Donald Sutherland) perspective on negative waves. Enjoy!

Oddball hates them negative waves

Want more in your life? Try affirmations!

One of the many things I become exposed to while I was in my forties was the idea behind affirmations. Basically after thinking about something that you were not in possession of, it involved repeating to yourself over and over that you were already in possession of something that you wanted or that something you desired was already existing in your life. Now in order to delve into this topic to the point where you are comfortable with this idea; I suggest that you do your own research by gathering information from several sources. For me, two great sources of affirmations that brought a wealth of positive influence into my life are Bob Proctor and Joel Osteen. Bob Proctor is a famous life coach and you can find lots of information about him on the Internet. Joel Osteen is a Pastor down in Texas and the things he has to say about how you can turn your life around are absolutely amazing!! One of my favorite affirmations came from a book "The Master Key System" and I repeat it to myself on a daily basis. It reads as follows; "I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy."

Over the course of time your subconscious mind will begin to register this information and your body will adjust itself to be in tune with your thoughts. What led me to the idea of writing this particular post was that recently I received an email to sign up for an account with www.payperpost.com that would give me a potential source of income through this blog. This came after using another affirmation that I picked up through Bob Proctor which basically reads " I am so happy and grateful now that money comes to me in increasing quantities, from multiple sources and on a continuous basis." Thanks, Bob!

I could go on and on about this but I really think you would receive greater benefit by doing your own fact finding and deciding for yourself. The possibilities and potential are simply astounding!

Try it out and best wishes! ( Don't forget ...................PEACE!)

Today was a great day!

I woke up refreshed and grateful for the new day. The weather was nice........I even got to work a little bit early! My dog Oscar was not feeling well yesterday but today he seemed like his old self!

While at work, I got to help some people and the overall atmosphere was very upbeat. During my lunch hour I got to take a nice walk and afterwards enjoyed a good lunch.

On the way home I stopped by at a friend's house where a birthday party was being held for one of the ladies at work. She seemed like she was enjoying herself. It felt good to have something to bring to the party. After I got home, I enjoyed a nice dinner with the family. I appreciate having my son at home especially since he is close to graduating high school and will soon go off to college.

After dinner I had a phone conversation with my business mentor and we discussed upcoming plans for getting my business up and running. I must admit it has involved a different way of looking at things but I am excited about the possibilities.

Thank you God for giving me such a wonderful day to enjoy!

Talk about a GREAT way of looking at things!!!

Wow! Recently I started a video study course authored by the famous life coach Bob Proctor called "Six Minutes to Success". It consists of a daily message delivered by video that lasts for about a minute followed by a corresponding workbook exercise that lasts for about 5 minutes. Each video segment contains a message that provides useful information for helping you achieve what you want.

One message I listened to that was especially interesting was how he dealt with daily tasks that he really preferred not to do but had to do them anyway. Instead of looking upon them as an unpleasant tasks, he switched his mindset and thought of them as "habits". This clicked in my mind right away and sure enough, it not longer seemed like a drudgery. Amazing!

I have just started my course of study with this program and I highly recommend you check it out for yourself! The website is www.sixminutestosuccess.com .

Enjoy and make sure to include PEACE in your daily routine!

Action taken, results obtained!

Over the course of my soon to be half century life, something that has finally taken hold within my psyche is that in order to achieve a desired result, an cause must be enacted that will allow the outcome to take place. As I began to progress through the decade of my forties, the concept of action yielding results finally began to sink in a stay put. Recently, I had been contemplating options available to me for getting some traffic directed to my business site www.seizetheprize.com so I decided to take out an ad on Facebook. Initially I was a bit nervous since this was something I had not done before so I followed the steps for placing an ad, decided to run it for a week and see what happened. Lo and behold my ad results revealed that there were three clicks on the site! Now granted that was not enough to produce any potential business but what was exciting was knowing that I had partial success in my goal! So I decided to run another ad and see what else would happen. The main thing is that I am confident that if I focus the right energy on what I want to get done, I most likely will achieve what it is I want to achieve. This philosophy can be applied to any situation. Decide what you want, think about it, come up with a plan and take action promptly! Best wishes to all on this!

On another note; my lovely wife of soon to be 29 years turned 50 yesterday. She looks great and I could not be happier! It's truly wonderful having someone you like as well as love to go through life with!

Happiness and PEACE for all! Think of something you are grateful for and say thanks!

It's nice to be able to look on the bright side.....

As I near the completion of a personal development program that I have been working with over the last two months, it has been made even more obvious to me how important it is to try and see the good in things. Even though some things that happen to us can be and are difficult, at least if we have the ability to try and contemplate the situation in order to formulate a plan on how to deal the situation; we should see the good in that. Lately I have been coming home from work often worn out and exhausted yet I feel fortunate that I am employed and I have the opportunity to be of service to others.

There are so many examples of things we come across that presents to perspectives for consideration. The list is too extensive to write down in this posting. But as I come close to approaching my 50th birthday, although at times I relish the thought of times back in my youth, I am grateful to say I made it this far!

Take care Everyone and don't forget your daily dose of PEACE!

Go easy on yourself! ( you will be glad you did!)

This morning my wife and I took our son to play in a lacrosse match. I am happy to say that his team won the game and it left my son in a very much upbeat sense of being. While making our way out of the city so we could start heading back home, I made an attempt to turn left by crossing a two way street. Traffic was somewhat congested and I was getting a bit impatient. Things did not work out as smoothly as I would have liked them to and some cars had to stop (lucky for me they did!) so as to avoid any collisions. One lady in a pickup truck was obviously not pleased with how I attempted to cross the street. After finally getting across I was relieved that no damage or injuries occurred but I was starting to berate myself for having poorly executed a driving maneuver. It would have been a sad way to end a day if we had had to deal with all that happens as a result of a driving accident. Not fun to say the least.

For about the next hour while in a grocery store I was hemming and hawing about whether or not I was in a proper state for completing the drive home. I then remember a phrase I heard stating to the effect that a mistake is not a mistake unless you don't learn from it. Also , I reminded myself that no injuries or damage took place and for that I should be grateful. I automatically became so. In addition, I had to remind myself of the obvious in that there was no sense getting upset over something that had already taken place. Soon after coming to that realization I began to feel better and to go easier on myself. In a sense the events that took place were reminders for me to pay attention to what was happening. What had happened was not a result of me being a less than intelligent person; I just needed to fine tune a couple of behaviors while behind the wheel of an automobile. We all experience episodes in our lives where we end up wishing we had done things differently. As a result, I began to feel better and was once again happy with myself. So be nice to yourself; you deserve it. Don't forget to include PEACE as well! You will be glad you did.

Is abundance in your life?

Do you have any or all of the following in your life?

- Someone who loves you?

- Fresh water to drink?

- Legs to walk on?

- Food to eat?

- Roof over your head?

- Physical health?

- A clear mind?

- Some amount of money?

- Clothes to wear?

- Friendship?

- Sight and hearing?

- Any degree of happiness?

- Time to enjoy what you like to do?

- Ability to breathe on your own?

Then yes, there is abundance in your life so be sure to include gratitude and get some more of it!

It's okay to be wealthy!!

Being wealthy allows you to.................

1. Have fun!
2. Give to others
3. Plan for a secure future
4. Enjoy abundance
5. Live a healthy lifestyle.

and so much more!!!!!!

In other words, it is possible to enjoy financial abundance and still do good for not only yourself but others as well. Some may say that money is the root of all evil but money can be used for good as well! So be wealthy and use it to put forth good in the world!

You CAN choose!

Earlier this week, I was informed by one of my peers at work that one of my employees decided not to come to work because according to a contract, the day was listed as a holiday (Lincoln's birthday). I noticed that no one else decided to skip work, she was the only one. At first, I was a bit dismayed and then angry over the decision she made which was clearly not in compliance with company directives for that day. A day later, I was still finding myself festering over the circumstances that had occurred the day before. Being frustrated with myself, I wondered how long it would be before I stopped obsessing over something that I had no control over. What had happened could not be reversed.

I was fortunate to come across a phrase that could be used as a tool for smoothing things over within myself and to put things in proper perspective. After all, why cry over spilt milk as the saying goes. The phrase "I choose peace rather than this", is something I picked up from the personal development program I am currently studying. How nice it is to have something available that can help you be in charge of any potentially confrontational and stressful situation that comes your way. Choose peace and reap the rewards and benefits. Try it for yourself and see what you think!

Trying to stay positive when you are surrounded by negative....

I work at a job that is in charge of administering unemployment insurance benefits to people who have become unemployed or are working less than full time. Throughout the course of the workday I speak with numerous individuals who are facing difficult times due to financial reasons and are also faced with the stress that results. Foreclosures, car repossessions, no food you name it I have heard it. Occasionally people have even told me of contemplating suicide. As I progress throughout any given day I take pause and am thankful for the things and blessings that I have. I could allow myself to become down emotionally after listening to the numerous problems that people tell me about or I could be happy that I am in a position to provide some much needed assistance. Granted, by the time I get home I am pretty worn out after a day at the office but I am thankful for being able to enjoy the lifestyle that I currently have.

I am not trying to make this sound that I am oblivious to what is going on around me but being as how my reality is separate from others, I try to take responsibility for what does occur to me and to learn from it as well. In previous readings I heard someone telling of how whenever something less than favorable occurs, stop and ask "How does event serve me"? and "What can I learn from this"?

Recently I went to the movies with my son and saw "The Book of Eli". What impressed me the most was how the main character in the film was expressing gratitude to God for the blessings that were bestowed upon him even when faced with dire circumstances. Another good mention of how to deal with challenges in life is presented in Joel Osteen's book "Your Best Life Now". Highly recommended reading!

So even though the thought of turning 50 this year does not exactly thrill me, I am grateful for having been able to enjoy life this long, for the numerous wonderful things I have learned during my forties and for the opportunities that will present themselves in the time to come. Perspective is everything!

I wish good fortune and PEACE upon everyone!

Give yourself a backup!

Late last week, I was working on the computer and then paused to read an email which at the time I thought was safe. I then get a message from the virus scanning program that indicated a potentially unauthorized change to the registry was detected and I was presented with a prompt asking whether or not I wished to allow or block the change. I indicated that I wanted to block the change and right away I got the same message. Again I indicated no and again I received the same message asking me whether to allow or block the change.

At that point I must have inadvertently pressed "yes" and then that is when everything in my computer's world started going downhill. Messages start popping up saying that the computer was infected and that I needed to run virus scan. The results from both the scan and windows defender indicated everything was fine but still I new something was wrong. I then find out that the root of my problem was a worm named "netsky." Research obtained from the Internet listed both manual and automatic options for the removal of the virus. By this point I was receiving prompts saying that the task manager, registry editor and command prompts were all infected and I could not use them. I tried booting the computer on safe mode and running an edit on the registry but still only limited success. One of my main concerns at the time was seeing information that this virus has an SMTP protocol and I was concerned about the compromise of sensitive and personal information. I turned off the computer and decided to take a break and reevaluate my efforts.

The next day I thought I had the problem solved when a friend told me about a program that would remove the pesky virus. Once I downloaded the program and tried to run it, up pops a message saying that it is infected as well! Also, things got to the point with the computer that once I tried to log on in all modes, I would be promptly logged off! Access was not available to any programs! I decided to take the machine to a local computer store where they said I would have to wait a week. Another available resource said I could take it to her house where she would look at it but no time was available for repair.

Being the person that I am and not being able to just sit and wait, I continued to pursue a solution. I eventually resigned myself to thinking that I would not be able to recover any information outside of what was already on the flash drive and decided to reinstall the operating system (Windows XP). During prior reinstallations of the operating system I had actual recovery disks but with my current machine there were none provided. I noticed when I was rebooting that there was a "recovery" option listed so I pressed the F11 key and was given two options. The first was described as a complete recovery but all data and files would be erased. The second was described as a recovery which included a backup of files. Never having seen that before, I chose the recovery with backup option. At first the program seemed to work fine and then it seemed to hang up midway into the procedure. I repeated the backup and the same thing happened. It was clear to me at that point that everything was essentially gone so I decided to restart the computer. After making a few updates and adjustments, the computer was up and running again but basically looked naked with only a few icons on the desktop.

My main concerns were getting a virus scan reinstalled and restoring my email access. Also, I changed passwords on some of my financial accounts and a check of the balances showed no suspicious activity. This virus I had fought off was the nastiest thing I had ever seen! At first I thought it was a bogus infestation that would prompt me to by some spyware program. It turned out to be quite the malicious creature that seemed to feed on executable files. A day after restoring the computer, for some reason I thought about checking the C drive to see if any folders existed that were listed as backup folders. I found some and sure enough it had all my previous files!!! The backup worked! I was so relieved. What a learning experience that was courtesy of the school of hard knocks.

Since then I have placed more files on my flash drive (as well as scanning just about everything!) but I am also considering getting an external hard drive as an additional backup device. Seems like it is time for me to learn more about backups and restorations. Fortunately for me the recovery with backup feature for Windows XP (SP3) worked as needed. One suspicion in the back of my mind had me wondering if I had the updates for virus scan turned off. I am not sure but I will make sure they remain in effect with this new system load. Update! Update! Update! If you are a Windows XP user, I recommend reading up on the system recovery with backup option. Some of the programs I had to reinstall are requiring the reentering of passwords and access keys but for the most part everything is back to normal. This will make starting the new work week a whole lot easier!

Another side event in my life that occurred during this whole episode was that I started examining the need for simplifying my life in general. I almost get a rush whenever I decide to leave the cel phone at home or decide to cook something in the oven instead of the microwave!
My efforts to keep things in perspective and just have faith that this would all work out gave me a sense of relief and joy. No need to get flustered, things will work out fine I told myself. I even offered a prayer of thanks to God for fixing my machine and this was before it was fixed!
Let's hear it for Good Vibrations!

May your journey through cyberspace always be smooth and filled with PEACE!!

Don't give up!

Sometimes we get faced with situations where it seems like the odds are stacked against us and there is no point in continuing to try and get something done. After all, it would be easier to just quit and move on to something else. But what can pay off for you in the long run at times is to just stick with it and try to get the problem solved. If you can't get it figured out by yourself, look for avenues of help that will result in you being on top of things.

Such was the case with me last night when I tried to activate a new theme on my Wordpress blog and I ended up with an error message I had never seen before. It said to the effect that my webhost had to have a certain type of file installed in order to make the theme work. During the later hours of the evening I spent much time trying to manipulate things on the site by the addition and deletion of various files and downloads which proved fruitless. After a brief discussion with Yahoo! technical support, I learned that in addition to not having the required file installed, they had no intentions of installing it due to security issues. At that point I thought my blog would not be able to be recovered.

I resumed my efforts this morning and thought I was making progress with the awesome assistance of Yahoo! technical support but was told that it looked like my user password was not valid. What else could possibly go wrong? I was saddened at the thought of having to start over with a new blog after putting much effort into it. Luckily, I was able to get the password problem fixed and then got back in touch with Yahoo! technical support (awesome group!). The gentleman who I was fortunate to have assist me at the moment was then able to access the blog files and then get things fixed. A sigh of relief for me!

Persistence and patience had definitely paid off. What I was really happy about during the whole time this was going on was my ability to stay calm and collective throughout the whole time. Thanks to some awareness training that I have been participating in, the lessons learned about knowing that we are in charge of our emotions and that we choose how to react to various circumstances really proved beneficial! If you are ever bewildered about how to condition yourself to better deal with difficult circumstance or situations, by all means check out the following website: www.lifepathunlimited.com and check out the information on the "Discovery Series" program.

Hey Mom and Dad, water your kids!!

Last night, my wife was attending a school board meeting (one of her many duties as a school principal) so it was just my son and I in attendance at the house. Being as how I have been getting home by 6 o'clock each evening, I wanted to get started on my daily exercises with a personal development program I am enrolled in and brainstorm about how to attract traffic to my websites. My 18 year old son was in his room doing who knows what and came out for a brief moment to chat and with me as I was working and then went back to his room. I then thought about how much I enjoyed just having a good quality conversation with him however brief. It then dawned upon me that as a senior in high school, he may not be at home too much longer.

I then decided to stop what I was doing and go to his room. After knocking, I went in and we quickly struck up a conversation about stuff in general and it was actually quite sociable. He told me what was on his mind, I listened and then offered my inputs. What really struck me was how stimulating it was for me just to hear what he had to say and I could tell that he appreciated me giving him some of my time. Even when I get the chance to talk with my daughter on the phone (she lives in Washington D.C.) I can tell that she likes having me around to lend an occasional ear and support now and then. With my son, I ended up staying awhile longer, even played some of his video games on the PS3. The time I spent with him made me reflect on how important it is to do things together as a family, in part if not in whole.

Kids who do not get the time of day from their parents often feel resentment and will go elsewhere for attention. Those children who do get the blessings of a wholesome family life will often grow up to be healthier, happier and more optimistic and confident individuals. So just like plants that are tended to, watered frequently, get lots of sunshine and in general good soil to grow in, the fruits to be harvested or the flowers that will bloom so that they may display their beauty are the children that will prosper from the love of their parents as they progress from infancy to adulthood.

Focus on the steps!

I want to tell you about something really cool that I was reading about. For all those who have wondered how to achieve something of desire but were totally zoned in on the result, you should consider this. Instead of being obsessed with the result, devote your energy to listing the steps needed to achieve the goal you wish to accomplish and take it one step at a time. I was reading about this during the weekend, listing things I needed to get done in order to accomplish my desire and already I see results! Truly exciting. Right now I am working on steps to get revenue established with my new business ( please see www.seizetheprize.com) and I am feeling so confident and enthused about how things will turn out.

My studies with the Discovery Series program that is produced by Lifepath Unlimited have really been teaching me some great things and I want to share them with you. More to follow as the days progress! Have a great week everyone and don't forget your daily dose of .................PEACE!

Good vibes for Haiti!

I was about to start this post by mentioning the refreshing walk I took today during my lunch hour but then my mind was drawn to the thoughts of the recovery efforts going on in Haiti right now. The country is devastated, not one soul there is unaffected by what has happened. Suffering is widespread and the population is desperate for even the most basic of necessities. Relief is starting to reach the earthquake but much is still needed to be done. Thank goodness for the humanity and compassion of man that is causing the relief efforts to initiate. I cannot fathom the scope of the suffering that is currently going on as I write this.

Thinking about this makes me all the more grateful for the blessings and abundance in my life. There is so much that we have that we do not acknowledge. For each person in this country who is not satisfied with his or her lot in life, there is a chance of someone in the world who would want to take their place. Even the most simple things that we have are worthy of giving thanks for. So I urge everyone to do what they can, no matter how small the effort, assist in whatever means are possible to send much needed relief to this stricken island nation. Contact your church, the Red Cross, friends or any charitable organization and see if you can do something to help. Donate items of clothing that you may have but no longer want. If you feel there is nothing that you can do, kneel and send your prayers and thoughts to the Haitian people that the help that is en route will put an end to the suffering and misery that they are experiencing. These people have had there lives torn away from them and they need a loving and caring hand to reach out to them. As a verse from a famous song goes, "Put a little love in your heart".

You can take charge of what you think!

Take a few minutes to enjoy the following video and get some insight on how we really can decide how we will look upon the events that happen to us from time to time.



YouTube - Dr. Alex Pattakos: The Meaning of Positive Thinking

Stop right now and give yourself a boost!

I have been trying to make it a daily habit on the way to work and also while I am at home on the weekends to give thanks for all the good things that I have in my life. Also, I like to repeat affirmations now and then to give myself an "upper" as I go through my day. One of my favorites goes as follows:

"Life is so easy, life is so good, all good things come to me!" When I use this affirmation I repeat it over and over. I believe it was in Charles Haamel's book "The Master Key System" where it makes reference to the mind being literal in nature and accepting what it is told. So why not tell yourself some good things? The main point not to forget though is that you have to believe what you are saying and say your words with feeling and emotion!

If you are not sure how to get started doing this, try by going to a mirror, looking at yourself and say "Now that is one awesome individual I am looking at and that person is me!" Put together another phrase that more closely matches your personality or style. We all deserve something good but if you think that things seem to be a little bit lacking, give yourself a boost! You are your best fan. Shazaam!

By the way, always add PEACE to your list!

Happy New Year!

2010 has arrived! I must say that 2009 posed more than its fair of challenges to the people of this country. The recession seemed to be on everyone's minds as well as news of the continuing conflict in Afghanistan. But now that a new year is upon us, I urge everyone to reflect on the events of the previous year and to see how they could make this year a better one. Find out what it is you would like to accomplish this year and take a look and see what changes you would like to make. With good thoughts in motion and action upon a plan that presents itself, the results you seek could be very well within reach!


On a different note, I got to go see my aunt earlier this afternoon. She lives in southern California and was up close to where I live visiting relatives. I took my two kids to go meet her and it was nice that they had the opportunity to visit with a relative they had not seen in quite a few years. We chatted about what things are like now that her husband and my father (who were brothers) have passed away and how to deal with the changes that have since ensued. But we were in agreement that we were relieved that there poor health was no longer an issue and that they are now in a better place. As the saying goes, "Life goes on".

Well for those who were faced with great challenge in 2009, I hope that the new year brings about a sense of renewed hope and possibility.

May you get all that you wish for, especially some extra PEACE!