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Wednesday 31 July 2013

To Go or Not to Go Herbal, that is the Question…

Many people nowadays are turning to “organics” and “naturals” otherwise known as herbals. The rising popularity of herbal supplements has created a new fad if not a new health lifestyle. But before you join the bandwagon, here are some things you need to know about this mean, “green” dietary supplementing machine.

What is the difference between a drug and a dietary supplement?

According to the definition set by food and drug administrations in different countries, drugs are chemicals that can prevent, prolong the life, treat other effects of a health condition, improve the quality of life, and/or cure ailments and diseases, or alter the function of any part or chemicals inside the body. These drugs have approved therapeutic claims. For example, paracetamol is a drug given to bring down the body temperature in fever. Ascorbic acid is indicated for the treatment of scurvy. Iron supplements are given to treat mild cases of anemia.

Herbal supplements are not classified as drugs but as dietary supplements. The main difference is that they do not have approved therapeutic claims unlike in the case of drugs. Moreover, dietary supplements could either contain vitamins, minerals, herbals, or amino acids, all aimed to add to or supplement the diet of an individual. They are not intended to be taken alone as a substitute to any food or medicine.

Most of the manufactured medicines we now have once came from animals and plants. Through the years, chemists isolated the life-saving or life-curing components and separated them from the harmful ones. This lead to the further drug research and drug development that lead to the production of a different variety of drugs for many ailments and conditions from synthetic sources. But still we have semi-synthetic drugs, as well as drug that more or less approximate more natural composition. Since herbal supplements are made from a mixture of crude herbs reduced into powder or gel form, and later on packaged as tablets and capsules, there is a possibility that life-threatening or at least body chemistry-altering components are still present, thus the expression of concern from the medical community.

Is there a growing concern with the use of herbal supplements?

Yes. With the rising popularity of using and consuming anything herbal or organic is the proliferation of fake herbal supplements that threaten to endanger lives. If that’s the case, then why are herbal supplements given drug administration approvals? One way of ensuring the safety of the people is to have all candidate drugs, food, drinks, and dietary supplements registered with the proper authority. Otherwise, they would pose more risk with these things being sold in the black market for a hefty sum. We could ensure the quality and safety of herbal supplements if they get proper classification with the food and drug administration. Moreover, people may be able to file the proper complaints in the event a worsening of health condition is proven to be linked to the use of a particular herbal supplement.

Is using herbal supplements worth the risk?

Yes. It cannot be discounted that many who have tried herbal supplements experienced an improvement in their health—whether this is due to the herbals themselves or due to a placebo effect, as long as they do not worsen the condition of an individual, then using them is worth the risk. But of course, certain things must be considered before taking those herbal supplements:

Your doctor knows best.

First of all, clear your condition with your doctor. Ask him/her if taking a particular herbal supplement is safe given your health condition. People with heart, liver, or kidney trouble or malfunction, are usually not advised to take these, or at the minimum is to take these herbals in minimum amounts. All substances pass through the liver and kidney to be processed and filtered respectively. Kava, which is used to relieve people from stress, has been pulled out from the Canadian, Singaporean, and German markets because it contains substances that cause liver damage. Certain herbals such as Ephedra used for losing weight, contains chemicals with heart-inducing effects that can increase heart rate, which in turn can exhaust the heart and cause heart attacks in several documented cases by the American Medical Association.

Follow the directions for use.

Never take more herbal supplements than what is directed by the doctor or as instructed on the bottle. Each individual reacts differently to the components of herbal supplements. While it is perfectly safe for one individual to take in a supplement of primrose oil capsules, another person may be allergic to it. So, do not even think about downing one bottle of

It has no approved curative effect.

No matter how the product pamphlet or the label of the bottle sounds about how it has been found to be helpful in certain health conditions, these herbal supplements are not therapeutic. So do not substitute these for the medications prescribed by your doctor for the treatment of certain diseases, or for the maintenance of blood pressure, lowering of blood sugar and cholesterol, and fight off infections.

Monday 29 July 2013

ACQUIRE POWER THROUGH SELF DEVELOPMENT

It is the natural right of every human being to be happy to escape all the miseries of life. Happiness is the normal condition, as natural as the landscapes and the seasons. It is unnatural to suffer and it is only because of our ignorance that we do suffer. Happiness is the product of wisdom. To attain perfect wisdom, to comprehend fully the purpose of life, to realize completely the relationship of human beings to each other, is to put an end to all suffering, to escape every ill and evil that afflicts us. Perfect wisdom is unshadowed joy.

Why do we suffer in life? Because in the scheme of nature we are being forced forward in evolution and we lack the spiritual illumination that alone can light the way and enable us to move safely among the obstacles that lie before us. Usually we do not even see or suspect the presence of trouble until it suddenly leaps upon us like a concealed tiger. One day our family circle is complete and happy. A week later death has come and gone and joy is replaced with agony. Today we have a friend. Tomorrow he will be an enemy and we do not know why. A little while ago we had wealth and all material luxuries. There was a sudden change and now we have only poverty and misery and yet we seek in vain for a reason why this should be. There was a time when we had health and strength; but they have both departed and no trace of a reason appears. Aside from these greater tragedies of life innumerable things of lesser consequence continually bring to us little miseries and minor heartaches. We most earnestly desire to avoid them but we never see them until they strike us, until in the darkness of our ignorance we blunder upon them. The thing we lack is the spiritual illumination that will enable us to look far and wide, finding the hidden causes of human suffering and revealing the method by which they may be avoided; and if we can but reach illumination the evolutionary journey can be made both comfortably and swiftly. It is as though we must pass through a long, dark room filled with furniture promiscuously scattered about. In the darkness our progress would be slow and painful and our bruises many. But if we could press a button that would turn on the electric light we could then make the same journey quickly and with perfect safety and comfort.

The old method of education was to store the mind with as many facts, or supposed facts, as could be accumulated and to give a certain exterior polish to the personality. The theory was that when a man was born he was a completed human being and that all that could be done for him was to load him up with information that would be used with more or less skill, according to the native ability he happened to be born with. The theosophical idea is that the physical man, and all that constitutes his life in the physical world, is but a very partial expression of the self; that in the ego of each there is practically unlimited power and wisdom; that these may be brought through into expression in the physical world as the physical body and its invisible counterparts, which together constitute the complex vehicle of the ego's manifestation, are evolved and adapted to the purpose; and that in exact proportion that conscious effort is given to such self-development will spiritual illumination be achieved and wisdom attained. Thus the light that leads to happiness is kindled from within and the evolutionary journey that all are making may be robbed of its suffering.

Why does death bring misery? Chiefly because it separates us from those we love. The only other reason why death brings grief or fear is  because we do not understand it and comprehend the part it plays in human evolution.  But the moment our ignorance gives way to comprehension such fear vanishes and a serene happiness takes its place.

Why do we have enemies from whose words or acts we suffer? Because in our limited physical consciousness we do not perceive the unity of all life and realize that our wrong thinking and doing must react upon us through other people a situation from which there is no possible escape except through ceasing to think evil and then patiently awaiting the time when the causes we have already generated are fully exhausted. When spiritual illumination comes, and we no longer stumble in the night of ignorance, the last enemy will disappear and we shall make no more forever.

Why do people suffer from poverty and disease? Only because of our blundering ignorance that makes their existence possible for us, and because we do not comprehend their meaning and their lessons, nor know the attitude to assume toward them. Had we but the wisdom to understand why they come to people, why they are necessary factors in their evolution, they would trouble us no longer. When nature's lesson is fully learned these mute teachers will vanish.

And so it is with all forms of suffering we experience. They are at once reactions from our ignorant blunderings and instructors that point out the better way. When we have comprehended the lessons they teach they are no longer necessary and disappear. It is not by the outward  acquirement of facts that men become wise and great. It is by developing the soul from within until it illuminates the brain with that flood of light called genius.

Saturday 27 July 2013

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD CLOTHING.

First impressions are apt to be permanent; it is therefore of importance that they should be favourable. The dress of an individual is that circumstance from which you first form your opinion of him. It is even more prominent than manner, It is indeed the only thing which is remarked in a casual encounter, or during the first interview. It, therefore, should be the first care.

What style is to our thoughts, dress is to our persons. It may supply the place of more solid  qualities, and without it the most solid are of little avail. Numbers have owed their elevation to their attention to the toilet. Place, fortune, marriage have all been lost by neglecting it.

Your dress should always be consistent with your age and your natural exterior. That which looks outr, on one man, will be agreeable on another. As success in this respect depends almost entirely upon particular circumstances and personal peculiarities, it is impossible to give general directions of much importance. We can only point out the field for study and research; it belongs to each one's own genius and industry to deduce the results. However ugly you may be, rest assured that there is some style of habiliment which will make you passable.

If, for example, you have a stain upon your cheek which rivals in brilliancy the best Chateau-Margout; or, are afflicted with a nose whose lustre dims the ruby, you may employ such hues of dress, that the eye, instead of being shocked by the strangeness of the defect, will be charmed by the graceful harmony of the colours. Every one cannot indeed be an Adonis, but it is his own fault if he is an Esop.

Almost every defect of face may be concealed by a judicious use and arrangement of hair. Take care, however, that your hair be not of one colour and your whiskers of another; and let your wig be large enough to cover the whole of your red or white hair. It is evident, therefore, that though a man may be ugly, there is no necessity for his being shocking. 

Thursday 25 July 2013

Keys that Unlock the Doors to Personal Life Improvement

How to improve your personal life

Learning is the key to unlock doors to success. When you learn about you, what you want, and what specific difficulties you want to change, you are improving your personal life. To get started learning you, your wants, and so on you will need to use new ideas. If you need to hit the “refresh,” tab then go online to find articles. Read the information, since someone may provide you with the keys that unlock doors in your mind. You can also visit your local library, a great place to start improving your life.

Life is filled with problems, diagnostics and solvers. To start improving your life you can start by reliving a time in your life. Look back to see obstacles in your pathway. What did you do to overcome those obstacles? Were your decisions capable of helping you handle the problems? Did your decisions have good or bad consequences? If you made good decisions then, can you use those decisions now to fix problems?

Once you review your history of problem-solving tactics move on to evaluate your skills. What skills do you have that will help you improve your personal life? What skills can you develop that will guide you to a prosperous life? Do you need to continue school? Can you find a better job?

How to travel the discovering road to unlock doors:
The first action you will need to take to unlock doors is to be honest. When you are honest with self and others, it helps reduce emotional chaos. When a person lies, they live in denial, anger, misery, hopelessness, etc and often drown in their own pity. Stop the pity and hop on the road, traveling down the trail ways to discover the keys that unlock your doors to success. To get started tell the truth about something that hinders you.

Start: I dwell on negative thoughts rather than focusing on positive thoughts. What can you do to change this? Say, my life is filled with stress, yet I feel I can change my life to make it better. Think about those people in the world who has it worse than you do.

Do you have addictions?
Consider drugs, sex, alcohol, and cigarettes and so on when thinking of addictions. Also, consider shopping, work, food and so on. If you discover an addiction ask, how can I take steps to change this harmful habits? Do I have support? Is there hope? Can I find help? How can I find that help? You will find many helpful resources, including addiction clinics of all sorts that will offer you a hand. Never deal with addictions alone. You will also need to work on your own to take control of your addictions. The key to success is accepting you have a problem. Honesty is the key that opens many doors. Once you accept you will find it easier to get help.

Looking ahead:
Looking ahead is good. When you look ahead, you are visualizing your future. You want to avoid dwelling on reaching tomorrow.

Rather keep one day in your mind and work in that day to complete your goals. Taking it one day at a time is the key to success. You have many options, yet it takes you to discover those options.

Communication:
Communication is the ultimate key that opens many doors. When you learn to communicate effectively, you are taking steps to improve your personal life. To learn effective communication skills, consider continuing your education. You can also learn communication tools by frequently talking with others about positive topics.

Learning Tools to Improve your Personal Life

Inquisitive souls often find new tools that help them improve their personal life. The old saying, “Curiosity can kill the cat,” is something you want to re-evaluate. Sure, if you become curious of something that would obviously cause you harm, then the cat just might die. Curiosity is a gift. We can use this gift to our advantage if we choose, or we can make serious judgments that cause problems.

As you learn to use your inquisitive tools to your best interest, you will start to focus your attention on the good things in life. Most people walk around looking only at the shallow light of our creation, products and so on. instead of using a shallow mind, open your mind up to new horizons. An open mind however is not doing what is bad, rather opening your mind up to doing what is right. Too many times, I hear people say they have open minds, but often the minds are open to sexual deviations and nothing more or less. This is not a way to improve your life. Rather, you need to clean your mind of unhealthy actions, behaviors, images, etc, and start developing positive reflections.

Once you start to focus your attention you can move to change. You have to be willing to make changes to make it happen. Most people fear the unknown. To improve your life however you must not allow the unknown to scare you. The unknown just might be something that works in your favor. In fact, if you want to improve your life, you will start to welcome the unknown to your palace.

In our minds, we visualize who we think we may be. Most of us fear discovering something new about self. Do not fear what you may discover. You may discover a wonderful person waiting to get out and make the changes that most people fear. Changes are good. do not fear change, since change is a part of life and it is what takes you to new heights in life. When you see something new about you (GOOD OR BAD) take it and use it. If you see something bad, evaluate it carefully to make sure it is bad. If you conclude that this feature about you is bad, figure out ways to change it. You have the power and control inside you to make those changes. What can you do to make those changes. What actions can you take to make your life better?

Once you discover new details about you move to organize your thoughts, visions, etc, and then sort them out. Take time to evaluate the details. Details have hidden messages you may have overlooked that will carry you to a new life. Do not fear. Fear is the worst problem we face in the world, since fear is one of the ultimate controllers of humankind.

When you discover details take the volume of information you gain and sort through it. Kick out the bad and bring in the new. Discover new ideas. Discover new relationships. Discover the new you. Play with the details and information you gain and see what you come up with, followed by organizing your new information. Put the pieces of your life together to make a new you. When you check the list of information and details, make sure you visualize the whole pie. Take a view at weight, categories, order, colors, and size and so forth, so that you get the most of your new findings. Once you are finish, build your confidence so that you can take action and carry forward without cease.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

REST AND SLEEP

All the parts of the human body work together, although each  one has its especial part to do. The stomach must have a  time to rest between meals. The other parts of the body require rest, too. This they usually get while we are asleep. We must not be neglectful and fail to give them enough rest, or they will soon get worn out and give us trouble. 

Sometimes, when people are not well or are all tired out, they find they cannot sleep well at night. There are a number of little things that can be done to induce sleep. A warm bath before retiring, followed by a gentle massage, especially along the spine, often will, by relaxing the nerves and muscles, produce very good results. A hot foot bath, which draws the blood away from the brain, frequently will be found beneficial. A glass of hot milk or cocoa, taken just before retiring, often will have the same effect. If the sleeplessness is a result of indigestion, a plain diet will relieve. Sleeping upon a hard bed without any pillow sometimes produces the desired effect. Always have plenty of fresh air in the room. Keep the mind free from the cares of the day. If they will intrude, crowd them out by repeating something else some soothing sentence or bit of poetry. One good plan is to close the left nostril by pressing on it with the finger, then take four deep breaths through the right nostril. Then close the right nostril and take four deep breaths through the left one. Repeat this about four times. Then breathe slowly through both nostrils, but count your breaths. You seldom will count very many. Never take any sleeping powders or tablets except upon the advice of a physician, for they usually contain drugs that will injure the heart.

You will find that you will meet a number of men who are nervous, which means they have not control of their nerves, but let them run away with them. Sometimes this is shown in palpitation of the heart, headache, backache, and many other disorders. There may be a tendency to cry at trivial things, or a feeling of having "the blues." The cause usually can be found in uncongenial surroundings or occupation, loss of friends, or real or fancied troubles. Whatever the cause, it should be removed, if possible, and measures taken to restore the worn out nerves that are crying for rest or food. Tonics help, so does nourishing food, such as eggs and milk; also a change of scene and occupation, if possible. A man who is nervous frequently does not realize what is the cause of his condition, and considers only the symptoms. So when he has a headache, resorts to medicine.  In taking these she only is deadening the pain and not removing  the cause, so the pain is liable to return.

PREPARING FOR OLD AGE.

Socrates was once asked by a pupil, this question: "What kind of people shall we be when we reach Elysium?"

And the answer was this: "We shall be the same kind of people that we were here."

If there is a life after this, we are preparing for it now, just as I am today preparing for my life tomorrow.

What kind of a man shall I be tomorrow? Oh, about the same kind of a man that I am now. The kind of a man that I shall be next month depends upon the kind of a man that I have been this month.

If I am miserable today, it is not within the round of probabilities that I shall be supremely happy tomorrow. Heaven is a habit. And if we are going to Heaven we would better be getting used to it.

Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.

We are preparing all the time for old age. The two things that make old age beautiful are resignation and a just consideration for the rights of others.

In the play of Ivan the Terrible, the interest centers around one man, the Czar Ivan. If anybody but Richard Mansfield played the part, there would be nothing in it. We simply get a glimpse into the life of a tyrant who has run the full gamut of goosedom, grumpiness, selfishness and grouch. Incidentally this man had the power to put other men to death, and this he does and has done as his whim and temper might dictate. He has been vindictive, cruel, quarrelsome, tyrannical and terrible. Now that he feels the approach of death, he would make his peace with God. But he has delayed that matter too long. He didn't realize in youth and middle life that he was then preparing for old age.

Man is the result of cause and effect, and the causes are to a degree in our hands. Life is a fluid, and well has it been called the stream of life we are going, flowing somewhere. Strip Ivan of his robes and crown, and he might be an old farmer and live in Ebenezer. Every town and village has its Ivan. To be an Ivan, just turn your temper loose and practise cruelty on any person or thing within your reach, and the result will be a sure preparation for a querulous, quarrelsome, pickety, snipity, fussy and foolish old age, accented with many outbursts of wrath that are terrible in their futility and ineffectiveness.

Babyhood has no monopoly on the tantrum. The characters of King Lear and Ivan the Terrible have much in common. One might almost believe that the writer of Ivan had felt the incompleteness of Lear, and had seen the absurdity of making a melodramatic bid for sympathy in behalf of this old man thrust out by his daughters.

Lear, the troublesome, Lear to whose limber tongue there was constantly leaping words unprintable and names of tar, deserves no soft pity at our hands. All his life he had been training his three daughters for exactly the treatment he was to receive. All his life Lear had been lubricating the chute that was to give him a quick ride out into that black midnight storm.

"Oh, how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child," he cries.

There is something quite as bad as a thankless child, and that is a thankless parent an irate, irascible parent who possesses an underground vocabulary and a disposition to use it.

The false note in Lear lies in giving to him a daughter like Cordelia. Tolstoy and Mansfield ring true, and Ivan the Terrible is what he is without apology, excuse or explanation. Take it or leave it if you do not like plays of this kind, go to see Vaudeville.

Mansfield's Ivan is terrible. The Czar is not old in years not over seventy but you can see that Death is sniffing close upon his track. Ivan has lost the power of repose. He cannot listen, weigh and decide he has no thought or consideration for any man or thing this is his habit of life. His bony hands are never still the fingers open and shut, and pick at things eternally. He fumbles the cross on his breast, adjusts his jewels, scratches his cosmos, plays the devil's tattoo, gets up nervously and looks behind the throne, holds his breath to listen. When people address him, he damns them savagely if they kneel, and if they stand upright he accuses them of lack of respect. He asks that he be relieved from the cares of state, and then trembles for fear his people will take him at his word. When asked to remain ruler of Russia he proceeds to curse his councilors and accuses them of loading him with burdens that they themselves would not endeavor to bear.

He is a victim of amor senilis, and right here if Mansfield took one step more his realism would be appalling, but he stops in time and suggests what he dares not express. This tottering, doddering, slobbering, sniffling old man is in love he is about to wed a young, beautiful girl. He selects jewels for her he makes remarks about what would become her beauty, jeers and laughs in cracked falsetto. In the animality of youth there is something pleasing it is natural but the vices of an old man, when they have become only mental, are most revolting.

The people about Ivan are in mortal terror of him, for he is still the absolute monarch he has the power to promote or disgrace, to take their lives or let them go free. They laugh when he laughs, cry when he does, and watch his fleeting moods with thumping hearts.

He is intensely religious and affects the robe and cowl of a priest. Around his neck hangs the crucifix. His fear is that he will die with no opportunity of confession and absolution. He prays to High Heaven every moment, kisses the cross, and his toothless old mouth interjects prayers to God and curses on man in the same breath.

Monday 22 July 2013

Happy as You Want to Be

Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin's simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with

Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.
 
Being grateful is a great attitude.  We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed  as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday.  Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.
 
Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.
 
Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday.  Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Saturday 20 July 2013

ONE-MAN POWER

Every successful concern is the result of a One-Man Power. Cooperation, technically, is an iridescent dream things cooperate because the man makes them. He cements them by his will.

But find this Man, and get his confidence, and his weary eyes will look into yours and the cry of his heart shall echo in your ears. "O, for some one to help me bear this burden!"

Then he will tell you of his endless search for Ability, and of his continual disappointments and thwartings in trying to get some one to help himself by helping him.

Ability is the one crying need of the hour. The banks are bulging with money, and everywhere are men looking for work. The harvest is ripe. But the Ability to captain the unemployed and utilize the capital, is lacking sadly lacking. Your man of Ability has a place already. Yes, Ability is a rare article.

But there is something that is much scarcer, something finer far, something rarer than this quality of Ability.

It is the ability to recognize Ability.

The sternest comment that ever can be made against employers as a class, lies in the fact that men of Ability usually succeed in showing their worth in spite of their employer, and not with his assistance and encouragement.

If you know the lives of men of Ability, you know that they discovered their power, almost without exception, thru chance or accident. Had the accident not occurred that made the opportunity, the man would have remained unknown and practically lost to the world. The experience of Tom Potter, telegraph operator at an obscure little way station, is truth painted large. That fearful night, when most of the wires were down and a passenger train went through the bridge, gave Tom Potter the opportunity of discovering himself. He took charge of the dead, cared for the wounded, settled fifty claims drawing drafts on the company burned the last vestige of the wreck, sunk the waste iron in the river and repaired the bridge before the arrival of the Superintendent on the spot.

"Who gave you the authority to do all this?" demanded the Superintendent.

"Nobody," replied Tom, "I assumed the authority."

The next month Tom Potter's salary was enhanced, and in three years he was making ten times this, simply because he could get other men to do things.

Why wait for an accident to discover Tom Potter? Let us set traps for Tom Potter, and lie in wait for him. Perhaps Tom Potter is just around the corner, across the street, in the next room, or at our elbow. Myriads of embryonic Tom Potters await discovery and development if we but look for them.

I know a man who roamed the woods and fields for thirty years and never found an Indian arrow. One day he began to think "arrow," and stepping out of his doorway he picked one up. Since then he has collected a bushel of them.

Suppose we cease wailing about incompetence, sleepy indifference and slipshod "help" that watches the clock. These things exist let us dispose of the subject by admitting it, and then emphasize the fact that freckled farmer boys come out of the West and East and often go to the front and do things in a masterly way. There is one name that stands out in history like a beacon light after all these twenty-five hundred years have passed, just because the man had the sublime genius of discovering Ability. That man is Pericles. Pericles made Athens.

And today the very dust of the streets of Athens is being sifted and searched for relics and remnants of the things made by people who were captained by men of Ability who were discovered by Pericles.

There is very little competition in this line of discovering Ability. We sit down and wail because Ability does not come our way. Let us think "Ability," and possibly we can jostle Pericles there on his pedestal, where he has stood for over a score of centuries the man with a supreme genius for recognizing Ability.

Thursday 18 July 2013

Genuine Happiness Comes from Within

Life isn’t the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?”  Then I pause and observed for awhile… I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self’.

So, how does one become genuinely happy? Step 1 is to love yourself.

My theology professor once said that “loving means accepting.”  To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.

Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have – truly, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”

When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.

I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.

How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you… every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFLs. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.”, instead of looking at it all blank and murmur “Geez, I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!” and then walk away.

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life doesn’t always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or not even the best. So, how do you become genuinely happy?  Every one has his own definition of ‘happiness’. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much best selling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success. So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple. You don’t have to have the best things in this world. Its about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling your self “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – that will make you a genuinely happy person.

When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults. You pass step 1 in the project “how to become genuinely happy”.For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten folds back.

Again, throw me that same question “how to become genuinely happy?”. I’ll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted- “Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Coz then you don’t just become happy… you become free.”


Wednesday 17 July 2013

Improve your Personal Life with Vitamins

Improving your personal life with multivitamins

Vitamins are very essential to everyone’s body to keep it going. Some vitamins are needed on a daily basis and others not so often.

We get vitamins from our food and then we need to use extra vitamins to get the full amount needed. Getting the right amount of vitamins daily helps to produce your blood cells and they change the food to energy.  One of the best vitamins I discovered is the prenatal vitamin. Even if you are not pregnant, the vitamins will restore lost nutrients.

You have two different kinds of vitamins that you can purchase. One of them is a fat-soluble that is stored in the body in the liver and fatty tissues. Only take fat-soluble vitamins as recommended because you can store too much. When storing too much fat-soluble vitamins it can be poisonous and even cause death. The fat-soluble vitamin is the A and D type.

The second type of vitamin is the water-soluble and it will dissolve in water just as it says. Don’t worry about taking too much of they vitamin because you will pass what isn’t needed through the urine. A water-soluble vitamin is to be taken on as a daily supplement. The water-soluble vitamin is the C and some B.

Multivitamins will not harm you and are to be taken daily. When taking a multivitamin it helps to fight off illness and give you the vitamins that you aren’t getting in your food.

Your daily diet of food may not contain all vitamins a person needs daily. Many people just don’t eat the right food like the most popular fast foods. Some people want to lose five pounds by next week so they go on a fad quick weight loss diet that doesn’t contain the right and enough good vitamins. 

The farmer that grows some of the food your eating can sometimes be the blame. The farmer is out to make money and wants his vegetable and fruits to be large, beautiful and attractive, most of all to grow fast and get a bigger crop. To make his crop grow for him he has to add chemicals to it by fertilizing, spraying, and even more water all of which can reduce the vitamins out of the crop. If the crop is being shipped it is sometimes wrapped tight, coated and sprayed to keep its color and help prevent spoiling while being transported to it’s destination.

Multivitamins are helpful if you are sick and stressed. Being sick or stressed it takes more vitamins to build you back up and repair the damage that has been caused to you body.

The lack of the right vitamin can put a person into high risk for some diseases and your general health will drop. Some Dr doesn’t like their patients to take vitamin supplements because they take to many or the wrong kinds.  It is known that people who take a multivitamin on a daily basis is generally in better health than those who don’t.

There are so many different vitamins on the shelf now to choose from that it can be very confusing.  First, understand you body and needs and even ask the Dr what might be the best ones to take. Your body will balance itself out naturally when taking the right vitamins.

It doesn’t matter what kind or brands of multivitamin you take just make sure it is a good one. After taking your new vitamin, for 30 days and you don’t feel better or see a change get a different one. Feeling better and taking, the right vitamin is good for everyone young and old.

How You Can Improve your Personal Life

For some of us, improving our personal life is finding a new career. If we are working in what we love to do, that rubs off on the way we view things and gives us a better perspective on life. You have to consider the many ways of success we can practice to become a well-rounded person finding his or her dream job. You have to believe in you and what you want. Make it your reality.

With a solid plan, whether to change jobs or start a new business can become a reality.  You should never let the fear of change stop you from achieving something that you really want. New is overwhelming for most of us, but if you take time out to research and do proper networking, you’ll find the transition will be less stressful. 

Find a career you love

Whether your in mid career, a student, new to the work force, or an entrepreneur it gets difficult to gain satisfaction and accomplishing your full potential when your stuck doing something you hate.  Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, so why not do something that you like doing.  Keep in mind that doing what you like is often complicated but if you would like to improve your personal life here are a few steps:

Decide why you want to change careers:
It is important to know whether you are moving away from something or moving towards something.  It is difficult to identify your ideal job when you are overwhelmed by negative issues from your current situation.  If you are making a career change, keep all of your options open to make a fresh start. 

What are your goals? 

Write down a normal aspect of a normal day.  Outline what it is exactly that you want.  Such as what is your work schedule, the positions and tasks, what is your ideal salary to live comfortably, and are you an entrepreneur at heart.  Continuously write these goals in a notebook or journal. 

Identify your interests

Your interests do not mean this should be your new job or business, it is just the beginning of self exploration.  The key is to identify what truly interests you and how you can incorporate those interests into the work field.  What are your favorite hobbies?  What books do you like to read?  What sections of the newspaper to you turn to first?  What are your favorite television shows?  After keeping track of this for a week, you should discover a trend that should narrow down to two or three topics of interests. 




What are your abilities? 

Write down a list of abilities that come easily to you. By doing something that your good at will not only greater your chance of succeeding, but give a sense of satisfaction to your work. You will find that you have hidden abilities. Once you pull up those hidden abilities use them, see how you like them and put them to good use.

Many people walk through life failing to realize who they are and what they are capable of doing to its entirety. Do not be afraid to learn who you are. It will take some time. It took me over thirty years, but it was well worth the trial and errors made along the way to learn who I am.

Failing to remember:
Many people have difficulty remembering. This is a common problem. Don’t let it get you down. Take action to improve your memory. Walk along the jungle lane of memory and explore what is in your mind.

How to Improve Your Personal Life with Exercise and More

Life can be difficult and full of worries, and when you’re not taking good care of yourself, things can become quite demanding. Without a proper diet and exercise, along with proper sleep, you could find yourself run down extremely fast. This caused unwanted stress and anxieties in our everyday living. A major part of improving your personal life revolves around elements that can keep you from going off the deep end.   

Get exercise with a proper diet

Getting the right exercise for your body does not consist of trying out for a marathon. Nevertheless, if you want to stay in shape and maybe lose a few pounds, here’s the perfect way to start. 

Walk for 30 minutes twice a day with a backpack containing up to five books. 
Instead of having an extra alcoholic beverage, eliminate it, replacing it with water. 
Substitute daily one serving of starchy carbohydrate with two servings of green vegetables. Rather than skipping breakfast and lunch and overeating on snacks, try snacking consisting of five small meals daily. Make sure you incorporate that with fruits and vegetables.   

The key is to watch what you eat and drink. You are guaranteed to feeling better; giving yourself more energy that will allow you to tackle other tasks. Stress will be coped with much easier. Another way for stress is massage therapy. 

The Benefits of Massage Therapy

Massage therapy offers many benefits.  It helps to start your day relaxed, which is essential for balance. A simple practice would be starting at your head and scalp.  What people fail to realize is that until they have massage they do no know how much stress they are carrying. Once you have an awareness of where stress is lodged in your body, you’ll know exactly which pressure points to work. This is what massage therapy can do for you:

Relief of muscle tension and stiffness
Greater joint flexibility and range in motion
Healthier and nourished skin
Improved posture
Faster healing from pulled muscles

Getting enough sleep

It is a proven fact that when you do not get enough sleep, this can make you ill. There are even studies that says healing is done while we are sleeping, meaning deep sleep produces the bodies highest form of hormones. A constant sleep pattern is necessary for the immune system to function at its peak.  Have a regularly scheduled bedtime.  Avoid exercising within three hours before bedtime. If you have problems winding down, do something relaxing like watching television, taking a bath, or listening to soft music. 

It doesn’t take money to improve our lives or even watching or favorite talk shows. All it takes is a little discipline and action, and we’ll be well on our way to better our personal well-being as we age.

Proper rest, exercise and training your mind to think positive are a great way to improve your life. The best thing you can do is getting started now. Prolonging good health only sends you back to the same patterns. If you want to improve your personal life, you must take action and maintain that action for the course of your life.

Something to keep in mind is that exercise alone has proven to relieve people suffering with asthma, diabetes, heart disease, etc. In fact, studies have shown that people who exercise live a longer, improved and happier life. In fact, exercise has proven to relieve and even heal symptoms emerging from arthritis. If you have back pain, you will benefit from exercise since it will relieve your pain as well. To learn more, check out books at your library or visit the Internet.

How to Improve Your Personal Life Avoiding Procrastination

Let’s face it, dealing with the obstacles of day to day living can drive us a little crazy. Without proper organization, this could make rolling out of the bed a problem of its own. We sometimes find it difficult focusing on one thing at a time, find that in the end nothing is done. From the office, to household, children, and finances, without proper organization could turn disastrous. You want to learn how to manage your time, actions and overall arrangements. Successful people know how to get ahead; they plan, set priorities, and always follow through. There are many services to help you to organize and control your life, but here are some suggestions to get you started.

Stop procrastination
Although there are good and bad procrastinators, depending on what you do for a living most commonly, you are working on nothing, something less important, or something more important. Stop putting off small things, for more important things. Still, not always good. Try writing down the tasks you could be working on and when something is completed; scratch it off your list. The description of procrastination is avoiding in doing a task and not accomplishing it. Improve your personal life by completing what it is your set out to do. If finances are something that you are putting off to get organized, pull out those receipts and take control of your finances. If your goal is to lose weight and this has created anxiety in your life, discover a nutritional plan that works for you and start today. The best solution is to start exercise. Start out slow and work your way into a complete three day a week program. You will be amazed at what exercising can do for you muscles, mind, body, and so on.

Allow more free time to do want you want
Increase productivity and find free time for you may seem almost impossible, but only when we are disorganized. The key to finding more free time is to organize what needs to be done. A simple list consisting of catching up on your workload, working out, time with family and friends, and pursuing your own leisure activity can all be done by making a plan. It seems a little odd to have to put your family on a priority list, but it sure beats not spending time with family at all because your doing everything spontaneously and unprepared. Improve your personal life by staying organized and allow room for fun.

Give yourself a peace of mind
Very few people understand the cause of happiness. Many of us focus on friends, cars, and money as the true reason for happiness and devote all of our time and energy acquiring these things. The real source of peace of mind is in inner peace. Remember that if we have a peaceful mind, we will be happy. Having all the money in the world would not make us completely peaceful if we decide to let in all the negative influences and disturbances in our circle. Improve your personal life by creating a healthy surrounding for yourself and family. You can take steps to gain peace of mind. The first step is meditating at least once everyday. Allow your mind to focus on nothing. Once you are in the mood, allow your thoughts to graze the pastures. In addition, there is nothing wrong with taking time out to dream about a life that you would like to live.

Sometimes if we take the step to dream, we will find the stamina to take action to achieve our dreams. Keep the dreams realistic.

Get ahead of your fears and conquer your goals, personal growth is just a plan away!

How Hobbies Improve Your Personal Life

When you have a hobby that you like and you will spend time doing this. This will help keep you from getting in trouble, since you will stay busy. This will free your mind and you from stress as well. If you have bad habits, such as drinking or drugging you can invest your time in hobbies, which will free your mind of the binds that drugs and alcohol hold you.

What are hobbies?
Hobbies are something that you enjoy doing, it could be collecting coins, dolls, hot wheel cars, stamps, knitting, more less what ever you enjoy doing. When you enjoy doing hobbies, you spend not all of your extra time doing them and you think about doing anything else. Like getting into trouble. Some people may make their work is their hobbies this could be working on cars or heavy equipment to semis they enjoy it so much they are always doing it no matter what when some of us want a break from work so we do something else that we enjoy doing. We all have different hobbies and different ideas of what hobbies are. Some people make fishing and hunting their hobbies.

Does hobbies cost a lot of money to get started?
Hobbies can get very expensive. Then other hobbies do not cost hardly anything to do. Like collecting coins can get very costly. If you can’t afford to put money in on a hobby maybe you should try to pick one that does cost a lot like knitting or something to do with crafts there are a ton of things you can do that don’t cast nothing. Hot wheel cars only cost around a dollar. Perhaps you can spend time in shops looking at hot wheels, purchase one and go back each week to purchase another. Hot Wheel cars in time will become collectors items. In fact, the cars are already collector items, i.e. some are.

How do I get started with my hobby?
You have to decide what you enjoy, things that interest you like maybe collecting coins, or stamps or maybe you want to learn the history on them so this can be a good hobby for someone. Maybe someone likes to work with yarn and make things so that may be some one-hobby knitting or crouching. Maybe some one likes to work on cars and that is a hobby of theirs. There is no real way to get started other then doing it and deciding what you want to do as a hobby.

So remember when you want to get your mind free of stress or do not want to get into trouble. Sit down and try to figure out what you what to do for a hobby. Perhaps you will want to write them down and pick out the one you think you would like. There is nothing wrong with having more then one hobby or later on deciding that you don’t want to do this after all and find another one. Just remember hobbies can help you improve your life by helping you to stay out of trouble and keep your mind clear of things so you can think more clearly.

Other hobbies included doll collecting. The older porcelain dolls are a common collectors item you may want to consider. You will find a wide variety of dolls online at Ebay stores and so on. In addition, you will find the dolls are various collector stores.
To learn more about hobbies go online and review the different items collected, so that you can decide what hobby is best for you.

How to Improve Personal Life

Throughout our lives, we all had the desire to be all we can be, although some of us ignore this desire. Many times, we may stay in our comfort zone without realizing that we are passing up opportunities to do something that we truly enjoy. Of course, the money may be good, your bills are paid and you find it easy to work with repetition. Yet, are you happy?

When you are ready to improve your personal life, you must turn your wants into needs. I need to be successful. I need to be a great parent. I need that promotion. I need to save my relationship, etc.

How to be your own life coach
Many of us spend time convincing ourselves that our dreams will never come true. We may feel that our dreams do not amount to anything. Poor self-esteem hinders the quality of life. In addition, you miss being your own coach. You can turn the negative thoughts into positive reflections, which will guide you to improve overall personal life. The next time you feel like turning yourself into a destructive thinker, breath deep and say, I love myself, just the way I am. Learn to walk tall and habitually think about what you want to achieve. Set plans, write down your goals, and take action to reach those goals. You may want to learn something simple. Learn how to be a better cook. Stop yelling at the children.

How to take steps in becoming a better you:
Thinking positive is a great start to improving overall personal life. Surrounding yourself around good influences will encourage you to acquire better behaviors. You will learn to practice these new habits daily. Once you conquer your obstacles, you can mark off the list of poor behaviors you have written down.

Tips for personal development and growth:
Learn to say no. For some of us, our natural instincts lead us in the right direction to helping others. Are you sacrificing your needs however, to consistently take care of other peoples needs? Are you taking time out of each day to pamper yourself for fifteen minutes or so? Are you taking actions to stop persistence that spreads yourself too thin?

If you spread yourself too thin, it will lead to sleepless nights, since you will feel anxious and depressed. Do you constantly keep yourself in the center of drama? If so, do not allow others to drag you down. Try to stay away from situations that drag you down and take you beyond your control. If you are focusing on the wrong items in life, you are not improving overall personal life.

Do you tell you that you are not good enough? Do you say you are not strong? Do you feel like you are not enough? Do you feel like you deserve what you get, when what you get causes you sadness?


For some people it is easy to focus on negativity, which causes them ongoing depression. If you are one of those people at interviews, when asked about your qualities, skills, etc, speaks out rambling off your bad qualities, you need to stop now. What you are doing is taking away your opportunities to achieve. Some of us are lost at words when it comes to speaking highly of ourselves. For some people this seems selfish, or boisterous, yet it is not. Learn to become your own best friend and give yourself frequent compliments. Stop focusing on your self and criticizing your every move, and forget about the past mistakes and focus on your future. Sure, we can say it is easier said than done; yet if you put forth effort it is easier than you believe. So many times, we do not take full responsibility of our own actions. We rather live a life blaming others for our mistakes or misfortunes. Do not obsess over past mistakes, live in denial, and stop blaming others to see how your life will improve. We all make bad choices in life. This is a part of living. Learn from your mistakes and move ahead. Treat each new experience as a point of learning. Next, we can learn how to wake up to improving overall personal life.