Archive for February 7th, 2008
Oprah had another show on today about de-cluttering your life. I was taking a break, and I thought it would make a good choice for letting my mind relax and recharge (and those clutter shows, particularly with Peter Walsh are a great motivator for me).
I was enjoying the show quite a bit and even making a few comments to the TV. Just as I get into my grove, my husband starts yelling “amen’s” from the other room. My motivation time is now over and I just want to throw a shoe at his head.
Our home is NOT cluttered, at least not to the degree you see on all the different shows. We have the odd box of clothes here and there, but mainly because there is no place to store them because my husband complains any time he has to go into the attic. On the flip side, I don’t have my home where I want it to be. There are still things that I want to release so that I have more space (and more money when the stuff is sold).
It’s not right that my husband (who is in no way perfect himself AND who has his own stuff that he doesn’t deal with) makes the comments he does. Even if it’s about other people and their homes and not about me, I can still tell that he is talking at me – if that makes sense.
It’s not fair that I have struggled to change my habits and my thinking and my actions so that my family can benefit, and my husband still sees the negative.
There are a lot of things the situation may be, but the truth is that just doesn’t matter. It all comes back to me. I have to do what I know to do AND I can’t let people, or situations, or television shows suck my energy away. In the end, one excuse is just as good as the next.
So, I didn’t throw my shoe or throw my husband out. Instead, I got up and started back doing what I should have been doing in the first place. Working, writing, and making my dreams come true.
February 7th, 2008
There are many websites that promise if you will just spend your time writing free for them then you will get money in the long run. You know the sites I mean, you register, post, and then sit around and wait for your numbers to add up so that you can get paid.
These are some of the sites that I started out on when I first began writing online. It offered me at least the hope of some cash sometime down the line. Besides, my writing got posted on someone’s site and that’s what was really important, right?
Here are a few of the sites that I would recommend IF you want to try your hand at pay per click postings:
• eHow.com – It’s rather a simple lay out and you can write about any thing that requires steps (like How to Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich). Just make sure you sign up for the Writer Compensation program.
• Associatedcontent.com – Write what you will and then see if they will buy it. You can sell all your rights, or retain the rights to print the article elsewhere (which means they won’t pay you in advance). I’ve known a few people personally who have made some money off this site, but not enough to pay the phone bill much less the mortgage.
• Helium.com – Click on a subject, write and post a response and then spend some time rating other people’s articles (the more you read the better you’ll do).
There are probably plenty more sites that let you post your hard work and get paid pennies for it. These three sites are ones that I am personally registered on and have made money using (eHow has been the most lucrative thus far). I don’t recommend you rely on it for your main income, but one of these sites could be a fun way to make a few extra dollars here and there.
February 7th, 2008
Forget all the expensive gym memberships. Box up you collection of dusty exercise videos. Today is the day that you start losing weight without doing one moment of exercise.
1. Clean the house. Take a broom and a mop and get to work. Sweep the entire house from top to bottom and then follow up with a good mopping. It’s an amazing upper body work out (and you can really burn up the calories if you see how fast you can get it all done).
2. Mow the yard. Forget the riding contraptions that cost more than my first car did. Invest in a quality push mower. Pushing that machine around the yard, twice a week, will not only tone up your lower body but will also help you to appreciate pavement. For the best work out around, invest in a self-propelled mower.
3. Play with the children. Whether you jump on the trampoline, take a hike with the whole family (and inevitable carry the toddler on your back) or just run around kicking the soccer ball, you are bound to get a great work out in muscles you had forgotten you had.
4. Play with the spouse 
– enough said!
5. Wash the windows (inside and out). Climbing up and down the ladder to reach the top corners of the many windows in your home is going to tone more in your lower body than any expensive Stairmaster ever could.
6. Plant a garden. Between the digging, plowing, stooping, weeding and hauling you will get a full body work out that you will not soon forget. If you really want to put your muscles to the test then rent a sod cutter and clear some area in your yard for a NEW garden (be sure to till well before doing any planting).
7. Volunteer to keep the toddler room at church. You’ll do plenty of lifts and squats and maybe even a few presses. Rolling around with the kids can be the best exercise in the world.
The great thing about these activities is that they help keep you moving. That is one of the most important keys to losing weight. Besides, if you are up and going then you aren’t vegging in front of the television eating.
Instead of spending your time (and money) at the gym, let go of some of the conveniences around your home and you will find that you can lose weight without doing any exercising.
February 7th, 2008
My father is a salesman, has been for as long as I can remember, and may have been born with a gene that helps him be persuasive. My brothers and I can all sell anything if we set our mind to it. It could be because we were surrounded with sales and techniques from early one, but I still say there is something genetic to it as well.
I was introduced to books like The One Minute Salesman and Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude almost as soon as I started reading. Dale Carnegie and Zig Ziglar were household words, and I even had the opportunity to attend some of their programs.
Now that I have my own home and family (and no of us are salesman per se) I still have a copy of many of the books I was introduced to so long ago. Recently, I started opening them again. I remembered why my father had placed such value on these books, and why after all these years they methods (and the people) are still so popular. Self-help books (programs and seminars) really can make you rich. There are just a few things required of you.
1. You have to be ready and willing to change and eager to learn. Most people don’t read self-help material for the entertainment value. Reading the books (or attending seminars) is just a way to meet the hunger for something different.
2. You have to be willing to act on what you learn. Knowledge is useless unless action is applied. And wealth will not find its way to your door (no matter how many books you read) if you don’t get moving and do something to bring it there.
3. You have to look for (and find) the silver lining in every day. Wealth likes to hang around positive people – so does everyone else for that matter. Start training your mouth to speak positive things by repeating positive things until they become natural.
4. You have to train your mind to look for new opportunities. There are so many success stories of people who became wealthy just because they were willing to think outside the box. Take 15 minutes each day to think about your goals and how you can meet them in new and different ways.
5. You have to learn to trust and believe in a higher power. All truly successful people will tell you that they did not get there on their own.
Your success depends on you – not on your job, not on your education, not even on your abilities. If you can dream it, and you are willing to put the energy into reaching for that dream then you can become it – what ever that it may be.
February 7th, 2008
