The Will to Win in Every Part of Life

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" Albert Einstein

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

“Shoot for the moon…even if you

Miss you’ll still be amongst them stars”- Beanie Sigel(rap artist)

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

Visualization Exercises(meditation):

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

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

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

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

Quantum Mind Power

Daily Routine:

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

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

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

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

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

6. Eyes should be closed.

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

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

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

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

11. Now that you are in a state of no thought and total relaxation. Begin to think only on your intention. Remember whatever you think now is in a state that will be impregnated directly into your subconscious. It is incredibly important that you don't color any of your thoughts with any lack,limitation,dis belief or doubt. This is why almost all self help material does not produce the results people expect. Wishing for more money(or anything else) never works, the thought of wanting more money also has the thought of doubt attached to it. Ask your self how many thoughts that you think about have been modified in a way that is not beneficial to you. You just never realize that you are programming your sub conscious all day. This is why meditation is so powerful. You are able to make suggestions to your subconscious where the thought is not modified in any way shape or form. So if you want to make things happen fast you need to get rid of the concept of attaching time to yourthoughts. You have to remember that everything you get in your life comes based on the conditions that you set up and time is usually one condition that cuases the most frustration with people. Just as a computer programmer gives a computer instructions to complete a task, you program the most powerful computer you have which is your subconscious. Your conscious mind acts as the gate keeper as to what thoughts you let in. Now that you know this choose to become more aware and conscious about what you think all day long. Learn to see the world in a non linear way, remove time from your consiousness and watch how things show up in your life faster than you ever thought.

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

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

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

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

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

Beliefs:

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

“Nothing happens unless first a dream” – Carl Sandburg

Some Ways to shape your beliefs:

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

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

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

How to remove junk beliefs:

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.howtogetyourshineon.com

In the pursuit of the life we dream of, this journey we are on for successful living, the focus is usually on figuring out what it is exactly that we want and then setting ourselves on course for going and getting it. This is very important: Know what you want to get for your life and then pursue it.

But there is another aspect of achieving the life you dream of that seems on the surface to actually be counter-productive to getting the life you want, yet is imperative to the successful life. It is giving.

Giving – of yourself, your time, your money, your energy – is something that takes us from simply being successful people in the traditional sense of the term, to being people who lead successful lives.

Giving is what makes us fully human. It is the essence of what we are, people who are here on earth together, not simply people who hope to clamor to the top of the pile in the survival of the fittest. Yes, pursue your life and your success with wild abandon; be responsible for yourself and take ownership of your life, realizing that you cannot be responsible for others, but also allow yourself to become a giving person.

Giving is also what allows us to accomplish things far beyond ourselves; and that is part of what living the life of our dreams is all about, right? Accomplishing great things through ourselves – and others!

How do we do that? Here are some ideas:

Make your giving purposeful.
Give to people and organizations that fulfill purposes that you believe in. This way, they feel good, you feel good, and the work you believe in gets done. Giving purposefully will give you the ability to know that your giving is doing something great.

Make your giving proactive.
Take control of your giving. When we control our giving it becomes proactive rather than reactive. We know that we are doing what we want to do rather than what others may manipulate us to do. We can avoid a lot of the wondering about validity that comes when we give out of reaction. Giving proactively will give you a lot of peace of mind.

Make your giving methodical.
Every month my wife and I write out our charity checks before any other checks. We do that on purpose to keep our hearts in the right place. Every month, month in and month out, year after year, we go about our giving. Our goal is to give away $1,000,000 by the end of our lives (and we may have to even readjust that goal as time goes by since we set it when we were only 24 years old and we are well on our way to that goal.) This isn’t done by giving big chunks from time to time. It is accomplished by checks each and every month, methodically. Giving methodically allows you to build up larger gifts over time.

Make your giving generous.
Don’t be a tightwad! Loosen up the purse strings a bit. Think of your giving in regard to how you can be generous, not how you can cover your charitable bases. I have found that it isn’t the extra money given to charity that breaks people. It is usually mismanagement. And at the end of your life you will most likely not know the difference financially, though you will in your heart. Making your giving generous allows you to give even greater amounts over time.

Make your giving increasing.
Don’t just give the same amount from year to year – increase your giving. I think there are two good times to readjust your giving: The first of the year and any time your income goes up. Bump your giving up then, if you can. This will keep you on pace with your giving goals and you will notice the increase less from your bottom line. Make your giving increasing and your giving will keep pace with your income.

Make your giving from the heart.
Don’t just let your giving be a mind issue. Let it be a heart issue. This is what gives us our humanity. What causes make your eyes tear up? What causes really mean something to your heart when you are honest with yourself? Start giving to these causes! Let your checkbook be a reflection of your heart! Make your giving from the heart and you will allow your heart to grow.

(Sometimes) Make your giving spontaneous.
Sometimes… Allow yourself to be spontaneous with your giving. Do allow yourself to react sometimes. Will you get taken advantage of? Yes, sometimes. But you will also be doing something within yourself that will keep you from becoming cynical. Sometimes, as life has been good to you and you find yourself blessed, let yourself be the blessing to someone else. Make your giving spontaneous (sometimes) and you will battle the disease of cynicism about charity that can creep in.

These are just a few ideas that you can implement right now to begin the art of giving in your life. The key is to decide that you will become a giver, and not merely a taker. You will choose to leave something behind in this world and not merely try to get something out of it.

And as we all commit to that, our world will be a better place and we can all live the lives that we dream of.

Warning! Unless, you are still in the rat race of life, this piece is not for you. And you should therefore, not bother to read it. In other words, it is not a piece for those already in the upwardly mobile class nor sophisticated executive let alone, the successful politician. No! They already know more than enough of the demands of success; and for sure, I am not about to start carrying coal to new castle.

This is about us and for us. I mean the jobless, the gainfully and not so gainfully employed, the self employed and the ambitious. It also includes some of the religious leaders. Just anyone who believes he is not yet where you ought to be––the upper strata.

Success is a product of three interwoven factors. And of which the absence of one or more, in the activities and striving of any individual or group, results in failure with the attendant frustration, Disenchantment, disillusionment and some times, neurasthenic outburst against the nearest person(s) and other like manifestations. And these success drivers include the right plan, the right people and the right place.

The right Plan is the foundation of any worthwhile human endeavour. Simply put, it is, the skeleton without which, neither flesh or life can be manifested. And consequently, the most complex task towards the achievement of any objective. For this reason, it is not a tea party to the brilliant and deliberate and without meaning to and not even knowing it, a “no go area” for the less brilliant.

Many people go through life not really knowing what to plan for or against; and even when they have been guided into identifying a worthy enterprise, still do not know where or how to start turning such identified goal(s) into reality.

But the truth is that unless you want to wander aimlessly in the wilderness of life never arriving; then you must plan. If you find it difficult identifying what to focus on, I advice you engage your fantasies. Yes. I mean just that! Fantasy only becomes bad when you never snap out of it otherwise, properly canalised; it can set you among the class of visionaries.

Know this, it is your dreams that you speedily achieve in fantasy and if can stop and ask yourself how that can also be achieved in the real world, you will somehow, develop an action plan towards doing just that. For instance, if you fantasize about your addressing a large congregation as a public speaker, it would do no harm to rather than continue, stop the fantasy and start enquiring about how to become one and immediately, setting in motion, the task of implementing your findings starting with small groups. You certainly must perform woefully at the initial stage but declare in your heart that you are a speaker and before long, you will become one. Remember, what you declare is what you are.

The right people: We cannot all always be leaders in our society or association but one area where we can and should be leaders and remain so till the end of our life, is in the area of picking those who we allow to influence our thought and consequently, our life. Input will always determine the output. A former Nigerian leader once stated in an interview that he never considers cost where the attraction of the right kind of persons was concerned. If that is true for him, it should be the gospel for the rest of us. Know that while it might be true for unlike charges in metals to attract, in chemicals, it is totally different—they try to cancel out each. Attract unlike minded people only for those negatives—be sure they are negatives, which you wish to do away with

The people who you are to attract are not just those who are capable of debating your strategies but should include guinea pigs but, distribute your respect equally amongst all of them—for what they are adding and making you to subtract from your life. Remember, mother Theresa became a world acknowledged personality by identifying with those beneath her—the poor.

The right place: the concept of place before the current computer age use to be synonymous with physical presence in a location—like clubs, church society, social groups or travelling out the shores of ones country depending on the kind of people you are interested in--where there is a high probability of opportunity springing forth. Not anymore. Today, you can sit in the comfort of your home and meet more persons than you will ever need in a life time through social networks and more.

This is not in any way, discounting the effect of the physical environment and the make of our neighbours on our person and determination to achieve our dreams and conduct. I strongly believe that if you move some poor folks to VGC in Nigeria, they will turn for the better within years.

I have written at length about your self image and the many tricks it uses to keep you under its control. There is one other trick that I have not mentioned that will keep you from making changes in your life that will allow you to attract more of what you desire into your life.

Even though you may have decided to go after the dreams of your heart; even though you may have made a commitment to a process for change; even though you may have engaged in the practices of that process; and you may have even in successfully planting the seeds of your desires into your creative subconscious mind, your self image has one more card to put into play.

It is the natural tendency of your mind to think it has sufficient knowledge available to it for you to figure the best script for bringing you what you want. It thinks you can predict what sequence of steps should be taken to accomplish it. In other words, your self image will prompt you to dictate to the Universe how to bring about your desires.

Yield not to that temptation! Consider this. Your (conscious) mind on which you depend is limited to your experiences, which probably do not include any experiences in the area of your desires. If you had experiences in the area of your desires, you likely be now be enjoying a life filled with those desires.

The Universe, on the other hand, has access to not only all of the experiences you have had but all of the experiences that everyone who has ever lived and who live now have had. It has access to all laws in existence, both known and unknown. It has access to every particle of every substance, visible and invisible, that has ever been or that ever will be. It knows how to do anything and everything, for it has already created every thing that has been created.

The problem with attempting to predict a course of events to bring your desires into your experience is that you are in essence telling the Universe that you are changing the object of your focus, therefore, your are changing your goal to your act of predicting and the act of predicting produces nothing you desire.

After a while of seeing no visible evidence that your predicting is producing your desires, you gradually give up the attempt and slowly fall back into clutches of the old self image.

Keep your focused attention on the image of the end result that you desire, nothing else. Do your work. The HOW is the domain of the Universe. Let it do its work. Persist in your focusing. When your self image gets the message that you are determined to succeed, it will give way to your control. Your subconscious mind will accept unto itself that you really do desire your goal and by its own processes it will take your desire in as a desire seed. Once the subconscious accepts it, it MUST create your desires for you. It has no choice in the matter, and it delivers them to you in the most expeditious manner.

This I know for sure. You can claim or re-claim control of your own mind power. You are the most miraculous of all living beings on earth. You are the owner of a mind that is so stupendous, that as you truly begin mastering your mind power and consciously using it, there is no dream that you can dream that you cannot achieve.

Martin Bigler is an experienced Copywriter and offers Resources, Tools and Educational Content to help interested People build their Internet Business successfully and with motivation. His Educational Martin Bigler Newsletter offers profound step by step guidance on various Marketing and Sales Tasks. A big selection of Free Reports, Downloads and useful Links are available at MartinBigler.com and the MartinBiglerBlog. Copyright by Martin Bigler.

About the Author
Terry Schurter is an internationally recognized Thought Leader, Director of the nonprofit International Process and Performance Institute, Author and highly sought-after speaker. To learn more on Terry's perspectives or contact Terry please visit: the International Process and Performance Institute, http://www.ipapi.org or his personal website, http://www.tschurter.com.

Motivation is a key factor in any successful goal-setting plan. Achieving personal goals, self-improvement plans and life goals depend on our ability to maintain a sustained and consistent effort.

Research suggests that a powerful ally in the brain known as the neurotransmitter, dopamine can help. When we understand a bit of brain chemistry and consistently use some simple goal-setting techniques, we can put this knowledge to work for us.

Some Basic Concepts:

• Dopamine plays a role in the part of the brain associated with pleasure and pain. When we eat or have a romantic encounter, for example, the brain feels rewarded and this chemical is released. We experience feelings of pleasure and improved mood.
• When the brain feels cut off from a rewarding experience, production decreases and we feel anxious and fearful.


• When you receive an unexpected reward or successfully pursue someone or something, dopamine levels rise. They stop rising when the goal is achieved.


• When an expected reward is not received or you fail to realize your desired outcome, levels plummet.


• Researchers believe that dopamine is involved in sending a signal to the parts of the brain responsible for establishing new behavior patterns. The brain wants you to learn and repeat behaviors it views as positive or rewarding. By making you feel good, your brain teaches you to repeat behaviors that created the feeling.


• This sense of pleasure acts as a motivator that keeps us focused on our goals. The chemical continues to be released so long as we keep our attention on the goal and pursue it.


• Researchers have found that when we set a goal, regardless of its size or expected delivery date, the brain takes possession of it as if it is already ours. When we act as if we already have what we are working towards, we reinforce this.


• Once the brain claims ownership of the object of our desire, it can become an obsession. We crave the dopamine and the mood lift it brings. Your brain is now working powerfully to motivate you to pursue your goal.


• The flip side of the coin is that this makes it more difficult when you wish to eliminate behaviors the brain views as rewarding. For example, nicotine and cocaine keep dopamine levels in the brain elevated. Your brain sees this as a reward and taught you to continue the behavior. It wants to avoid the anxiety and negative feelings associated with losing what it believes it already possesses.

• Choose something you truly desire and feel motivated to accomplish. In order for this to work, the goal must be important to you.


• You must be willing to invest yourself in the process and have a reasonable expectation of achieving your desired outcome.


• Give yourself a few weeks to adjust to changes. It's believed that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. If we were to apply our dopamine model to this, we could say it takes the brain some time to view your new behaviors as rewarding. Then it will release the chemical in response to the new behavior so you keep repeating it.


• Break your big goal into small, achievable goals that require you to do some work. You may choose to set weekly or monthly objectives. This gives your brain several items to own instead of just one, increasing its investment in the process. It's also easier for your brain to adjust to smaller changes.


• Have a daily to-do list. Do something every day to support your intentions. Include the little items. Cross them off as you complete them. Each item represents something for the brain to own and pursue. It then becomes a reward when crossed off. You can give yourself other rewards as well, so long as they don't sabotage your desired outcome. Determine the reward in advance so your brain can look forward to it. Also include a few spontaneous rewards.


• Write your to-do list the night before to engage your brain before you even wake up in the morning. This is the part of the pursuit.


• Evaluate your progress and make changes in your plan as needed. If you are asking too much of yourself, you will not view this as achievable and may experience anxiety or feel as though you failed. Likewise, be sure to stretch yourself a little so your brain experiences the thrill of the pursuit.

Success: an event that accomplishes its intended purpose. That's a definition, but to me a very boring one. I brush my teeth every morning, which accomplishes its intended purpose. But do I feel that I have achieved success because of that? No, not really.

I perceive success as something much more than that; success should engender some emotion when achieved. Achieving success should make you want to jump off your seat, rush to tell somebody what you've done, make you feel elated, sometimes relieved if you've been pursuing that success for a long time. But, like many of the subjects in this web site, it is a very individual perception. What is success to one may be mundane to another. What is a minor achievement for one may be a major success to somebody else.

When you think about success, you think about relative achievements in your own world. Each element of your world, in which you wish to achieve success, is important to you, and there is no need to make comparisons with others in their worlds. You cannot affect the success of others; you can affect your own success. The Achieving Success section of this website will, I hope, help you to do just that.

Success is very much achievable to everybody. Believe that and you have taken the first step. If you do not believe in yourself, then tackling that self esteem is your first task. However, initial belief in your ability to achieve whatever it is you want to succeed in, is an essential if you are not to be hampered by self doubt throughout your journey to success.

There are many things that will affect your ability to succeed, and it is those under your immediate control that it is best to focus on. Once you do that, then the characteristics you develop can be applied to becoming successful in a range of activities and pursuits.

What is important to you is that you, as you start to reach milestones in your ambitions, you appreciate your own achievements. It is a boost, of course, if others appreciate what you have done too, but appreciating yourself will strengthen your self belief, and reinforce your determination to succeed.

Some of the key characteristics you will find in those who are successful are perseverance, prepared to research, plan and work hard, practice a lot even when things do not seem to be going well, and an ability to recover and learn from setbacks. At the outset of whatever it is you are try to succeed in, a strong vision of your future, planning, and setting yourself achievable targets can all play an important role.

If you feel you do not naturally have all those characteristics, then do not despair. Each of them can be accomplished by your own application. You can use meditation and visualization techniques to initiate your vision, and they can certainly be learnt both for that purpose and for each step you take to reach your goals. Setting goals and objectives can be a personal or business technique that can be learnt. You can develop inner strength to succeed if you apply yourself to doing just that; that will enable you to recover from setbacks more easily.

All these attributes, skills and characteristics can be learnt developed. But it is up to you to get things started. Those who do not start travel nowhere. For others, life can be a continuous journey of fulfillment.

It might take a little coffee or probably a few rounds of beer or any other booze you could get your hands on when it comes to relaxing after a hard day's work. Well, yeah I'm guilty about that one as well, unless I'm caught dead wearing a lampshade over my head after a few rounds of vodka… half-naked! Okay, bad example and I apologize to everyone reading this after getting nightmares about me in that state of drunken stupor.

Just don't ask how it happened, please.

But what's really interesting is that how do people go through the usual part of life when faced with vein-popping stress? I mean, the new age thing like Zen or yoga is one of the good things and it actually works. Is there room for the intellectual side of people who can actually smell the roses-in-a-can while on the move? It kind of had me thinking that there really must be something in this 'mind-over-matter' thing.

Humor is indeed the best medicine there is whenever you are. I mean anyone can pay good money to listen to a comedian just to make you wet your pants after laughing so hard. Despite of what's been happening, and to those who has gone though the ordeal, it's better to just laugh while facing the troubles with a clear mind than anger with a clouded vision. One of my favorite celebrities of all time may have to be Woody Allen. Now this is one guy who gives you the in-your-face bluntness that he pulls out with gusto, even without even trying. You can talk just about anything with a man, and he's bound to mock the subject and you'll end up laughing rather than being upset about it.

Woody Allen has this to say:

1. "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." It sounds good to me, I mean the practicality of all things does involve money but it doesn't have to take an arm and a leg to get it.

2. "I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government." 'Nuff said.

3. "There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?" This happens to be one of the classic ones. I mean the issue about life's little problems isn't all that bad, until 'he' shows up.

Sure, relationships can get complicated, or does have its complications that probably any author about relationships is bound to discover it soon. We follow what our heart desires, unless you're talking about the heart as in the heart that pump blood throughout your body.

4. "Love is the answer, but while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions." And if you want more, just keep on asking!

5. "A fast word about oral contraception. I asked a girl to go to bed with me, she said 'no'." It sounds, 'practical', I think.

And when it comes to everyday life, he really knows how to make the best out of every possible scenario, and it doesn't involve a lawsuit if he strikes a nerve.

6. "Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats." I never had a boat in my bathtub before. Just staring at it while soaking in hot water makes me seasick already.

7. "I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens." If it rains, it pours.

8. "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose." It could get worse when you're guzzling on beer… or mouthwash, and it happened to me once!

9. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." At least he doesn't smite us with lightning, and I'm thankful for that.

And despite of what may happen to all of us in the next ten, twenty, or even thirty years, I guess we all have to see things in a different kind of light and not just perspective. I can't seem to imagine life without any piece of wisdom that could guide us. Whether we're religious or not, it takes more courage to accept your fears and learn how to deal with them is all that matters when it comes to even just getting along.

And to sum things up, here is the last nugget of wisdom to go by… however, whenever, and wherever we may be.

10. "The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have."

Ciao!

They say there's more than one way to skin a cat. The same goes when you start tearing your hair out with all the frustration, grief, anxiety, and yes, stress. It's a state of mental conditioning that is like taking that bitter pill down your throat, causing you to lose your sense of self, and worse your sanity. Just thinking about it can drive anyone off the edge.