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If You Want to Change Your Life, Change Your Thoughts

October 22, 2007

Good reading...check it out!!!

"Tell a friend to tell a friend!!!"

The purpose of this article is to motivate you to take action on creating the life you want and to provide some basic direction on how to do that. If you're dissatisfied with some part of your life, know that you have the power to change it and it all starts with your thoughts!

Before I lose you, this article is not about "The Secret" and it's not about "The Law of Attraction." Instead it is about the undeniable fact that how you think and what you think about determines the shape and quality of your life.

Eliminate Tragedy?
Can your thinking prevent tragedy and challenges from touching your life? No. We all experience our share of hardship and misfortune. Life is not always easy, but it is wondrous and beautiful all the same.

Lemonade
So if you can't eliminate bad things in your life, what can thoughts do to help in difficult situations? By controlling your thoughts you can determine how those incidents affect your life. It's the old "Lemons into Lemonade" maxim. Choose to find the good, find the lessons, and you will shape a more positive life for yourself.

Success
And, of course, how and what you think creates your life, from how your feel to what manifests physically in your life. Your career, your health, your relationships and more are shaped by your thoughts. I'm not saying that there aren't outside influences that also have impact, but why not take control where you can, in your thoughts?

Guide to Changing Your Thoughts to Shape the Life You Want

1. Make an appointment with yourself. Take a morning or afternoon off to think about your life. If this sounds scary to you, this is one of the first places to change your thoughts. This is fun. What you can dream, you can craft a plan to achieve. Find a quiet place with no distractions such as the library, sitting in your bed, or sitting in your car.

2. Daydream. During your appointment with yourself, think about areas in your life in which you want to make a change. Areas to consider:

• Business/Career
• Relationships
• Finances
• House & Home
• Physical Health
• Spiritual
• Leisure

3. Write Your Dreams Down. Write out what you want to change. Maybe there is only one area you want to change. Don't feel like you have to change everything. But if there is something that could improve the quality of your life, write it down. Don't worry about whether it is possible. Assume that anything is possible.

4. The Action Plan. For your top changes, write out some rough plans about how you could achieve those dreams. Break down the long term goal into monthly, weekly and/or daily things you'll need to do to get there.

5. Mentors. Who else has done what you want to do? Who inspires you? What can you learn from that person or those people? How do they think? How do they handle challenges? Write it all down. Let that person serve as a guide to how you work towards your dreams. Seek out these guides even if it is simply by reading someone's book or blog. Ask for help and guidance. You'll likely be surprised to find that when you ask most people will try to find a way to help you. Lastly, remind yourself every day that if your mentor can succeed, so can you!

6. The Reminder Poster. Use your creativity here. The idea is to create a poster of which you can make several copies to hang in key places such as your bathroom, bedside table, kitchen, car and desk. On the poster (any size you want) list your Dreams, your daily action plan, and the thoughts you want to cultivate each day. You can include quotes or other inspiration from your mentors too.Of course feel free to add pictures, color, texture, whatever makes it powerful for you.

7. Gratitude. Take a bit of time each morning to really appreciate what you currently have in your life that is good. In the evening take a bit of time to review your accomplishments and learnings from the day, either in quiet meditation, in a journal, or with someone who supports you. It can be a nice ritual to create with either a spouse, your children, or other person who is important in your life.

8. Believe. Believe in the power of your thoughts. Here are some examples of how powerful a thought can be. All of these great achievements by humans started with an idea or thought in someone's mind.

• Putting a man on the moon.
• Democracy.
• The incredible expansion of Dubai in just 7 years.
• Sailing around the world, four stories: One, Two, Three, and Four.
  
• Writing a book.
• Creating a movement to save the environment.
• Inventing the heart transplant operation.
• The pyramids of Ancient Egypt.
  

Where there's a will there is a way. To build your will, build your mind through strong empowering thoughts daily. The people who had the thoughts that sparked these achievements listed above, did not let doubt get in their way. And neither should you!

9. Take Action. Your thoughts and plans need to be combined with action to create a result. The focus on your goals and dreams will provide the energy and motivation for taking action. If motivation is lacking, don't wait for it to appear. Take action first and then watch your energy and motivation blossom! Take action on your goals everyday. Make them a priority by working on your daily goals before doing the mundane things of life.

What is the one thing you are craving to change? What success have you had with this method? Need guidance or encouragement from others? Share your questions on this topic. I look forward to everyone's comments!

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Featured Web Ad: Travel Site (Lot's of Discounts)

October 14, 2007

Hey folks! Just to let you know, from here on out I'm going to start featuring your web ads in my blog. How do I select which ad to feature you ask? Simple, whichever site has the most clicks gets their web ad featured in my blog (with the exception of the one featured in this article). So if your site has only 1 click, then it will be a while before your site is featured in my blog.

To increase clicks, just tell your friends to visit the site.....if they're your real friends, then they will help.  Also you guys will have the chance to rate these sites...5 being most useful and 1 not useful at all . Feel free to post your comments about the site as well....constructive criticism is ok, but be nice.....

"Tell a friend to tell a friend!!"

Travel Site (Lot's of Discounts)

rate this site:

5 (not useful at all)  4 (would rarely use)  3 ( use occasionaly)  2 (would regularly use)  1 (I'm telling my friends)

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TiVO Rocks the Rhapsody Music Service

October 09, 2007

I don't even have TiVo

"Tell a friend to tell a friend!!"

TiVO Rocks the Rhapsody Music Service

It's been muttered about since the first of the year, but now it's official and in full effect: TiVo gets the Rhapsody Music Service, and users get a month-long free trial without providing a credit card, or even signing up. It's just one click. (Okay, like two.)

It's a match-up of make-life-easier products, albeit two of the more famous underdogs in the whole digital-home arena. I had the chance to play around with the software and shoot a gallery of screens to give you an idea of how TiVolicious the Rhapsody experience just got.

You pop through menus with the familiar TiVo feedback sound effects, spelling out song and artist searches exactly as you would for TV shows or actors. You can drill deep with a progressive search (names appear as you type) or stay at high level, looking at Rhapsody's new releases and suggestions. You can add songs to a queue, though you can't edit playlists. And if you really want cruise control, there's are plenty of radio options, too. No matter where you are, a tap of the loop-back "return" button will take you to the Rhapsody main menu. (It won't skip back 15 seconds in a song, though.)

What I like, besides the free no-commitment get-hooked-on-crack free trial, is it solves that whole file management problem: you don't need to care about what music is where, or worry about the file formats or DRM issues.

Also, like on the Sonos, Rhapsody on TiVo lets you share DJ responsibilities with others: at a party, you can literally pass the remote around the room, so that everyone can queue up a track or two of their liking. A power-hungry music maniac like me can't relinquish control, but my therapist tells me that this would be a good idea, so I encourage you to try and share.

Of course, the tradeoff is $13 per month once you climb on board. Once you have an account, you can use it on your computers as well as your TiVo, but it's still a significant relationship with RealNetworks. The good news is that soon, MTV will take an active role in the already-established partnership known as Rhapsody America. That means Rhapsody's library and decent software plus all of those sweet MTV Urge playlists.

Since we just got it, I don't have any real nasty things to say, but I'll play around with it and let you know if there's anything to warn you about. For now, though, I am looking forward to browsing music on the big screen.

Software roll-out is happening already, with most broadband-connected TiVo users being set up with the app by the end of the month. If you want to try to weasel your way to the front of the line, you can visit tivo.com/rhapsody and sign up.

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Celebrate World Animal Week

October 04, 2007

Woof woof!!! Sounds like fetch.....I mean fun

 

"Tell a friend to tell a friend!!"

 

 

 

Trisha Klein posted on October 4, 2007 - 12:31pm.

Trisha Klein, Athens 411

Today is the first day of World Animal Week. It seems strange for World Animal Week to begin on a Thursday, but Oct. 4 is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment.

This year, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi falls amid a flurry of animal cruelty news. First there was Michael Vick, then there were the 40-plus abandoned cats (read the happy ending here), and now a local resident is accused of killing seven puppies.

Luckily, there are several local events planned that will help you celebrate World Animal Week and combat animal cruelty.

St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens offers a blessing of pets ceremony every year on the Sunday closest to St. Francis of Assisi’s feast day. According to the Rev. Beth Long, all pets are invited to the 10:30 a.m. service this Sunday – as long as they bring their owners.

Instead of offering a traditional sermon, members of the congregation are invited to share stories of how animals or nature taught them about God and love. The actual blessing of the animals will occur in the middle of the service, and pet owners are free to leave once the blessing is over.

The Rev. Beth Long said that all pets, whether they are furry, feathered, scaly or slimy, are welcome in the church’s sanctuary this Sunday. If you have any questions about the blessing, you can contact the church at (706) 546-7553.

Read stories about past animal blessings here and here.

Other animal-themed events this week include the Athens Area Humane Society’s pet care clinic, Responsible Dog Ownership Day with the Oconee River Kennel Club, and the Pawtropolis Rags to Riches Art Auction.

The pet care clinic is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Pet Supplies "Plus"
in the Alps Shopping Center. This week, one-year rabies vaccinations will be available for $1 to the first 500 pets. To register for clinic services, click here. Registration is not required, but it will speed up your trip to the clinic.

The Oconee River Kennel Club will celebrate Responsible Dog Ownership Day from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at Herman C. Michael Park in Watkinsville. Activities include obedience, agility and therapy dog demonstrations, Oconee County K-9 dog demo, meet the breed, junior showmanship clinic, raffle and bake sale and an AKC dog show match. Part of the proceeds raised will be donated to local canine programs. Call (706) 310-0319 for more information.

The Pawtropolis Rags to Riches Art Auction will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for the auction cost $20 and need to be purchased in advance. Call (706) 227-7887 for information.

I’ll probably observe World Animal Week, which runs through Oct. 10, by taking my dogs to play at Wiggly Field.

The dog park gets Tigrr’s seal of approval.

For more ways to honor animals, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, WSPA, has made a list of ten ways to make the world a better place for animals.

If you have suggestions on how to celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi or World Animal Week, leave a comment below.

To submit an event for the Athens Banner-Herald’s event calendars, Best Bets, or this blog, send an email to trisha.klein@onlineathens.com or leave a comment below.

Trisha Klein's blog

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