Be Happy – Your failure Can Ensure Your Success

Is it possible to love without attachment? We do have so much love to give, but is it the right kind of love? We tend to feel a kind of ownership over all that we love whether we own that thing or not. It is easier to utter the words ‘I love you’ than to actually mean it. Love is perceived in many different ways. My mother would say: “Love, but never be possessive of what you love. Once you are possessive, you might claim ‘this is mine”.

There is a hierarchy of love - right on top parents, spouse, children, siblings, other family and friends. Love stops here and further down the ladder it becomes ‘like’. We must love all as if our own. It is universal love. This is not easy to follow but maybe we could try. For starters, we could do little things that make people smile. A kind word or tone would not take away from you but give a lot the other person. If you want peace and if you want happiness, you must live in love. Only through love will you find inner peace. Only through love will you find true happiness. Love flourishes through giving and forgiving. Develop your love! Immerse yourself in love! Love is the basis of everything It is the single most important quality that has to be developed. All your thoughts must become immersed in this quality of love… then truth will naturally establish itself in your heart. Never feel disheartened if you do not get results in your love. Your love with someone must be free of your interests. If you fail in earlier instances to win anyone’s heart, you should not feel disappointed. Your consistency can ensure success.

On this earth, we are all here on a journey granted to us for a limited period. Along the way we find several co-travelers who become part of our lives but they too have their own destination. People who serve are Godlike: their service should be appreciated, whether they belong to your peer group or not. We need to learn to love without attachment. We love those who we feel are ours. What about the rest? Why is an amazing emotion like love saved only for those few people who we perceive as ours? For instance, how might one learn to love the person who has wronged us? I guess I would say OK, don’t love, but at least try not to hate. That is an improvement.

Now, we may have look on materialism. It is true that things can never bring you happiness. Once you’ve bought something, its value diminishes. At first I used to think that was not true, but in time I learnt that it is one of the few truths in life. I constantly try and make an effort to not get attached to ‘things’ now because at the end of the day they are things. This doesn’t mean don’t shop, don’t want… it means realize that actual happiness cannot be attained from anything external. Enjoy all the things you have and be grateful for it, as that too is the grace of God but do not expect it to give you anything. I find my peace every evening as I sit by myself and watch the sun set. That is when I feel real joy. The sun sets with such ease and that is how we should be.

I would get attached to songs and smells! Some smells can take you back in time and songs too can transport you to old memories. It is nice to remember but if we dwell on the past we are missing out on the present; we tend to miss out on new smells and songs as we’re so preoccupied with the old. We have to let go because holding on to something does not give us ownership rights. So much baggage! To enjoy the journey, travel light. In other words, practise loving detachment. Love your failure – it can ensure your success.

A successful venture capitalist, Peter Morgan Kash had raised millions of dollars and started up dozens of successful bio-pharma companies. He has also lectured on entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business and Japan’s Nihon University. One of the earliest lessons he learnt was that there is no success without failure. He started working on wall street at the age of 21 and by 30 made a sizable fortune. “But in no time, I lost virtually all of it,” he writes in his book, Make Your Own Luck: Success Tactics You Won’t Learn in Business School. “What made the loss particularly difficult was that my setback was due entirely to my own poor judgment. No one had squandered my success except me.’

As it turned out, this period became one of the richest and most educational times of the New York businessman’s life. He went on to have several successes. “But I do believe that I would never have had them, if I had not failed so spectacularly early on,” he mentioned recently. “In our culture, people tend to think of failure as a static condition or a termination point at which a person’s inability to achieve their goals, aims and desires becomes apparent. This is often viewed as a more or less permanent condition. That, however, is completely erroneous understanding of failure.”

After studying the lives of dozens of successful entrepreneurs, Kash found that all people who succeed go through periods of their lives when al their efforts seem to fail. Yet what separated boys was not failure per se, but how they responded to difficult times.” Remember that a negative multiplied by a negative can be a positive. He says. “Today I realize that life is wave pattern – there are ups and downs, good times and bad. Life doesn’t stop at any one point on the wave. Success and failure are just two words we use to describe different points on the wave. Wherever you may find yourself on the wave, know that this is temporary,” he explains.

But as a doer, he also has anti dotes: first, listen to your heart, on what you truly want and then never give up. Listen also to your critics, although you must not measure yourself by their take. Learn to pay the price of success. Finally, have faith in yourself and the web of life. Even a negative from someone can lead to a positive outcome.

Be Happy – Your failure Can Ensure Your Success

Be Happy – Review Your Working Periodically

It's Sunday evening and I'm just completing my weekly ritual which involves an inspection of my performance during the last week against the target I fixed and planning for the coming week.

Overall it's been a very good week and 7 of my 10 priority goals are either on or above target. The three that are below, well let's just say they have my utmost attention. I'm sharing this with you as the weekly ritual of reflecting, reviewing and updating has allowed me to continue to grow and make significant performance gains for twelve straight years without missing a beat.

I'm convinced that anyone and that means YOU, can use the following system to make 2010 the best year of your life. Before I share my weekly ritual with you, let me provide a strong dose of reality as to WHY you should take this very seriously. Right now there are now 137 days already gone and 228 days are still in our hand to be used in 2010.

The truth is that NONE of the plans, goals or intentions that you set at the beginning of the year have held up against the weight of opposition and adversity and change. I've been around the block a few times to know that the shelf life of any goal or plan expires VERY quickly if it is not reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Good intentions, while honourable, are of little use when you let weeks, months, and years of potential and possibility slip by un-inspected. The fact that you most likely don't engage in a weekly performance review is one of the key reasons why you are probably behind target after 137 days.

Let's change that right now! READY, SET, REVIEW. Isolate one goal and ask the following questions:
1. What specific goal am I committed to achieve? 2. What are my current results in relation to that goal? 3. What went right and why? Identify strengths and strategies to repeat. 4. What went wrong and why? Identify weaknesses and strategies to drop. 5. What corrective actions will/should I immediately implement to remain on target? 6. What are my commitments / goals for the upcoming week so that I can consider my efforts a success?

That's it, pretty simple isn't it? Of course it is! So take a guess at what I'd like you to do right now? I challenge you to sit down and complete this exercise. Give it the time and attention it deserves and I'm quite confident that you will have positioned yourself for having a breakthrough week. This system may help you review your performance, your working periodically and improve your working if you feel that you are somewhere wrong.

Be Happy – Review Your Working Periodically.

Be Happy – We Can Win Evil Spirits

Every human being is a social animal. This is a proverb we mostly use when we study the social behaviour of human beings. We accept that the human beings are like animals but their attitude makes difference and put far away from the group of other animals. Virtually, our divine capability of using intelligence towards socialization makes us different. But all the humans are not the same. Their approach to any single issue may differ. We need to identify and make sure how that approach may happen beneficial to others.

You know Sister Alphonsa, a native of Kerala in India who has recently been canonized by the Vatican as a Saint! Canonization did not make her a saint, she was already a saintly lady. It means that she is allowed to be publicly celebrated in the Christian ceremony of liturgy. Saint Alphonsa had a difficult life full of suffering, but she never complained. She lost her mother as a baby and was brought up aunt. She burnt her feet as a youth, becoming deformed. She suffered many illnesses, and died at a young age of 36 with an agonizing tumor.

Yet she was not bitter at her misfortunes, but charitable to those in need. Although dedicated to the Christian God, she made genuine friendships with peers of other religions. Whilst in wretched pain, she offered hope of healing to people suffering around her. As a young trainee nun (a postulant) she wrote in her diary: “ I want to be careful never to reject anyone. I will only speak sweet words to others. No matter what my sufferings may be, I will never complain.” These beautiful sentiments are ideal for a harmonious life.

Christians believe that after death, a person’s soul continues to live, either in heaven (for a good person) or hell (for a bad one). Canonization is the Pope’s recognition that Saint Alphonsa is living in heaven. Yet compassion and goodness is respected by all religions. A saint-like person bears witness to her faith by honoring both gods and fellowmen. In their respect they allow people to live as they would like, acknowledging that happiness is a goal for everybody. Love is the ghee in the frying pan of society, making life more palatable.

Even the ordinary person can perform small miracles in his own life. It’s easy to forget how much you love each other when you are tired, or sick, or in a bad mood. It seems only natural to snap and growl when we don’t feel good. But that only increases our problems, because now we have our aches and a sore family. Take, for example, the neighbor's family. The father has a reputation for welcoming newcomers to the block, showing a ready smile whatever caste or creed they are. Offering advice and help, he becomes a good friend to all who need one. The grandmother ages gracefully, smiling and not complaining, so garners sympathy and caring. People are pleased to help her out, because her feebleness does not make her disagreeable.

Joy, love and charity are balm to the spirit, allowing people to live happily together. This is true of religious communities – as within a family – which are so often set at each other’s throats by hatred. If we love each other, we cannot kill or maim. We cannot incite others to do the same. If we find joy in ordinary and simple things, we would not seek to seize the power of life and death over others. Nor would we lust after moving great crowds of people to our will.

If we are charitable, we deserve charity in return, but more than that it will enrich our soul. Those who give away the most are the wealthiest among us. Saint-like people help in their own everyday way to bind together families and communities. We cherish the small saints that we meet, and every group has their fair share of these precious people. The writings of Saint Alphonsa offer us a glimpse of what it means to be saintly, and how we can all aspire to these human ideals.

All of human beings have more or less many attributes in their character. Some people make efforts to nurture their gentle qualities whereas others do not care for them so much and their bad characteristics have been coming out very frequently. What we are to do is to identify what good qualities we have and what not. Those qualities which are missing can be groomed up in spite of all the odds like Saint Alphonsa did. We should not care for the bad habits, attributes and approaches. As soon as our good qualities exceed the bad ones, we will win the battle with demonism. Let’s try in right direction ignoring the negativism. We all have good qualities.

Be Happy- We Can Win Evil Spirits.

Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently.

Why do you put off your plans very frequently? Did you ever ask yourself? Have you ever evaluated how much you loose in terms of your productivity, finance, time and other benefits? That can be enormous but can be avoided if you do take certain steps, very simple, so simple as they are if you go through the following lines:

1. Make yourself accountable.

Set a writing deadline (other than the paper's due date) for yourself by making an appointment at the Writing Center or telling your TA (or a former TA) that you're going to give them a draft on such-and-such a date. If you make your Writing Center appointment for several days before the paper is due, then you may be motivated to have a draft finished, in order to make the appointment worthwhile.

2. Leave your work out.

Keeping your work (books, notes, articles, etc.) physically out, in full view, gives you a reminder that you are in the middle of the paper, or that you need to start. Also, if you write in more than one shift, it can be helpful to leave off in the middle of a paragraph and leave your 'tools' where they are. When you return to the paper, you'll be able to "warm up" by finishing that paragraph. Starting a new section cold may be more difficult.

3. Work on improving your writing when you don't have a deadline.

Investigate your writing process. First of all, you may not think you have a thing called a "writing process." But you do—everyone does. Describe your writing process in detail. Ask yourself:

• When do I usually start on a paper?
• What tools do I need (or think I need) in order to write?
• Where do I write? • Do I like quiet or noise when I write?
• How long a block of time do I need?
• What do I do before I start?
• What do I do at the end?
• How do I feel at the end (after I have turned it in)?
• Then ask yourself: • What do I like about my writing process?
• What do I want to change?

Once you can see your writing process, then you can make a decision to change it. But take it easy with this—only work on one part at a time. Otherwise, you'll get overwhelmed and frustrated—and we all know where that leads, straight down the procrastination road.

4. Evaluate your writing's strengths and weaknesses.

If you aren't ready to evaluate your writing process completely (and it's okay if you aren't), then you could try just listing your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. For instance, perhaps you are great at creating thesis statements, but you have trouble developing arguments. Or, your papers are very well-organized, but your thesis and argument tend to fall a little flat. Identifying these issues will help you do two things:

1) When you write, you can play to your strength; and
2) You can choose one weakness and do something about it when you DON'T have a deadline.

Now, doing anything when you don't have a deadline may sound strange to a procrastinator, but bear with me. Let's say you've decided that your writing is too wordy, and you want to work on being more concise. So, some time when you don't have a paper—but you do have a free hour—you waltz into the Writing Center and tell your tutor, "Hey, I want learn how to write more clearly." You confer, and you come away with some simple strategies for eliminating wordiness.

Here is why this may make a difference the next time you write a paper, regardless of whether or not you have procrastinated (again!): You print out your draft. It's 1 a.m. You go to bed. The next morning, you read over your paper (it's due at noon). You say to yourself, "I notice I'm being too wordy." BUT, rather than concluding, "Oh, well, it's too late, there isn't anything I can do about that," (as you may have in the past), you can choose to employ some of what you learned (previously, when you weren't under the gun) to make your writing more concise. You edit the paper accordingly. You turn it in.

When your instructor hands the papers back the following week, there are far fewer instances of "awkward," "unclear," etc. in the margins. Voila! You've made a positive change in your writing process!

What does this have to do with procrastination? Well, making one small change in your writing process creates momentum. You begin to feel more positive about your writing. You begin to be less intimidated by writing assignments. And—eventually—you start them earlier, because they just aren't as big a deal as they used to be.

Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in your writing gives you a sense of control. Your writing problems are solvable problems. Working on your writing when you don't have a deadline helps you gain insight and momentum. Soon, writing becomes something that, while you may not look forward to it, you don't dread quite as much. Thus, you don't procrastinate quite as much.

This strategy also accounts for the fact that if you perceive procrastination as having been successful for you in the past, you aren't going to give it up right away

5. Hone your proofreading and editing skills.

If you procrastinate on writing because you don't like to re-read what you have written, the good news is this: you can learn specific proofreading, revising, and editing strategies. If you finish your paper ahead of time, and you re-read it, and you don't like it, you have options. Writing a first draft that you don't like doesn't mean you're a terrible writer. Many writers—in fact, I would venture to say most—hate their first drafts. Neither Leo Tolstoy nor Toni Morrison produced brilliant prose the first time around. In fact, Morrison (a big fan of revision) said recently, "You don't have to love it just because you wrote it!" If you practice some revision and editing strategies, you may feel more comfortable with the idea of re-reading your papers. You'll know that if you find weaknesses in the draft (and you will), you can do something to improve those areas.

6. Learn how to tell time.

One of the best ways to combat procrastination is to develop a more realistic understanding of time. Procrastinators' views of time tend to be fairly unrealistic. "This paper is only going to take me about five hours to write," you think. "Therefore, I don't need to start on it until the night before." What you may be forgetting, however, is that our time is often filled with more activities than we realize. On the night in question, for instance, let's say you go to the gym at 4:45 p.m. You work out (1 hour), take a shower and dress (30 minutes), eat dinner (45 minutes), and go to a sorority meeting (1 hour). By the time you get back to your dorm room to begin work on the paper, it is already 8:00 p.m. But now you need to check your email and return a couple of phone calls. It's 8:30 p.m. before you finally sit down to write the paper. If the paper does indeed take five hours to write, you will be up until 1:30 in the morning—and that doesn't include the time that you will inevitably spend watching TV. And, as it turns out, it takes about five hours to write a first draft of the essay. You have forgotten to allow time for revision, editing, and proofreading. You get the paper done and turn it in the next morning. But you know it isn't your best work, and you are pretty tired from the late night, and so you make yourself a promise: "Next time, I'll start early!"

7. Make an unschedule.

The next time you have a writing deadline, try using an un-schedule to outline a realistic plan for when you will write. An un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for. When you make an un-schedule, you consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your un-timed activities such as meals, exercise, errands, laundry, time with friends and family, and the like. It is not a list of what you should do in a given week; rather it is an outline of the time that you will necessarily spend doing other things besides writing.

Once you have made your un-schedule, take a look at the blank spaces. These represent the maximum number of hours that you could potentially spend writing. By starting with these blank spaces as a guide, you will be able to more accurately predict how much time you will be able to write on any given day. You may be able to see, for instance, that you really don't have five hours to spend writing on the night before the paper is due. By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night's sleep, you may also end up with a better paper!

The un-schedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger writing project, such as a term paper or an honors thesis. You may think that you have "all semester" to get the writing done, but if you really sit down and map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later. In addition, the unschedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects.

Perhaps most importantly, the un-schedule can help you examine how you spend your time. You may be surprised at how much (or how little) time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change. It's especially important that you build time for fun activities into your un-schedule. Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation.

You can also use the un-schedule to record your progress towards your goal. Each time you work on your paper, for example, mark it on the un-schedule. One of the most important things you can do to kick the procrastination habit is to reward yourself when you write something, even if (especially if) that writing is only a little piece of the whole. Seeing your success on paper will help reinforce the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated to write later in the day or week.

8. Set a time limit.

Okay, so maybe one of the reasons you procrastinate on writing projects is that you just plain hate writing! You would rather be at the dentist than sitting in front of your computer with a blank Microsoft Word document staring you in the face. In that case, it may be helpful to set limits on how much time you will spend writing before you do something else. While the notation "Must work on Hemingway essay all weekend" may not inspire you to sit down and write, "Worked on Hemingway essay for ½ hour" just might. Or, if you tell yourself that you will write "all weekend," for instance, the sheer agony of the thought may keep you from doing any writing at all. If, however, you say that you will write for two hours on Saturday afternoon, you may actually accomplish something. The important thing here is to keep your commitment to yourself. Even if, at the end of the two hours, you think you could keep going, s. Go outside and enjoy the weather. Your procrastinating self needs to be able to trust your new non-procrastinating self the next time you say you will only write for a certain amount of time. If you go overboard this time, then the next time you say, "I'll write for two hours and then s," the procrastinator within will respond, "Yeah, right! I'm going rollerblading!"

On the other hand, it may work better for you to trick yourself into working on your paper by telling yourself you're only going to write for two hours, but then continuing to work if you're feeling inspired. Experiment with both approaches and see which one seems to work best for you.

9. Be realistic about how long it takes you to write.

Procrastinators tend to be heroic about time; they estimate that it will take them two hours to complete a task that would take most people four. Once you have determined that procrastination is hurting your writing, begin taking notice of how long it actually takes you to write. Many students have a "page an hour" rule. Perhaps you can write a page in an hour if you are totally rested, fed, and focused, your roommate isn't home, and the wind is blowing just right. But what if the phone rings, what if you are tired, and what if you have to go to the bathroom? When you estimate how long it will take you to write something, expect that there will be interruptions along the way.

10. Parting thoughts

As you explore why you procrastinate and experiment with strategies for working differently, don't expect overnight transformation. You developed the procrastination habit over a long period of time; you aren't going to s magically. But you can change the behavior, bit by bit. If you s punishing yourself when you procrastinate and start rewarding yourself for your small successes, you will eventually develop new writing habits. And you will get a lot more sleep.

It is expected that if you seriously think about your practice of putting off your plans frequently, you would definitely put off your habit of procrastination and you may be better off in terms of your achievements.

Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently.

Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently (Part 3)

There are many other reasons why we put off our tasks. In order to break the procrastination habit, we need to get past the idea that in order to write, we must have all the information pertaining to the project and we must have optimal writing conditions. In reality, writers never have all the information, and conditions are never optimal.

Think of a writing project that you are currently putting off. On one side of a piece of paper, write down all the reasons for your delay. On the other side, argue (as convincingly as possible!) against the delay. We may have several grounds, namely:

Ground No.1 "I can't function in a messy environment. I can't possibly write this paper until I have cleaned my apartment." But there are no conditions that are necessary in order for you to write, except two: 1) You must have a writing implement (e.g., a keyboard or a pen) and 2) you must have someplace for writing to go, such as into a computer or onto a piece of paper. If, when faced with a writing project, you start piling up prerequisites for all the things you must do before you can possibly start writing, consider whether you might in fact be making excuses—in other words, procrastinating.
Ground No.2 "I know it's time for me to start writing, but I just haven't done enough research yet. I'll spend one more night at the library, and then I'll start writing my paper." But truth be told, you will never collect all the information you possibly could for your paper. Better to write a tightly-crafted argument with the information you have NOW, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, than to keep doing research and risk throwing your paper together at the last minute.
Ground No.3 "I do my best work under pressure." There are lots of other ways to create pressure for yourself, besides waiting until the night before the paper is due to start writing it. You can set a time limit for yourself—for example, "I will write this paragraph in half an hour"—or you can pretend that the paper is a timed essay exam. If you do this a week or two before the paper is due, you'll have a draft in plenty of time to revise and edit it.
Ground No.4 "In order to work on my paper, I must have six uninterrupted hours." You can and should work on a paper in one hour blocks (or shorter). This will help you break the writing task down into smaller pieces, thereby making it seem more manageable. If you know that you can work on one part of the paper for one hour, then it won't seem so daunting, and you will be less likely to procrastinate. Some writers find, however, that they do need longer blocks of time in order to really produce anything. Therefore, like all of the strategies outlined here, if this one doesn't work for you, throw it out and try something else. You might still find, however, that you are more productive when you plan to write "all morning" rather than "all day."

Ground No.5 "What I write has to be perfect, " AND/OR "I can't write anything until I have a perfect thesis statement/intro." A first draft (or a second, or a third, or even—the final product) does not have to be perfect. When we write an early draft, we need to turn off our internal critic and just get some words down on the page. The great thing about starting early on a writing project is that it leaves us plenty of time for revision, editing, and proofreading; so, we can set ourselves free to just let our writing flow, without worrying about sentence-level concerns such as grammar, punctuation, and style. You'll find some other thoughts on editing in our handouts on proofreading and revision.

You can improve yourself by following the methods given below:

1. Break it down

The day you get the paper assignment (ideally), or shortly thereafter, break the writing assignment up into the smallest possible chunks. By doing this, the paper never has a chance to take on gargantuan proportions in your mind. You can say to yourself, "Right now, I'm going to write the introduction. That's all, just the introduction!" And you may be more likely to sit down and do that, than you will to sit down and "write the paper."

2. Get a new attitude

We shoot ourselves in the foot, to begin with, by telling ourselves how horrible a particular writing assignment is. Changing our attitude toward the task, when possible, may go a long way toward keeping us from procrastinating. Tell yourself that the task isn't so bad or difficult, that you either know how to do it, or that you can learn how while you're doing it. You may find, too, that if you start early on a particular assignment, your attitude never has a chance to get very negative in the first place! Simply starting to write can often help us feel more positive about writing.

3. Ask for help.

• Get an anti-procrastination coach. If you are really determined not to procrastinate, then get help from the supportive people in your life. Tell someone about your writing goal and timeline, and ask them to help you determine whether or not your plan is realistic. Once or twice a week, email with a friend, relative, or mentor, in order to report (admit?) on your progress, and declare your promise for the next week (or few days). If, despite your very good intentions, you start procrastinating again, do not think, "All is lost!" Instead, talk to someone about it. They may be able to help you put your slip into perspective and get back on track.

• Get a buddy. See if you can find a friend to work alongside you. They don't have to be writing a paper; in fact, they can be playing Solitaire, for all you care. What matters is that you arrange to meet them at the library (or wherever you have decided to write) at a particular time and stay there for a specific period of time, thus creating accountability.

• Get help with your writing. If you are procrastinating because you think you are a weak writer, then ask someone (a Writing Center tutor, a current or former professor or teaching assistant, a friend) to help you improve.

• Form a writing group. A writing group is a great way for undergraduate and more advanced writers alike to create accountability, get feedback, and simply get reminded that you are not alone in the struggle to produce and to improve your writing. See our writing group packet at for more information on how to form and sustain a writing group. Dissertation writers may benefit not only from joining a writing group but also from reading our handout on the dissertation. This handout was written by a former Writing Center staff member who eventually completed her dissertation.

4. Get unblocked.

Sometimes, we procrastinate because we feel stuck on a particular essay or section of an essay. If this happens, you have several options:

• Turn off the screen. Type with a dark screen, so you can't see what you've written, decide you don't like it, and delete it immediately. Sometimes procrastination stems from insecurity about what to say, or whether we have anything to say. The important thing, in that case, is to get started and KEEP GOING. Turning off the screen may help lessen your fear and turn off your internal critic. When you turn it back on (or print out what you've written), you may find that you do have something to say, after all.

• Write about writing. Take 15 minutes and write a letter to yourself about why you don't want to write this. This lets you vent your frustrations and anxieties. Then, Take 15 minutes and write about what you could do to get unstuck. You can also try writing about what you're going to write, making an initial assessment of the assignment. You won't have the pressure of writing an actually draft, but you will be able to get something down on paper.

• Write the easiest part first. You don't have to start at the beginning. Whatever section you can do, do it! If you think that's wimpy and you would rather do the hardest part first so that you can get it out of the way, that's fine—whatever works for you. If you start writing and you get stuck, write about why you're stuck.

• Talk it out. Try tape-recording yourself speaking the ideas you want to include in the paper, and then transcribe the tape.

We may discuss some more options in our next posts. In the meanwhile, please don’t put off your plans very frequently.

Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently (Part 2)

There are several reasons when you put off your plans. Sometime, they are circumstantial or some time they are put off due to your lackadaisical attitude. If the putting off is due to some specific circumstances, it does not seek any comments but if procrastinating has become your habit, it needs to be reviewed, corrective actions are required to be taken for the sake of improving your productivity.

How to do?

What's the solution? Give up PROCRASTINATING. Yes, you can eliminate the procrastination, turn things around and become the "go to" person who gets things done.

Work with it everyday and you'll enjoy dramatic results. S Procrastinating re-programs your mind... so you go from being the person who puts things off over and over again - to being the go to person - who gets things done. You can enjoy the success you want. You can put an end to procrastinating. You will get more done in less time.

Now that you know a little bit about why you may have procrastinated in the past, let's explore some of the strategies you might use to combat your procrastination tendencies, now and in the future. Experiment with whichever of these strategies appeals to you; if you try something and it doesn't work, try something else! Be patient; improvement will come with practice.

Take an inventory.

Figuring out exactly when and how you procrastinate can help you in the behavior. It can be difficult to tell when you are procrastinating. Think about the clues that tell you that's what you're doing: for example, a nagging voice in your head, a visual image of what you are avoiding or the consequences of not doing it, physical ailments (stomach tightness, headaches, muscle tension), inability to concentrate, inability to enjoy what you are doing.

How do you procrastinate?

• Try to ignore the task, hoping against hope that it will go away?
• Over- or under-estimate the degree of difficulty that the task involves?
• Minimize the impact that your performance now may have on your future?
• Substitute something important for something really important? (For example, cleaning instead of writing your paper.)
• Let a short break become a long one, or an evening in which you do no work at all? (For example, claiming that you are going to watch TV for ½ hour, then watching it all night.)
• Focus on one part of the task, at the expense of the rest? (For example, keep working on the introduction, while putting off writing the body and conclusion).
• Spend too much time researching or choosing a ic Once you better understand how you procrastinate, you will be better able to catch yourself doing it. Too often, we don't even realize that we are procrastinating—until it's too late.

Create a productive environment.

If you have made the decision to s delaying on a particular writing project, it is critical that you find a place to work where you have at least half a chance of actually getting some writing done. Your dorm room may not be the place where you are most productive. Ditto the computer lab. If you have a lap computer, try going someplace where you can't connect to the Internet (e-mail and the Web are the bane of the procrastinator's existence—as you probably already know). If you are a procrastinator, then chances are you are already pretty exasperated; don't risk frustrating yourself even more by trying to write in an environment that doesn't meet your needs.

[CAUTION: The most skilled procrastinators will be tempted to take this suggestion too far, spending an inordinate amount of time "creating a productive environment" (cleaning, filing, etc.) and not nearly enough time actually writing. Don't fall into that trap! While cleaning and filing are indeed worthy and necessary activities, if you only do this when you have an approaching writing deadline, then you are procrastinating.]

While you are thinking about where to write, consider also when you will write. When are you most alert? Is it at 8 a.m., mid-morning, mid-afternoon, early evening, or late at night? Try to schedule writing time when you know you will be at your best. Don't worry about when you "should" be able to write; just focus on when you are able to write.

There are many other reasons why we put off our tasks. We would definitely like to discuss them but in the next posts. Meanwhile, Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently.

Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently (Part 1)

Do you put things off very frequently... hoping to get it done someday... you keep saying later...but that ‘later’ never happens. Putting things off, especially to the last minute is common... but putting them off forever... now that's a sever case of constant procrastination.

It's the kind of procrastinating that can destroy your life, limit your success and even impact your family and income. Procrastination may result in stress, a sense of guilt and crisis, severe loss of personal productivity, as well as societal disapproval for not meeting responsibilities or commitments. These feelings combined may promote further procrastination. While it is regarded as normal for people to procrastinate to some degree, it becomes a problem when it impedes normal functioning. Chronic procrastination may be a sign of an underlying psychological disorder.

It's more than just saying "I'll do it later"... it’s a chronic way of thinking that eventually leaves you incapable of achieving anything. Regularly procrastinating, putting things off over and over again creates a sub-conscious mindset that forces you to put things off. This attitude and mindset impacts your family, work and personal life... sping you from achieving the best you can be and preventing you for enjoying the success you want and deserve. Once this habit of procrastinating become ingrained... you'll procrastinate to no end... it will always be later, later, later.

You may want to be your best and maximize your potential but your habit of procrastinating doesn't let you do that. You know you can succeed, you know you can do better...but the habit of procrastinating ss you... every time. Everyone procrastinates. We put things off because we don't want to do them, or because we have too many other things on our plates. Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human. If you are reading this handout, however, it is likely that your procrastination is troubling you. You suspect that you could be a much better writer if only you didn't put off writing projects until the last minute. You find that just when you have really gotten going on a paper, it's time to turn it in; so, you never really have time to revise or proofread carefully. You love the rush of adrenalin you get when you finish a paper ten minutes before it's due, but you (and your body) are getting tired of pulling all-nighters. You feel okay about procrastinating while in college, but you worry that this habit will follow you into your working life.

You can tell whether or not you need to do something about your procrastination by examining its consequences. Procrastination can have external consequences (you get a zero on the paper because you never turned it in) or internal consequences (you feel anxious much of the time, even when you are doing something that you enjoy). If you put off washing the dishes, but the dishes don't bother you, who cares? When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged and overburdened, however, it is time to take action.

Is there any hope? If you think you are a hopeless procrastinator, take heart! No one is beyond help. The fact that you procrastinate does not mean that you are inherently lazy or inefficient. Your procrastination is not an untamable beast. It is a habit that has some specific origin, and it is a habit that you can overcome. This handout will help you begin to understand why you procrastinate and give you some strategies for turning things around. For most procrastinators, however, there are no quick fixes. You aren't going to wake up tomorrow and never procrastinate again. But you might wake up tomorrow and do one or two simple things that will help you finish that draft a little earlier or with less stress.

You may not be surprised to learn that procrastinators tend to be self-critical. So, as you consider your procrastination and struggle to develop different work habits, try to be gentle with yourself. Punishing yourself every time you realize you have put something off won't help you change. Rewarding yourself when you make progress will.
If you don't care why you procrastinate—you just want to know what to do about it—then you might as well skip the next section of this handout and go right to the section labeled "What to do about it." If you skip to the strategies, however, you may only end up more frustrated. Taking the time to learn about why you procrastinate may help you avoid the cycle whereby you swear up and down that you will never procrastinate again, only to find that the next time you have a paper due, you are up until 3 a.m. trying to complete the first (and only) draft—without knowing why or how you got there.

Why we do it

In order to s putting off your writing assignments, it is important to understand why you tend to do so in the first place. Some of the reasons that people procrastinate include the following:

Because we are afraid.

• Fear of failure: If you are scared that a particular piece of writing isn't going to turn out well, then you may avoid working on it in order to avoid feeling the fear.

• Fear of success: Some procrastinators (the author of this handout included) fear that if they start working at their full capacity, they will turn into workaholics. Since we procrastinate compulsively, we assume that we will also write compulsively; we envision ourselves locked in a library carrel, hunched over the computer, barely eating and sleeping and never seeing friends or going out. The procrastinator who fears success may also assume that if they work too hard, they will become mean and cold to the people around them, thus losing their capacity to be friendly and to have fun. Finally, this type of procrastinator may think that if they s procrastinating, then they will start writing better, which will increase other people's expectations, thus ultimately increasing the amount of pressure they experience.

• Fear of losing autonomy: Some people delay writing projects as a way of maintaining their independence. When they receive a writing assignment, they procrastinate as a way of saying, "You can't make me do this. I am my own person." Procrastinating helps them feel more in control of situations (such as college) in which they believe that other people have authority.

• Fear of being alone: Other writers procrastinate because they want to feel constantly connected to other people. For instance, you may procrastinate until you are in such a bind that someone has to come and rescue you. Procrastination therefore ensures that other people will be involved in your life. You may also put off writing because you don't want to be alone, and writing is oftentimes a solitary activity. In its worst form, procrastination itself can become a companion, constantly reminding you of all that you have to do.

• Fear of attachment: Rather than fearing separation, some people procrastinate in order to create a barrier between themselves and others. They may delay in order to create chaos in their lives, believing that the chaos will keep other people away.

Whether these fears appear in our conscious or subconscious minds, they paralyze us and keep us from taking action, until discomfort and anxiety overwhelms us and forces us to either a) get the piece of writing done or b) give up.

Because we expect ourselves to be perfect.

Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. Perfectionists tend to procrastinate because they expect so much of themselves, and they are scared about whether or not they can meet those high standards. Perfectionists sometimes think that it is better to give a half-hearted effort and maintain the belief that they could have written a great paper, than to give a full effort and risk writing a mediocre paper. Procrastinating guarantees failure, but it helps perfectionists maintain their belief that they could have excelled if they had tried harder. Another pitfall for perfectionists is that they tend to ignore progress toward a goal. As long as the writing project is incomplete, they feel as though they aren't getting anywhere, rather than recognizing that each paragraph moves them closer to a finished product.

Because we don't like our writing.

You may procrastinate on writing because you don't like to re-read what you have written; you hate writing a first draft and then being forced to evaluate it, in all its imperfection. By procrastinating, you ensure that you don't have time to read over your work, thus avoiding that uncomfortable moment.

Because we're too busy.

Practical concerns: jobs, other classes, etc.

Because it works.

Unfortunately, procrastination helps reinforce itself. When we avoid doing something we dread (like writing) by doing something we enjoy (such as watching TV, hanging out with friends, etc.), we escape the dreaded task. Given such a choice, it's no wonder that many of us choose to procrastinate. When we write a paper at the last minute and still manage to get a good grade, we feel all the more compelled to procrastinate next time around.

Tomorrow, we may discuss about the solution of this problem. In the meanwhile, please be happy by not putting off your plans frequently.

Be Happy – Don’t put off Your Plans Frequently

Be Happy – Live Every Moment Of Your Life.

Why do you wish to adore to spirituality at some point of age? Is it for the reason that you think of God? Or is it your materialistic requirements having been met with to the satisfactory extent? Actually some people think that spiritual longing comes to you not because you think of God. If people do not think of God, they will not become spiritual, they will only think of how to acquire more. If God comes and blesses them, they will want more money, property, health, everything. Only when you think about death, these questions come up: What is this about, where will I go, what will happen to me? This quest to know will come naturally. When we talk about living well, we are also talking about dying well. Dying gracefully, joyfully, is important. It is the final thing you get to do; but most people are doing it horribly.

When we say a spiritual possibility, a space, there is also room to die. Spirituality is a means to life; it is also means to die because living and dying are not different. Right now, I can say you are living, or I can say you are dying. The process of dying is on; one day it will be complete. It is just that so much negativity is attached to the word “death”. But death is a part of life. It is a universal truth none could or can escape whether he is a king or a humble employee, beggar or some professional or so called Godman. If you understand this fact, you can live the life fully. One who does not know how to die, or is unwilling to die, cannot live.

If you are afraid of death, you will only avoid life, you cannot avoid death. Every day of your life you need to be aware that you are mortal. In Shoonya medittion everything that you consider as “myself” will become nothing; it is as if you die. Again, when you open your eyes, it is all there. If you practice this consciously, twice a day, when the time to die comes, it will no more be a big issue.

Even if you live a thousand years and do everything that you wish to do, still something better could be done. This is the way of life. But death is perfect and absolute when it happens; death does not need anybody’s assistance. You don’t have to think about it; you don’t have to reflect upon it. But the limited nature of life needs to be reflected upon. So always the first training for spiritual aspirant is to go and sit in the cremation ground. You are just like a miracle happening and one day you are gone. Busy in between, but you like a bubble: when the bubble is on, is so real; one prick gone!

Look at this life right now: inhalation, exhalation. If the next inhalation does not happen, that’s it… That is how fragile this life is. People always think death is something that happens to somebody else; it’s not so, it will happen to you and me. If you remind yourself every day that you will also die, you will move towards knowing higher perception. If you are aware of the mortal nature of your life, is there time to get angry with somebody, to quarrel or do anything stupid?

Once you are conscious that you will die, you will want to make every moment of your life as beautiful as possible. Those who are constantly aware of the fragile nature of existence, they don’t want to miss single moment; they will naturally be aware. They can’t take anything for granted; they will live purposefully, becoming aware. They live every moment of their life. You too can do this.

Be Happy – Live Every Moment of Your Life.

Be Happy – Enjoy Fully What You Acquire

Whatever we desire, we are motivated by our wishes of acquisition and enjoyment. We want to acquire whatever we desire from the world. And after acquiring we long to enjoy what we have acquired. For instance, we build a house and enjoy living in it. We prepare a tennis court and enjoy playing the game. Propelled by these two motivations – of acquisition and enjoyment – every human being craves to acquire and enjoy more and more in the world. But no one has found true happiness in mere acquisition or enjoyment. Yet the chase never ends. People are ultimately exhausted with their futile efforts and become frustrated and unhappy.

Our mind has a tendency to acquire, yet it cannot qualify or quantify what it wants. Even in the present, when the mind acquires the object of its desire it forth-with pitches up something else. This thirst for acquisition continues. The wealthiest man in the world wants more wealth. The most powerful seems more power. The most beautiful seeks more beauty. All this despite knowing that on most accounts, the process of acquiring and enjoying these things only bring in their wake agitation and loss of peace of mind.

The thirst can never be quenched by sheer acquisition of whatever the mind demands. Neither can the problem be solved by suppressing the desire for acquisition. However, there is no taboo to acquisition. You are advised only to control, to regulate the mind’s indiscriminate craving for acquisition.

The second motivation is the desire to enjoy what has been acquired. Here again, there is no objection to enjoyment. You are not to refrain from enjoying what the world offers you but to restrain, control your indulgence in them. You enjoy objects or beings only when you exercise voluntary regulation and moderation. Otherwise what you acquire loses its charm. You cannot enjoy it anymore. Unrestricted indulgence kills enjoyment.

In truth there is no joy content in the objects and beings of the world. But an average person cannot be convinced of this. He equates enjoyment with the pleasure he gets eating ice cream or chocolate. How can he be convinced that none can find enjoyment in the external world.

The following example can perhaps help you examine the veracity of the statement. You sit outside in your garden on a full moon night. You ‘enjoy’ the beautiful moonlight. Just think. Does the moon actually produce light? Does it have light in it per se? No, not at all. Yet some believe that the light comes from the moon. Educated as you are, you know that there is no light in the moon. It only reflects the light of the sun. whatever arguments you put forth, the ignoramuses can never accept that there is no light in the moon. They see the light coming from the moon. They experience it. They enjoy it. So it becomes impossible for them to conceive that the moon has no light it.

Similarly, many lack the wisdom to accept the truth that there is no joy content in the world. Their argument is similar. They can perceive the joy in sense-objects. And argue that they gain enjoyment out of them. Hence they can never accept there is no joy external world. You may likewise hold on to your views but just ponder over the moonlight example.

It is therefore depending upon your conscience how you enjoy your acquisitions – whether they are materialistic or spiritual. But the essence of enjoyment lies in the fact that whatever you acquire, you must feel happiness fully, on your acquisition. If you do not do so, it may provoke you to acquire more and more as a normal human does it. An average person does not feel happy. You may have to climb up a little more to enjoy the happiness, however without giving up your urge to gain more.

Be Happy – Enjoy Fully What You Acquire

Be Happy – Be Active.

Do You know Shigeaki Hinohara? At the age of 97 years and 4 months he is said to be one of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators, healing patients at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo and teaching at St. Luke's College of Nursing since 1941.

Since his 75th birthday, he is reported to have published around 150 books, including one Living Long, Living Good that has sold more than 1.2 million copies. As the founder of the New Elderly Movement, Hinohara encourages others to live a long and happy life, a quest in which no role model is better than the doctor himself. He says that:

Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot.

We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. He believes that we can keep that attitude as adults, too, and that it's best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime. We should not keep ourselves tight to some schedule like this is our time of taking lunch or that time, we must have our dinner etc. As much we are free of our schedules, we can gain energy. The tight schedules of taking meals create tensions and tensions are responsible for many diseases. Eat whenever you like and whatever you like – never keep yourself overfed or underfed.

All people who live long -- regardless of nationality, race or gender -- share one thing in common: None should be overweight.

For breakfast, you may drink coffee, a glass of milk and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Your lunch may have milk and a few cookies. In dinner, you may take veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week 100 grams of lean meat. Dr.Hinohara usually follows this plan.

Always plan ahead.

You should have your plan of working fixed in advance. It would save a lot of time being wasted in haphazard way of working. Dr.Hinohara’s schedule book is already full until 2014. In 2016 he plans to attend the Tokyo Olympics!

There is no need to ever retire.

The current retirement age was set at 65 half a century ago, when the average life-expectancy in Japan was much lower. Due to advancement in medical sciences, the life expectancy has gone up in the meanwhile. We should keep our retirement after 75 years of age.

Share what you know.

Hinohara gives 150 lectures a year, some for 100 elementary-school children, others for 4,500 business people. As much you share your knowledge, you would get the same more practiced and you may perhaps get added further.

When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure.
Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone -- so why cause unnecessary pain with surgery? Hinohara thinks that music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine. You can have some regular yoga exercises, walking or work-outs according to your requirements.

To stay healthy, always take the stairs and carry your own stuff.

For attending your office, take stairs if the office is located at 2nd or 3rd floor, say below 4th floor, of the building. Try to take two stairs at a time, to get your muscles moving.

Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it.

Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients, and we all want to have fun. Nursing Homes, Hospitals or waiting halls in the doctors’ clinics must have entertainment means to keep happy the patients taking rest or waiting for their calls.

Don't be crazy about amassing material things.

Remember: You don't know when your number is up, and you can't take it with you to the next place. You must have only essentials with you. More possessions mean more worries for you to look after them.

Hospitals must be designed and prepared for major disasters, and they must accept every patient who appears at their doors.

Hinohara helped design St. Luke's so that it was possible to operate anywhere: in the basement, in the corridors, in the chapel. Most people thought he was crazy, but on March 20, 1995, he was unfortunately proven right when members of the Aum Shinrikyu religious cult launched a terrorist attack in the Tokyo subway. St. Luke’s accepted 740 victims and in two hours figured out that it was sarin gas that had hit them. Sadly they lost one person, but they saved 739 lives.

Further, every citizen must be compulsorily trained to carry out first-aid treatment and apprised of traffic rules, civil defense systems and civic duties. The Government can grant some incentives to those who qualify their awareness tests to be held from time to time and those who do not care for must be punished.

Science alone can't cure or help people.

Illness is individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected to the hearts, emotional conditions and living standards. To know the illness and help people, there is a need for liberal and visual arts, not just medical ones. A thorough study of the living methods of the patients can make the doctor understand easily the root of disease. We must care for the upkeep of our basic facilities.

Life is filled with incidents.

On March 31, 1970, when Hinohara was 59 years old, he boarded the Yodogo, a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. The plane was hijacked by the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. He spent the next four days handcuffed to his seat. As a doctor, he looked at it all as an experiment and was amazed at how his body slowed down in a crisis. We must keep ourselves always ready to face any crisis. For this purpose, a mock drill can be conducted by you on your friends after making their well wishers aware of your attempts stating that you are going to do in his interest, to prepare him mentally ready to meet any exigency.

Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do.

Hinohara’s role model was his father, who went to the United States in 1900 to study at Duke University, in North Carolina. You can too have some role model in your life and try to follow. If you are able to make him your friend, you can get guidance and close up over his working style.

It's wonderful to live long.

Since the age of 65, Hinohara has worked as a volunteer. He still puts in 18 hours, seven days a week, and loves every minute of it. If you keep yourself active all the time, the death knell may also be afraid to come closer to you and you can lead your life happily. If you live long, you can contribute to the society a lot with your experience - experience of your success, experience of your failures and how you dealt with them i n your life. You can ask the well- to- do families to ensure equitable distribution of the resources to avoid any unrest.

Be Happy – Be Active.

Be Happy – Be Successful

Every one of us wishes to be successful. For sure and certain success in our mission, the first requirement is how we communicate well or how we present ourselves to the outer world. The most copywriters, marketers and entrepreneurs desperately search for the best approach to communicate or market a written message -- when the most obvious tools are staring them right in the face. Many of them have to search for the "best way" to motivate prospects to buy their product and services -- instead of first understanding what unconsciously motivates them to act. If you haven't guessed what the most obvious tools are that's staring you right in the face, its unconscious psychological devices -- more particularly, the thinking habits of every brain.

Unconscious psychological devices are "motivations" of the mind that are embedded deep within a person's brain, and require a simple "push button" trigger to activate an automatic response action from their brain in the form of placing an order, a request for more information (generating leads), and/or a phone call or visit to the store or other place of business or to have more discussions on the subject matter you desire to have.

The concept of mind control has always been irresistible to copywriters, salespeople, marketers and entrepreneurs. Why? Obviously, it gives the person who knows these psychological devices the privileged benefits to "push button" automatic fortunes.

If you're a writer, in business or in the marketing arena who's interested in specializing in this million dollar knowledge, we may like to try upon the following steps to the extent that we are able to convince ourselves that we are successful in our attempts.

1. Story -- Everyone loves a good story

There's a magic that happens when you tell a story. The reader or listener has to become part of the story, in order to make sense of it. This is where you get them to FEEL, and almost realistically experience -- in their imaginations, what you're telling them. Unconsciously, this creates a memory and it is harder to forget. Finally, it helps you create a bond with your prospect.

Application: Relate to your prospect and come up with a story that gives them imaginative reasons to use your product or service.

2. Time Distortion -- "Pretending They Already Are"

Here's the attitude: "You already want and own this product and let me show you what it's like to." Basically, what you're doing is future pacing their thoughts as if they are holding your product or service in their hands. Use simple descriptive phrases that initiate a "sense" or "touch" response, and it instills in the mind of your prospects that they already own it. They will begin to imagine the benefits of doing so all on their own.

Application: If you sell books, they are flipping though the pages. Electronics, they are using this neat gadget (pushing the buttons, twisting knobs etc). Cars, boats, anything -- get in and drive it, grab the wheel.

3. Credibility -- To Project Authority

Make what you say believable, and nothing outrageous. Who is backing your message? Do you have happy buyers of your products or services? What do they have to say? Put that in your message. Show them experts endorse your products. If it's not believable, your prospects are going to "pick up" on that. Credibility instills what you're saying is true, period. Just give proof.

Application: Ask your customers for testimonials, even if you have to ethically bribe them for one. Offer a free sample, bonus, or report. Simply put, the more credibility you create for you and your product or service, the more believable the message becomes, and the less resistance they have when it comes to make a buying decision.

4. Urgency -- To Act Now

Even if your sales message is emotionally driven and powerful -- making them feel like they want to buy, place a sense of urgency to reinforce them to buy it now, and to not wait, period. Limited offers, supplies won't last, this deal won't last long. No matter how powerful your sales message is, if they get away -- after so long, the feeling and their buying decision erodes away their desire to buy now, until it's gone.

Application: Come up with a compelling reason to get your prospect to feel so compelled it's absolutely necessary they must buy it now, because it's urgent. Maybe use "fear of loss."

5. I Gave It To You Free, You're Guilty -- To Create The Return Effect

Ever get an offer in the mail of a free sample of a product? Ever go to a website and get 3 free chapters of a book? Giving something to someone for free creates guilt, the feeling to give back. If your friend buys you dinner, you might feel the need to buy it next time. It's human nature. When something's given, the desire to give back is created.

Application: Give away a free sample or report -- anything for free. Make sure it is something of real value. After, suggest that you've given them something and how they're one tuff nut to crack, because you've given them something for free, and you haven't heard back from them. Sit back, and watch them buy.

6. Commit then remain Consistent -- To Create Long-Term Friendships/Action

Here's the attitude: "If you're buying from me now, we're friends; you'll buy more from me too." You've won the customers trust once you've established the first sale, and once they're happy, make them happy again, and again. Buy something from the television and you're almost always asked to buy more, it's simple. Then, two months later, another offer from that same company rings on your phone in the other room, or the offer is waiting in your mail box when you get home. Normally, being a much higher priced product or service. Why not ask? You're obviously
qualified.

Application: If they buy once, get them to buy again and again. If you sell information memberships, sell all the tools and products that the membership consists of (improving your golf game membership website -- sell golf clubs, balls, clothing, shoes etc.) If you sell them a book, sell them a home study course that's more expensive.

7. Curiosity -- To Keep Your Prospect Tuned In

Early in your sales presentation, promise what will happen when they finish and complete your sales presentation, and keep them curious. Curiosity is a powerful tool you can use to keep your prospect in suspense, and to search out the answers to satisfy that strong desire to "fill in" the missing information. Leave out certain information in your benefits that "trigger" the thought "What will happen if?"

Application: Instill and arouse curiosity early in your sales presentation to cause your prospect to want to complete your message (i.e. tell them there's a misspelled word in your sales copy, and if they can find it -- they get a special deal. Ask them if they want to compelling benefit, and tell them they'll find the answer as they continue to read, or pay attention to you.

As you've probably noticed, it's infinitely more powerful to apply these psychological devices in your presentation when you realize they all open the flood gates of a person's brain, and deliver compelling emotions and complex thoughts and meaning. Anyone who comes across one of these seven applications will "undergo" the spell of this covert influence because it sparks response below a person's surface awareness.

So, the only question to ask yourself is: "Are *you* going to use them? To find out, simply go through the following checklist, and count the number of items that apply to you.

1. You want more sales
2. You're willing to look through your sales presentation making sure each of these devices are applied
3. You prefer to *use* powerful knowledge over just "knowing it"
4. You want more power in your ability to influence others on undetectable brain levels
5. You are curious and interested in creating more powerful "unconscious" influence
6. Covert persuasion and influence doesn't scare you and you'll use it to your advantage in ethical and judicious ways
7. You are willing to sit down and brainstorm how you can apply these psychological devices to your sales presentations, even if only applying one device a day, because you know it'll bring your more sales, and consequently, profits.

If at least 5 of the 7 above statements are true for you, then you're ready to use the most powerful form of undetectable communication that exists today. This is the best time to break into the covert persuasion and influence segment of communication. You will be successful. I wish all the best!

Be Happy – Be Successful.

Be Happy – Give Up Your Disappointment

You are more successful than you think... you just don't realize it. Most people don't realize just how successful they are. And it's only because they choose to focus on their failures. But if you focus on success, you'll attract more success. Why? Because when you focus on success you create a success energy. You give off this energy that says: "I'm successful" and successful people are drawn to that energy. So they'll be drawn to you and will in turn help you be more successful. You'll end up attracting more success.

Focus on the failures and you'll attract more failures and more of what you don't want. Professional baseball players are a great example of how focusing on success leads to greater success. They've got their mind and subconscious mind fixated on success... so they send out success energy... people pick up on their success energy and forget about all the failures. Instead, they only see the success... and so they get paid millions and millions, even though their bosses and everyone else knows they will fail more often than they succeed.

Their formula is simple... so simple that you can follow it and have the same success. Every time a baseball player goes to the plate (to hit the ball) he will miss more often than he will succeed. But they don't focus on the failures, their bosses don't focus on their failures, and the fans (who love them so much) don't focus on their failures. They focus on their success.

You see baseball players are measured by the number of times they hit a ball. Their batting average (the number of times they hit the ball in relation to the number times they go to bat) often determines their salary (though there could be other factors). A really good baseball player will hit the ball only 30% of the time and make tens of millions of dollars a year. The fact that he will actually miss 70% of the time is completely ignored. An average baseball player will hit 25% of the time, miss 75% of the time and still make millions a year. Again, no one focuses on the number of times he misses. Professional Athletes are not focused on failure. They're focused on success.

For years one of friends was a Sports Reporter and covered all the major sports. He talked to hundreds of athletes all over the world. The one thing he noticed is that they all focused on their success and learned from their mistakes. Are you focused on the failures or are you focused on your success? Do you think about how you didn't succeed and what went wrong?

Are you learning from your mistakes and failures or are you giving up just because things didn't work out? What you regularly think about is what you will attract. Think about the failures in life and you'll keep failing. Think about the success and you'll attract more success.

In my own life I've failed more often than I have succeeded - I know that. But if you ask me how many times - I can't tell you an exact number. If you ask me what was a recent failure - I'd have to think long and hard about it.

That's only because I don't regularly think about the failures. I choose to focus on the success and learn from the failures and mistakes and move on. If baseball players and professional athletes focused on their they would never succeed. They've conditioned their mind and subconscious mind to focus on success and attract more success.

Now you can do the same. You can be successful. You can put aside the failures. You can attract what you want in life. You can re-program your mind direct your subconscious mind to create the success you want - start today. You will be happy again. You should give up your disappointment first.

Be Happy – Give Up Your Disappointment.

Be Happy - Enjoy Your Present

Enjoy the present moment... it's a gift... one that is very special and precious. Each moment in time is unique - and will never happen again. Most of us may yearn for a time when we felt happy and alive. Perhaps you look back at fond memories and wish they could happen again. But they won't.

Instead you can create new memories, which will fill your heart with the same kind of joy, only you can do that right now - in the present moment when you realize just how special each moment really is. Maybe you look back at the past, hoping you could change some events so that things would be better now... but you can't.

However, you can create the life you want now, by living in the present moment. You are here now; exactly where you need to be... it's the perfect place to begin creating the life you want now... don't let these precious moments slip away. To do that you have to live in the present moment, are you living in the present moment?

I mean are you really here, focused on each and every moment, appreciating these moments, knowing that they will never happen again? You're probably like most people, just trying to get through the day, not really paying attention to every moment or appreciating them. You can't appreciate each and every single moment, but how many moments do you recognize as being special?

Each day brings many, many special moments, and there is tremendous power in appreciating these moments. To do that, you may have to be here now. Unfortunately most people are thinking about the past or worrying about the future. When you're thinking about the past or the future - you're not here - you're not living in the now. You're not here now and you're not drawing from the power of each present and special moment.

If you want to achieve success, happiness and live the life you want - start living in the now; be here now by experiencing the present moment for the gift that it is.

To enjoy the present, you need to be here now.

Very few of us utilize the power of the present moment. The only thing that truly exists is what is happening right now. The past does not exist; it's over with and should be nothing but a fading memory. The future does not exist; it simply hasn't happened yet. From this present moment you can draw tremendous power; the kind of power that can change your life and allow you to enjoy greater success and happiness.

You may not like the present moment but that's only because you're thinking about what you feel the present should be. You're comparing the present moment to something else and not appreciating what is happening right now. Today, you must be thinking that you don't have a job and the bank is about to foreclose. Plus your spouse just left you and you are stuck with 3 kids. Your present is not exactly pleasant. If your present or current situation is not pleasant then you're comparing it to something else. You're probably thinking about what the now should be instead of dealing with what is going on.

If you don't have a job then it's time to look for one. Don't focus on the fact that you don't have a job, and don't focus on how difficult it may seem to get a job. Instead, simply concentrate on going out and getting a job. You live in the present moment so do what has to be done now and don't worry about the way things should be.

At the end of the day see where you are and focus on what needs to be done next. You need to deal with your present situation and do everything you can to improve your life.

When you begin working on the present moment with the intent of improving your life you begin to utilize the power of now you leave the past in the past, you don't concentrate on the future and instead you start living in the present moment doing everything that you can to improve your life now.

This sends a powerful message to your subconscious mind forcing it to attract the people, and situations that will make your life more better.

How You Can Live In The Now

If you feel that things are not going well then ask yourself these next questions:

Do you find yourself waiting for something to happen? Are you waiting to get some more time? Make more money? Meet the right person? Are you waiting for the right opportunity? Waiting is another game the mind plays because it doesn't want to live in the present moment.

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then you're not living in the present moment you are focusing on anything but the present moment. Perhaps you are not able to focus on the present moment or live in the now 24 hours a day. So the next time you are driving or walking pay attention only to what is happening around you. Listen to the sounds, observe the people. Don't think about what you have to do or what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow or what might happen in five minutes.

Focus your attention only on what is happening right now. Doing this will get your mind to start living in the present moment and before you know it you'll be able to focus your mind and utilize the power of now. Start utilizing the power of now - you'll be more focused and you'll enjoy the present moment. Best of all you'll start moving toward achieving your goals and living the life you want.

Have Some Fun!

Remember to have some fun. To enjoy life, you need to do things differently. Act like a kid when you can; kids are always living in the present. That's all they know. Forget about your troubles and just do something completely different and have some fun.

Once you start doing this you'll see things begin to fall into place. If you have a passion for sports then start playing a sport you like. If you have a passion for cooking make a meal or two over the next couple of days. Do what you enjoy and you'll start attracting more positive situations into you life.

Here is one of my favorite quotes that I thought you might like to ponder: "Don't hurry, don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers." – Walter Hagen. When it comes to attracting abundance, a big problem arises when you get stressed or approach it too seriously. The true essence of abundance is completely opposite "negativity" in all its forms - which would include stress, pessimism, doubt, frustration, anger, and the like. Getting stressed or being too serious about attracting abundance only keeps pushing it away because the frequencies are so different. On the other hand, when you take Walter Hagen's advice and stop to smell the flowers - abundance flows easily and naturally.

One of the simplest and most effective ways to get abundance flowing to you is through daily meditation. Scientific studies have proven that regular meditation provides many physical and emotional health benefits, and one of them is helping you to feel more relaxed and happy. Feeling relaxed and happy is perfectly in alignment with the essence of abundance, so you begin drawing more of it into your life when you treat yourself to be in present only, forgetting the past for the time being and with a target of future.

Be Happy - Enjoy Your Present.

Be Happy – Simplify Your Life

Life is like a roller coaster having a number of ups and downs mostly without any prior information. We plan for something but sometime, results come beyond our imagination and calculations. Very rarely we see someone carrying his/her life smoothly. I understand that for majority of us, life may not be hassle-free but we can simplify it. If someone believes that working long hours and maintaining busy lifestyles are exciting and enriching, he knows that it can lead to a feeling of constant stress also.

Now-a-days, it has become a sort of fashion that for fitness, people take up complex exercises. If they undertake yoga or simple walk regularly, a number of their problems may stand solved. Even in terms of diet, instead of hard discipline, they can serve the purpose by taking high fibre food, regular meals and cutting back junk food. There are many ways to simplify your life. They are very simple.

Focussing

Many times, we do not focus on the small problems. In course of time, they escalate and become a bigger one. We must try to focus what is beginning to go wrong. Don’t let it proceed further. We may make a list of such issues to be attended soon and the goals to be achieved ultimately. After making the list and keeping it updated, we must be aggressive to implement our intentions to work really well.

Clearing Clutter

We should not hoard things. If we keep only those things which are relevant and required really, we can get ourselves well organized. The useful articles would be with us to find quickly when we actually need. We must throw away the articles not required.

Automating What We Can

With the new inventions and technologies, many petty jobs can be accomplished without any manual interference. We must keep our look on such advancements and try to absorb them as soon as they become feasible for us to afford and learn their operation. Making little changes in our daily routine life by setting up automatic timers to watering our plants or turning off the lights when not required, signing up automatic bill pay options or getting off junk mails are some of such efforts which can make our life simpler. You must use the technologies appropriately but without making yourself wholly dependent upon. Try other options also. Imagine our forefathers had enjoyable life when there were no mobile phones, no tech gadgets, no fast conveyances, no communication methods and internet.

Learning to say NO

Very frequently, we agree to requests from others because we like not to disappoint them. But all the time, this policy does not work sound. You have got some jobs important for you and your family. You need to care for yourself and your family. If you continue to do pleasing everyone coming to you, you won’t find time to accomplish your jobs and expectations of those who are very much close to you and you owe some duties to them – if you devote your time to others, you won’t be able to please your owns. You must learn to say NO to such requests which may encroach over your personal time which you require for your hobbies, exercise and other stress relieving activities. You must consider yourself which is right for you – none other than you is able to decide it and kindly do not let them prevail upon you. Choose your real well wishers and make your priorities. Try to save your emotional life but your emotions should not be permitted to black mail you. You must come to real world immediately and try to examine if you are not too emotional with some issue.

There are many other methods to simplify – you can choose and implement as per your individual circumstances.

Be Happy – Simplify your Life.