Alleviating Stress – The Basics

As Australian television personality Andrew Denton has noted - "PRESSURE AND STRESS IS THE COMMON COLD OF THE PSYCHE."

Stress is a fact of life and a certain amount of stress, unlike the common cold, can even be good for you - but too many stressful incidents can prevent you from reaching your full potential.

There is no magic wand to wave away stress - it takes a determined effort to control your lifestyle to prevent stress overload. However, the basics of alleviating stress are easy to arrange and practice - it's not rocket science - it just takes time and more than a little effort.

First, plan ahead - be organized and prepared. There are close-at-hand weapons available to you in your battle against stress - a pencil and a piece of note paper.

Many times stress is energized because we allow a tidal wave of different and conflicting thoughts to flood our mind making us believe the assignments ahead are too overpowering.

Prepare for tomorrow the night before.

Take the time to sit down with a pencil and paper and list all the assignments you feel are important to complete the next day. When all the tomorrow tasks are listed, redo and list each item in order of importance. Finally, mark the time you think it would take to complete each task - review the total time and when you reach the time limit you feel comfortable with, draw a line across the page - that's tomorrow's schedule.

One other important item when completing the final schedule - it's vital that your allow time for relaxing,exercising and to eat a healthy meal - three more important weapons in alleviating stress.

"IN TIMES OF GREAT STRESS OR ADVERSITY, IT'S ALWAYS BEST TO KEEP BUSY, TO PLOW YOUR ANGER AND YOUR ENERGY INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE" - Lee Iacocca

Something positive - great advice - but again, not easy. Maintaining a positive attitude also takes a great deal of work and commitment, but by following two basic fundamentals of positive thinking,you can detour your life into a new affirmative direction that will lower the stress level no matter what the situation and, as a bonus,make you a happier, more contented individual.

First and foremost - stop all the negative talk. Start today - every time you utter a negative thought, repeat what you said and change the negative into a positive. Make a game of it. Tell those you trust how you are trying to change your lifestyle and have them yell out "negative" every time you utter a negative thought. If they catch you on such a miscue - you have to give them a dime or some such reward.

Repetition is the key to changing negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Come up with your own personal mantra you can silently repeat to yourself to constantly remind you of your new positive, less stressful lifestyle - the word "POSITIVE" is a good one to start with.

Secondly,stay away from those who view life pessimistically. Those who are unenthusiastic about life can drag you down faster than a freighter's anchor - join the people who make you happy - better yet - be around people who you can talk to about your feelings.

One more basic fundamental - find the humor in it - take time to laugh loud and often - it's the best medicine for alleviating stress.

Again from Lee Iacocca - "STRESS IS WHEN YOU WAKE UP SCREAMING AND YOU REALIZE YOU HAVEN'T FALLEN ASLEEP YET."

Building Bountiful Blog Traffic

It just seems like everybody and their grandmother has a blog these days. But what is the difference between, say, a Perez Hilton and all the other thousands of blogs that fall into obscurity everyday? Well, let me show you a couple of simple ways that you can increase blog traffic without spending a red cent most of the times. So let’s get started, shall we?

First of all, it’s very important that your blog is meaningful and not some kind of repository of rehashed articles. One of the best ways to attract visitors to your blog is if there’s already heavy activity on the blog. This will have many implications: first of all, every time someone posts a comment on your blog, it is updated, and search engines usually favor sites with fresh content that is updated often. Second, it will encourage others to participate as well and come back frequently to see how others reacted to their comments or just to see how the conversation is evolving.

A good way to build interest to your blog is by posting on similar, yet more popular blogs related to yours, with a link to your blog of course. If you disagree with the blog’s editor, don’t be scared to start a flaming war, this might encourage the blog’s editor to respond and other onlookers to visit your blog to read more of what you have to say. If you completely agree with the blog’s editor and notice that there are occasional guest posters on the blog, try to contact the blogmaster to see if you can write a guest post for them.

Social networking sites such as Digg.com are also a great way to increase blog traffic. Digg works by users giving a thumbs up – a ‘dig’ – or a thumbs down to whatever they read online and on the Digg site itself. It’s pretty much a way to rate different pages on the web so that the best stories get the most attention. If you want your site to rate high on Digg, there are a few things you have to know.

First of all, you have to write a meaningful and eye catching headlines since it’s the first thing you see before reading a post. Second of all, when you submit your post to Digg, make sure the description is meaningful and that you can get a sense of the post before reading it; nobody likes bad surprises and people are most likely to give your post a thumbs down if the description had nothing to do with the post. Make sure your first paragraph is good and that the rest of the article is meaningful as well, or else you’ll run the risk of irritating your readers, get bad reviews for your posts, and get your site banned from social bookmarking sites; because social bookmarking sites tend to ban people who post junk all the time.

There are plenty of ways that you can attract more traffic to your blog and that was just a few of them. But keep in mind that even the best promoted blog will fail if it doesn’t have good content.

When Your Self-Confidence Isn't Confident

So you've had a couple of failures. You've applied for a few jobs but got turned away, the person you loved has dumped you for somebody else ... and your self confidence took a nosedive. You find yourself thinking "I'm not worthy, I'm not clever, there is nothing good about me...". However, that doesn't mean you are 'no good' and you should not nourish such self destructive thoughts! Life has its ups and downs and we all have dips in our self confidence from time to time when things don't go how we would like them to go.

Regardless of the cause, giving yourself a whole set of negative suggestions internally will only reinforce your feelings of worthlessness. Watch what you're saying to yourself: "I'm not intelligent", "I'm not talented" and so on ... You've got to get out of this negative self talk! Your subconscious mind responds to these self suggestions and will try to do everything to fulfill them. So if you constantly repeat to yourself you are not talented, you're programming your subconscious to shut off your creative resources. If you can catch yourself every time you do the negative self talk and replace it with a positive one, your subconscious mind will reprogram the old negative pattern and find resources to fulfill the newly formed positive program.

Here's a simple technique you can use to reverse negative patterns that undermine your self confidence:

Find a comfortable, quiet place where you will not be disturbed (switch off your mobile phone). Take 10 deep breaths, exhaling slowly through pursed lips. This will release any tensions you might have and will help you to relax. Let it all go. Then, in your inner eye, see yourself as a successful, intelligent and admired person. How do you look? What do you wear? Do you have a big smile on your face?

If you have problem imagining yourself as a Successful You, think of a time you were, or just pretend to be... Put your emotions in it, act it out! Hear how people praise you and what you say to them. Notice how it feels on your body to be successful, intelligent and admired. You may have a fuzzy warm sensation around your heart, feeling like you could fly or a pleasant tingling in your head.

At this moment you may notice yourself smiling... Good! Your subconscious mind is now receptive and ready to listen. This is the right time to plant some positive suggestions, for example "It's easy for me to come up with original and creative ideas other people admire and are attracted to" or "I'm totally confident that I'll find the job which is best for me". Repeat the suggestions to yourself 2 or 3 times, slowly, taking in what you are saying.

Before you start the exercise, consciously pre-think and memorize a couple of positive suggestions because once you're in a relaxed dreamy state, you may find it difficult to think. It's best to write them down on a piece of paper so you can easily remember them the next time. Suggestions should be as concrete as possible, within reason (e.g. "I'm 100 percent confident that I'll become the president of the United States by tomorrow" is not reasonable) and as more emotionally charged as more powerful they will be.

Positive suggestions and feelings can also be anchored to a specific action, for example snapping your fingers, squeezing your earlobe etc. If you snap your fingers every time you give yourself a specific suggestion for a sufficient number of times, you'll soon be able to recall that suggestion or emotions at will, just by snapping your fingers. This is a very handy and quick way to stop your negative self talk.

For best results, do your 'self confidence exercise' every day in the morning and before going to bed. Don't be put off if you don't get instantaneous results. It can take 3 to 4 weeks for a newly formed 'program' to kick in, but once it does you'll know it was worth your time.

Remember, you create your reality with your thoughts and words so be careful what you say to yourself and others!

10 Top Traits of Problem-Solvers

One thing that we all seem to have in common is problems. Some see problems and give up immediately. Others thrash about or throw money at their problems with the predictable results that they continue without resolution, often getting worse. I have watched people carp, duck and hide, pull their hair, cry, lash out, etc. None of these produces the desired effect of solving the problem. Certainly, it never solves the problem in ways that are good for all parties involved.

People who aim to truly solve problems seem to have several traits in common. Here's my top 10 list of these traits.

#10 - Problem-solvers get a good fix on reality. They do not spend a lot of time in dreamland, wondering about what coulda been or woulda been if things were different. Things are NOT different - problem-solvers know this and act accordingly.

#9 - Problem-solvers do not gripe and do not make trouble for others.

#8 - Problem-solvers are self-starters. They do not wait for someone else to point out that there is something wrong. And they don't wait for someone else to tell them how to fix it.

#7 - Problem-solvers do not keep lists of grievances. Problem-solvers may keep a few objective examples of a problem to use as evidence when problem-solving discussions arise.

#6 - Problem-solvers engage their imaginations to come up with new solutions that they can try out, and they have the guts to go forward as they test their solutions.

#5 - Problem-solvers do not look to others for assurances that cannot be delivered. They know who does and does not make decisions, and try to work with those who do.

#4 - Problem-solvers are nimble-minded, tough-love optimists who work tenaciously to solve the problems facing them.

#3 - Problem-solvers are capable of allying themselves with others so that if a problem goes beyond their personal abilities, they can make use of the talents of others.

#2 - Problem-solvers effectively juggle their entire load of problems so that they all get resolved. They don't let any one problem so dominate their attention (except in emergencies), that they can't multitask. Here they attend to one problem. A few minutes later they're busy solving another. They don't make everything else wait until something is solved completely. They work on multiple fronts as best they can.

And the number one attribute of Problem-solvers:

#1 - Problem-solvers go the extra mile to solve problems and to help others solve their problems. They value win-win solutions whenever they are possible.

Are you a problem-solver?

If I Had Only Known Then What I Know Now!

Hindsight, we all know only too well, is a wonderful thing. For example, if we had only known that the ceiling on membership at a popular site was going to be subscribed so quickly - we would have joined up the minute we heard about it.

If we had only known that niche marketing was going to be so wildly popular we would have focused on that instead of MLM.

If we had only known that Google was going to change its algorithm and the rules of AdWords were going to change we would have...

Stop.

Stop, stop, stop.

In the world of Internet marketing, you can safely bet that the only constant is the rate of change! There's always news of the latest product dropping into your email inbox. There's always another promise of quick and easy money. Google will keep changing its algorithm, and new search engines are quite likely to pop up to challenge Google.

What can you do about this? Four main things:


(1) Continue To Educate Yourself.

Understand that those who rise to the top of any field - whether it's internet marketing or something else - are good at what they do. This means that they never stop learning. There are always new materials, new techniques and probably new 'experts' showing the way.

Most of us learn in three main ways: (a) from experts who specialize in a certain niche related to our field; (b) from others who are following the same path as we are, and (c) by trial and error, from our own results.

You will find that the more you immerse yourself in the world of internet marketing, the more you will be able to analyze which products, services and opportunities are right for you.


(2) Focus. Pick One System And Give It A Fair Go.

Countless people who start out on the internet with high hopes follow the same pattern. They get excited about a new product or system. They throw themselves into it and invest long hours (and potentially quite a bit of money) in getting it up and running. It might be e-books sold from mini-sites; it might be setting up an eBay business; it might be directory-type sites with text manipulators; it might be AdWords or content sites optimized for AdSense.

Then one day they get wind of another new system (probably one created by someone who claims "the gurus are angry with me for giving away all their secrets..."). Discouraged by the lack of results with the first "opportunity", they decide to let it rest for a while and try the new one. Back they go into the cycle of try-the-new-product, get-discouraged, discard-it-and-try-the-next-thing.

And so it goes on. Months pass. Perhaps years pass. They struggle to pay the credit card bills mounting from buying into every new system that comes along... with very little money coming in to offset their 'investment'. As they look back, they start muttering "If I had only known then what I know now..."

If you can recognize yourself in this scenario, the good news is this: Now you DO know better. You don't know what the next new product will be that's going to set the internet world abuzz, but you do know enough to choose a system that's right for you and stick to it.


(3) Take The Time to Plan.

Give yourself from two to four weeks to regroup. Go through all the products you have on your shelves or on your computer. Make a list. Decide which products you now know (so wise with hindsight!) to be worth keeping. Then analyze the 'keepers' and pick on the best system for YOU to use at this time. (This will depend upon your level of knowledge and which one you would enjoy most. Work with your strengths.)

Finally, devise a game plan. You are going to focus on this ONE method and devise a practical time-line to achieve results. Don't be in a rush. Make sure you give yourself enough time to see it 'take hold' so the money starts flowing in. That will give you the motivation to continue.

Clear the decks, physically as well as mentally. Put all the products that don't fit in with your plan in boxes or on disk for safekeeping. You may return to them one day, but if you've chosen the system that's right for you, you probably won't.

4. Don't Get Distracted by New Products.

Resolve to buy ONLY products or services that will save you time or money in implementing the system you have chosen. Never buy anything on impulse. Print out the sales letter, read it through, then put it aside. Read it through again the next day. Does it still seem so appealing? Check out a few forums to listen to the buzz. If a product doesn't deliver, you'll soon hear about it. If it is exceptional value, you'll hear about that, too.

Some questions to ask: "Will this help me to streamline the business I have chosen? Is it worth the money? Will it make a significant difference?" And above all, "Do I need this, or is it just another distraction?"

Resolve to make this the year you will succeed. No more pocket change. No more "If I had only known..."

You DO know.

So make it work.

3 Essential Elements of Operating a Successful Business

By Michael Brassil

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to live your dream?
A good place to start would be to recognize that there are three
elements, and only three elements, that separate success from
failure. If you exercise one of the elements, you might just be
successful. Two and you will probably succeed. Three, and you can
practically guarantee your success.

What are they? They are deceptively simple, and deep down inside
you know what they are. But to purposefully write them down and
use them as guides in selecting your dream business will make all
the difference in the world. As you go through this exercise, you
will dramatically build on your chances of success. Nowhere will
it count more than right here, deciding how many of the three
essential elements will qualify you to realize your dream.

1. Find a need!

Is there a market niche for your particular product or service?
Does the world, or even your community, need what you have to
offer? Only by sampling and testing will you be able to determine
this with any degree of certainty, but we will be covering this
as we go along in greater detail. The most important aspect would
be to determine a Unique Selling Proposition for your product or
service. Too many business owners are just trying to be me-too
companies. You cannot be just like the next guy and expect to
prosper in this volatile economy.

One of the most important things I learned from my Dad was, there
are really only two things to consider, and next to them
everything else is minor. Those two things are: (1) What do you
really want? And just as, and perhaps even more important, (2)
Are you willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it?

What do you really, really want from this endeavor? What is your
ultimate goal? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to achieve
this goal? Instead of looking for a business based on how much
money you can earn up-front, select a business based on your love
for that endeavor. The most successful and fulfilled people are
individuals who are following a dream or vision of their own.
They are not just out trying to make a buck.

What opportunities can you act upon? Woolworth saw a need for
small inexpensive items and opened the chain of stores that
grossed billions. Wrigley started giving gum away as a bonus, and
seized the chance to expand worldwide.

You must create a uniqueness to your product or service. What can
you offer that no one else can offer? Is it a better warranty,
improved customer service, more technical support, faster
shipping, or lower price? Think of something that will set you
apart from your competitors and describe in detail exactly what
it is.

2. Be good at what you do.

Are you as good as, or better than, the next guy when it comes to
producing/marketing your product or service? This element
requires an honest self-assessment. "What are my abilities?" To
determine your abilities you must take an honest inventory of
yourself. Examine every possibility and be sure to include
strengths and weaknesses. Will your strong points be able to let
you overcome your deficits?

3. Have true passion for the business.

If there is one element you absolutely cannot do without, it is
passion. Passion is an irresistible attitudinal energy that
generates power. Do you have a passion for working with your
particular product or service? Notice, I didn't say "do you like
what you want to do?" There are too many competitors out there
who are ready, willing and able to "eat your lunch" when it comes
to competing with you. They may have found the same niche that
you have found. They may like what they do as much as you do. But
what separates the winners from the losers is passion.

What are you really passionate about? If your answer is, "I'm
passionate about making a lot of money." That is not the right
answer. Making a lot of money is consequence of engaging in a
successful activity where you remain motivated long enough to be
successful. The key to creating passion is to find and do what it
is that you truly love. Passion is the laser-like focusing of our
creative life force. We do not create passion. (Don't confuse
passion with being a workaholic. Workaholism devours while
passion amplifies.)

So there they are, the three key elements to having a successful
small business.

About the author:
Michael (Mike) Brassil is author of "The Only Business Start-Up
Guide You Will Ever Need." Download two chapters - Starting a
New Business and The Home Working Revolution - at:
http://www.ImpactGuide.com


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Thought and The Law of Attraction

We have all heard the expression, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again." But to carry on without thinking about why you failed only leads to more failure.

The ability to create is a God given gift. A gift given to everyone without exception. Thought is the first step to manifesting any creation. Thoughts are energy, they are real. Your thoughts act as magnets and attract other thoughts, people, and circumstances that harmonize with them.

Thoughts operate and adhere to certain universal laws. Without these laws there would be no order; the universe itself would sink into chaos.

The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like. Much of what was once considered metaphysical, esoteric knowledge in the past is now scientific fact. Physics has shown that the principles involved in the Law of Attraction are every bit as valid as those governing the Law of Gravity. So it should come as no surprise that dwelling only on your problems simply attracts more problems.

The idea of attracting success by thinking about it is very appealing. So appealing in fact, people often get the wrong impression that it's easy. Affirmations can be helpful, but mindless affirmations alone have no real value. On the other hand, once an affirmation becomes part of your belief system the subconscious goes to work attracting opportunities. It is not the success itself we attract, but the opportunity to succeed.

Our world is ruled by cause and effect, yet we often fail to see how this rule applies to the thoughts we think. This happens because the results of our thoughts are so far removed from the cause that we fail to see the connection.

The subconscious mind is working tirelessly 24 hours a day. It doesn't analyze, it doesn't judge, it simply accepts and attracts more of what the conscious mind is focused on. Are you attracting problems or solutions? By focusing on desire and showing gratitude for what you already have, the subconscious mind is given the necessary material to provide a constant stream of opportunities. Whether we take advantage of these opportunities or not is another story.

It's impossible to operate outside the law of attraction. Consciously or unconsciously your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, determine if this law works for or against you. Stay focused on your success and reaching your goals. As one success leads to another, success becomes a habit. Problems and obstacles are seen as no more than stepping stones on the road to your ultimate goal.