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Articles from Sara Dillinger | Selfgrowth.com
- H Is For Humor - by Submitted on Jul 12, 2011 from Sara DillingerThe Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote: "Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rage at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light." With apologies to Thomas, I would like to paraphrase this opening stanza of the poem: Do not go quietly into that dark ...
Views: 1142 - D Is For Define - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2011 from Sara DillingerI heard a segment of a program about branding on NPR this morning when I drove over to feed my daughter’s cat. In this brief snippet, the host and his guest were talking about “sheeple”, that is, people who will follow the crowd, the style, the latest fad like sheep going to ...
Views: 1123 - The Dead or the Past: Speaking No Ill - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2011 from Sara DillingerDe mortuis nil nisi bonum Wow, Latin. I hope you are sufficiently impressed. Ideas just sound better – or look better in writing – when they are expressed in Latin. The dead language gives the simplest thought a gravitas that it wouldn’t have in English. In fact, I have a slim volume ...
Views: 1121(1 vote) - Unemployed Men: An Ongoing Crisis - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2011 from Sara DillingerMy father was, as the saying goes, a “Jack of all trades and Master of none.” I’m told that he was a truck driver when he and my mother met. Within my personal memory – and I was the youngest of four children – he worked in heavy construction, farming, as an auto mechanic, insurance salesman, ...
Views: 1105 - R Is For Responsibility - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2011 from Sara DillingerI've heard the “R” word quite a bit of late as I have listened to NPR's reporting of the riots in Britain. This morning it was particularly ubiquitous as the government, the police, and the rioters talked about who was “reponsible”. Let's start off by making something abundantly clear: ...
Views: 1100 - Some Thoughts in a Time of Crisis - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2011 from Sara DillingerWe interrupt this regularly scheduled alphabet to bring you this special message: With our elected representatives in Congress fighting like kindergartners and the last-minute deal to increase the debt ceiling of the United State of America, with the subsequent down-grading of our credit ...
Views: 1088 - Subconcious Reasons Your Resolutions Failed - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2011 from Sara DillingerHappy New Year! Well, no. Unless you are following the fiscal calendars as some organizations and corporations do. But it is now a little over six months since the new year began which means – unless I got my math wrong, which is always a possibility – the year is half over. O, my gosh! ...
Views: 1079 - Longevity: Who Will Live Longer? - by Submitted on Apr 05, 2011 from Sara DillingerAesop got it right. You remember the old fable of the Grasshopper and the Ant? It was attributed to Aesop who, according to tradition, was a slave back in ancient Greece. The story involved a Grasshopper who wasted time fiddling around while the dutiful Ant laid in stores for the coming ...
Views: 1078 - Are We Forcing Our Doctors to Prescribe Unnecessary Tests? - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2011 from Sara DillingerMay I ask a personal question? Be honest now…. If you went to the doctor and he told you that your symptoms were all in your head, would you be insulted? Or, if your doctor, who looks like a Junior High School kid, told you that the dark spot that had popped up on your face was merely a ...
Views: 1033 - Fear of Radiation: A Personal Plea for Japan - by Submitted on Mar 16, 2011 from Sara DillingerBlown Away When I was ten years old, my home was blown away by a tornado. I’m telling you this, not is a bid for sympathy, but to make a point. I have noticed over the years that many people who have experienced a trauma like that seem morbidly fearful that it’s going to happen again. Any ...
Views: 1026 - Give Your Energy a Boost - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2011 from Sara DillingerOne thing leads to another, like the beads of my mala. A mala is a string of beads similar to the Catholic rosary beads. Like the rosary, the beads of the mala aid in prayer or meditation. One prayer, one meditative chant, one meditative thought leads to another until the prayer, chant, ...
Views: 1024 - How To Build A Better World: Auto-Suggestion - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerAuto-suggestion “I think I can”, that mantra of the Little Engine That Could is auto-suggestion. Auto-suggestion is the communicating link between the conscious mind, where thought takes place, and the subconscious mind, which is the seat of action. More simply put, you cannot do anything ...
Views: 1015 - How to Build a Better World - by Submitted on Jan 13, 2011 from Sara DillingerINTRODUCTION If that title seems a little grandiose, let’s take it down a few notches. Do you remember reading “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper when you were a child? Or maybe you remember reading it to your children or grandchildren. THE VALUE OF OPTIMISM AND HARD WORK The ...
Views: 1011(1 vote) - Transformational Income: Ask Yourself These Questions - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2011 from Sara DillingerPop quiz! We are well into the second month of 2011, so it is time to ‘fess up. How many of you made New Years’ resolutions? Let’s see a show of hands. Okay. Now, of those of you who made New Years’ resolutions, how many of you have kept those resolutions thus far? Hands up. Uh-huh. Well, ...
Views: 977 - Transformational Income: Conquer Your Fears - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2011 from Sara DillingerHave you had – or taken – the opportunity to evaluate yourself in terms of the ten major causes of failure that we listed yesterday? If you found this task onerous or found it difficult to be honest with yourself, you might consider asking someone who knows you well to go over the list with ...
Views: 968 - How To Build A Better World: Leaving On a Freight Train - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2011 from Sara DillingerFood For Thought Have you ever thought about thought? Think about it. In my current recreational fiction (I have several great American novels in various states of completion), I have a character say that words are just the sounds that thoughts leave behind. I think this is true even of the ...
Views: 965 - Sex for Boomers: Rated Rx - by Submitted on Mar 08, 2011 from Sara DillingerWhy should an activity that offers us mental, physical, emotional and spiritual benefits be limited to youth? Is there some immutable law that says that when a person passes the age of sixty, they no longer want or need to have sex? While it is true that the biologic imperative to reproduce ...
Views: 954 - Transformational Income: What's Holding You Back? - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Sara DillingerIt is a part of life’s tragedy – and unfairness – that millions of men and women earnestly try, work hard, and yet fail while only a few people succeed. The old saying that “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” seems true. In preparation for his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon ...
Views: 940 - What Am I Going to Be When I Grow Up: Baby Boomer Edition - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2011 from Sara DillingerHave you ever found yourself wondering what you are going to be when you grow up? Read that sentence again carefully. Notice that is in the future tense. Since it is in the future tense, it may seem a strange question to address to Baby Boomers but let’s think about it a minute. When you ...
Views: 936 - Getting Organized: Making a List - by Submitted on May 12, 2011 from Sara DillingerI felt kind of silly. If anyone had seen me doing it, they probably would have thought that I was very silly. But there I sat last night, reading one of Arnold Lobel’s “Frog and Toad” books and gaining new insight into improving my organizational skills. Ostensibly, I was reading to my ...
Views: 910 - What Do You Need to Be Happy? - by Submitted on Mar 27, 2011 from Sara DillingerIf you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it, And you really want to show it, If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. Do you remember this old round? It was a staple in Sunday ...
Views: 890 - Transformational Income: Causes of Failure - by Submitted on Feb 07, 2011 from Sara DillingerYou shouldn’t let all these causes of failure discourage you. Think of it this way: they are like termites. They might be eating away at the foundations of all your efforts but once you know that they are there, you can take measures to eradicate them. With that little pep talk out of the ...
Views: 878 - Transformational Income: Protect Your Subconscious from Spam - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerSubconscious Spam The Subconscious mind consists of a field of consciousness in which every impulse of thought that reaches the objective mind through any of the five senses, is classified and recorded, and from which thoughts may be recalled or withdrawn. Think of it as the email of your ...
Views: 876 - How To Build A Better World: Examples - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerI have a relative that sends me a subscription to Guideposts for Christmas every year. Call me a snob, but having studied theology and because I really enjoy the tough mental workout that it takes to do theology and make sense of it, I tend to be somewhat dismissive of Guideposts. Its ...
Views: 868 - How To Build A Better World: Never Give Up - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2011 from Sara DillingerHow To Fail Without Really Trying Thomas Edison, with whom Edwin C. Barnes was so determined to work, once said that “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” A case in point is cited in Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. I ...
Views: 867 - Transformational Income: What, Me Worry? - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2011 from Sara DillingerRemember Alfred E. Neuman, the iconic mascot of Mad magazine? His signature comment was well reflected in his appearance: What, me worry? It has been said that his face was the face of a person who didn’t have a care in the world, except maybe mischief. Most of us are either not as fortunate ...
Views: 848(2 votes) - Transformational Lives: What the World Needs Now - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2011 from Sara DillingerI have come to the end of a long series of articles based on and summarizing Napoleon (Why do I always think of Napoleon Solo when I type that name?) Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich . I started the series with mixed motives, to be quite honest. At this stage in my life, when I am unemployed ...
Views: 842 - Transformational Income: Use Your Brain - by Submitted on Feb 22, 2011 from Sara DillingerIn his classic book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill likens the human brain to a radio. It is, he says, both a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of thought. When Hill wrote his book, the analogy to a radio was cutting edge technology. But that is no longer the case. I am ...
Views: 828(1 vote) - How To Build A Better World: "Think and Grow Rich" - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2011 from Sara DillingerDoes the world revolve around money? My son, currently a stocker (that’s s-t-o-c-k-e-r, not s-t-a-l-k-e-r) at Walmart, was listening to NPR at breakfast one morning recently and bemoaning the idea that everything seems to revolve around money. It does seem that way at times. We have just ...
Views: 826 - How To Build A Better World: Suspend Disbelief - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerInspiring Stories Remember the story of Edwin C. Barnes, who had a burning desire to go into partnership with Thomas Edison? It didn’t happen right away, but it did happen. What about U.R. Darby? Do you recall that story? He and his uncle gave up and quit digging for gold just three feet ...
Views: 826 - Transformational Income: Make Up Your Mind - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2011 from Sara DillingerDo you dither? Flip-flop? Delay making a decision for fear that you will make a mistake? Do you put off making decisions until you have ALL the information or until conditions are RIGHT? You are not alone. In fact, so many of us have this same problem that lack of decision is near the head of ...
Views: 825 - Transformational Income: A Recipe for Success - by Submitted on Feb 16, 2011 from Sara DillingerI tried a new recipe for lunch today. The recipe was kind of like a Definite Plan. I had a “Master Mind” group working with me toward the goal of a palatable lunch. That group consisted of myself, my mother (now deceased) who taught me to cook, the unknown person who developed the recipe, and ...
Views: 812 - Transformational Income: If - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2011 from Sara DillingerLong before Napoleon Hill wrote his book Think and Grow Rich, long before the Great Depression that inspired Hill’s earnest book, long before World War I, Nobel prize laureate Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled IF: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and ...
Views: 801 - Transformational Income: Two Ideas - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2011 from Sara DillingerA Secret Shhh! I’ve got a secret to share with you. Well, actually, it is not a ‘secret’ at all. As Napoleon Hill points out in his classic Think and Grow Rich, Nature, herself, advertises it on the earth on which we live, the stars, the planets suspended within our view, in the ...
Views: 801(5 votes) - Memories of the Old Family Bible - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2011 from Sara DillingerDo you have a family Bible? I’ve been feeling nostalgic of late and one of the memories that I’ve raked up from my subconscious is the memory of the old family Bible. I don’t have the physical Bible – my sister, the eldest in the family and my only living relative, inherited it. But I have ...
Views: 798 - Transformational Income: Persistence - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2011 from Sara DillingerHave you ever gone on a diet or started a new exercise routine? Were you successful at losing all the weight you wanted to lose or building the muscle or strength you wanted to build? If so, why? And if not, why not? What was the most important factor in the success or failure of your diet or ...
Views: 796 - Transformational Income: The Sixth Sense - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2011 from Sara DillingerThe Thirteenth principle listed in Napoleon Hill’s classic book, Think and Grow Rich, is known as the Sixth Sense, through which Infinite Intelligence may, and will communicate voluntarily. This is the apex, the top rung, if you will, of the ladder of success outlined by Hill. A word of warning, ...
Views: 779 - Transformational Income: Mind Your Ps and Qs - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Sara DillingerWhen I was a kid, we children were told on occasion – usually special occasions – to mind our Ps and Qs. When I was younger, I thought those initials referred to peas and carrots and I could see the sense of minding the Ps. Peas were sneaky little dickens and would roll off your fork and scatter ...
Views: 771 - Transformational Income: Final Analysis - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2011 from Sara DillingerI had a minor crisis in my household last night. I went into the laundry room to feed the cats and found the floor in the southeast corner of the laundry room flooded with water. The southeast wall of the laundry room is the southwest wall of the kitchen, along which the sink, dishwasher, and ...
Views: 753 - Transformational Income: Imagine - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Sara DillingerImagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace You may ...
Views: 738 - Transformational Income: Beginning Steps - by Submitted on Feb 16, 2011 from Sara DillingerHave your ever wondered what mystical power gives some people the capacity to surmount seemingly insurmountable barriers, master difficulties that make our piddling problems pale in comparison, or simply SUCCEED in whatever they attempt to do? Is there some form of spiritual, mental or ...
Views: 737 - Transformational Income: No Fear - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2011 from Sara DillingerThe final chapter in Napoleon Hill’s classic book, Think and Grow Rich, is about fear. The book was written just after the Great Depression when there was a lot of fear in the hearts and the minds of the American people. We have recently been through a difficult economic period and we are ...
Views: 719 - Trnsformational Income: Be Positive - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2011 from Sara DillingerIt’s an old joke, but it’s not very funny: A person is expressing doubts about his or her ability to achieve his goals. A friend seeks to encourage him by saying, “Oh, come on! You have to think positive.” To which the person responds, “Okay, I’m positive I can’t do it!” Strong ...
Views: 718 - How To Build A Better World: Believe - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerSuspend disbelief/Extend belief It is said that nature abhors a vacuum and I believe that the same is true of the human mind. When we suspend disbelief, we have to do it wisely and put something in its place lest we become credulous fools. So what do we put in place of disbelief? The ...
Views: 714 - How To Build A Better World: Jesus, Gandhi and King - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerBe Careful You’ve undoubtedly heard the adage to be careful what you wish for. The same is true of our thoughts. Be careful of the thoughts that you allow to roll around in your head. According to Napoleon Hill in his classic Think and Grow Rich(again using all caps as he did) “ALL IMPULSES ...
Views: 714 - How To Build A Better World: Faith - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerOkay, okay, I know – I already did an article in this “How To Build A Better World” series on belief and belief is the same thing as faith, isn’t it? Some of you may even be beginning to think that this is sounding altogether too preachy. Well, don’t cross your arms over your chest and get ...
Views: 700 - Transformational Income: Seeking Employment - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Sara DillingerNapoleon Hill, in his classic Think and Grow Rich, delineates the attributes of a leader and those factors that cause failure in leadership. These sections, and his advice on developing a “Master Mind” group are moving us toward the goal of selling ourselves. For many of us, that means applying ...
Views: 695 - Transformational Income: What You Need to Know - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Sara DillingerA Simple Solution “It’s a simple solution…you change one thing, and suddenly you’ve changed everything.” —Rebecca Onie, founder of Health Leads, which places student volunteers in urban clinics, assisting patients with housing, food, legal aid and other basic needs. The quote above caught ...
Views: 680 - Transformational Income: Don't Give Up - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2011 from Sara DillingerIf you have ever dieted unsuccessfully, you will know that your lack of persistence reveals itself in late night snacking, cheating, scale avoidance, and tight clothes. If you have been unsuccessful at maintaining an exercise regimen, your lack of persistence is evidenced in continued ...
Views: 678 - Transformational Income: The Only Thing We Have to Fear.... - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2011 from Sara DillingerSo, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear… is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. With those words of his first inaugural address, Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to ...
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