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It is a sad time in Columbus, OH as we mourn the loss of a very special person who has survived and thrived with an abundance of grace during the last 11 years. Stefanie Spielman lost her battle with cancer yesterday and many people are suffering from broken hearts today. She has touched so many ... Views: 920
Free Christian Devotionals are an excellent way to enrich your spiritual walk, as are a few other suggestions we will give you. As a Christian, it's important that you always desire to know God more intimately than you did on yesterday; to hear Him clearer than you did on last year. Knowing God ... Views: 1446
Finding Your Way Out of the Swamp When you Are Shoulder-Deep in Alligators
By
Bill Cottringer
“No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking.” ~Voltaire.
Scene. Picture this: A Cold, foggy, and damp early morning when you find yourself under-dressed and shoulder-deep in a ... Views: 3299
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A YOUNG (TEENAGE) IDEALIST: SEAN
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that really matter."
- Martin Luther King
Submitter's Note:
I came across these great words by a young New Zealand student by the name of Sean O'Connor and they fitted perfectly into the ... Views: 2132
Overcoming Adversity and Leadership: Balancing of Justice and Forgiveness
I personally interviewed Major General Sid Shachnow (U. S. Army Retired), the former head of all U.S. Army Special Forces, as one of the accomplished leader participants for my Gonzaga University Doctoral dissertation ... Views: 2417
An immovable will is something that we must possess in order to achieve the things of our greatest desires and fantasies. To have an immovable will does not mean that you are simply a stubborn person, it mean that you have a determination that is so deeply rooted to your core that it has become ... Views: 1478
This second part of the article about US Senator Daniel Inouye provides an insight into the groundbreaking proven research about overcoming adversity and the relationship it has with "Leadership and Adversity" has received extensive endorsements and enthusiastic reviews from well-known prominent ... Views: 2633
Originally Published March 2001 in Surface and Symbol
the Arts Journal of the Scarborough Arts Council, Toronto, Canada
volume 13 no.2
Preface by Karin Eaton, Executive Director, SAC
“All art starts as an idea; you don't have to be able to see it to appreciate it.” These were the words I ... Views: 1309
We get so busy working in our business, organizing our family’s schedule, managing the household, paying our bills, etc. that it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of it all. Too busy to see if what we are working so hard to achieve is what we even want anymore.
It is important ... Views: 810
Today, we are faced with many challenges, both personal and financial; but how we handle these challenges will determine our future.
In every case, the basic stimulus for these challenges is the same. We want to do things differently, better, improving ourselves and our circumstances or both. ... Views: 1071
"Yossi Ghinsberg was lost in the Amazon for 20 days and learned many lessons about our inherent ability to survive and tap into our true instinctual selves."
While in Puerto Rico, my wife Michelle and I had the privilege of seeing Yossi Ghinsberg. We'd never heard of Yossi before, but we ... Views: 2163
BEING OKAY WITH BEING AVERAGE
By
Bill Cottringer
“Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common. ~Satchel Page.
In reality, the great majority of people fall within the “average” range of the so-called Bell Curve. Most people are average in ... Views: 6013
Do you yearn to live a more fulfilled, more satisfying life? If your answer is yes then what steps are you taking to get there? Are you taking personal responsibility for the direction of your own life or is your strategy to rely on hope?
You see, there simply are no short cuts to living a ... Views: 1357
Survival. Are you a survivor? Survival’s crucial. It means we make it. We make it through something others don’t. There’s some kind of glory in being a survivor. We wear our survival like a badge of honor. We join with other survivors to celebrate our survival, to celebrate our making it and ... Views: 1433
How do we change?
Change takes one tiny step, but to take that one step can require a journey of a thousand miles.
So many of us can dream of the life we want to have and the person we want to be. It can be especially frustrating when we get to the stage in our adventure where we ... Views: 1171
(this piece originally appeared in the Omega Institute's online publication)
When I had my career melt-down and fled the life of being an elite-law-firm-corporate-lawyer, (an honors graduate of Harvard Law School) I thought I was changing careers. I had no idea I was changing my definition of ... Views: 2027
I am committed to allowing myself to receive more freaking goodness than I can imagine. To start with, I am going to know that, independent of anyone else's predictions or convictions, my life can be fantastic. I am going to stop calling negativity and limitation "realism." I'm going to just ... Views: 753
No doubt you've heard the phrase "your life is a journey" before. If you're like most people, you are quite easily willing to accept the statement as true. However, if you're like most people, you also haven't really considered the degree to which it's not only true, but to which it means you ... Views: 4609
I have been talking a lot lately with women who are telling me that they are working hard, quite often achieving their goals, and yet still not feeling successful, accomplished, or good about what they are doing. A typical story goes like this:
You decide that you want to accomplish a big ... Views: 4215
By nature, human beings are impatient. We want good things to show up in our lives and we want them to show up now. Let's face it, we live in a microwave society – we don't want to wait around for anything.
When it takes longer than expected for goodness to materialize, frustration sets ... Views: 2885
How often do you stop and count your blessings? Once a day? Once a month? Never? We need to be aware of how much we have to be thankful for. Can you stand up every morning without pain? What a blessing! Do you have two legs to stand on? Do you have a roof over your head and food in your ... Views: 1412
When you came to the 40-year stage in your life, you will suddenly realize many things. You get to ask yourself questions. How will it be when I get to the end of my life? How do I feel about the life I lived?
Then someone gave you some self improvement articles while telling you that it is ... Views: 7049
There are some true inspirational people such as Martin Luther King jr,
Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Gandhi, and so many more that the list
goes on and on. For every aspect of life you can be sure that there's an inspirational person to be found.
Do you have anything in common with the ... Views: 1528
Imagine your best friend has just invited you to his wedding, and told you to invite everyone you know to the special event. Those who hear of the event will be the ones who are lucky enough to attend it. If you do not share this good news, you will be guilty of not obeying the order.
So it ... Views: 4228
Today I received a paper written by a 13 year old girl. She loves to perform and when she finally had her chance on center stage, she got butterflies and felt as though she could burst. What struck me was that this young lady put herself in the present moment and used her senses. She smelled ... Views: 3356
I've been thinking a lot about change lately.
Here in Vermont, fall is in the air, the Canadian Geese are returning, and the days are getting shorter. At the same time, there have been some significant changes in my life. My oldest daughter was married last weekend, Dawn is working with me ... Views: 761
TERRIBLE CHOICES
By
Bill Cottringer
“We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” ~Kahlil Gibran.
There are some terrible choices we seem to have to make through all ages. Consider the following very uncomfortable choices confronting us all at different ... Views: 1425
Muhammad walked slowly down the muddy road in Bangladesh, his heart breaking as starved faces gazed at him pitifully, their blank eyes begging for help. Children who should be playing in the streets were laying helplessly, their life ebbing away from starvation. He knew that most of them would ... Views: 614
There is a path, called ‘the path to success,’ which everyone is traveling on. Scattered randomly throughout the journey are occasional forks in the road that require us to make difficult decisions.
Both paths of these diverging forks bring with them certain appeal, rewards, risks, ... Views: 1069
As published in RISMedia:
The Inauguration was witnessed by the world, and at the same time hundreds of thousands were communicating and sharing their impressions of the event online. It's a new age fairy tale that transcends Technicolor! Imagine speaking to the entire world, having your ... Views: 1572
As I began making some changes in my life, I became increasingly drawn to butterflies. It was as if somewhere deep in my soul I knew that they had much to teach me. I had always appreciated the beauty of butterflies, and seen them as symbols of the new life that God makes possible, but ... Views: 2723
You’ve been talking about pursuing your dream since high school. You’ve been stuffing a file with places you’d like to travel since you got your first job. You’ve envisioned what your boutique store would look like for years, even driving around searching for the perfect location, yet you’ve ... Views: 935
Article Title: The State of the World and How to CHANGE it?...
but How can a mere 'I' Make Any Difference ?
Author: Craig Lock
Category/Subject: the world, world issues, social and political issues/problems
Web sites: http://craiglock.wordpress.com/wp-admin/index.php?page=my-blogs and ... Views: 668
Do You Have a Big Enough Why?
Once you get clear on WHAT you want to achieve, it's crucial to know WHY you want it.
If you have an important goal, it needs a big why. Otherwise, you won't have the determination and resolve to overcome the inevitable challenges you'll encounter ... Views: 1307
In our Modern World, life can get really busy and really fast. We spend a lot of time and energy running around, and also place a lot of importance on our left brains - our rational minds.
Despite all this, somewhere, deep in our souls, we know the importance of slowing down and connecting to ... Views: 1507
SHRINKING FROWNS AND EXPANDING SMILES
By
Bill Cottringer
“A smile cures the wounding of a frown.” ~William Shakespeare.
Here are ten practical ways to reduce your unhappy failures and boost your happy successes, curing your frowns with smiles:
1. Follow the reality principle. ... Views: 1408
I had a busy week last week and to say that I was a little ‘flat’ was an understatement. Thinking about energy brought me to today’s topic – Vitamins and Vampires!
“Now what in the world has this got to do with marketing!” I can hear you say?
Well, marketing and chasing your goals and ... Views: 1121
Faith is power. Once you learn to believe in yourself, you are free from the thoughts of others and only true to yourself. You can do whatever you set your mind to and live however you desire.
The power of faith lifts one's spirits and destroys all boundaries. If one's belief is strong ... Views: 813
"The Life given to us by nature is short, but the Memory of a Life well spent is Eternal!
(Cesaro, Greek Philosopher)
This gives us a compelling reason to dispose of people we can no longer deal with. They're toxic, they're negative, and they are sucking the life out of us. It's time to ... Views: 771
Mindset
The Power Of Your Thinking...The Results Of Your Doing!
Today, we’re going to discuss what it takes to think the right way in order to achieve all your dreams.
There is a particular mindset principle that we’d like to focus on in this e-book. It’s a principle based not upon ... Views: 2363
Coaching for Acting vs for Life is most often the same. Here are a few thoughts that work for both:
• Think in terms of what is “core” and what is “essential.” It works in Life as well as for Acting.
• When ego’s out of the way, you don’t have to show or prove anything. Again, great for ... Views: 970
Why are decisions so difficult? Because each one has ramifications – and we are looking for our choices to be perfect…to answer every need and criteria. What a shock – they usually don’t.
I suggest you look at the following:
- Why has the item or event to decide upon come about?
- ... Views: 924
It’s inevitable that when you are on the road less travelled, trying to achieve your goals, starting a new business, career or family, you will get hit by adversity. Its life! It has its ups and downs, we all know that. But how you react to these adversities is what sets you apart from the ... Views: 7319
It only takes one person to believe. That statement is littered across so many texts, over so many centuries - from spiritual literature, to the chronicles of the great explorers and inventors, to the field of professional sport. That belief may sometimes be described as single-mindedness, ... Views: 1771
The Puranas or Indain Mythology while describing the process of world creation says that a lotus emerged from Lord Vishnu’s navel. Brahma the creator sat on this lotus. God told Brahma in a celestial voice: I have created you for world creation. In order to become capable of doing, so perform ... Views: 1665
Isn’t it great to be alive? Life is all about choices. Some are easy. Some are difficult. Often we have no choice in the amount of crap life will throw at us. How we react to, and deal with it, though is definitely our choice. It is not a question of whether we will all face challenges… it’s a ... Views: 2054
Do not judge each day by what you harvest, but instead by the seeds you plant. Today’s harvest is not important, because it is the product of what you planted yesterday; what is important is that all your new seeds are well planted in fertile soil, not too close to any large bush whose roots ... Views: 1190
When one wishes to solve a problem it is very easy to get tied up in the nuts and bolts of the problem itself and in this way miss out on seeing the overall picture. To solve a problem easily it is important to take a step back and thus begin to look at what is happening from a different angle. ... Views: 826
Yesterday I went to a funeral. Mary was the 94 year-old grandmother-in-law of one of my best friends, Michael. Mary is a fearless soul that left a big impression by simply being herself. Her life was the great American Dream. Italian immigrant. Little education. Came to San Diego from ... Views: 827
With the media’s projections of today’s economy, it will be easy to view the current financial situation in a state of scarcity. The good news is, you can make a choice to believe in the scarcity or the abundance in any situation, and whatever you think, you’re right!
Try repeating these ... Views: 2815