by Brian Tracy

After having studied top achievers and peak performers over the past 25 years, I've concluded that these unique men and women have, in most cases, mastered what I call the Seven C's of Success.

Clarity - Eighty percent of success comes from being clear on who you are, what you believe in and what you want.

Competence - You can't climb to the next rung on the ladder until you are excellent at what you do now.

Constraints - Eighty percent of all obstacles to success come from within. Find out what is constraining in you or your company and deal with it.

Concentration - The ability to focus on one thing single-mindedly and see it through until its done takes more character than anything else.

Creativity - Flood your life with ideas from many sources. Creativity needs to be exercised like a muscle, if you don't use it you'll lose it.

Courage - Most in demand and least in supply, courage is the willingness to do the things you know are right.

Continuous learning - Read, at the very least, one book a week on business to keep you miles ahead of the competition. And just as you eat and bathe, organize your time so you spend 30 minutes a day exploring e-mail, sending messages, going through web sites, because like exercise, it's the only way you can keep on top of technology. If you get away from it, you'll lose your edge.

Quote of the Day
The purposes in the human mind are like deep water, but the intelligent [man] will draw them out.
- Proverbs 20:5 NRS

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Hello,

Long time, no update. Not too many new and exciting things have been happening with me. I found a new church home, Grace AME. My daughter has joined the choir, she sang over the weekend. I joined the women's ministry. I plan on joining the Usher Board. I am loosing with Weight Watchers. Yeah!!!!! My writing has been slipping. But, I have been preparing for November (Write a Novel in a Month Challenge). And, I do keep an idea journal so the juices are flowing and stewing. Life is good. Today, I am posting an old favorite(Are you STILL dating?)and a new message that was passed on to me today. I don't have quotes for you but I will next time. I hope that you enjoy the following posts.

Are you STILL dating?
As we embark on the weekend, I have a question. (As I always do) Are you still dating God?

I know I am all in your business but I just want to know. You know He's a great guy. He looks out for you. He gives you great advice and words of encouragement when you are feeling down. He's even man enough to stand up to you when you know you're wrong. That's a good thing right? Nobody wants a wimp. So why haven't you gotten together yet?

I know how it can be. You can like a person, know they're good for you but not really take the time to get to know them. I know you hang out with Him from time to time and sometimes on Sundays but are you getting serious yet? I know He calls you, but do you call Him back? Then when you do talk to Him, do you talk or do you just sit there listening?

Look, I'm here to tell you, the man is really interested. He loves you. He's been in love with you for a while. He even said so, Jeremiah 31:3

Stop Cutting Yourself Down!
Discussing his low self-esteem, cartoon character Charlie Brown says,
"It goes back to when I first set foot on the stage of life. They looked at me and said, 'He's just not right for the part!'" You may smile, but when you've spent your life engaged in self-flagellation you know exactly what he means. The man in the tombs spent his days "cutting himself" because he thought he was worthless. And many of us who wear a game face in public spend our days doing the same thing.

Your self-image is second only to your faith in God. It doesn't matter what others think of you, what matters is what you think of yourself -based on what God thinks! Self-esteem has to come from self. That's why it's hard to believe the good things people say about you when you can't see them in yourself. Plus, how you treat others flows directly from your reservoir of personal dignity and self-respect. It's impossible to "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Mt 19:19 NIV) when you don't even like yourself. Paul says a man should love his wife like he loves himself (See Eph 5:28). But when you detest yourself how can you love your mate?

The only time any of us even comes close to perfection is on a job application! Stop cutting yourself down! God made you the way you are in order to use you the way He planned. Start complimenting Him on the great job He did. And remember, He loves you unconditionally - and that's the only reason you need for loving yourself!

Bible-in-a-year Reading: Gen 24:1-51, 2 Cor 6:14 - 7:1

K.M. Abney has been a featured writer on the web. She is a member of the Black Writers Guild and Toastmasters. She loves feedback and can be contacted at kenmoab1@verizon.net.

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By Shelley Lowery

If you're looking for a powerful way to get free publicity and build your credibility at the same time, then writing articles may be your answer.

If you've been on the Internet for a while, you've probably subscribed to a few ezines. Many ezine publishers will include an article written by a guest author. At the endof the article are a few lines of text about the author referred to as bylines or resource box. These lines of text are basically just an advertisement for the writer. They usually contain a couple of lines about the author and a web address.

The writer gives the publisher permission to publish their article, free of charge, in exchange for the publisher including the author's bylines.

By writing articles and allowing them to be freely published, your articles will have the potential to be viewed by millions of Internet users. They may be
published by several ezines with subscriber bases of a few hundred to several thousand. In addition, they may be displayed in ezine archives or on high traffic websites.

Most ezine publishers prefer short articles between 500 and 750 words. Short "tip" articles of just a couple of paragraphs are also very popular. Articles should be formatted to 65 characters per line or less, including spaces, and written in short paragraph sections.

When you begin writing your article, avoid using your standard word processing programs, as they do not allow for proper formatting. Instead, use a text editor such as NotePad. It should already be installed on your desktop.

When you begin typing your article, use a hard carriage return (hit enter) when your text reaches 65 characters, including spaces, and leave a space between your paragraphs. This will enable publishers to easily copy and paste your article into their publication. By taking the time to properly format your article, you will increase your chance of being published significantly.

Most publishers receive many article submissions each week and only select a few to be published. Here are some basic guidelines to assist you in getting published:

(1) Make sure you follow the publishers' submission guidelines. Articles submitted to publishers that don't follow the submission guidelines will most likely be deleted.

(2) Make sure your article is properly formatted. Publishers won't take the time to format your article. They'll simply delete it and move on to the next article
submission.

(3) Keep your bylines down to 6 lines or less. Publishers will not publish articles that contain excessively long bylines.

(4) Select a descriptive title to intrigue your readers. Use a powerful headline that demands attention and try to keep it all on one line.

(5) Use proper grammar and spelling. Publishers will not take the time to edit your article. Make sure you read your article several times and use spellcheck.

(6) Avoid articles that are nothing more than a sales letter. Publishers want quality content and will simply delete an article that is written like a sales letter.

(7) Avoid referring readers to an affiliate URL. Articles containing affiliate links may make your article appear to be biased and untrustworthy.

(8) Write your articles with a sincere desire to teach and inform. Talk to your readers and share your expertise.

Once you've written your article, you'll need to develop a list of publishers that may be interested in publishing it. The best way to accomplish this is to display your articles on your website. Place a subscription box on each of your
article pages to enable your visitors to subscribe. This list should be used to send your new articles to your list of publishers.

In addition, you can visit some ezine sites to locate publishers who may be interested in your articles. A good place to start is eZINESearch.
http://www.ezinesearch.com

Search through the database for publications that may be interested in the type of article you've written.

Another great way to promote your articles is to submit them to article announcement groups. These groups enable writers to submit their articles to an entire group of publishers, completely free.

Article Announcement Lists:

Article Announce
Subscribe:
mailto:article_announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

AABusiness
Subscribe:
mailto:aabusiness-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

AAInternet
Subscribe:
mailto:aainet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

PublishInYours
Subscribe:
mailto:PublishInYours-subscribe@egroups.com

Articles Archive
Subscribe:
mailto:articles_archives-subscribe@egroups.com

Free Content
Subscribe:
mailto:Free-Content-subscribe@egroups.com

Make sure you review the submission guidelines prior to posting your article to an announcement group.

Here are some additional promotional resources to help you get published:

http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm
http://www.web-source.net/syndicator_submit.htm
http://www.authorconnection.com/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.ezinearticles.com/
http://www.marketing-seek.com/
http://www.netterweb.com/articles/

Writing and distributing free articles on the Internet will be one of the best promotional decisions you'll ever make. Not only will it provide you with free
publicity, but if your articles are good, you'll become a trusted professional in your area of expertise.

Copyright © 2001, all rights reserved

About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of Ebook Starter - A complete ebook design kit. Subscribe to Etips, for a wealth of quality information to assist you in Web Design, Internet Marketing & Ecommerce. All new subscribers receive a free copy of the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies." http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1

Affirmations of the Week:
I create what I want easily and effortlessly.
I am magnetic to my higher good and it is magnetic to me.

Quotes for the Day
"I am responsible for my own well-being, my own happiness. The choices and decisions I make regarding my life directly influence the quality of my days."
~ Kathleen Andrus

“The wise man bridges the gap by laying out the path by means of which he can get from where he is to where he wants to go.”
~ John Pierpont Morgan

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By Judy Cullins ©2004 All Rights Reserved.

Agents and publishing houses have their best interests at heart, not the author's. Save yourself from headaches, disappointments, and money down the drain. Become your own independent publisher and produce your book faster and cheaper. All you need is a little help from professionals.

Myth: You need an agent or big publishing house to market your book and make big money.

Since big publishers don't look at unknown authors, now is the time to look at what they can do for you. Dan Poynter, self-publishing guru, says that if a publisher can't sell four times as many books as you can, you're better off selling it yourself. Self-publish first because it acts as a test market for your book. If it sells well (over 10,000 in a year) publishers may be interested in your book.

Traditional publishers and agents accept only 1-2% of authors' submissions and even if you are one of the "chosen" you may not make much money after printing, bookstore, distributor, wholesaler and other expenses--probably $2 on a $14 book. Yes, you get an advance, but your sales must meet that and more. And after the initial book tour, the trainee marketing person is onto the next new author. Then, your books disappear from the bookstore shelf unless you, personally, devote a lot of time to marketing them.

Book Publishing is a new game today. Think self-publishing where the profits are all yours. Thanks to Dan Poynter of the Self Pulsing Manual for giving us permission to do part of the task ourselves. If you self-publish and decide to print, you need to print only the copies you need (5-500) with the new technology Print on Demand (POD). Even better is Print Quantity Needed (PQN) such as Deharts.com. No more unsold cartons of books in your closets or garage. You print as you go leaving enough cash flow to market your book splendidly.

Myth: To be a respected author, you must invest thousands of hours of time on your full-length book.

The reality is that people today want concise and useful information. You don't have to write a 200-page book to be a real author. Remember The One-Minute Manager and the One- Minute Salesperson? Around one hundred pages. People want information fast and convenient. Create short information products that are between 20 and 99 pages you can sell online, even if you don't have your own Web site.

If you choose to print your book with Print Quantity Needed (PQN), your perfect bound books will look as good as any book on the bookstore shelves.

Myth: Authors must spend a lot of money to publish themselves.

The printing costs for 1500 copies of a 160-page book might cost $3000, about $2 a unit. Small runs cost even more per unit. That's a lot of cash for anyone to put out all at once, and it's not worth it to many of us to use our home equity or life savings to finance our book. The answer is a small run with Print on Demand (POD) where you can print from 100 to 500 for around $2.40 for 160 pages. Without the high inventory, you can maintain a comfortable cash flow to spend on promotion, the most important part of your book adventure.

You save even more money if you don't print your book. Book publishing is going Internet. You can write small books in less time market them easily and inexpensively on the Web and reap profits sooner. Try an e-book. It can be downloaded, it takes no printing costs because your buyer prints or downloads it. You don't even have to have the whole book finished to sell it. Just include your table of contents at the end of each chapter and present it as an e-serial book.

As a book coach, I am an authors' advocate and want you to make money. Going traditional doesn't work. Give ePublishing a chance.
===============
Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Judy is author of 10 eBooks including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast, Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market Your Book Online, The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Your Targeted Web Traffic, and Power Writing for Web Sites That Sell. She offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The BookCoach Says...," "Business Tip of the Month," blog Q & A at www.bookcoaching.com and over 185 free articles.

Affirmations of the Week:
I create what I want easily and effortlessly.
I am magnetic to my higher good and it is magnetic to me.

Quotes of the Day:
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
~ Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917, French Sculptor

"One realizes the full importance of time only when there is little of it left. Every man's greatest capital asset is his unexpired years of productive life."
~ P. W. Litchfield

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by Steven Ivory

This was supposed to be The Future. Remember?

By the 21st century, we were going to be living like the Jetsons and dressing as Patti and the rest of LaBelle did in those space-age outfits during their "Lady Marmalade" days.

By now, we were to be vacationing on Venus and Mars. And every door, not just the ones at the local supermarket, would slide open automatically. At least, that's how we romanticized it way back in the 20th Century. After all, at the time the 21st century was still a long way off. It was The Future.

Had anyone asked, I could have told them all about The Future. I lived there, if only in my dreams, for more days than I care to admit.

It was called Someday. You won't find it on the calendar--there's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc., but no Someday--but I knew it wasn't a figment of my imagination. I mean, my plans for the future are vivid, and so was Someday.

Its reality was verified for me in a song by the '70s vocal group, the Five Stairsteps, whose sentimental classic, "Ooh Child," portrays Someday for all its euphoric worth: "SOMEDAY, we'll put it together and we'll get it all done/SOMEDAY, yeah, we'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun, SOMEDAAAY..."

In that song, Someday is a place whose promise looms huge, its twinkling potential infinite.

Someday.

Someday is the garage of our cerebral, storage space for our ambitions, large and small. It is the part of you that you've placed in life's Layaway plan, patiently waiting to be claimed. And you will, you say, Someday.

Not to be confused in dynamism, significance or dimension with something as trite as One of These Days, Someday, just this side of the Twilight Zone, is steeped in hope and wonder.

Someday's durability is magnificent; unlike any other conventional measurement of time, it occupies no designated or permanent space in the universe. Yet, Someday is real--as real and as sincere as you can possibly be to yourself and remain as vague as hell.

You should have seen my Someday. It was and remains a glorious, surreal carnival of missions accomplished; a manicured field of dreams fulfilled. Someday, everything in my life was going to be exactly as I'd dreamed: I'd collect the material things I desired. Shore up family ties. I'd finally create the body I wanted. I'd travel. Someday would heal whatever pained me emotionally.

Someday, I was gonna meet the girl of my dreams--someone, of course, who would shamelessly buy into my Someday.

It was damn near perfect, my Someday, and what wasn't perfect, would have been...Someday. See, that's how Someday works--the good stuff in your life is always ahead of you, always something you're GOING to do. Most of what I really wanted in the present somehow got relegated to Someday.

I wish I could report the single ominous moment that revealed to me the bullshit of it all. Actually, it was just a matter of facing the grim and lonely truth that Someday is procrastination on steroids, pretty much a metaphor for Never, a byproduct of fear and self-doubt.

As for The Future, well, it's already here. It arrived long before the 21st century. It's called Right Now. This--today, RIGHT NOW--is all we have. And while tomorrow isn't promised to anyone, you don't wanna be caught with your dreams down around your ankles, just in case. As we live this life, it is what we do Right Now that will shape the days ahead.

In the end, even the Stairsteps, arbiters of Someday, figured this out. By "Ooh Child"'s crescendo, they triumphantly declared, just in time for the fade, that "things are gonna get brighter...RIGHT NOW." It took them exactly two minutes and forty-five seconds to make the transformation. Let's just say it took me a little longer, but still earlier than Someday. By light years.

Steven Ivory's book, FOOL IN LOVE (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster) is in stores now or at Amazon.com Respond to him via STEVRIVORY@AOL.COM or MYfeedback@eurweb.com

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Whoever thought you'd be able to get organized in just 10 minutes?! Here are a few simple ideas.

1. 10 Minute Chore Box:
Rather than spending hours organizing, and doing it all yourself, create a 10 minute Chore Box for yourself and one for each family member, if applicable.

Each person's box would contain specific chores or tasks that need to be completed. The chores are written on slips of paper, and take a maximum of 10 minutes each to accomplish.

You can gear the tasks towards the person's abilities (e.g. while older kids can help out with vacuuming, a 3-year-old may instead be responsible for putting away his/her toys).

Each day, as a chore is completed, that slip of paper is placed in a holding envelope until the Chore Box is empty. Then, when empty, the boxes are refilled, and the system starts over again. This also works well at the office!

2. 10 Minute Pick-Up:
Control the chaos. Schedule a consistent, '10 minute Pick-up' each night. Set a timer to sound an alarm in 10 minutes.

While the clock is ticking, all family members are responsible for clearing out and putting away their belongings from the main family area.

When the timer sounds, you're all done. Give yourselves a warm round of applause for all you've accomplished.

3. 10 Minute 'When I Have Time' Goals:
One of the oldest phrases in the book is, 'I'll do that, when I have the time.' Problem is, that time never seems to come.

If you REALLY want to do something, the time can generally be found pretty easily. For example, if you just won an all-expenses paid trip to the land of your dreams, you'd probably find time to fit it into your busy schedule without much of a problem.

So, it's time to begin fitting in those things you want to do, and 10 Minute Goals can help. Schedule 10 minutes a day to catch up on your reading, or to begin learning that foreign language, or to simply spend having fun with your children. Then, work on those goals when the schedule date and time rolls around.

4. 10 Minute Luxuries:
Don't forget to schedule a few 10 Minutes Luxuries per day to do something nice for yourself.

Sometimes the day is so rushed and chaotic, that it's easy to forget the really important things like family, health, spirituality, personal time and so on.

Take that 10 minute vacation every day. You deserve it!

About the Author:
Maria Gracia, founder of http://www.getorganizednow.com and author of the book "Finally Organized, Finally Free," can help you organize your home, your office and your life.

FRËE Idea-Pak and E-zine filled with tips, ideas, articles and more to help you organize your home, your office and your life at the Get Organized Now! Web site!

Quotes for the Day
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
~ Charles Dickens

"Anything that is wasted effort represents wasted time. The best management of our time thus becomes linked inseparably with the best utilization of our efforts."
~ Ted W. Engstrom

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I want to share with you today a story that I got from Dennis Kimbro, the author of Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice. Dennis told a story about Malcolm X that he heard from Percy Sutton, the former Manhattan Borough president. As a young lawyer, Percy Sutton represented Malcolm X in a court case and had won against overwhelming odds. It was a very intense court battle between Malcolm and his adversaries. As they were leaving the courthouse, Malcolm’s supporters were one the side and his adversaries were on the other. Malcolm and Percy Sutton had to be protected by a number of bodyguards as they made their way to a long black limousine.

Percy Sutton was so scared he could hardly speak, while Malcolm was as cool as a cucumber Percy asked him, “Minister Malcolm, how can you be so cool in the face of all this danger, here where you can lose your life any minute?”

Malcolm calmly replied, “I hadn’t even noticed any danger. My mind is thinking about other things, things other than my morality. But the reason I am not worried is because of a story I heard which gave me a new perspective on life. Brother Percy, years ago I was told a story about an old worker named Omar who had a dream and had seen the face of death. He woke up and ran to his Master and asked could he have the fastest horse so he could escape death. The Master gave him the swiftest horse. Omar rode without stopping for three days. He did not stop for food or sleep or provisions. He rode as fast as he could. After three days the road branched into seven separate roads. He took the one to the far right but soon changed his mind. He took the one to the far left but changed again, and continued to vacillate from road to road until he had one left. He took that road and rode fast and strong. After he rode about 500 feet, the face of death appeared and said, ‘Omar, Omar, why have you kept me waiting for three days?’” Malcolm turned to Mr. Sutton and said, “The moral of this story is that you can run and you can hide, you can twist and you can turn, but no matter what you do, you can’t get out of this life alive.”

So while you’re here you’d better find your life’s purpose, live life to the fullest, pursue excellence, and live your dream because you can’t get out of this life alive!

By Willie Jolley, Host of the “Willie Jolley Motivational Minute” syndicated radio show!

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I hope all is well with you. I am fine. Actually I am better than fine I am fantabulous! (I know that it is not a word, but I use it anyway.) My youngest sister came to visit me and although we didn’t do much we had a good time together. I love family. It is the idea of being with someone that has known you long enough to know most of your faults and they love you anyway. Since I have been making my own way in this world, I’ve experienced first hand that the family feeling is not easy to come across. There are times when experiences will feel like the same thing but some one will move away or fall out with you and than you will realize that it wasn’t.

I keep a book of collages. It is pictures of things that I want and positive words from magazines that I have cut out and pasted together to inspire myself. I started doing that so that I would have something around me for encouragement when I am too restless to be still and listen to God’s voice or I can’t get anyone on the telephone that is willing to listen to whatever I am feeling at the moment that is not positive. I haven’t looked at this book in a couple of months. I pulled it out for my sister. She enjoyed looking at it. I enjoyed it also. I had forgotten some of those encouraging words that seemed like a life line only a few months ago.

It seems like since the weekend before my birthday, I have been feeling good about myself. Yes, I could make more money. And, yes, I could be thinner. Who doesn’t have something in their life that needs to be fixed? But, generally I am satisfied with myself. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have a lot of work ahead of me. I have started making lists. Since, I am feeling positive and well I am open to the improvements and work that comes with it. You can ask anyone that really knows me I am a constant work in progress.

Before I started this blog I had so much to say about everything. Now I either don’t type it up. Or I type it and don’t post it. So, please hang in there with me because I am a work in progress.

Love Jones is on so I have to type later. Have a great weekend.

Quotes of the Day

"Success is peace of mind, a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming, and not just in a physical way: seek ye first the kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be yours as well."
~ John Wooden

"When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of Creation is completed inside us; the doors of our souls fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight."
~ Michael Bridge


K.M. Abney has been a featured writer on the web. She loves feedback and can be contacted at kenmoab1@verizon.net.

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Have you ever wanted to be or do something
That seemed possible but impossible
Like a dream

To catch a dream for instance
Some chase it their entire natural born days
and don’t catch it
Others catch it and are too disappointed to do anything with it
What about those who can’t handle it
A dream can be a powerful thing when turned into reality
Your natural born days can become just born days
What was
Isn’t anymore
And somehow you don’t care

What about a facade
You’re trying to live?
Not in touch with the real you but whom you want to be
Or, what you think you want to do
Probably something you think will give your dream
zest or a new fresh breathe
It won’t though
Is a dream spectacular because it is possible
and impossible at the same time
Does the glitz and glitter fade away when you
can hold it in your hand and really examine it up close


Quotes of the Day
"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will."
~ George Bernard Shaw

"The future is simply infinite possibility waiting to happen. What it waits on is human imagination to crystallize its possibility."
~ Leland Kaiser


K.M. Abney has been a featured writer on the web. She loves feedback and can be contacted at kenmoab1@verizon.net.

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