Have you ever wondered why some people seem to stand out in life while others simply blend in? What is the difference between these two groups of people?

Well, it all comes down to passion. When you are passionate about what you do, this passion fuels every aspect of your life, including your performance at work and at play.

Passion affirmations can help you remember why it’s important to remain passionate about everything that you do. If you become complacent in life, your performance suffers and your success isn’t what it could be. Through free positive affirmations you really can live a more passionate, positive life.

Continue to Tap Into Your Passion

Even the most passionate people find themselves in a rut from time to time, but how can you keep going? How can you continue to push forward and continue to stand out in the crowd?

Well, the most successful people out there use positive affirmations multiple times a day to stay focused and passionate. You, too, can use affirmations in your life and learn how to tap into your passion and use it to your advantage.

What are Passion Affirmations?

Passion affirmations are statements that describe what you want to be, feel, or how you want to behave. It could be something as simple as, “My passion to be successful is my driving force.”

It seems simple, but when you repeat this to yourself and believe it, it has a power all its own. By tapping into this positive internal dialog and believing in the words, you will move further with intense vigor and momentum. Many of us unknowingly have a negative dialog going on in our heads and it works against us.

When you use passion affirmations you can harness all of your passion and you can use it to move you forward, allowing you to put your best foot forward at every turn. It sounds too good to be true, but what you are doing is re-training your brain to always think positive instead of negative.

Passion is a big part of being successful and though it is difficult to be passionate about everything in life, when you remind yourself of the benefits and purpose of living a passionate life, it becomes easier with time. After all, practice makes perfect!

Positive affirmations may not come naturally to you. In fact, those that can benefit from free positive affirmations the most are usually those that have a very negative inner dialog. It’ll take some practice to insert these positive thoughts about passion and performance where negative ones used to run rampant, but when you do this for awhile it will become second nature.

When your free positive affirmations ingrained, you will soon find that your passion for life is at an all time high and your performance in every aspect of your life is better than ever before. You really can be one of those people that stand out. All you have to do is simply change your inner dialog, who knew it could be so easy?

Ronnie Nijmeh is the Chief Inspiration Officer at ACQYR.com, a motivational website with a list of positive affirmations, motivational articles, and free wallpaper downloads. Get instant inspirations right now…

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I don’t think I can express enough the crucial importance of contacts. I could rattle off statistics like the Federal Bureau of Labor research that 70% of all jobs are found through networks or axioms like “It’s not what you know but who you know”, but the truth is that nothing, bar nothing, is as important as your list of contacts.

The value of social networks:

Everybody can benefit from the value of connecting and most importantly, those that participate in connecting with others, whether here or anywhere, will receive those benefits.

The value of a network is greater than the sum of the individuals that make up that network. In other words if you have 100 people and you add up their individual values it would be smaller (much smaller) than their value if they all knew each other. Hopefully this is just stating something that you already knew and readily practice, but it also has another interesting conclusion that might not be so obvious.

Each new member to that network grows the value of that network at an increasing rate. So if you take our 100 person network and double it to a 200 person network the value of this new network is much greater than simply double the 100 person network. Each person has an exponential increase in the value of the network.

Connecting with others is a win: win scenario. Everybody benefits from everyone’s participation. A proper network does not create winners and losers…only winners. Remember creating wealth is not about beating someone else or taking money off someone. It’s about offering value to others. If you offer value to others they will pay you willingly for that value.

The great thing about networks is that they are virtually free to participate in but they can provide immeasurable value to you and the others in the network. How much does it cost to make a contact or keep a friend? A few minutes on the phone, a regular coffee, an email here and there. I’m sure you get the idea that there is no cost involved. But what could you offer that friend or vice versa. You (or they) could be the contact that opens the door to a massive deal or new job opportunity or life changing experience. This sort of thing happens time and again…and introductions and recommendations, much like manners, cost nothing.

Who would benefit from you introducing a friend to someone else you know looking to meet or say hire someone like your friend? Well your friend would obviously if they score a brilliant new job. Your other contact, the employer, would as well because you’ve helped them find someone they were looking for. And finally you would because these two people are grateful to you for your help in being thoughtful enough to see the link and introduce them. To sum up, connecting people is all about solving problems!

Small World:

But is all this networking stuff really worth the effort? Will it really change your life? The short answer is “Yes”. However, for those of us that would like a bit more convincing one of the most famous social network experiments was performed by Stanley Milgram in the late 1960s. He created an experiment that illustrates just how close we are to anyone we need to know.

Milgram sent letters to random participants in Omaha and Wichita detailing the purpose of the study and some basic information on a target in Boston that they should sent the letter to. If they didn’t know the target directly then they should forward the letter to an acquaintance they thought would be more likely to know the target, and so on. Milgram found that the average length of these chains was about six. His study essentially shows us just how small this world really is…connect because you are closer to the person that can change your life than you think.

Although Milgram’s experiment showed that the average length between two random people is six, he never coined the term six degrees of separation. Credit for that goes to John Guare who first used the term for his 1990 play. It later became a more common term following the 1993 film of the same name featuring Will Smith.

An interesting variation of this theme is the trivia game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, which states that any actor or actress could be linked to Kevin Bacon within six links. It’s amazing to think that Kevin Bacon is linked to Ronald Reagan and Steve McQueen by only one person. Try the game is fun and enlightening…

I hope you come and join in…

Emlyn Scott is the founder of Rich1Percent, investor and wealth creation author. He is a wealth creation and finance expert with 4 post graduate qualifications and has amassed a multi-million dollar investment portfolio.

Decisiveness can have an extraordinary effect on your self-confidence alone. A few benefits that come naturally once you make up your mind are as follows.

First of all, if you decide on situations and ideas for right or for wrong, you will be able to instantly turn your full attention and energy toward your next progressive step in line with your goal. Being free from something, you are free for creating something brand new.

Indecision is like a merry-go-round because you get nowhere and you waste precious time in the process. Decisiveness, on the other hand, is like a sightseeing bus where you are free to travel beyond the last known places to exciting new environment, which you have never explored before.

You are already aware that quick decisions and choices save you time and energy. Contrast this with people who complain that there is not enough time or they have no energy. Such people usually end up going back and forth endlessly between their possible choices.

All-around efficiency will be yours once you know what you want and take action to get it in the simplest way. The decisive personality wins self-esteem, and admiration from others.

In actual fact, many people believe that there is nothing as important as someone who is strong when making decisions. It is seen as a mark of character. Look at many of the leaders in life, and you will see that majority of them know their own mind and stick to it when they see what needs to be done in a set of given circumstances.

An unsettled mind causes negative stress and contradictions to rise. If you ever find yourself trapped and cannot seem to break through a problem, it makes sense to stop thinking so hard. The more you struggle against confusion, the more it persists. Some people are prone to over analyse.

Making a decision calmly and confidently. There is no need for a lot of brainpower or effort because the decision itself does not need to involve all the detailed plans and executions at this time. You only need to decide that you are ready to proceed along a chosen path in line with your values.

As soon as you make this decision, you will discover that the “how to” aspect takes care of itself. It is the natural next step.

The reason for this is because as a human being, you are far more resourceful at finding the way to create a successful path, than you may currently believe.

Don’t confuse cause with effect. Your decision is the cause. Your resources are the effect – don’t get this backwards!

The ideas to succeed and move down the road to success and self-confidence come from a mind that has been made up. That means one that made a commitment. If you are waiting for courage in order to make up your mind, you will be waiting an entire lifetime.

Decision builds courage and courage builds confidence!

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Goals are rarely without obstacles.  If they were easy to attain and without obstacles, you would likely already be doing them, right?  Here are three tips to help recognize and overcome obstacles so you can attain the goals you set for yourself.

Tip #1:  Acknowledge that there are obstacles - it won’t be easy.
Any goal you have set for yourself will likely have obstacles.  The first step to overcoming them is simply acknowledging that fact.  Know that you will have tough times.  Know that it won’t be easy.  Know also that despite the obstacles, you will reach your goals.  You will get through, around, or over the obstacles.  They are there for a reason.  Whether it is to teach you a bit about yourself, to make you appreciate your success when you attain it, or to make you stronger - each and every obstacle you encounter has a positive side to it.

Tip #2:  Educate yourself on what obstacles you’re likely to have.
When you create a goal, you have a few things you can do to help plan how you’re going to attain it.  Educating yourself on potential obstacles is one of the best ways to prepare yourself for success. Research your goal; if you want to lose weight, what are common obstacles you might encounter?  For example, cutting back on sugar may cause some cravings to surface.  Cutting back on caffeine may cause temporary irritability, and taking on a detox diet may cause temporary digestion issues.  Find out what obstacles you’re likely to encounter so you can be prepared for them.  When you’re prepared for them you can overcome them more easily.

Tip #3:  Plan how you’re going to overcome the obstacles.
Once you understand what potential obstacles you might face, you can plan how you’re going to tackle them.  For example, if you know that you’re going to be dealing with sugar cravings, you can have a protein bar solution in your purse, desk drawer and glove box of your car.  If you’re dealing with giving up caffeine and you know you’re going to have headaches, you can plan a few days off of work, grab a bottle of pain relievers, or brace yourself to power through the headaches knowing the reward is on the other end.

When you recognize potential obstacles, it gives you the power to anticipate them and plan how you’re going to handle them so you aren’t tempted to give up on your goal.  Recognizing and planning for obstacles empowers you to succeed.

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“Girl, I wouldn’t even put up with that mess.”

You’ve heard it before and most likely have said it on an occasion or two. Well, I have learned that if you live long enough, life will make you recall that statement. Life sure caught up with me and I have had to recall and eat many statements that came out of my mouth in my younger, more carefree days.

Older folks would say, “She’s just wet behind the ears”. I never really understood what that meant. But I was wet all right… more like saturated.

Thinking back, I can remember listening to a girlfriend rant about what her husband did and how stupid she was for staying. Tears rolled down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably. She needed support; her heart was heavy.

“But I Love him” she said while she blew her nose.

All I could think of was, “Love don’t got jack to do with it”

Today, I’ve had to kick myself on a few occasions. Today…I am a different person.

It was a humid, sticky mid August afternoon in 2005…a typical normal, hot August afternoon. But normal it was not. At least it wasn’t for me. My life would never be the same.

Looking at the summons for my husband to appear before the judge for child support was more than I could handle at that time. We, as a team had just gotten caught up on our bills since his return home 7 months prior. To say it was a testing period for me was an understatement. The saying goes; If it’s not one thing it’s another. For me it went like this; If it’s not 5 things it’s 25 things. This was so relevant for my life.

There were days I would just literally scream and cry. It was as if the enemy had just zoomed in on me and I was his target for things I couldn’t even begin to explain. But it was evident: I was chosen to carry many, many crosses. Some crosses didn’t even belong to me. I had to send those back. The ones that were not mine had to get a RETURN TO SENDER stamp.

On this day, I looked at the summons and the name of the child that the support was being requested for. My breath became very short and at that moment, I needed air. It seemed like the room started to spin. My eyes began to fill with tears, my heart felt as if it was going to jump out of my chest. My knees buckled. I had to sit down.

I was all alone.

After I found a chair, my stomach started to turn and dizziness came over me like a rushing wind.

The enemy wanted me to lose my mind.

“How?”“Why?” These were the questions that began to surface in my mind.

It was bad enough to have a baby by a married man but to name the child after him was inexcusable to me. A junior? I would never do that. That to me was just mean. This was beyond my comprehension. I guess because I think differently.

I dialed my Pastor’s phone number. No answer - just voicemail. I dialed my 1st Lady. She answered. She knew who I was from the caller id. It was as if the words would not come out.

“Nicole” Silence. I couldn’t answer. I was in between sobs. “Nicole” The words finally came out but they were muffled. I began to blurt out what just happened.

“My God,” was her first response. “Okay, now let’s get it together,” was her second.

She was not having the pity party thing. For one thing - I was too far away from her (as my church is over 90 miles from my house). Second – she knew my potential. It’s a blessing to have mentors around you that see where you’re going before you see it or believe it. Our Pastors were sent to us for what we have had to endure. Pastors Clifton & Vicki Coward of Agape International Ministries Worldwide in Richmond, Virginia have been that bridge for us.

Pastor Vicki went on to encourage me and give me what the word has promised me.

Then, I called my girlfriend Lena. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Summons in one hand, phone in another, and standing outside on our deck. I was pacing back and forth at this time. She immediately began to pray. She was at Farm Fresh at the time. A few weeks later, she told me she was praying so loudly in the store that she had to go outside before the people put her out. (LOL)

For over a year I would not talk about it. I couldn’t. I would literally get sick just thinking about it. The pain was so deep…it was like an open wound that would try to close but couldn’t. As soon as I thought I was all healed, something would happen and those feelings would resurface and the tears would start flowing. Even my heart would begin the racing all over again. Panic and anxiety, were the twins out to get me. Sometimes I would think, “This is just too much for me to handle.” But the word of God says he would not put more on me than I can bear.

The child support was a subject by itself. Our household went without on many occasions because of the child support. At times, I thought it was so unfair. My children went without. That by itself really bothered me. But I would never voice it aloud. We as wives have the power to build up or tear down. It’s our choice. I knew what it was when I accepted my husband back.

This is a decision I made. No gun was put to my head. Don’t get me wrong. My flesh wanted to lash out. My flesh wanted to go up one side of him and down the other. I wanted to point fingers, accuse and blame. But my spirit would say, “BE STILL”.

One of my very favorite scriptures is Isaiah 61:7 – You shall have double for your shame”.

I quoted that scripture over and over again. The word, the peace of God and my Pastors – are what kept me during that period in my life.

Today, the little boy is a part of our family. He and our baby girl are just a year apart in age but you would think they are twins. They absolutely adore each other. I run around the house, play hide and go seek, and act goofy with him just like I do with my own. And he is the cutest little button. (He looks just like my husband).

By sharing this part of my life, my hope is to open a door for women who have had to endure similar circumstances. If your husband has had a child out of wedlock while married to you, please contact me. I want you to know that you are not alone. I would like to start a support group, especially for women who are being faced with this. The easy part is leaving. It’s harder to stay and endure.

Nicole Cleveland is founder of Breathe Again Magazine Online. She is on a mission to empower, encourage and motivate women by posting real life articles of women overcoming adversity. Visit her website at www.BreatheAgainMagazine.com.

A well trained mind will always provide you great opportunities to work better and achieve a lot of success in life.

The wise men have always said that “the mind is like a bad neighborhood-never go there by yourself”. In case, your mind has not been trained, it would definitely prove to be a bad neighborhood.

Fortunately, there are several techniques available these days to train your mind such as meditation, NLP etc.

You must remember that our minds keep absorbing several thoughts, responses and behaviors from the environment around us. These entire patterns may affect us in different ways.

There are times when most of the thoughts we tend to absorb don’t go well with our goals. Hence it becomes very necessary to train our minds in order to give out equal response to what we require.

If you don’t have a cure of what should be done in order to train our minds, don’t worry. Here are some great tips on what should be done in order to achieve a well trained mind:

- Segment intending

This is a simple and best way to train your mind. This process will also help you to accomplish a lot on a daily basis.

Here is how to go about it:

- Step one

You need to decide the time period for your segment. Now, this time period can be of any length. However, remember that it should not exceed more than a half or one hour.

- Step two

Now, decide on your aim for that particular segment. This can be a whole list of tasks that you want to accomplish, a state of being or may be both if you wish.

- Step three

As soon as the segment start time arrives, you need to start your segment no matter what. Don’t have any second thoughts.

- Step four

In case, you get interrupted during your segment, you must decide whether the interruption is significant enough for your segment. In case, it is not just ignore it and keep up the good work. You need to keep your segment work going.

Practice all the above mentioned steps throughout the day. Remember that each segment that you practice is a kind of training period for your mind. Here, your mind is learning to help you in whatever task you undertake. The technique of segment intending also works with a friend. You can easily keep yourself on track if there is a friend helps you to do so. You would definitely notice that your mind is getting more responsive.

Of course, there are other techniques you can follow to train your mind such as stimulating your brain via doing activities that fill your mind with enthusiasm, doing regular physical activities, focusing on memorizing things, reading books on varied topics, adopting a creative hobby, learning new words, discussing on various topics to exercise brain, popping out ideas, developing an aim in life, sleeping well and using the invincible power of medication.

As you start enhancing your brain power, you will identify a new and improvised confidence in yourself.

For more Articles, News, Information, Advice, and Resources about BRAIN TRAINING please visit BRAIN TRAINING SECRETS and MEDITATION BUZZ

Time management is basically about being focused on the important things. The Pareto Principle - a.k.a. the ‘80:20 Rule’ - states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio ‘80:20′ is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big or small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Personal time management should not be a daunting task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small. A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term. A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you. Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style.

Below are some important steps you must always remember in order to manage your time and achieve the important tasks.

• Learning to say “No”. You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.
• Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.
• Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.
• Don’t procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.
• Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.
• Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

If you can’t remember anything what you’ve read so far, just remember this one: “Time management is about getting results, not about being busy“.

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