SELF IMPROVEMENT -6

I. Three Golden Rules Of Goal Setting

Everyone knows that goal setting is an important instrument in your success principles tool box. However, the traditional advice on goal setting has a number of flaws and can actually set you back and move you further away from your goal rather than getting you closer to it.

The resulting delays and frustration may even make you give up on a worthwhile goal that could bring you pleasure and success if you went about goal setting in the right way.

Here are the three golden rules. We will look at each of them in more detail.

1. Know thyself
2. Your are your success benchmark
3. Keep the path and your goals flexible

Know thyself

This is perhaps the most important rule of the three golden rules. It is also the one rule which is neglected and misunderstood by many. So, what do I| mean by this statement know thyself?

I am talking about your ability to be totally honest with yourself. In order to be total honest with yourself you need to look inwards and you need to understand your true nature, also referred to as your authentic self. Both traits, honesty and the ability to look inwards are lacking in most people, simply because they have never been trained to systematically develop those traits.

In a society that focus on action the importance of the inner path is neglected. Sure, you will be able to achieve your goals eventually, when you follow the western traditional action fixated way, but you are expending unnecessary energy and force to bulldoze your way to success. By the time you reach the finishing line you are exhausted and less likely to maintain your performance at a time when it is important that you keep high levels of motivation and enthusiasm.

The path to total self honesty is via increased self awareness. Strangely enough when you learn to witness yourself you also develop the ability to go inside. The two go hand in glove. You can learn to develop those qualities and my workshops and retreats will help you do exactly that.

You are the benchmark against which you measure your progress

Life is not a competition, but an ocean of oneness in which each wave has to perform its nature given part. The same applies to your path as you walk towards your goal. You are an integral part of the whole and not a separate part that functions independently. If you view everyone around you as competition you are creating a negative force field around you which hinders you rather than propelling you towards your goal.

The only way to measure achievement is against yourself. Compare were you were yesterday, last week, month or year and note how far you have come. This is the only reliable benchmark to work with. If you know your self intimately, you also know which adjustments you need to make.

Everyone is different, if you measure your progress against the performance of your boss who has been doing his job for the last 30 years, who may have had a very different education, different life experiences and different beliefs and value systems from you, your comparison will be inaccurate and based on a partial view of the picture. When you compare yourself to other people what you see of the other people is only ever the very tip of the personality iceberg, the complete persona is well hidden from view. The real structure is beyond the surface, you never get to see it.

You cannot know how another person's internal reality is made up, no matter how much you admire their outward performance and appearance. Even if you know them well, there are countless hidden aspects to their personality which are beyond your grasp. Any comparison with other people creates a separation from you and your goal. It produces self judgement and self criticism. Both drive you away instead of driving you seamlessly towards your goal. because when you measure yourself against another person you are looking at an illusion of a fixed reality, which ultimately is pretty meaningless.

I could also say that everything that creates disharmony and thus increases the waves in the ocean of your being produces delays and set backs on your journey to achieve your goals.

And finally, be flexible. The goal is not the end point

Any goal ultimately is an illusion, because it assumes that you have reached a destination once you have achieved the goal. You will never reach any destination. This statement is one of live's fundamental truths. A goal is no more than a signpost along the way which lets you know that you are on the right track. I could also compare goal setting to making the decision to go from London to Rome.

It is good to know that you want to go to Rome, and you can make a plan depending on your priorities as to how you might want to get there. Alas, if you understand how universal laws manifest your goals you will know that the field is infinite and no matter how imaginative you are your conscious mind is only able to ever see a tiny part of the infinite manifestation possibilities.

Add to that the fact that there are no beginnings or endings; these are just models that help us to live in our reality, you will see how any goal that is too specific or fixed limits your chances to achieve your optimum potential. I know that this is a very tough concept for many people to grasp. In my workshops and retreats you will understand this principle in much more depth and learn concise techniques to set and work with your goals. The techniques allow you to maximise universal laws and use them in your favour. while also maintaining flexibility to allow opportunities along the way to come to you.

Just imagine, you are on the way to Rome and a fantastic opportunity presents itself in Florence. What are you going to do? The opportunity in Florence may be even bigger and greater than the one in Rome. Alas, you do not know this in advance, and you certainly would miss out on the opportunity all together if you hopped on the aero plane with your blinkers on, spoke to nobody on your flight and stoically ignored any distraction. You will arrive in Rome having achieved just what you set out to do, but soon feeling empty, exhausted and looking for the next signpost...

You see, life, goal setting, your reality, in fact, everything we deal with in our lifetime is relative. There are no absolutes in life. Yes, we need road maps, they are incredibly useful. They are, however, not the territory, but a mere representation of an ideal that helps us to navigate through life.

Be like the willow and learn to bend with the wind graciously, you will not only achieve your goals faster, you will have the energy to enjoy them and who knows what you might discover along the way...

II.How Many Lives Do You Have?

Recently, I received the following email message (I've edited out the personal details):

"Hi Tony,"

"For a long time now in many articles and other writings, I see so many personal growth gurus make reference to 'your many areas of life'."

"But they never explain or define what they mean by 'your main areas of life'."

"What exactly do they mean by your 'areas of life'?"

"Are they talking about personal development, family life, career, financial success, or what?"

"What exactly do *YOU* think they're talking about?"

"How do you describe the 'main areas of life' and how many areas are there?"

"Thank you."

Good questions! :-)

Let's start with...

"What exactly do *YOU* think they're talking about?"

Having "been there, done that", so to speak, I can tell you *exactly* what they're talking about...

Conventional self-help "guru" (real, wannabe, and otherwise) "wisdom" has you divvying your life up into anywhere from six to eight (plus or minus) main "areas" or "categories", depending on who you want to listen to and/or what's in vogue this week, for the purpose of "balanced" (whatever that means) "goal setting" (something, you should know upfront, I no longer do), creating what many of them refer to as a "wheel of life".

These "wheel of life" areas or categories, again depending on who you want to listen to and/or what's in vogue this week, might include, but are not limited to: business, career, community, education, ethical, family, financial, health, home, mental, personal, personal development, physical, recreation, social, spiritual, etc.

Hmmm...

Sort of makes your head spin just thinking about all these potential areas or categories, doesn't it? :-)

But wait...

There's more!

I so love saying that. :-)

If that's not enough for you...

This conventional self-help guru "wisdom" has you go on to set multiple long-range, mid-range, and short-range "goals" in each and every one of the six to eight areas or categories (or more!) of your "wheel of life", once again depending on who you want to listen to and/or what's in vogue this week, decide on deadlines for their attainment, define the obstacles or roadblocks that stand between you and each of these "goals", and then create detailed action plans to overcome each of these obstacles or roadblocks to attain your goals.

Now...

As lofty and noble as all of this may sound...

I can tell you from personal experience, as can practically anyone who's ever attempted to follow such a "system", there's one minor drawback to this whole process...

Are you ready?

Here it is...

It doesn't work!

Plain and simple. :-)

Why not, you ask?

Simple...

Should you ever manage to complete this complex, laborious, painstaking, time-consuming process (which, although many love to talk about, I can assure you very few ever *really* have), your head is going off in so many different, very often conflicting, directions and you're so inundated with all the new "to-dos" you now have to do, along with everything else you have to do, guess what you usually wind up doing?

That's right...

More often than not...

Nothing...

Absolutely nothing!

And guess what?

No action equals no results, PERIOD!

If ever there were a surefire formula for *not* getting what you want in life...

This is it!

Which bring us to the question of...

"How do you describe the 'main areas of life' and how many areas are there?"

My answer to that question lies in the answer to this one...

How many lives do you have?

The answer to which is simple...

One...

That's right...

ONE!

Therefore...

My advice is to forget about all this "main areas of life", "many areas of life", and "wheel of life" nonsense that's been being continuously perpetuated and routinely regurgitated over and over and over again for years, many, many, many years, in self-help books, self-help audio programs, and self-help seminars by most of the so-called self-help "gurus" and, instead create *one* (the same number of "lives" you have) crystal clear, definite, overall, unified "vision" of what you want in your life.

Then...

And only then...

Will you begin making some *real* progress!

SELF IMPROVEMENT - 5

GOAL SETTING

I.Achieve Your New Year’s Resolution with SMARTer Goal Setting

Have you ever made a New Year's resolution, only to make the same resolution the following year?

You may make these New Year goals with the best of intentions, with a desire and determination for change, only to find that a few weeks into the year you find that your determination and confidence to achieve your goal has evaporated.

To maximize your changes of achieving goal setting success, we use SMARTer goal setting strategies with athletes, business professionals and students so that they can achieve success in their chosen field.

SMARTer goal setting is an acronym for the goal setting process.

S - Specific. Goals need to be specific. Specific goals focus your concentration on what you want to accomplish. For example, losing weight or becoming fitter are general goals which could be made more specific, such as "I will lose 5 pounds" or "I will run 4 times a week for 20 minutes".

M - Measurable. Goals which are measurable allow you to measure your progress for goal achievement. By having a specific and measurable goals you easily determine whether you are succeeding in your goals, and if not, they why not.

A - Action Orientated. OK so you have set specific and measurable goals, not you need to determine the steps that you are going to take to achieve them. What action steps do you need to take? Having a clear action plan is a step-by-step plan to goal achievement.

R - Realistic. If you have been inactive for a long period of time, it is unrealistic to set a goal to run a marathon next month. This will just set you up for failure and will result less confidence. However, a realistic goal does not mean that the goal is easy. You will not be motivated to keep working at your goal. A realistic goal is one that is within your capabilities, but that you have to focus on to achieve.

T - Time Orientated. As you are probably aware, once you set a deadline, the work takes on a level of priority. Well it is the same with goals. Having goals with no time frame, means that other things will become more urgent. Whether your goal needs to be achieved tomorrow, next week or next year, a timeframe firms up the priority of the goal. Goals with a time frame raise the priority of the goal.

E - Energizing, Exciting and Ethical Goals. Are your goals energizing and exciting. If you are not passionate about your goals then it will be difficult to remain motivated when things become tough. By having exciting and energizing goals you will have motivation and energy to achieve your goal.

At the same time, it is important to ethical goals. Ethical goals are goals that are aligned with your values and beliefs. A worthy goal which is aligned with your values gives your purpose and a sense of satisfaction upon completion.

R - Reviewed and Resourced Goals. Do you have the resources to achieve your goal. Every goal that you want to attain requires effort and time. Are you prepared to put in these two things? If you aren't, then it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve goal setting success. In short, are you willing to make the relevant sacrifice to achieve your goal?

Reviewing your goals are very important. Reviewing your goals on a daily or weekly basis allows you to measure your goal progress. It is important examine why (or why not) you are on target for goal setting success.

SMARTer goal setting maximizes your chances of goal setting success. Whether you are an athlete, a business professional, work at home or are a student, goal setting is one of the surest ways to achieve success in your chosen field.

II.How to focus for success

Ask any successful person one of the traits that they accredit to their results and they will tell you - the power of focus.

Having focus allows you to concentrate on exactly what needs your attention to create the positive outcome that you seek. I see many coaching clients and they complain about the results they have achieved so far in their lives. As I listen to their reasons (usually a list of excuses!)

I hear how they become distracted by, diverted by requests and demands from people and they wonder why they don't achieve all that they can. It is easy to become weigh laid by events and occurrences that happen day to day, we lose sight of our original goals and aspirations and soon if we are not careful our dreams disappear in amongst the day to day grind that keeps us from having what we really want and all because we lost our original focus.

It wasn't that they lost all focus; they just changed the direction of their focus. Focusing instead on what they didn't want and then attracting even more of it.

I know only too well as I once frequently complained about how shoddy my life was, when all I had been doing was focusing on what was wrong, how terrible it all was until I realised the huge pity me party was really not getting me anywhere. So I chose to change my focus and start taking actions that would drive me towards success, accomplishment and happiness instead.

With the right focus you can eliminate the distractions, as you hone in on the urgent tasks that need your attention. If you focus on things that you are passionate about, all consuming activities that energise and excite you that will bring you the rewards that you seek, then focus comes into its own.

Focus with applied action equals massive results for you. You can achieve many great things in life, more confidence, a sense of achievement, create new wealth, satisfaction, personal evolution. Here are my top tips for applying focus to your life or business life:

1. Decide what you actually want
2. Commit to making it happen
3. Set goals to put a time limit on your dream
4. Focus on what action steps to take each day
5. Keep focusing and act on those steps and the end goal
6. Once achieved, focus on celebrating your success!

With focus comes the opportunity to improve your performance, astound those around you with your go get it attitude. They will be amazed how much you get done on a daily basis. They will wonder how you do it. And all because you applied the rule of focus to your daily life!

INTERNET BUSINESS - BLOGGING - 4

1. Blogger is the Simplest Way to Get a Blog up and Running

Blogs in there simplest form are online journals that people use to express there ideas and opinions. Whereas in the past people would write their thoughts down in there personal journals, now people use blogs to share there feelings with the whole world.
There are two major blogging services, Wordpress and Blogger. Both of them are free and easy to sign up for. For more details go to: www.blogers-guide-to-profit.com Out of the two, Wordpress is the better service. But for beginners, Blogger is the simplest way to get a blog up and running.

After you visit one of the main pages click on the sign up button and you’re done. All you have to do after that is name your blog and choose a template to design it around.

With your free blog you’re not going to have the same control that you would have with your own independent website. But you will have enough control to pretty much do whatever you need to do to a limited degree. If you sign up for a blog. You will have a lot more control over your blog then if you signed up with Blogger.

But the software used on Blogger and Wordpress is free. So if you have a website you can download their software and install it on your website and have full control over your blog. If your want to become a blogging powerhouse I suggest that you get your own domain and hosting service for your blog. But if you just want to have fun blogging, the free service is good enough for most people.

If you want to make money with your blog you can promote affiliate products, fill it with pay per click ads, or promote your own products.

All modern word processing software includes spell checkers. Many blog sites, including also have spell checkers. We admit that we are not the best spellers, but considering the availability of spell checking tools, there is no reason to have misspelled words on your blog. For help visit: www.greatblogbox.com Checking for grammar may be more difficult, but if you have questions, for more detail visit copy your blog into a word processing program and run a grammar checker. Then repost the grammatically correct blog. Having bad spelling and poor grammar shows a lack of care for your blog and, quite honestly, stupidity. No one wants to read a blog laden with misspelling and poor grammar.


Publishing multiple blogs increasing visitor traffic and AdSense clicks. You do not want to post multiple blogs using the same exact content, but you can publish multiple blogs using recycled content. However, your multiple blogs of the same content should not be on the same blogging site. Publish one and another. Publish a third to another blogging site. And, for more detail visit include a link in each blog to the others. It will increase backlinks to your site, therefore increasing page rank, as well as traffic.

Getting one visitor to your site is great. Getting those two visitors to come back is excellent. You want repeat visitors, because they are more likely to spread the news about your blog, increasing traffic. What does it take to get repeat traffic? How about an RSS feed? It takes a combination of the tips mentioned above as well as utilizing other methods mentioned on this site to drive traffic to your blog. Traffic is the only way to get clicks on your AdSense ads, and you want traffic.


2. Blogging Present a Great Way to Make Money Online

Several years ago blogs were seen more as a vehicle to express one's thoughts on a particular topic. For more details go to: www.atoz-about-rss.com they used to be referred to as weblogs and were almost like an online diary.

Today you can monetize your blog and make money from it fairly easily. There are a few things to keep in mind when setting up a blog as a home business income vehicle.

There are many different blogging platforms available that you can choose from. Many hosting companies have them incorporated into their back office which you can easily create a folder and upload into. The key point we want to make here is that you are better off to host your own blog than to use a free blogging platforms such as Blogger.

It is worth investing a few dollars to have somebody do this for you if you're not sure how. One thing you certainly want to include is social bookmarking plug-ins which is an important way of marketing your blog.

You want to stay on the theme of your blog when you write articles. For example if you have a blog about fishing, you do not want to be putting articles in it about downloading music. For help visit: www.your-own-blog.com the reason for this is you are writing articles to please your reader as well as search engine bait.

Monetizing a blog is very easy to do by incorporating Google Adsense into it and joining affiliate programs and placing banners where they can be seen. As an affiliate whenever somebody buys a product from a website that they come to from your banner you earn a commission.

Learning how to optimize an article for search engines is an important trick to learn. It is actually very easy and you want to target specific keywords in the title, and in the introduction and closing paragraphs. The rest of your article should be written naturally and really only needs to be 250 to 300 words to be effective.

Be sure and bookmark your post to the top directories which should be included in a plug-in that is installed on the bottom of each post.

If you consistently add content to your blog you will find it can become a good home business income opportunity for you.

HOME - FIRST AID - 3

1. Home First Aid Kit: A Must Have

A first aid kit is not just a set of items that you store in your washroom and contains only band-aids, alcohol and analgesics, it is something more. There are various types of First Aid Kits, the most common is the one stored inside the house.

What do we mean if we have a complete set of first aid kit? What is that for and how or when to use it? What comprises each first aid kit? These are the questions we ask ourselves when we consider buying one for our home.
A first aid kit is a set of supplies and equipments for giving first aid, hence the name. A variety of equipments are in it like:
• Bandages - to control bleeding
• Regular strength pain medications
• Gauze
• Disinfectants - like alcohol and Povidone iodine
• Personal protective equipments - like gloves
• Breathing apparatus - to protect you from performing the expired air resuscitation,

EAR and cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR
Moreover, the typical contents and most commonly used are the dressings which should be sterile. This comes in different types like sterile eye pads; adherent or non-adherent pads and burn dressings. These are sterile pad soaked in a cool gel. Bandages can be non-adhesive; examples are gauze roller, which should absorbent, breathable. The elastic type are the ones usually used for sprains and pressure bandages. Adhesive elastic roller types are very effective when it comes to applying pressure. They are also very durable and waterproof. Triangular bandages are commonly taught in Basic First Aid Course that was used as slings, tourniquets and to tie splints. Adhesive bandages are the straight adhesive type such as band-aids, sticking plasters. Butterfly bandage types are actually the two common examples as well.

Instruments that should be present in your First Aid bag are the hypoallergenic tape because you don’t want the patient to develop “Urticaria” or itchiness with reddish skin markings. Trauma shears can basically be used for cutting clothing and general use. An irrigation syringe can be used for cleaning wounds. Rubber suction bulbs are good for clearing the airways and can be applied to an unconscious patient.

Equipments like Personal protective Equipments or PPE are important. This is especially in emergency cases where in hazardous materials can even hurt the rescuer. An example would be in organophosphate or insecticide poisoning. Eyecups, gloves, CPR mask or a face shield, sterile eyewash, emergency blanket, thermometer, penlight and even instant acting cold packs.

Certain medications should be in your bag like antimicrobials. This would include antibiotic ointments and anti itch ointments. Examples would include Hydrocortisone cream, Antihistamine cream such as Benadryl and Calamine lotion among others. You also need pain killers or analgesics. These are essential for the fever to disappear. Examples are Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory drug, which is most of the time more valuable than the latter drug. Aspirin, for some, is also applicable.

Diphenhydramine, which is anti-histamine, can lessen the allergic reaction seen in few patients. Aloe Vera gel can be used for a variety of injuries like burns, sunburns and dry skin.

Burn gels are water based gels, which acts as a cooling agent and often has mild anaesthetic components. A good example is Lidocaine with antiseptics components like that of tea tree oil. Epinephrine auto-injector is also commonly included in this first aid kit, especially if you are in wild nature trips such as summer camps. This epinephrine injector is used for anaphylactic shock, which is commonly known as severe allergic attacks. Thus, activated charcoal and syrup of ipecac are electively placed in first aid kits because it is for poison treatment. A haemostatic agent that is called QuikClot is sometimes included especially in military kits; this is mainly to control severe and profuse bleeding.

If ever you are trapped somewhere and you do not have anything else but your first aid kit you and you are wondering what you can do. Well, the first thing to do with your first aid kit would be to call help. It would also be helpful if you have a basic first aid manual, which can guide you in any type of situation. This is really necessary because in emergency cases, we get to panic easily. When this happens we cannot think straight. A manual will be able to help us go through it. It would also be advisable to list down the pages for specific cases. Just take note of the more possible accidents.

Moreover, keep a number of your family and friends, as well as emergency hotlines on your mobile or near your landline. Make sure the numbers are visible to your children as well. Just let them know the importance of these numbers and when to place a call to these numbers.

Thus, there are also some things you should know about the contents of your first aid kit. For an instance alcohol pads as well as ointments that are “petroleum-jelly based” can be utilized as a type of fire starter in an alarming emergency situation. It can also be utilized as a lubricant for adhesive tapes. Aside from this, for particular mechanical devices and bandages, it can also be utilized for repairs. These alternative uses of these things can help set your mind on the items you need and can only be used in the wilderness.

First Aid Kits are important in every household. There are also first aid kits for pets, children, travel, disaster and soft sided situations among others. Having one doesn’t mean that you are waiting for an accident to happen. Accidents are a fact of life, so whether we like it or not, it is always best to be prepared.


2. How To Avoid Fire Damage - Safety Is The Best Precaution To Prevent It

There are many steps that one should follow in order to avoid fire damage. This article would take you through some of the important tips which would help an individual in avoiding fire damage. You must be very anxious to know that how you can actually avoid fire damage, but it is recommended that you take the help of professional advice in such an event when there is a fire in your house. Don't waste time by your own efforts, hence creating further damage.

The first and foremost tip in how to avoid fire damage lies in the fact that everyone should ensure fire safety. Everyone holds the responsibility to improve fire safety in his or her surroundings through behaviour, so as to prevent any sort of threatening situation which might lead to ignition of fire. If your work demands in working with fire, be careful in working with open fire.

Never make the mistake in leaving candles or any type of open fire unattended. Before you leave an open fire, always remember to place those in such a way, so that they are prevented from igniting flammable textiles and structures.

Safety is the best precaution to avoid fire damage. You should be aware of your surroundings and check if your house if it has the necessary and basic features to prevent fire. Be careful in using the household appliances so that no unwanted accidents occur. While you are using any sort of electrical appliances, make sure you observe the user instructions and follow them accordingly.

Do not ever overload the electrical appliance. If you are heating your dwellings, take care to do it safely if you are using fire and don not leave that unattended. Check that you do not close all the dampers before the flames are put out from all of them. Special care should be taken in regularly sweeping the air chimneys if any. Moreover take a look that you are not covering any electric heating devices. Do observe that the notified safety distances between flammable materials and heating devices are maintained properly. Successful execution of these steps greatly reduces the chances of fire damage.

One more important step in avoiding fire damage is to make the inhabitants of the house familiar with the different exit routes from their respective homes in cases of fire breakage. You should take special care of in checking whether everybody in your family knows about the alternative fire escape routes in case the normal exit in the house cannot be used. Also check that all the escape routes remain fully unobstructed.

The last and the most important way to prevent fire damage is to make sure that your dwelling have the exact number of functioning smoke alarms. You should take note of keeping the smoke alarms in order. Always check that the batteries of the smoke alarms are properly changed and get their operation tested from time to time.

You can even have your smoke alarms in your house connected as a single system. These steps can greatly reduce the risk of any sort of damage arising from fire in an area.

3. Emergency Kits: A Hiking Requirement

No one thinks it will ever happen to them. We're all too smart, too touch or too lucky to ever get lost in the woods. Yet somehow, hundreds of people manage to do precisely this every year. Usually it's because the person did not adequately familiarize themselves with where they were going. They took a wrong turn and ended up miles from where they expected to be. Then it got dark, and they found themselves hungry, thirsty, cold and scared in the middle of the forest. No, no one thinks it will ever happen to them, and still it does.

So, knowing that becoming lost while hiking is a very real possibility for everyone, there are a few items that every hiker should always carry with them. Some of these items, such as a compass, will help the individual find his or her way back to civilization. But others will simply help a person survive until they are found. Collectively, these items are referred to as a survival kit. Survival kits are designed to meet basic human survival needs: food, water and shelter. They can be purchased preassembled, but the can also be put together to meet any specific situations anticipated.

When it comes to emergency food, it's sometimes just a matter of deciding what you feel like eating. There is a staggering array of freeze-dried food available, from powdered eggs to blueberry cheesecake. Most come in packets that weigh very little (the major selling point for freeze-dried goods) and require only that water be added. Even more compact are items like energy gel, which is made by manufacturers like Power Bar, GU, Cliff and several others. This substance can be immediately ingested with no preparation, and it contains many of the nutrients needed by the human body. Taking several packets of this with you when hiking is never a bad idea.

As for water, the simplest method is to take as much with you as you can reasonably carry, especially if you're venturing into an arid area, such as a dessert. However, if you're hiking in the mountains, you will also be able to drink the water from streams if you take the proper precautions. The simplest items to add to your emergency kit to ensure drinkable water are iodine tablets. These can simply be added to a water bottle full of stream water, and that water will become safe to drink. It may taste a bit odd, but it won't make you sick.

One of the greatest challenges when lost in the woods, especially at night, is staying warm. It is always a good idea to bring layers, and to use clothes of wool and fleece rather than cotton. However, another good item to add to your emergency kit is a space blanket. These shiny, silver blankets are incredibly lightweight and small, yet they retain about 80% of an individual's body heat; that can save your life under certain conditions.

Finally, it is always a good idea to have some basic first aid supplies with you. Bandages, bandage scissors, tweezers, splints, antibacterial wipes, burn cream, and eye wash bottles are all good items to pack. If you're planning on an extended hike, consider investing in a prepackaged first aid kit designed for mountaineering. Hopefully you won't need it, but if you do, you'll be prepared.

FINANCE - REAL ESTATE - 2

1. Top 7 Questions to Ask a Buyer Agent

Not all that long ago the concept of buyer agency (a real estate agent representing the buyer only in a transaction) was relatively uncommon to the real estate industry because, at the time, most agents represented the sellers of property or both parties.

Buyers of real property were in need of a real estate professional to represent their needs exclusively and buyer agency was born. Fast forward to today, there are tens of thousands of agents who represent buyers in real estate transactions so here are seven questions to help you find the right buyer agent for you.

How many homes have you sold in the past year? - The real estate industry is home to over one million practicing professionals and each agent can choose whether to work part-time or full time.

Sometimes you have an agent who may be licensed to help friends and family sell real estate and other times you have the full time professional who assists in the buying and selling of dozens of properties each year. Find out how many properties your buyer agent has participated in the sale of over the past 12 months to get a better idea of how much experience they have in today's real estate market.

How many times have you represented the buyer only in a home sale over the past year? - The representation ratio is as important to the agent's ability to help you as their overall sales experience. Ask your buyer agent how many times they have represented the buyer only in a real estate transaction because buyer representation and seller representation are two very different concepts.

What area do you sell the most homes? - When you begin looking for a home you will need to narrow down where your ideal living areas will be. Using an agent with extensive knowledge of the area you're most interested in will aid you in finding the right home much faster. There are many real estate agents who specialize in one county, city or even one town!

What's the most you have negotiated off a home's price in the past 12 months? - Part of being a buyer agent is negotiating the best price possible for your buyer client. When interviewing your buyer agent you should know what their most recent successes have been for other buyers because there's a very real chance you will see similar results.

There are agents who constantly push for the maximum possible price reduction before you purchase a home and there are also agents who will be happy if you buy a home at asking price without negotiating at all. It's your money and future so knowing their negotiating success is crucial to your investment.

What type of incentives are being offered by builders and homeowners right now? - During down markets you will find a lot of home builders and sometimes even homeowners who offer incentives to entice you to purchase their home. Incentives can range from the seller paying closing costs and HOA fees to car leases and free appliances.

Do you have a network of contacts that I can use to make my buying process easier? - Who your buyer agent knows really does matter. What happens if you need a new home inspector at the last minute? Having a solid network of contacts will help streamline your home buying process making it much less stressful for you.

How quickly can I expect a response from you? - A big concern for home buyers is what is going to happen once you do start the home buying process. Will your agent be available by phone, text or email? Will you have to wait three days for a response? These are important questions to ask before you choose your buyer agent.

Knowing more about your buyer agent will make you much more comfortable about working with the agent and give you a better relationship to candidly discuss aspects of home buying like sale price, contingencies and what to expect throughout the transaction.


2. 8 Ideas to Improve Your Property and Boost Value

To succeed at real estate investing, investors must create value in a property.

With successful real estate investing, negative first impressions don't discourage an investor's enthusiasm concerning a property, and investment decisions aren't made on whether the investor likes or dislikes the property. Instead, the successful real estate investor judges the property's potential profitability, and makes a determination, based on thorough market research, whether he or she can spend some amount of money to boost the value of the property perhaps by double or triple.

In this article, we'll look at eight improvements you can consider making to a rental income property that could easily boost the value of the property and maybe get you a great return.

1. Clean the Property

Clean units attract higher-quality tenants, and investors pay more for properties with better tenants because better tenants mean lower risk, less trouble, and surer rent collections.

Rental units that aren't meticulously maintained turn off top-quality renters. They go elsewhere, and instead, those tenants willing to accept units with dirt-encrusted windows and light fixtures, stained carpets, grease-layered stoves, and dust-laden window blinds flood in and likely treat your property as a pigpen.

When you display pride of ownership, you not only attract better-quality tenants, you show your tenants the degree of cleanliness you expect. Likewise, when you do plan to sell the property to another investor, a spotless unit will normally sell quicker and at a higher price.

2. Update Color Schemes, Patterns, and Fixtures

You can quickly add to the appeal of your units with modern color schemes, or special touches like chair moldings, mirrors, fancy plumbing, light fixtures, or patterned tile floors. Don't go overboard, the rule is to add just the right amount of sizzle to make your units stand out from the competition.

3. Create More Usable Space

If you can create more usable space at your property, you will increase its value. Keep asking yourself, "How can I use or create space to enhance sales appeal or generate more income from these units?" Maybe you can convert an attic, garage, or basement to additional living area, or perhaps enclose a porch or patio, add a second story, or build an accessory apartment.

Also, think about remodeling the living area within the units so every storage and living area within the apartment is sized proportionally to market tastes and preferences. You might be able to reduce the size of large rooms by adding walls or separate areas, for example, or perhaps you can combine small rooms to make larger areas. Tenants and investors are often reluctant to pay top rents or a top price when room or floor areas are perceived as "too large" or "too small".

4. Create a View

Whenever you can find properties that fail to capture a potential view of a lake, ocean, mountain range, park, or woods, you have discovered a great way to add value to a property.

5. Capitalize on Creative Possibilities

Improvements that add value begins with creative imagination. Rather than rushing into slapping on a fresh coat of white paint and laying new beige wall-to-wall carpeting, think outside the box and try to imagine some creative possibilities. You might be surprised with the result of reaching beyond commonplace ideas.

6. Eliminate a Negative View

It should go without saying; some buildings devalue because they look out directly onto an alley, another building, or perhaps power lines. If you can eliminate the negative view and convert it into something attractive, perhaps by changing the location of a window, some creative landscaping, or by adding decorative fencing, you will add value to your property.

7. Amplify Natural Light

Tenants and investors prefer properties with lots of natural light. Consider adding or enlarging windows, swapping solid doors with glass-inlaid doors, or installing skylights. Likewise, you can make the units appear more spacious with lighter colors,carpets,and window coverings, or by tearing out that low, false ceiling.

8. Reduce Noise

Tenants pay a premium for quiet. Consider insulation, caulking, trees, shrubs, and soundproof windows to enhance quiet. The more you can muffle or eliminate outside (or adjoining apartment) noise, the better. In fact, before you buy a multi-unit building, test the soundproofing between units. If you can hear a television, people walking or talking, or toilets flushing, beware. Unless you can figure out a solution to the noise problem, you will hear multiple complaints and contend with high tenant turnover.


3. Future House Prices are Dependent upon Future Loan Terms

Every homebuyer operating in the deflation of the housing bubble needs to consider what loan terms will be available in the future. At some point, most buyers become sellers. The future buyer will likely need to borrow most of the money necessary to complete a real estate transaction. The availability of credit and the loan terms this future buyer will face is the primary determinant of the price this buyer will pay for real estate.

During the rally of the housing bubble, buyers did not concerned themselves with the day they were going to become sellers. Why would they? There was an endless demand for properties, and buyers were paying whatever was asked. If they wanted a price above current market values to pay off a loan, all they had to do was wait. Once the bubble burst and home prices started to decline, the conditions people were accustomed to during the rally dramatically changed.

Anyone considering buying a home in the aftermath of a crash should think about the buyer who is going to buy their home from them at some point in the future, and more specifically, what debt-to-income ratio and loan terms this future buyer will utilize. This is important, because the amount of money this take-out buyer will pay for the home is completely dependent upon these variables. At most, a house is only worth what a buyer can pay for it. In a declining market with few qualified buyers, many of those qualified buyers will only make offers if the deal is exceptional or simply wait for further price declines.

In a market environment where prices are detached from fundamental valuations, bubble buyers face a daunting challenge just to break even on their purchase when the time comes to sell it. A future buyer must have favorable borrowing terms allowing for a high degree of leverage or they may not be able to borrow the prodigious sums borrowers during the bubble rally were able to obtain.

If a future buyer is not able to borrow as much with their income as bubble buyers, then wages must increase over time to permit future borrowers to borrow the same sum and allow a bubble buyer to avoid a loss. Unfortunately, it will take many years for wages to catch up to bubble prices. Even when this occurs, and a seller can recover their purchase price, inflation will have diminished the value of those dollars. If the prices are adjusted for inflation, many bubble buyers will never see an inflation adjusted breakeven price.

For all our wisdom and collective experience, none of us knows what the markets will do next. Like an ocean current or a raging river, a financial market charts its own course. It is fickle and feckless and flows without regard to our hopes and dreams. The ebbs and flows of financial markets are meaningful to us, but in reality they are just movements in price; nothing more. Price rallies make homeowners blissful and renters bitter, while price declines make homeowners gloomy and renters gleeful. These feelings and emotions are independent of movements in price. The market just moves, that is all it does. It is benign, yet dangerous; it is indifferent, yet demonstrative; the market is a paradox which we must simply accept.

Despite the difficulty in market forecasting, many who have examined the residential real estate market point to continued declines through 2009 and beyond.

HEALTH - YOGA - 1

1. How you can benefit from doing Yoga

Yoga is a very popular form of exercising these days. There are many kinds of Yoga and they are all considered a good way to keep both a healthy body and a healthy spirit. There are many benefits for doing Yoga on a regular basis.

It is estimated that about 6 percent of Americans are doing Yoga once a day. This number increased a lot in the last few years as Yoga came to the front line of what is considered a healthy way of life. Although almost all physical exercise also benefits the mind Yoga is perceived to be unique in its equally important influence on both the body and the mind. The saying healthy mind in a healthy body is synonymous to Yoga.

Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years although it became so popular just recently. Yoga was developed with mind and body as one entity that needs to be nurtured. Yoga does not consider the body and the mind to be separate but aims to unite them into one healthy and wholesome entity. Yoga does not put unnecessary physical stress on the body. Instead it brings the body and mind into a harmony that can help delay the aging process and make one feel younger and healthier. Yoga is not the same as meditation and or spiritual ceremonies although many times it is confused to be exactly that.

One of the most important elements of Yoga is breathing. Yoga focuses on breathing on stretching and on using all of the body muscles from the large muscle groups to each small muscle in the body. Breathing helps control the mind. Yoga is usually done in a quiet room or with some soothing music. Yoga is not a competitive sport basically it is everybody to themselves and thus there is no unnecessary competitive stress when practicing Yoga.

Yoga promotes self awareness and meditation quality. By slowly and deeply breathing and by staying in one position for a long time the mind can concentrate and can communicate with each part of the body. Oxygen flow can increase to parts of the body where it otherwise depleted.

It is believed that Yoga can help many illnesses from random pain to diebitis and more. There is no scientific proof for that but it is believed that due to better oxygen flow and better physical and spiritual condition the body immune system gets stronger and the body can fight such illnesses more effectively.

Like any other form of exercise Yoga should be accompanied by a balanced and healthy life style. Doing some Yoga and then running to the local joint to eat a cheese burger is not the recommended way in order to benefit from Yoga. Yoga looks at a person as a wholesome entity. In order to benefit from Yoga and to be healthier and feel better you should not just exercise Yoga on a regular basis but you should also live a Yoga life style. Eat in moderation and try to consume as much nutritious and healthy food. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits and drink lots of water.


2. A Remedy For Worry - Yoga

How could Yoga be a remedy for worry? Yoga teaches you to be completely, and consciously, aware of the present moment. The first time a friend of mine heard the words "consciously aware," he laughed because it was a pre-requisite for a potential date.

He did not understand the importance of pure, focused consciousness applied toward the present. At the same time, he was a prime example of one who lives in the past. He regretted his past mistakes, so much, that it had taken the joy out of his life.

Living in the past is much like focusing on the rear view mirror, when your car is going forward. Your life is going forward, even if you are focused on the past. If you are worried about the past, how can you help yourself today? The past is an encyclopedia of lessons filled with achievements and mistakes. Look at the past as a reference guide and learn from it, without agony.

Very often, people worry about the future. The future is not carved in stone, but we waste so much energy worrying about it. The only thing we can be guaranteed about the future is it will be uncertain. The last thing any of us need is to focus on the future with a fearful or pessimistic viewpoint.

Look at the news today. Economic news speculation could be summed up as: "The recession is here, the recession is there, the recession is everywhere, and it will last for years to come." Let's be honest, depending upon where you live, there has been an ongoing recession for some of us. On the other hand, the person currently experiencing prosperity cannot envision a house foreclosure.

Your point of view will not make a recession go away, but a collective point of view, which is optimistic, will cause an economic upswing. Just watch the stock market for ten minutes, and you can see collective optimism or pure panic at any given time. Sometimes, you see both mindsets on the floor of the stock market at the same time.

Now, let's see how Yoga can help us with daily worries. Focusing on your existence at this very moment is a basic concept of all forms of Yoga. Every Yogic technique teaches you to concentrate with full awareness. The emphasis of your practice is always positive.

Some people find the leap toward positive thinking to be their greatest challenge. Default negative thoughts may be caused by years of pessimism, frustration, and focusing on failure. Anyone can focus on negative thoughts, but it must be realized that this is a personal choice.

Yogic techniques, such as: Asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra, and deep relaxation, give you the strength to make a positive difference in your life and the lives of those who come into contact with you. When we leave memories behind, they should be filled with positive energy.


3. Yoga - Weight Loss

Increasing in popularity in Western cultures, the practice of asana, or yoga, as it is more popularly known, is a series of movements that are done in sequences that maximize the flow of oxygen and blood through the body. Focusing on the mind, spirit and body in union, yoga provides numerous health benefits.

Originating over 5,000 years ago this Hindu philosophy is a great way to lose weight. Involving the body as a whole, those who practice yoga achieve multiple benefits of which include strength, flexibility, and confidence.

Based o n a sequence of poses, yoga is also the best way to lose weight because those who practice yoga have achieve better breathing, posture, and muscle tone. Building muscle tone is a necessary component for fat burning.

The practice of yoga is an individual experience. Unlike other activities, which are based on competition, yoga is a personal journey that focuses on physical, mental and spiritual growth of each individual. It has been said about yoga that the physical achievements lead to spiritual discovery.

Since yoga is a personal experience, no matter what the level of fitness an individual is at, everyone can participate. Starting off slow and building up to a challenging practice is the best way to practice. Often times however, the intensity of a yoga regime is not enough to raise your heart rate to a level of aerobic exercise. In this instance it is recommended that it be practiced in conjunction with a running or walking routine.

Due to the gentle nature of yoga, many pregnant women are able to participate in yoga during pregnancy, and find it a great way to lose weight fast after birth.