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  • How Smoking (Drug Abuse) and Drinking (Alcohol) Affects Your Academic Performance

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    One day, Barack’s mother, Ann Dunham marched into his room, wanting to know the details of Pablo’s arrest. “Don’t you think you are a little casual about your future?” she asked. “What do you mean? he responded. “Bar, you know exactly what I mean. Your friend Pablo was just arrested for drug possession, and your grades are slipping. You haven’t even started on your college application.”

    Barack Obama was a serious and brilliant student before he gained admission into Punahou School, Honolulu. In this school, he joined the “Choom gang”. It was a self-named gang that spent time together drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and sniffing cocaine. Drugs made the choom gang popular in school. His relationship with the choom gang prospered, but his academics suffered. Drugs and alcohol made him lose focus. All he thought about was how to get high. He and his friends Ray, Pablo, Mark and others exhausted their time devising simply ways of doing drugs, which include total absorption (TA), the antithesis and the choomwagon. Reading was difficult because he was always high and confused. Indeed, he was heading towards becoming a junkie.

    His performance in school was a mess. Barack’s mother was right. His grades were going down every term. He was not even bothered about admission to college. All he thought was drugs because it was part of him. Truly, his friend Pablo was arrested by the police for drug possession.

    When pressure from his mum and his poor performance became unbearable, he thought about not going to college. Nevertheless, Barack’s mother kept encouraging him. She always told him that he could get into any school in the country if he just put in a little effort. Within him, he knew that the “effort” he needed was to quit drugs.

    He managed to graduate without mishap and was admitted into Occidental College in Los Angeles. Even without the choom gang around, Barack continued his drug escapade. To continue his education, Barack was transferred to Columbia University, New York.

    In New York, he decided to stop getting high. For the first time in years, Barack applied himself to his studies. He regained his love and strength for reading. Reading and understanding became easy because he was focused and at alert always. Barack began to trace out his future. It became clear that he had been wasting his precious time on drugs. He attended class regularly and soon graduated with good grades.

    “Using drugs and alcohol was a seriously misguided mistake. It was my greatest moral failure that could have destroyed my future. Maybe if I had not stopped doing drugs, I might have dropped out of school and wouldn’t have become the 44th President of the United States”, he once said.

    Lesson

    Drug and alcohol use on campus is universal. Students articulate many reasons why they do it, but most neglect to consider the academic and long-time consequences of their actions. Some are compelled to use drugs at social gatherings either because everyone else seems to be doing it or they believe it’s the cool thing to do. Others feel that drug and alcohol abuse offers an escape away from school or work-related stress, financial worries or relationship problems. Some feel that alcohol and drug abuse provide a way to compensate for feelings of shyness or low esteem.

    According to one study, 90% of teens said they have used alcohol; 50% have used marijuana; 17% have used cocaine, and 13% have used some form of hallucinogenic drugs. Drug use has been classified as a major problem of students as early as in primary 4. A recent report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration suggests that adolescents who receive grades of D or below are more likely than those in good academic standing to have recently used cigarettes, alcohol and/or other illicit drugs.

    The new research is part of a large-scale study of health and development conducted in New Zealand. Researchers administered IQ tests to over 1,000 individuals at age 13 (born in 1972 and 1973) and assessed their patterns of cannabis use at several points as they aged. Participants were again tested for IQ at age 38, and their two scores were compared as a function of their marijuana use. The results were striking: Participants who used cannabis heavily in their teens and continued through adulthood showed a significant drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38-an average of 8 points for those who met criteria for cannabis dependence. (For context, a loss of 8 IQ points could drop a person of average intelligence into the lowest third of the intelligence range.) Those who started using marijuana regularly or heavily after age 18 showed minor declines. By comparison, those who never used marijuana showed no declines in IQ.

    Researchers studying the effects of alcohol use on the brain are aided by advanced technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), position emission tomography (PET) and electrophysiological brain mapping (EBM) showed that long-term heavy drinking lead to shrinking of the brain which impairs learning, memory formation and retrieval. That is why most times we read and forget within a short period.

    The process of generating new brain cells (i.e., neurons) is called neurogenesis. High level of alcohol leads to a disruption in the growth of brain cells. The decline of the number of brain cells leads to problems in learning and behaviour. The number of brain cell a student possesses determines his level of understanding. A student who has a higher amount of brain cells will do better academically.

    Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is an essential nutrient required by the brain. Up to 80% of alcoholics have a deficiency in thiamine, which may lead to memory loss and mental confusion. It might also affect your attention and concentration. Substance abusers easily get distracted; misplace things, forgetting to keep appointments and so on. As the brain continues to adapt to the presence of the drug, regions outside of the reward pathway are also affected. Brain regions responsible for judgment, learning, and memory begin to physically change or become “hardwired.” Learning, reading, and comprehension becomes difficult because the brain had been wired to focus on alcohol.

    Alcohol can produce detectable impairment in memory after only a few drinks and as the amount of alcohol increases so does the degree of impairment. Large quantity of alcohol can produce a blackout or an interval of time for which the intoxicated person cannot recall key details of events or even an entire event. Think about how much study time you have lost because you were too hung-over the next day to go to class. Drug abusers oversleep and are always tired.

    Severe Hallucination is another problem faced by drug users. Most times they lose touch with realities during lectures or examination. Physically they are in class but mentally they are somewhere else. Academics requires both physical and mental alertness. Therefore, a “high” students can attend lecture but will derive nothing because he was busy building castles in the air. Hallucination leads to academic failure.

    Everyone who became a drug or alcohol addict started with “let me taste or try it.” Smoking cigarette or Indian hemp or drinking alcohol is not a sign of “big boy or big girl”. It is not a sign of maturity but immaturity. You should not please your company by abusing drugs or alcohol. Drugs and alcohol are slow poisons. It solves no problem, if you get high because of financial stress, relationship problems, shyness or peer pressure, after some minute, you will get low and the problem will still be there.

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    Source by Anyaehie George Kelechi

    Views: 0

  • Offline Dating Vs Online Dating

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    Offline dating is whereby an administrator of the website Interacts with members as they apply through a private secure online application. The application may have a setting that allows the administrator to manually approve or decline each application. That way, if the administrators feel the member does not meet the criteria of what the other offline dating members are looking for, they will be denied access and notified through an email. Offline dating can build a private community based on its mission statement and be more selective. This can result in more targeted searches and a higher percentage of matches with a smaller number of members.

    Online dating is whereby there are no administrators interacting with members as they apply. Anyone can fill out an application and they become members. Online dating is an open community and by using algorithms, you search for your match. This can result in less targeted searches and a lower percentage of matches with a larger number of members.

    The advantages of offline dating are you can meet a member in person at an event in your city. Offline dating companies typically host Mixers in different cities for its members and many Mixers don't charge a fee to attend. There is a cash bar and members are encouraged to purchase one drink that the venue keeps. This arrangement allows the offline dating company to host free Mixers. The member don't pay to attend, the offline dating company does pay for space to host the Mixer and the venue makes money from the cash bar.

    The advantages of online dating are members don't face rejection at live mixers. They initially contact each other and establish a virtual relationship that may or may not lead to an in person meeting. The goal is to meet offline and after a period of time establishing a virtual relationship, a level of comfort and trust is established. This may make the first live meeting less stressful.

    The costs of offline dating can be more because attending some events might cost more. Some events are free, such as attending a 2 hour cash bar event at a restaurant. Some events such as a destination trip, a ski trip or cruise ship will cost more.

    The costs of online dating are less because you know what your monthly charge is and at any time, you can cancel your subscription.

    The technology with offline dating companies are a combination of algorithms and human interaction. When a member registers and gets approved, their profiles are uploaded to the system and are not visible by other approved members. Only the administrators of the website can access members profiles and invite members to events, send updates on new happenings and offer dates for a fee. If a member wants to search through the offline dating sites database, only administrator can perform that function for him or her. When a search is completed on behalf of a member interested in finding matches, the system generates appropriate matches based on algorithms that the administrator sets, usually a 70% or higher compatibility. Once those appropriate matches are generated, the administrator can send a photo and bio for the member interested in getting dates to view, with just a click of a few buttons. No other information about the member is sent.

    The member requesting dates then selects a handful of members he or she would like to go on a date with and email the administrator which ones. Next, the administrator then sends those handful of members a photo and bio. No other information is visible. Finally, when any of those handful of members reply they would go on a date with the member requesting a date, a date is ready to be completed. To complete the transaction, the administrator sends a secure electronic invoice for $ 25 and once paid, the administrator sends the contact information for one of those members that is waiting to be contacted to go on a date with. This is a 5 step process all driven by technology and a push of a few buttons that can take less than 15 minutes per date. The process with offline dating companies is simply setting up a guaranteed date, whereby both members have seen photos and bios and both agreed to go on a date. This can take the anxiety out of arranging a date and save time.

    The technology with online dating companies are very simple and straightforward. Members apply online, upload their information, pay a subscription fee and can search and contact other members as the system produces matches based on algorithms that the administrator sets. The advantage is members can view hundreds of profiles and contact hundreds of members, all by paying a monthly subscription with no assistance of an administrator. The challenge comes when a member is interested and contacts another member, that member might not reply. Time and effort spent developing searching and contacting other members might not result in any dates.

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    Source by Janis Spindel

    Views: 0

  • Finding Your Wealthy Place

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    How is your life today? Does it reflect that you are a child of God? Does it reflect the wealth of your heavenly Father? God said in Deuteronomy 28:3, “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.”

    There is what is called a wealthy place. God wants to bring you into your own wealthy place. Once you are in such a place you will not ask yourself if you have found it. You will experience it when you are in the city and when you are in the field. It works everywhere. It works in the city and in the field. In other words, whether you are a doctor, lawyer, school teacher, minister, business person, or you have some other vocation.

    Remember that yesterday we talked about leaving all for Jesus? You started coming out of the practices that God does not like. Why? God wants to take you into that place. You cannot win the world and win God’s Kingdom at the same time. One must drop. Genesis 12:1 says, “The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” You are expected by God to leave certain practices in life. That will be your expression of faith in Him. That is what Abraham did. So forsaking certain things as you obey God will lead you to the place God destined for you.

    “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.” (Psalms 66:12).

    You might have gone through the fire or water, but finally the Lord is bringing you into this wonderful place in Jesus Name. That is the place of plenty. It is God’s will that you come out of the tight spot financially. We do not serve a careless God. He does not take you out of Egypt and throw you into a wilderness and then leave you there to die. The wilderness is just a pathway to your wealthy place. So do not worry about what is happening in your life now. You are just passing through. Never think the wilderness is your destiny. Never think you should die there. No, No! Fix your eyes into your wealthy place. See God taking you through. Listen to Him. Obey Him.

    I believe the following verse in Psalms is a prophetic word to the Body of Christ for this hour concerning finances.

    Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. (Psalm 102:13). Note that Zion refers to the Church. God favors those who believe Him.

    When is the time to arise? The time is now. Do not stay in the wilderness till you die. If you have not yet found your wealthy place, arise now! Ask God to show you where or what is your wealthy place. He is a faithful God. He is always true to His Word. Therefore believe Him and act according to His instructions. He will speak to you in Jesus Name!

    Blessings!

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    Source by Elphas Sipho Mdluli

    Views: 0

  • Understanding the Definition of Health Related Fitness

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    Being a Health and Fitness Professional, it is my job to understand terms and definitions which are commonplace to this industry, as well to keep abreast of evolving trends. Through my experience, I have found that a number of terms deserve a little more clarification than that which they are granted.

    Aside from clarifying the definition of Health Related Fitness, this article intends to shed some light on a few of the associated terms, and to show their respective distinctions.

    Is it simply all in a name?

    The fitness world seems to use the concept Health Related Fitness like a generic fitness principle – interchangeable with others like “Physical Fitness”, “Health and Fitness” or simply “Fitness.”

    While all of these terms can be included under the broad term Health and Physical Fitness, they individually refer to different aspects – both generic and specific. Unfortunately, references to these and other fitness-related terms are often vague, while consistency in their intended use is meager at best; there is a kind of “generally accepted” use for them, but individuals often rely on own interpretation, and this can lead to confusion.

    With that said, does Health Related Fitness simply infer fitness by means of good health? Not quite. That is why we need to understand a little more behind these words before digesting the definition.

    How did the term Health Related Physical Fitness come about?

    That is a good question. One could probably ask what is this concept all about – can we not simply use the terms “Fitness” or “Physical Fitness” instead?” Why Health “Related”?

    The main reason stems from the fact that most health and fitness terms are used inconsistently and often refer to different concepts or notions. Subsequent to the 1996 report from the US Surgeon General (Physical Activity and Health; a report of the Surgeon General), there was a move to try and address the alarming rise in obesity levels among the general American public. Studies and initiatives required standardization among clinicians, health practitioners and fitness trainers to grapple with the task at hand. Enter “Health Related Physical Fitness”, a working term to address the general state of health among the public.

    The definition of Health Related Fitness

    According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the main authority in this field, ineffective definitions with unclear and subjective wordings, as well as definitions containing terms which themselves require defining, have contributed to confusing the term “Physical Fitness.”

    There exists no reliable guide for Health and Fitness Professionals to measure “Physical Fitness”, because the term has been so loosely and inconsistently defined. It is therefore that one should consider the concept of Health Related Fitness. The definition therefore centers on the 5 Components of Physical Fitness which relate to “good health.” These Components are:

    • Cardiorespiratory Fitness
    • Body Composition
    • Flexibility
    • Muscular Strength
    • Muscular Endurance

    On the other hand, Skill Related Fitness Components are:

    • Balance
    • Reaction Time
    • Coordination
    • Agility
    • Speed
    • Power

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the definition of Physical Fitness emphasizes the difference between Health Related Physical Fitness and Athletic Ability Physical Fitness. Its point-of-departure is the “health” of the US nation, which is often referred to as the “public health perspective.” In that respect, the 5 Health Related Fitness Components are more important than those related to Athletic Ability (or Skill Related Components).

    Although the concept of Health Related Fitness has an integral association with “good health”, the 5 Components are addressed individually by health professionals to allow for their measurement.

    Now that we have a deeper understanding of the term, what purpose does it serve?

    Continuing from where the definition left off, the objective of measuring the 5 Components is to advise clients about their own particular Health Related Fitness, and to use data obtained from the tests to design appropriate exercise programs which can then be evaluated.

    The 5 Components contribute evenly to make up a holistic Health Related Fitness, which is of direct interest to the health of the ordinary citizen, in that the concept is normative. In other words, it is a standard which allows for consistent application.

    It is therefore important for those working in the health and fitness industry not to mistake “overall physical fitness” with “Health Related Physical fitness.”

    To conclude, let us consider this distinction between Physical Fitness and Health Related Fitness

    One needs to bear in mind that regular physical exercise can improve overall Physical Fitness, as well as Health Related Fitness. However, overall fitness is a generic term and is up to subjective interpretation, while Health Related Fitness can be assessed.

    The distinction therefore, between these two terms, exists in that Health Related Physical Fitness can be measured according to a set of established comparative norms.

    This is where the “rubber hits the road.” The guidelines set out by the ACSM enable health professionals to work with clients to assess and measure their response to exercise and prescribe appropriate exercise programs. A client’s progress can then be monitored and adjusted where necessary in order to obtain the desired fitness goals.

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    Source by Cleto Tirabassi

    Views: 0

  • Tony Robbins – Personal Power II – Day 17 – Wealth Conditioning

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    “Money is nothing but a means to measure the exchange of value between people.”

    ~ Tony Robbins

    Many of us have pain associated with wealth in an approach/avoidance dance. Because of events in our past, we can call these “wealth wounds”. There can be lots of sensitivity about financial issues and so if these wounds are not healed, it is impossible to gain a ton of financial resources.

    Generally speaking, poverty and lack brings out the worst in people and abundance brings out the best. People who are living in poverty tend to have the highest criminal records, the most drug use and the most unhappiness. Being one of the consistently broke group of people doesn’t help you or the group. You can do more good by becoming wealthy in order to be able to give back.

    There are seven reasons why most people never make it financially.

    1). They associate negative things to having or making money. Remember, the past does not equal the future.

    2). They do not set having an abundance of money as an absolute must. Unless we decide what is a necessity, not an option, how can there be any improvement?

    3). Having an effective strategy of building wealth is non-existent for them. To condition yourself for great wealth, strategies must be developed for

    • attracting money into your life
    • managing your dollars
    • sharing your money, which will give you much happiness

    4). They are unable to follow through consistently on their financial goals. Finding ways for your money to work for you, such as harnessing compound interest which can take a lot of pressure off if you have time to watch it grow.

    5). They depend too much on the “experts.” There is no one who cares more about your money than you do. Experts are valuable, but you need to take care of your money and taxes. If you make errors in these types of decisions and planning, you will be ultimately responsible, not your professional.

    6). They become financially complacent. Many people take their wealth for granted. Whatever you fail to use, you will lose. It is a good idea to note that if you do well with what you have, you’ll be able to get more and, if you don’t actively create welth, itwhat you have will be taken from us. Don’t hoard what you have.

    7). They allow financial challenges go from bad to worse into financial ruin. Most likely, the road to wealth is not a straight line. If and when problems arise, stay in the game and ask great questions to help get back on track.

    Be willing to transform crisis into opportunity. By having financial faith, you can learn from the situation and find even more opportunities.

    The assignment:

    Give yourself a financial checkup to find out your “wealth wounds” so you can heal yourself quickly:

    1). Ask yourself to list the beliefs that you have that hold you back.

    2). Is there a specific amount of money that is an absolute MUST? Is this number the “must” for your life, or is this number the ability to live comfortably by paying your current bills?

    3). “Never leave the site of setting a goal or making a decision without taking some action towards its fulfillment. Make sure you do some action to set you on the course for financial mastery.

    4). Find something in today’s session to start feeling like you’re making progress. Remember, tiny actions lead to a pattern of habits which ultimately can be used to create the financial freedom we all deserve.

    5). You can make a list of financial terms or aspects of financial management that are not fully understood. Find the people or resources who cn provide answers about these things.

    6). Remember we talked about complacency? Write a paragraph about the “why” you will follow through with your plan and avoid complacency. Recognize the excuses you used in the past. Mastery is the only option now.

    7). Ultimately, what frees us from fear, is the belief that we are much more than anything that could ever happen to us financially. Write down one or two situations that seemed very difficult that you pulled yourself through. Remind yourself that you have this capacity to turn challenges into success.

    Sometimes our “wealth wounds” are most tender to try and heal, but the good news is that there are ways to heal them. One way is to find someone who has successfully gotten where you’d like to be. You can “model” after their example if you find out exactly what they did and then follow that pattern.

    Taking the time to do these exercises will teach you more about yourself. Fine tuning the skills in this lesson will provide additional ways to condition yourself for success.

    Onward.

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    Source by Deb Bauer

    Views: 0

  • Why Goodwill Is Vital to Success

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    When I originally got the idea for this blog entry, I was thinking in terms of success in business, as a result of three lackluster experiences I recently had with customer service at three different businesses. Then, when I sat down to write about it, I soon realized that goodwill is vital to all areas of life.

    Goodwill is similar to integrity in that in takes time to develop but can be lost in an instant. As my cousin says, “Goodwill is a byproduct of doing the right thing.” Webster’s dictionary defines goodwill as “a kindly feeling of approval and support: benevolent interest or concern.”

    This definition makes clear that whether it is with your business associates, teammates, coaches, or bosses, or in your interpersonal relationships, without goodwill it is difficult to get beyond a surface level with any of them.

    In today’s ultracompetitive world everything that gives you a leg up on the competition makes your success more likely. As successful businessman Marshall Field was fond of saying, “Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.”

    Each of the three companies from whom I experienced poor customer service developed varying degrees of goodwill – mostly negative – from me. The one that earned the most goodwill eventually offered me an acceptable solution and I am still doing business with them (though on a more cautious basis now).

    One of the other two offered worthless suggestions, compounding my initial frustration. The last one had a website that failed repeatedly to send my complaints and was unresponsive to the ones that did go through. Needless to say, it would have taken a lot of goodwill to overcome these slights and I decided to close both of those accounts.

    One of the quickest ways to earn goodwill is to exceed expectations. Here’s a recent example of a business that engendered massive amounts of goodwill from me. I ordered a supplement and a few weeks after receiving my order I received another package from them with a new bottle of what I had previously ordered and the following note enclosed:

    “I want to take a moment to thank you for your recent purchase. As a token of our appreciation we sent you your next bottle free of charge. You will not be charged for this bottle and are not signed up to an auto-ship program of any kind. We just wanted to say a quick hello and thank you”

    -Greg, Founder of Weyland Brain Nutrition

    Not only did they send me my next bottle free of charge, they also enclosed a bottle of another product for me to try. I have since recommended them to several of my clients and am now a devoted customer.

    The same phenomenon happens in our interpersonal relationships. When you go the extra mile for a co-worker, boss, friend, lover, coach or teammate, you engender goodwill and strengthen your bond with them. This in turn will lead to greater trust and loyalty, thus opening the door to greater possibilities for the relationship.

    Most people want to stand out from the crowd and are frustrated when they don’t. I like to tell my clients that if you don’t like being stuck in the crowd, go the extra mile; it’s never crowded there. It’s a simple recipe for success that is often neglected by the masses and will also go a long way towards engendering plenty of goodwill from others.

    You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

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    Source by Sam Obitz

    Views: 0

  • Compulsive Skin Picking: Habit Reversal Training

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    Often people are seen picking at scabs, blemishes or dry skin. However, there is another form of picking that adopts a more sinister obsessive nature — one that results in not being able to resist the urge or need to pick at certain parts of the skin. This condition is medically known as Dermatillomania or Compulsive Skin Picking (CSP). Only recently has CSP started to become recognized as a serious disorder, as the numbers of reported sufferers continues to steadily increase.

    Skin picking often occurs as an impulsive reaction. There have been numerous cases that suggest many of the sufferers remain unaware that they are in fact picking at blemishes or dry scabs, while others have claimed that it produces a feeling of comfort and satisfaction.

    Treatments for compulsive skin picking generally include medical treatments as well as behavioral treatments. One behavioral method is known as habit reversal training. In its simplest form, habit reversal training involves monitoring and tracking of your skin picking habit and then replacing your behavior with a competing response that you choose to do in place of your undesirable behavior.

    The first step is to keep a diary that captures key information about your skin habit. You’ll want to get a notebook that you can record in, and keep it handy in the area(s) that you generally do your skin picking. In your diary you should record the date, time and behaviors for each time you pick your skin. You’ll want to be sure to record the circumstances in which you desire to pick. Does it happen when you are overstimulated and feeling stressed, anxious or excited? Or do you get the urge to pick when you are bored or inactive? You’ll want to record when the skin picking episodes occur, how long they last, what you were doing at the time, and what was your emotional state. Recording this information for a week or two can give you valuable insight into the triggers that lead up to your skin picking sessions.

    The next step in habit reversal training is to adopt a competing response. This involves choosing a different behavior that you choose to do instead of picking. For example, if you were going to pop a pimple or pick at your face, you could clench your fist or pinch your two index fingers away from your face as if popping an imaginary pimple. Personally, I like to do things at my computer where I have to use two hands typing rather than picking. Sometimes, I just play Solitaire or Sudoku just to keep my mind off of picking.

    Lastly, you should also do things that help reduce stress since this can often trigger picking episodes. Try breathing in deeply though your nose and exhaling out your mouth. Do this numerous times until you feel your body beginning to relax. You can use this as your competing response to avoid picking your skin.

    Try these examples of ways to reverse your habit and also experiment to personalize for yourself.

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    Source by Lisa B Mason

    Views: 0

  • Direct Marketing – 5 Essential Components of Successful Direct Marketing

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    Direct Marketing produced $2.05 trillion in sales in 2012. That represents about 8.7% of US GDP in 2013. This implies several key points.

    First, competition in direct marketing is stiff. With all those advertisement dollars being spent on direct marketing, you need to ensure your message is getting through and being heard. Second, with stiff competition, you need to craft compelling messages, not once, but repeatedly. You need to do this effectively and efficiently, if you want to do more than just tread water.

    Thus, it’s important to develop a marketing strategy that optimizes your budget spend by employing direct marketing more effectively. Here are 5 essential components of successful direct marketing.

    1) Deliver a Compelling Sales Message

    Several elements go into creating a compelling sales message. Successful sales letters and other marketing content must be relevant, useful, and persuasive. Marketing content that works grabs your prospect’s attention, shows uniqueness, and builds trust with your prospect. Employ these three elements in all your direct marketing content.

    · WIIFM – Tell your prospect exactly what’s in it for him or her.

    · Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – Clearly describe why your solution is the superior one.

    · Testimonials – Let your satisfied customers “sell” for you.

    2) Follow-up Leads Promptly to Attract and Engage Your Prospect’s Attention

    You might have a lead-generating sales letter, but if you don’t follow-up, valuable leads will slip through the cracks. Follow-up a live event with a phone call, an email, or a letter that invites the prospect to take the next step.

    Offer a free demonstration of your product or service. Set up an appointment with a subject matter expert who can go into greater detail on how your company’s solution works, and why it’s better than the competition’s. Then, before the scheduled demonstration, send a white paper that explains your product in detail.

    Follow-up, engage and spark your prospect’s interest in your solution.

    3) Promote Your Brand

    Benefits from branding give companies and edge over competitors that don’t brand. Branding helps position your product or service favorably. It also gives you pricing and distribution power. The takeaway is: never miss an opportunity to brand.

    Direct marketing affords you many online and off-line media to build brand awareness. Online media: (1) Banner advertising; (2) Blogs; (3) Email; and (4) Website. Off-line media: (1) Print advertising – sales letters, postcards, brochures; (2) Press Releases; and (3) Public Relations.

    4) Nurture the New Customer Relationship

    Lead nurturing is just as important as lead acquisition. Most companies want to develop long-term relationships with customers. That’s because they become repeat customers. And, over time, repeat customers generate more sales and profits to your bottom line.

    Outbound marketing provides many ways to build and maintain a thriving lead nurturing program. You can employ email, direct mail, social media, mobile, podcasts, seminars, phone calls, and videos.

    5) Integrate and Synchronize Online and Off-line Direct Marketing

    To optimize your message and direct marketing budget, success lies in finding the right mix of online and off-line methods. One method isn’t necessarily better than another. Instead, the secret sauce to successful direct marketing depends on how you weave these various methods together.

    You can integrate and synchronize these methods along the sales cycle beginning with message delivery. Start with a sales letter, follow-up with a phone call or email. Refer your prospect to your website for deeper marketing content, and don’t forget to brand throughout this process.

    Achieving the right marketing mix produces a “multiplier effect” that helps you close sales faster and easier. Employing different media in a consistent and coherent manner working towards the same goal optimizes your marketing efforts.

    Don’t Overlook the Value of Direct Marketing

    With so much attention focused on inbound marketing lately, it’s easy to overlook direct marketing’s benefits. However, as you can see, it still commands the lion’s share of sales. Therefore, it’s prudent to examine your marketing strategy’s focus and align your budget accordingly.

    Before you undertake a direct marketing campaign, employ these five essential components to compete effectively and efficiently for that $2.05 trillion market.

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    Source by Alex M Milo

    Views: 1

  • How to Make Money and Become Richer Every Day

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    There are countless ways of making money. It all begins with your motivation to get creative and be determined to go for success. The world’s richest entrepreneurs started with an idea that just came into their mind and they decided to chase their goals. You have heard from the several forums they have been invited on to give inspirational speeches. The bottom line is your determination to reach success. You can then start a business that will see you making more money every day. Here are some of the tips you should have in mind so as to make money.

    Start with the Little You Have

    The little money you have should be used in generating more. All you need is a business idea and a clear business plan so as to get you started. Therefore you need to know that the money you have cannot grow to make you successful in life unless you invest it in some viable project. Banks interest rates are not that good to get you to success. However, if you did a good research today on a good business idea that you have always had, that way you will be ended to success.

    Don’t Let Any Coin Pass Your Way without Trying to Get It

    If you are an entrepreneur, you understand what that statement would mean. It means don’t let an opportunity you are viable for pass your way. You should consider the money making opportunities, not the spending opportunities. Although you have to spend to gain some more, there needs to be more than an equilibrium in your favor. Therefore, if you have not been keen to identify opportunities, you should be keen from today. There are so many opportunities you just need to be keen so that these opportunities don’t pass you.

    Don’t Just Look on One Direction, Opportunities Are Everywhere

    As much as it is good to concentrate on one item before looking for the other, you also need to be aware that this can lead to loss of opportunities. You need to aim at diversifying your money making ideas. The most successful entrepreneurs offer multiple services. Although they are in one business line, you will find that they have other side gigs to keep them going. Therefore you need to be vigilant to identify opportunities where you can diversify your business so that you can make more money by tapping into different opportunities.

    Decrease Expenses and Save More to Make More Money

    Even the moment your business more profits than normal, you need to save more so as to get richer. Reduce your spending and increase your savings is a formula that will help you accumulate your wealth. You can save in the bank or by buying assets that you can sell in future.

    Invest in High Returning Ventures

    Think of projects that will give you more value in the future. Don’t invest in projects that keep you in the same position, you need to grow. Therefore some investments like real estate that are always increasing value can be good.

    Entrepreneurs are always self-motivated. They have the intrinsic determination, and their goals are their inspirations.

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    Source by VanNess Vaughn

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  • Heal Yourself With Water – The Water Cure

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    Most people have figured out by now that medicine does not cure disease. Medicine isn’t necessarily bad; it just isn’t necessary. Do not let your fear of disease make you forget that humanity wasn’t exactly dying off when pharmaceutical companies saw a financial opportunity and exploded onto the scene. You need to know the facts; then, if you still choose to be ill, it will truly be a “free choice,” and not one born of the absence of awareness.

    You are mostly water. You are made of cells (30-50 trillion of them); and they are mostly water. You need to replenish the water in your body in order to keep it fresh and clean, so that you can stay fresh and clean – healthy. Water cleans you, nourishes you, energizes you, cools you, lubricates you, supports and sustains you, and is truly most of what you are. And water is simply Hydrogen and Oxygen; both of which are atoms – which are simply Energy. You are Energy; but between pure Energy and the form you have currently assumed, there is water.

    When I say, “Water,” I do not mean to say, “Coca cola, Gatorade, Milk, Diet Coke, Orange juice, Beer, or any other liquid solution; these do not clean and support your body. These substances add chemicals to your body which alters the way you feel. Drinking water helps cleanse these chemicals and other toxins from your body returning you to your natural state of health – a state which most Americans have truly not seen since they were very, very young (if then!).

    It is estimated that most Americans are chronically dehydrated. How do you know if that’s you? If you don’t drink 2-3 liters of pure water each day (an estimated one-half your body weight, in ounces), you are most likely dehydrated. Even if you do, you may still be dehydrated depending on your weight and the amount of other solutions, salts, and sugars in your diet. You are mostly water; and good health is primarily predicated on the maintenance of your water level and the cleanliness, or purity, of the water in your body. If the water is heavily-laden with suspended materials, you are toxic. If you are toxic, you are sick, overweight, or on your way to both of these conditions. There are no other options; and there is no escaping this simple reality.

    “But I don’t like drinking plain water!” I hear it all the time; but what most people have been conditioned to Not Realize is that this statement is only an indicator light that you are addicted to the flavoring and chemicals in the beverages you do consume. In the absence of true awareness, what we LIKE is what we choose. If I told you that drinking coffee would make you explode, and then the guy next to you took a big drink of coffee and exploded, I bet you a dollar you’d put your coffee cup down. But what if it took 20-years for you to explode? Would you start drinking water instead of coffee today, or would you put it off hoping you could quit nineteen-years from now and be none the worse for wear?

    I know the things we drink taste good; and I’m not saying that they are “bad.” But there is an obvious effect from the chemicals in the things we drink; and you are definitely not doing yourself any favors by not drinking enough water. I am not necessarily trying to change anyone’s ways; but some of you do indeed want to feel better and have simply never been told anything other than what you’ve been told – none of which contained the answers to your problems, or you wouldn’t have them right now. If you want different, you must think and do different; and yet most people simply can not do this – and don’t even realize it.

    In the Declaration of Independence, there is a line which reads: “…and, accordingly, all experience has shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” I realize that words do not teach, and that you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make that horse drink water when it could have a Diet Coke instead; but maybe nobody ever told you what happens when you don’t drink enough water, so here goes…

    If you do not drink enough water, you could quickly experience any of the following, in any combination: Dyspeptic pain, Colitis pain, False Appendix pain (of course the surgery will be real…), Hiatus Hernia, Rheumatoid arthritis pain, Low back pain, Angina, Headaches (one of the first signs of dehydration), Stress, Depression, Asthma, Allergies, Excess body weight, High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Diabetes, Fainting, Insomnia, and many other serious and not-so-serious symptoms. If you have any of these symptoms or conditions, they could have been brought on by not drinking enough water; and some of them could be caused by the drugs you are taking for problems you could be drinking water to get rid of. Yes, there is a good chance you are treating “thirst” with prescription drugs that only “clog your filters” (liver and kidneys) and give you the added bonus of “side-effects” which could actually kill you. I’ll just have the water, please…

    The bottom line is that you are water and need to renew yourself daily. Failure to do so is typically the result of ignorance and addiction; one of which should have been remedied by the last paragraph. Chronic (constant/ongoing) cellular dehydration is a painful way to die prematurely of outward symptoms and manifestations which have, until recently, been thought to be diseases of “known” and unknown origins. Until you are properly hydrated and oxygenated, you have absolutely no way of knowing what is causing your pain and illness, regardless of what you have been told about your health up to this point. You are water. You have a choice. What kind of ending do you want for your story?

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    Source by Pete Koerner

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