Monday, June 3, 2019

Book Review: Think and Grow Rich


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Book Review: Think and Grow Rich


By Shreyans Singh 

Who it's for: This book is a must-read book for anyone and everyone who wants to succeed in life. It's a bit dated, but its principles are timeless.

Readability: HIGH. It's a relatively short read meant to be read in multiple sitting to allow the reader to reflect on the information presented.

What We liked about it: This book is one of the few books I've read. To say it offers significant value for the money is an understatement. The author covers so many topics so densely and vividly, the material requires us to focus on the ideas and concepts presented, sometimes more repeatedly. I find the book to be effective in inducing both reflection and a particular action on the part of the reader minds. I can say that anyone who has read this book must have, in any way, felt a change in their lives.

What I didn't like about it: The title. This book goes far beyond the concept of money. It's about how we think and how we use should use our own energy. A more suitable title would have been around what you conceive and what you believe to get.

Where to find it:

Amazon @ $8.99

Amazon India @ Rs 75

"Think and Grow Rich" is The Guide to set the Thoughts and Actions That Lead to Success

I just cannot give a short summary of the book as then it would be a disservice of the author. The details are so organised that it keeps the reader intact. The focus is on:

the power of our thoughts, and

the potential we have within ourselves

Hill is often seen quoting Carnegie in the book because he is the man who inspired Hill to dedicate much of his life to exploring and communicating the concepts of managing our own thoughts and energy can be life-changing for us.

The following are three themes in the book that most resonate with me:

The Power of Thought

The Power of the Subconscious

The Power of Purpose

1. The Power of Thought: We are what we think. Our thoughts affect how we see the world and how we see ourselves. As a result, our thoughts have a great deal of impact on how we feel and on how much energy we have to deal with a required action or situation. Our thoughts make us more or less responsive and observant of the things, circumstances and people around us. Hill goes as far as stating that this extends to the material world:

Thoughts = Things

2. The Power of the Subconscious: Where do you get your best ideas? I can almost guarantee you that it's not while you're at work. We usually get our best ideas when we're not consciously thinking about the problem we're trying to solve or the idea we're trying to come up with.

Eureka moments hardly ever occur while we're "working hard", but rather when we're "hard-working".

Unfortunately, our way of life seems to invite us to ignore both the power of the subconscious mind and the breathing room we need to give it at some point. In order to feed our subconscious, we need to give it:

the raw materials it needs to work through (including a clear picture of what problem or opportunity we're trying to address),

little-to-no time pressure, and

no attention whatsoever, as it does its work.

Think And Grow Rich

When we take time to rest, play, or engage in any day-to-day conversation with others (including mastermind groups), learn from and about the experiences of others lives, we make room for the powerful subconscious to work its magic. The magic? To make connections to ideas that offer solutions we could never have come up with consciously.

The author tells it:

"You cannot entirely control your subconscious mind, but you can voluntarily hand over to it any plan, desire, or purpose which you wish transformed into concrete form." (pg. 198)

3. The Power of Purpose: Deep down, we know what we want and need to accomplish over the long-term. It might not be crystal clear, but we have a good idea of the direction we want to pursue. Unfortunately, rationalization, self-justification and doubt leads us to second guess it or explain it away, to our peril.

Here's a quote from the book:

"People who do not succeed have one distinguishing trait in common. They know all the reasons for failure and have what they believe to be air-tight alibis to explain away their own lack of achievement." (pg. 249)

When we focus on what we know we need to do, we can more easily establish an action plan and forge ahead. We feel driven, alive, passionate. We have the energy to invest in ourselves and others. We have the energy to grow as a person. We learn what we need to know to be successful, not what others say we should know. We ignore the naysayers and objectors. We're curious and engaged.

Purpose as a Guide = A Fulfilling Life

And yes, the author does talk about money and offers many concrete tools and references to allow us to be increasingly introspective and take explicit action. But I think we can all appreciate the broader insights shared above also serve to help us in that aspect of our lives. For more on the money concepts within it, I would suggest reading Chapter 2 titled "Desire", "The Thirty-One Major Causes of Failure" in the middle of the book and the "Fear of Poverty" section toward the end of the book.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Book-Review:-Think-and-Grow-Rich&id=9939577] Book Review: Think and Grow Rich

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Good Morning H-33


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Though for today: Retreat.

God's Daily Minute






June Second ~ God's Daily Minute

 “He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass Him about.” – Ps. 32:10 ~

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Our Father, in Whom we live and move and have our being, we thank Thee for Thy care, for our home, for our parents, and our friends. We thank Thee for the joy of salvation, for the health of body and vigor of mind, for the joy and delights of social intercourse. We thank Thee for Jesus Christ, for His sacrifice for us, and for the promise of eternal life through faith in Him.
Teach us, our Father, how to appreciate Thy love to us, Thy boundless care and Thy constant watchfulness. Indicate to us the things which Thou wouldst have us to do. Teach us how to live so as to bring joy and blessing into the lives of others. Give unto us the Holy Spirit, that we may know the true meaning of Thy Word, and how to do Thy will. Help us to watch and pray as we walk in the midst of temptation. Make us to abhor evil and to cleave only to what is good. Strengthen us in the day of adversity. Protect us from the snares of prosperity. Help us to do only the things which are pleasing to Thee. Hear us, O God, in this our prayer, for Jesus’ sake.  Amen

By: Rev. R. R. Butterwick, Mountville,  Penna.

Source:  God's Minute: A Book of 365 Daily Prayers Sixty Seconds Long for Home Worship

Saturday, June 1, 2019

Review of Raving Fans - Customer Service




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Review of Raving Fans - A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service


By Avil Beckford

Shortly after I started reading this book, I had to shut up my inner critic and open myself up to the lessons. Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles present Raving Fans as a parable. The book starts off with the president of a company telling the new area manager that the company was built on customer service, and that the three preceding area managers didn't understand that, and that's why they were no longer with the organization. Each of those three preceding area managers lasted less than a year in the job. This fact made it difficult for me to understand why the new area manager, knowing this, would take off with his Fairy Godmother, Charlie (a man) to play golf.

To succeed in business, you have to create Raving Fans - satisfied customers are no longer enough. To deliver Raving Fan Service, you have to look after the customers' needs whenever possible, be consistent in delivering the service, promise more and deliver more than you promise, and be ready to change direction when the vision changes because customers' need and want change all the time. There are three secrets to creating Raving Fans - Decide what you want, discover what the customer wants and deliver the vision plus one percent.

Decide what you want: When you decide what you want, you must create a vision of perfection centered on the customer. This is your perception of perfection. You do this by visualizing the entire customer service experience. What does perfection look like? You live out your business fantasy by deciding what you want, and creating a vision of perfection centered on the moment the customer uses the product.

Discover what the customer wants: To find out what your customers' vision is, simply ask them, and listen to what they say and don't say. Understanding your vision allows you to better understand your customers' vision. And if your customers' vision is very different from yours - that is, the gap is too wide, you may have to stop servicing that customer. You cannot be everything to everybody.

Deliver the vision plus one percent: Be consistent - consistently meet expectations. To be consistent you must have systems in place within your organization. Every organization that delivers excellent customer service has systems in place, and a training program to entrench those systems into the heart and soul of the company. These systems are only guidelines, and you have to be flexible enough to alter the guidelines to better serve your customers. Once you are able to deliver consistent service, ongoing improvement is a must. The plus one percent is to keep you moving ahead and focused beyond your vision.

Six Great Ideas
  • All good customer service is a result of nifty systems
  • Constantly strive to improve what you have decided to achieve
  • Most customers have a focus - you have to find that focus and then mine it for information
  • Customers count on you to do what you say you will do
  • You can make big changes in almost anything, or achieve great things in your life by improving or changing by one percent. Things can't help but improve if you keep at it one percent at a time
  • Customers have needs beyond the need of the company's product, whether it comes in a box or is a service. People need to feel like they belong to a group - they need to feel that they are important, and that what they do, think, and say truly matters

I recommend Raving Fans because it's an easy read - it takes less that two hours to digest the information. Suppress your inner critic if you are a logical person and allow the parable to unfold so that you can learn the simple lessons.

Avil Beckford, Chief Invisible Mentor, writer and researcher with over 15 years of experience is the published author of Tales of People Who Get It and its companion workbook Journey to Getting It. Subscribe to the Invisible Mentor Blog http://theinvisiblementor.com for great information to ignite your hidden genius, and explore the Resources page for free white papers and an e-book.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Review-of-Raving-Fans---A-Revolutionary-Approach-to-Customer-Service&id=2914069] Review of Raving Fans - A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service

10 Ultimate Ways to Manifest Happiness


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By Kevin Hufford
Happiness, health and well-being are the “Ultimate Three Aspects of Life” that you need to manifest so that you can experience an awesome life, reality and world.
I would like to share with you 10 WAYS, 10 AFFIRMATIONS and 10 MIND POWER QIGONG breathing exercises that I have done and continue to do and that you can use to set yourself on your road to happiness, health and well-being.
    1. Make a grateful list

    2. Define what happiness means to you
    3. Make meaningful goals
    4. De-clutter
    5. Laugh out loud
    6. Mind power qigong
    7. Meditate
    8. Let more fresh air in
    9. Spend some daytime outside
    10. Spend some nighttime outside
These are 10 excellent ways to begin your journey in the new year but can also serve as your guiding principles to create and manifest happiness, health and well-being on a daily basis throughout the year and beyond.
Happiness has been defined as a long-lasting and enduring enjoyment of life. It is simply really being in love with living. Happiness may be defined differently for you than for others. To me it is a state of being, reward for achieving good character and the pursuit of rational personal values. From my perspective some examples of important values are the positive and valued treatment of others, a creative and productive career, loving family relationships, successful friendships, positive social interactions and having fun things to do.
Health is of course the state of being where you are free from illness and injury. Health depends upon your positive success in each of your three planes of existence – the physical, the mental and the spiritual.
Well-being in popular usage usually relates to health. But, philosophically well-being is a much broader term that amounts to your notion of how well your life is going. The concept of well-being also includes what is “actually,” truly, good for you and not what you may think is good for you. This obviously can vary greatly from person to person.
1. Make a grateful list
Get a pad of paper and a pencil and sit down in a quiet comfortable place. Focus on all the great things that you have and experience in your life that enhance your feelings of joy. Write these on your grateful list and place the list in a convenient location where you can read it each morning and new items to it at the end of the day.
Affirmation 1 – “gratitude is definitely the best way to attract more good things into my life.”
Qigong Exercise 1 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. INHALE, imagine that you are standing outside on a beautiful night with a dark clear sky, stars shining bright everywhere and say to yourself, “gratitude is definitely the best way…” EXHALE, imagine that thousands of fine silvery threads emanate from your solar plexus and each connects to a star in the universe and say to yourself, “…to attract more good things into my life.” REPEAT this for several minutes feeling your connection to the universe, the world and your reality.
2. Define what happiness means to you
Happiness is an attitude, not a physical state. It is a state of being. You need to make the decision to be happy and then go out and create the circumstances and find what makes you happy.
Affirmation 2 – “every atom of my being now resonates with joy and happiness.”
Qigong Exercise 2 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. INHALE, imagine that warmth and happiness shines from you like the sun’s golden rays and it lights up everything around you with positive happy golden energy and say to yourself, “every atom of my being now resonates…” EXHALE, imagine that everything that you lit up now reflects this warmth and happiness back to you and say to yourself, “…with joy and happiness.” REPEAT this for several minutes and with each breath you feel warm and happy inside.
3. Make meaningful goals
You need a sense of purpose to thrive. It has been shown that people with dreams and aspirations are happier than those without. There are many areas of your life where you can create goals. Ask yourself, “What is my purpose in life?” “What do I really want to do in my life?” “What kind of life do I want to create for myself?” These questions will help you define yourself and your goals.
Affirmation 3 – “I focus completely on what I am doing and I am happy and grateful that my goal has been achieved.”
Qigong Exercise 3 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. INHALE, imagine your goal in your mind’s eye, see yourself performing the steps to achieve your goal and say to yourself, “I focus completely on what I am doing…” EXHALE, imagine that you have achieved your goal, create a really clear picture of your success and say to yourself, “…and I am happy and grateful that my goal has been achieved.” Repeat this for several minutes and with each breath sense and feel the joy that completing your goal brings to you.

4. De-clutter
This is a really super concept and if you want a clear mind you need to de-clutter everything about your life. Specifically, and you may not even realize that this is affecting you, but a clean home is a clean mind and you really will feel better in an orderly environment.
Affirmation 4 – “I will not allow the space in my mind to be cluttered by things that add no value to my life.”
Qigong Exercise 4 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. INHALE, imagine the cluttered areas of your home perhaps your cupboards, closets, bookcases, bathroom, kid’s room and say to yourself, “I will not allow the space in my mind to be cluttered…” EXHALE, imagine what your home would look like all weeded out, clean and organized and say to yourself, “…and I have removed the things that do not add value to my life.” Repeat this for several minutes and in the process sense how nice, how fresh your new organized life feels.
5. Laugh out loud
It has been shown through scientific research that laughing releases endorphins and lowers the levels of stress hormones that are circulating in your blood and body. Laughing is good for the soul and we all know how contagious it can be when in the company of friends and relatives.
Affirmation 5 – “I am lightening up, laughing more, playing more, and fully embracing all that’s joyful in life.’
Qigong Exercise 5 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. INHALE, imagine yourself laughing, EXHALE and feel what it is like to be laughing and put a smile on your face. REPEAT this 6 times. Next place your right hand over your heart and gently place your left hand on top of it. INHALE as you press gently inward with both hands toward your heart, EXHALE as you softly vocalize, “haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, ha, ha,ha,ha, haaaaaa” and focus on what you feel under your right hand, feel the stress leaving your body, feeling great.
6. Mind power and qigong
Through the use of mind power coupled with qigong you can create the Balance, Abundance and Flow that is necessary for stress-free living. You can manifest a higher, more positive state of being. Learning to control your breathing through qigong practice helps you manifest positive responses to the stresses, fears and anxieties that crop up during your day. Mindful breathing brings peace and contentment.
Affirmation 6 – “I use my breath and mind to increase my awareness of self.”
Qigong Exercise 6 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. INHALE for a count 1-2-3-4, PAUSE your breath for a count of 1-2, EXHALE for a count of 1-2-3-4, PAUSE your breath for a count of 1-2. Repeat this 6 times. Now, INHALE for a count of 1-2-3-4 while saying to yourself, “I use my breath and mind…” PAUSE for a count of 1-2, EXHALE for a count of 1-2-3-4 while saying to yourself, “…to increase my awareness of self…,” PAUSE for a count of 1-2. REPEAT this 6 times. It is here that you can learn to control your body, mind and spirit.
7. Meditate
Through tons of scientific research, medical studies and according to the Dali Lama meditation not only decreases stress, but also triggers a neurological response that makes you happy.
Affirmation 7 – “focus and clearing my mind produces a healing stillness within me.”
Qigong Exercise 7 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. Focus your eyes on the tip of your nose, INHALE slowly and feel the air as it flows past your nostrils, EXHALE slowly and again feel the air as it flows past your nostrils. REPEAT this 9 times making sure to feel the air as it brushes past your nostrils. INHALE, feel the air and say to yourself, “focus and clearing my mind…” EXHALE, feel the air and say to yourself, “…produces a healing stillness within me.” REPEAT this 9 times. When finished take a moment and reflect on how you are now feeling.
8. Let more fresh air inside
Very often the air inside your place of residence gets stuffy and stagnant. Open a window and let some fresh air in. Fresh air is invigorating and increases the levels of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is a chemical that helps maintain a “happy feeling,” and seems to help keep your mood under control by helping with sleep, calming anxiety, and relieving depression.
Affirmation 8 – “I am grateful for fresh air that comes through my window.”
Qigong Exercise 8 – Sit near your open window where there is fresh air (do not sit directly in the draft and if it is chilly make sure you bundle up warmly), INHALE, expand your mind to feel and smell the fresh air and say to yourself, “I am grateful for the fresh air…” EXHALE and say to yourself, “…that comes through my window.” REPEAT this for 5-10 minutes. Know that the fresh air is good for your health and mental well-being.
9. Spend some daytime outside
The outside, relative to the inside, is considered to be yang. Daytime is yang and therefore energizing. There is nothing like the bright outdoors, the air, the trees, nature and especially the daylight. Take a walk. Just taking a quick walk, even just down the street and back, can clear your mind and raise your mood.
Affirmation 9 – “Taking a walk in the daylight feels great. It gives me energy and lifts my mood.
Qigong Exercise 9 – Take a few abdominal breaths and relax. As you are walking INHALE to a count of your footsteps 1-2-3-4, then EXHALE to the count of your footsteps 1-2-3-4. REPEAT for several cycles until you have this pattern going nicely (adjust your breath or your walking speed if necessary). INHALE 1-2-3-4 while you say to yourself, “Taking a walk in the daylight feels great…” EXHALE 1-2-3-4- while you say to yourself, “…It gives me energy and lifts my mood.” Make sure you smile at the end of each breath and repeat this for your entire walk.
10. Spend some nighttime outside
Nighttime is an awesome time to be outdoors. Compared to daytime it is Yin and thus it can have an immense calming and peaceful effect on your mind and spirit. You might try going stargazing. By looking out at the stars you can experience and really feel the limitless abundance of the Universe. Go out and find a spot relatively free of unnatural light and marvel at the beauty of the night sky and the wonders of the Universe.
Affirmation 10 – “I am being pulled by the infinite field of possibilities, to my true self and the life of my dreams.”
Qigong Exercise 10 – Find a nice place outdoors at night where you can look at the sky with little or no extraneous light. Place your right hand on your abdomen so that your thumb covers your navel, then gently place your left hand on top of it. Breath normally, INHALE slowly, EXHALE slowly, as you imagine yourself surrounded by a blanket of universal energy. REPEAT this for 2 to 5 minutes. INHALE and say to yourself, “I am being pulled by the infinite field of possibilities…” EXHALE and say to your self, “…to my true self and the life of my dreams.” REPEAT this for as long as you like. Enjoy the nighttime knowing that its peaceful Yin energy is soothing your body mind and spirit.
The above 10 ways are really awesome, inexpensive and in fact FREE ways to create and manifest happiness, health and well-being in your life. But, I think that an 11th and very beneficial way to manifest happiness, health and well-being is to share with others. To share with your family and friends by telling them, showing them and experiencing with them what makes you happy. Let them know the things that you are doing. Everyone can learn from each other so share your happiness, your health and your well-being with everyone that you meet. Together we can all move the universe and the world to a higher level of consciousness. Remember – It’s Your health! Create It Now!
Kevin Hufford is a respected qigong master and teaches classes, seminars and instructor certification in upstate New York, the USA and Internationally. He is the founder of a new and revolutionary system called Mind Power Qigong. For more information and to CLAIM YOUR COPY of “It’s Your Health, Create It NOW!” please visit – http://mindpowerqigong.com
Credit: [http://EzineArticles.com/?10-Ultimate-Ways-to-Manifest-Happiness,-Health-and-Well-Being-in-the-New-Year&id=6813401] 10 Ultimate Ways to Manifest Happiness, Health and Well-Being in the New Year

Enthusiasm is The Word For Today H-16


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"The topmost line, divided, shows its subject with darkened mind devoted to the pleasure and satisfaction ( of the time); but if he change his course even when (it may be considered as ) completed, there will be no error."  ~James Legge


Learn More...: "The I Ching and My Calendar": -- And "The Word For Today" -- Make It A Good Day!
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The Secrets of Sugar


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The Secrets of Sugar - the fifth estate

Source: youtube.com