A Mind Muted

A cold evening and somehow the noise has died down. I find my way up to the top of my apartment for no particular reason. The day was good.

The breeze was strong, yet somehow it slowed down, as if in a mark of respect to me it seems to have bowed to me. It's not gushing any more, just flows down gently singing a soothing note and cool just enough to send surprising a chill down me now and again.

There are children playing down there, but they seem distant.. almost in another world. I lie down with my hands behind my head, looking at a sky that somehow seems new. There is a new sky tonight.

My breath slows down, deciding to rest for a while. Its been running hard for over 2 decades now, but the air seems to have put it in a strange trance.. and it seems to lay down beside me.. taking a pause before toiling to keep me alive again...

give me this moment
it seems so much mine
for in this moment
i feel i own time

I close my eyes, the darkness seems lighter today. The perpetual black of the night has a strange hue of a color I don't know of.. there is a spark in the horizon which I don't really see. I felt as if someone was looking over me; a moment passes by and now I feel someone is looking at the world through me and my closed eyes.

Eyes open, I sit up staring at the window of an apartment across the road. I don't realize anything, I can't figure out anything. Resting on my hands stretched behind me I look up at the sky. It is blank, much like my mind and so thoughtless I stare. It seemed as if a heavy mind just lost its weight and floats. A feather with a golden tinge is all I see though it is nowhere near me. I bask in that moment.

I see nothing, I hear nothing.. I think nothing.. yet at that moment I didn't feel no happiness.. of course there was no trace of remorse either, but it wasn't a state of happiness... still I wanted to remain in that state and just as I thought a shy smile spread.. a loud honk below and my eyes open.. I hear the noise below... children laughing and shouting, the birds of the evening chirping flying about with a cheerful disposition to themselves. The thought of happiness ..the smile.. it broke me away from that moment.. I was feeling cheerful now but it wasn't what I was a moment back.. this cheeriness seemed incomplete for its not what I sought...I wanted to be in that moment .. thoughtless and pristine.. I looked around trying to find an answer .. a happy man was looking for something beyond

The moment passed it never came back... and I wonder now is it happiness that we seek in life..

staring at the world
from up above
i saw the impostor
that a smile be

By Maneesh Madambath, who writes similar posts at the quiet little corner of the blogging world called the limitless at http://thelimitless.blogspot.com

Hindu Idealism
Religion In Ancient Greece

Bond

Networking is an important part of any business. You may have the best product or service in the world but if you dont tell, it wont sell. If you dont spend time spreading the word, no-one is going to spend their money in your direction. Especially in the embryonic stages of a business, networking is essential.

You must plant the seed before it can germinate. And there are times when this will seem like a thankless task. But the more you persist in planting, the more possibilities you create. And from possibility shoots opportunity.

You can further strengthen your network by creating bonds. Networking maybe construed as shallow lip-service but when you bond with someone you engender a deeper emotional connection and foster friendship.

You must therefore ask yourself - How can I make such an impression on this person that they will never forget me? Perhaps the way to take an interest in them, your positive demeanor, eye contact, attentive listening, the standards you maintain or the unequivocal quality of your product or service.

Actually, there is a simple, yet powerful five-step process that you should go through each time you meet someone. It is as follows: 1) Go into every interaction with two things (or don't go at all); first a positive attitude, and second, open body language. 2) Be the first to make eye contact (your eyes should reflect your attitude). 3) Smile (I will say it again - be the first to offer a genuine smile, as opposed to a fake one). 4) Hi! That is greet the other person with an authentic and pleasing greeting. 5) The final part of introducing yourself is to lean. For most this is almost imperceptible, but it indicates your interest in the other person.

When you cultivate a bond with people they seldom forget you or your business and, in time, you can expect those small seeds to flourish into wonderful relationships.

You only live once.

Thomas Chalmers is an executive coach. He works with executives, politicians, and entrepreneurs. http://www.idealifeinternational.com

Michael Imani, Ph.D. is a mind/body expert. He also is a facilitator in executive coaching at the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. http://www.michaelimanicoaching.com

John Quincy Adams
Juan Trippe

A Mind Muted

A cold evening and somehow the noise has died down. I find my way up to the top of my apartment for no particular reason. The day was good.

The breeze was strong, yet somehow it slowed down, as if in a mark of respect to me it seems to have bowed to me. It's not gushing any more, just flows down gently singing a soothing note and cool just enough to send surprising a chill down me now and again.

There are children playing down there, but they seem distant.. almost in another world. I lie down with my hands behind my head, looking at a sky that somehow seems new. There is a new sky tonight.

My breath slows down, deciding to rest for a while. Its been running hard for over 2 decades now, but the air seems to have put it in a strange trance.. and it seems to lay down beside me.. taking a pause before toiling to keep me alive again...

give me this moment
it seems so much mine
for in this moment
i feel i own time

I close my eyes, the darkness seems lighter today. The perpetual black of the night has a strange hue of a color I don't know of.. there is a spark in the horizon which I don't really see. I felt as if someone was looking over me; a moment passes by and now I feel someone is looking at the world through me and my closed eyes.

Eyes open, I sit up staring at the window of an apartment across the road. I don't realize anything, I can't figure out anything. Resting on my hands stretched behind me I look up at the sky. It is blank, much like my mind and so thoughtless I stare. It seemed as if a heavy mind just lost its weight and floats. A feather with a golden tinge is all I see though it is nowhere near me. I bask in that moment.

I see nothing, I hear nothing.. I think nothing.. yet at that moment I didn't feel no happiness.. of course there was no trace of remorse either, but it wasn't a state of happiness... still I wanted to remain in that state and just as I thought a shy smile spread.. a loud honk below and my eyes open.. I hear the noise below... children laughing and shouting, the birds of the evening chirping flying about with a cheerful disposition to themselves. The thought of happiness ..the smile.. it broke me away from that moment.. I was feeling cheerful now but it wasn't what I was a moment back.. this cheeriness seemed incomplete for its not what I sought...I wanted to be in that moment .. thoughtless and pristine.. I looked around trying to find an answer .. a happy man was looking for something beyond

The moment passed it never came back... and I wonder now is it happiness that we seek in life..

staring at the world
from up above
i saw the impostor
that a smile be

By Maneesh Madambath, who writes similar posts at the quiet little corner of the blogging world called the limitless at http://thelimitless.blogspot.com

Henry Ford

Bond

Networking is an important part of any business. You may have the best product or service in the world but if you dont tell, it wont sell. If you dont spend time spreading the word, no-one is going to spend their money in your direction. Especially in the embryonic stages of a business, networking is essential.

You must plant the seed before it can germinate. And there are times when this will seem like a thankless task. But the more you persist in planting, the more possibilities you create. And from possibility shoots opportunity.

You can further strengthen your network by creating bonds. Networking maybe construed as shallow lip-service but when you bond with someone you engender a deeper emotional connection and foster friendship.

You must therefore ask yourself - How can I make such an impression on this person that they will never forget me? Perhaps the way to take an interest in them, your positive demeanor, eye contact, attentive listening, the standards you maintain or the unequivocal quality of your product or service.

Actually, there is a simple, yet powerful five-step process that you should go through each time you meet someone. It is as follows: 1) Go into every interaction with two things (or don't go at all); first a positive attitude, and second, open body language. 2) Be the first to make eye contact (your eyes should reflect your attitude). 3) Smile (I will say it again - be the first to offer a genuine smile, as opposed to a fake one). 4) Hi! That is greet the other person with an authentic and pleasing greeting. 5) The final part of introducing yourself is to lean. For most this is almost imperceptible, but it indicates your interest in the other person.

When you cultivate a bond with people they seldom forget you or your business and, in time, you can expect those small seeds to flourish into wonderful relationships.

You only live once.

Thomas Chalmers is an executive coach. He works with executives, politicians, and entrepreneurs. http://www.idealifeinternational.com

Michael Imani, Ph.D. is a mind/body expert. He also is a facilitator in executive coaching at the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. http://www.michaelimanicoaching.com

Michael Berg

Do Love Spells Really Work? If So, How?

There are thousands of books out there teaching people how to cast love spells. But do love spells really work? If so, how? I have extensively reviewed many of the love spells books out there. Most of these spells are designed for one of the following circumstances:

• To attract a generic lover
• To attract a particular person
• To attract a lost love so he/she would return

The spell-casting process involves everything from staring into a picture of the person you want to fall in love with you, and chanting love me love me love me, to carving your wish on a candle and watching it burn down while visualizing your prospective love, to (warning: gross content coming up) sneaking body fluids into the food and/or drink of your prospective lover. There are a million ways to cast a love spell, but Ive found a common element in all of them, without which even the most powerful love spell will fail.

What is this special element? More powerful than black cats bones, more potent than bats wings, this element is Our Hidden Potential.

Deep down, we are really much more powerful than we know. Allow me to let you in on a secret: We Create Our Destiny By What We Think About. (For more information, watch the movie The Secret). The more we visualize something, the more likely it will happen. Visualization is like sending a message out to the universe, which would then re-align itself to give you what you want, even without your knowing HOW to achieve what you want.

Why does nobody love you? Its because deep down inside you dont believe youre attractive. Why did your loved one leave you? You feel insecure and believe s/he would leave you eventually because you dont believe youre worthy of his/her love. The situation youre in may not be this simple, but you get the idea.

The key to getting the person you love to fall in love with you, then, would be to simply close your eyes and visualize that you are already happily together. Feel the joy and happiness, feel the love. See the details: the two of you holding handing, walking on the beach, the wind in your hair, the sand beneath your feet, the whole works. Believe it or not, doing this often enough will make it happen. This is called The Law of Attraction.

But then, does it mean that all those love spells described in the books are bogus?

In one word: NO! Some love spells really work. Many of these spells are designed to help you concentrate your energy and imagination on getting what you want. It may be too boring for you to just sit there, close your eyes, and imagine for a long time, without losing your focus. Believe in yourself and your hidden powers, choose the right love spells, and you WILL make love spells work, and be united with the one you love.

Amy Cheung is a free-lance writer and enjoys writing about a wide variety of interesting topics. For recommendations on Love Spells Products, please visit http://Love-Spells.Thumbsup-Reviews.com

Michael Berg

Top 25 Leadership Quotations

Ponder what it takes to be a true leader with these practical quotes that will lead you to a more precise understanding of the secrets to successful leadership...

1. "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent."
   --Anonymous

2. "No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him."
   --W. H. Auden

3. "Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning."
   --Warren Bennis

4. "No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it."
   -- Andrew Carnegie

5. "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."
   --Rosalynn Carter

6. "Perhaps the most central characteristic of authentic leadership is the relinquishing of the impulse to dominate others."
   --David Cooper

7. "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality."
   -- Max DePree

8. "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
   --Dwight D. Eisenhower

9. "A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. A boss is interested in himself or herself, a leader is interested in the group."
   --Russell H. Ewing

10. "Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. "
    -- Harold Geneen

11. "One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency."
    --Arnold Glasow

12. "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership. "
    -- John Kenneth Galbraith

13. "The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet."
    --Theodore Hesburgh

14. "The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on... The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully."
    --Walter Lippmann

15. "Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve."
    --Tom Landry

16. "Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them."
    --John Maxwell

17. "The real leader has no need to lead-- he is content to point the way."
    -- Henry Miller

18. "The leader must know, most know that he knows, and must be able to make it abundantly clear to those about him that he knows."
    --Clarence B. Randall

19. "The person who know "how" will always have job. The person who knows "why" will always be his boss."
    --Diane Ravitch

20. "A true leader is hated by most, and respected by all. A follower is liked by all, and respected by none."
    --Scott Smigler

21. "Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word."
    --Brian Tracey

22. "You know what makes leadership? It is the ability to get men to do what they don't want to do and like it."
    --Harry S. Truman

23. "Leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It is a process ordinary people use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others."
    --Unknown

24. "Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself."
    --Thomas J. Watson

25. "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."
    --Sam Walton

Resource Box - Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

Bodhi

Managing Time and Activities

The mechanics and techniques for managing your time and activities are very simple and well known.

A good book to review the tools and techniques of time and activity management is 'Building Personal Leadership: Inspirational Tools and Techniques for Work and Life'.

What is not so simple are the underlying beliefs, attitudes, and motivations of different types of individuals as they learn to use these tools and techniques.

People manage their time and activities in two very different ways according to Myers-Briggs Personality Type differences. One type of person plans far ahead, starts early, works methodically, is systematic in their actions, and completes tasks quickly.

The other type of person responds spontaneously to work, waits until the last minute to start good jobs , is open to change, and lives more in the moment. That's a big difference!

The person who plans ahead will naturally gravitate towards learning and using systematic and productive time management tools and techniques.

The way they think is in alignment with good time and activity management. They find little resistance to learning and using tools and techniques to increase their productivity and effectiveness. Their motivation may be simply a goal to be achieved and by golly, it is going to be done and done early.

The person who lives in the moment and responds spontaneously to work demands has a greater challenge in learning systematic time and activity management tools and techniques.

Their beliefs support being flexible, not tied to a schedule, responding to present demands, going with the flow, and burning the midnight oil to meet deadlines. Their attitudes are aligned with "wait and see," because assignments could change and so action now could be wasted. Motivation comes from time pressure to meet deadlines of the work that they must do or in work that appeals to their natural preferences.

The easiest solution to great time and activity management for either type is to find work where their natural beliefs, attitudes, and motivations may be best utilized. However, with great energy expenditure, discipline, and desire, the spontaneous person can develop competencies in planning, starting early, working methodically, and becoming systematic in their work. And the natural planner can develop their personality type by learning to become more spontaneous and adaptable to change.

Knowing these differences, both types of individuals and their supervisors can match the work to the personality and support both individuals in developing more effective and productive methods of managing their time and activities.

Remember, one type will find it easy and one type will find it more energy draining and difficult.

Neither way of working and living in the world is right or wrong. Both have their contribution to work and life.

Best wishes in helping people of all types find where they can contribute their best.

Joe Farcht is the founder and president of Leadership Advantage, Inc. His purpose for living is to develop and coach leaders, executives, managers, and supervisors to new levels of performance and success in their work and life. He is the author of the book Building Personal Leadership: Inspirational Tools & Techniques for Work & Life. Learn more at Leadership Advantage, Inc Please contact Joe at joefarcht@cox.net or at 602 996-1802.

Benjamin Franklin