Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

The One Great Sermon That Got Away

Most people don't realize ministers are obligated to prepare and preach one great sermon in their career. In looking over my record of sermons, I noticed many "good" sermons, but an obvious lack in the list of a single "great" sermon.Perusing my list brought back some marvelous memories. I smiled as I remembered each sermon and where I preached it. Of course, I'm at that stage of life where the. . .

Wow!

Do you ever have “wow” moments? You know, those times when your little brain just lights up and sort of quivers from something you’ve just seen or heard or thought about? I seem to do that a lot. I don’t know why. I just do. And it feels good.Like this morning. I was sitting on the couch enjoying my second cup of coffee (it usually takes at least two cups before I can even consider being semi-f. . .

Five Steps to Creating a "Goal" Medal Life

The 2004 Olympics just ended in August. As always, it was an exciting event with its dramatic twists and turns, exhilarations, surprises, and disappointments as these great athletes performed at their peak in front of millions, if not billions, of fans for the glory of representing their country and possibly receiving a gold medal. You, too, can experience the same excitement in your life. What. . .

Misery Can Eat You Alive

This is a true story about a woman I worked with for several years. I'm sure we all know at least one person who cannot find a good thing to say about anything or anyone. Your typical "miserable" person who could have $10 million handed to her and would complain that it wasn't $10 million and $1.This was such a person. The sky would be blue, the temperature warm and the flowers in full bloom. S. . .

Bite Your Tongue! 10 Ways to Be an Effective Listener

Have you ever spoken to someone and then felt the need to say, “Did you hear what I just said?” Why did you feel the need to ask? Probably because the listener didn’t provide you with the feedback you needed to know you were heard. Listening is the most important, yet often most neglected, communication skill. In fact, the ability to listen is often rated one of the top five abilities employers. . .

Pigs Don't Sing

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig. – Mark TwainWonderful analogy to prove a powerful point … don’t push yourself to be or do something you are not and don’t push someone else to go against his or her natural configuration.The end result will be frustration, annoyance and disappointment.Have you ever tried to be someone or something you were not? How d. . .

Relationships: Too Easy To Leave

Katheryn and Mathew, both in their 50’s, have been together for two years. Both have been previously married and divorced. When they met, they fell madly in love, which lasted for a few months. Then the conflicts started.Both Katheryn and Mathew left their marriages because they were with partners who were completely unwilling to open to learning regarding the conflicts. Both Katheryn and Mathe. . .

Time For Connection

Gretta and David fell deeply in love in their mid 50’s. They were both astounded at the level of passion they experienced. At the beginning of their relationship, nothing got in the way of their time together - not chores, children, work, friends, or “stuff”. Nothing was more important than their time together.However, when they got married and started living together, their passion seemed to f. . .

Ten Ways To Make Peace With The Past And Create A New Future

Everyone comes into life with a purpose. You are a unique expression of the universal life force at the foundation of your physical form. Spirit guides you from the moment your life begins, and the people and events of your life reflect your spirit's journey. No one else ever has or will affect the world as you do. With every act, word or thought, you are adding to All-That-Is. Your family is y. . .

It Ain't Yours Until You Buy Into the Real Job Search!

What does this title really mean? Here's my definition as the writer of this article. 1. If you, job seeker, don't know yourself well, then you are fooling yourself. You can't buy something if you don't know how much money to spend or what you want to buy. 2. You, job seeker, needs to have reasonable job goals. If you don't have any, you'll fool yourself again, and take whatever is offered to y. . .

Telling the Truth…or Not

Having counseled individuals, couples, families and business partners for the past 35 years, I have often encountered people struggling in their relationships about whether or not to tell their truth to someone important to them. Deciding whether or not we choose to speak our truth needs to come from our own honesty with ourselves about why we are speaking the truth. Truth can enhance or destro. . .

4 Amazing Tips To Successfully Persuade Anyone

Having excellent persuasion skills is one of the most important abilities to possess in today's fast-paced world. We need the support and cooperation of other people to help us in reaching our goals. The saying "No man is an island" is an undeniable truth. Here are some hot tips to effectively influence and persuade anyone you desire. 1) Enter their world. You must understand the situation acco. . .

The Joy of Spirit

I have counseled individuals, couples, families and business partners for the past 35 years and authored eight published books. All this experience has resulted in the development of a profound healing process, called Inner Bonding, which anyone can learn and use throughout the day (free course available - see resource box at the end of the article). One of the results of practicing the Inner B. . .

The Fear of Feeling

We desire to find the path to peace, joy and freedom. We strive to feel lovable, worthy and secure. We know that if we do our inner work and open to our connection with Spirit, we will feel all of that. Yet we don't. We put it off for days or weeks. We stay stuck in our misery or numbness. Why? What are we so afraid of if we open to learning about loving?I have searched for many years for the a. . .

Tug of War

Opportunity knocks on your door. How do you respond? The voices you hear in your head will probably play a major part in your decision on whether to open the door or not. If they are encouraging and uplifting, thrilled that you are finally being recognized for this venture, and already tossing out ideas for making it a delightful experience, you will probably open the door with enthusiasm and d. . .

Ideas Can Be Life Changing

"Ideas can be life changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea." --Jim Rohn {American Business Philosopher, Author & Speaker}Where are you when you get an idea? Are you driving in your car? Lying in bed? Shampooing your hair in the shower? Are you in a brainstorming session with co-workers or are you coloring with your small child?Ideas can be life changing. Wh. . .

Go for it! GLOW for it!

I met Kristen several years ago when she visited my Toastmasters club. She was quiet, shy, and not sure that joining an organization focused on developing public speaking skills was something she could do. But she knew this skill would be useful for both her career and personal life, so she joined.Kristen was nervous and shaky when she gave her first speech. But I saw the sparkle in her eyes an. . .

Five Benefits of Daily Decluttering

"You will achieve grand dreams, a day at a time, so set goals for each day—not long and difficult projects, but chores that will take you, step by step, toward your rainbow. Write them down, if you must, but limit your list so that you won't have to drag today's undone matters into tomorrow. Remember that you cannot build your pyramid in twenty-four hours. Be patient. Never allow your day to be. . .

Dating Site review: eHarmony

Many of the better dating sites include some advanced personality matching, but none of them come close to eHarmony’s commitment to matching. You’ve heard the ads by Dr. Neil Clark Warren...”There’s a reason why singles who meet on eHarmony.com are falling in love and getting married.” So how did Dr. Neil Clark Warren become an expert icebreaker? A singles and married couples counselor, his. . .

How To Choose The Right Goals To Focus On

Sometimes setting goals alone is not the only problem that you must face. Sometimes, choosing the right goals to begin with is harder. Basically, you can choose to work any goal that you feel is necessary for your health, stability and happiness.Goal setting is nothing more than a formal process for personal planning. By setting goals on a routine basis you decide what you want to achieve, and . . .

Are you able to say both "Yes!" and "No!"?

I hear from many people that they see ever increasing expressions of anger in their everyday life. Understanding the process of anger is an important topic for all of us to take a closer look at.If you take the time to delve deeper into your own anger, or resentment, you will often find that you are seriously limiting your ability to feel and express the full range of your emotions. In the proc. . .

Do You Need to Have a High IQ to Be a Success?

You have probably heard the term “IQ” many times, and you probably know it has something to do with measuring intelligence. The letters “IQ” stand for “intelligence quotient”, and an IQ test is widely used as a way to measure intelligence.The test most frequently used today to measure intelligence is called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. The earliest version of it was developed in Fran. . .

How To Analyze a Dream

There are many theories as to what 'dreams' are. Doorways to the subconscious, glimpses into the spirit realm, or visions of the future - at one point or another we all probably subscribe to one or more of these theories. Personally, I believe that dreams are the ways in which our subconscious minds attempt to show the conscious that the cold hard view of the world we see while awake is not the. . .

Ten Steps to Self-Confidence

Self-confidence-like being rich – it is something we think everyone else is but us. Yet feeling insecure about ourselves is perhaps the most common problems of humanity. The majority of people in society think, “You have to be born with it.” This is not true. You can learn how to be confident, just like learning how to cook or drive a car. Self-confidence all boils down to how we feel about our. . .

Being Healthy Is More than Being Physically Fit

Keeping a yourself healthy emotionally, physically, and spiritually will help you build develop a happy, productive life. Studies were done and it was found that people who volunteer, go to church, or belong to a club are more likely to have better health than people who don't engage in social activities on a routine basis. Complete health is not just achieved by eating right, exercising and . . .

Make Fear a Nine Day Wonder - Motivate Yourself with Fun!

Have you heard something referred to as a "nine day wonder"? The phrase refers to something that causes a sensation for a brief period of time and then fades into obscurity. The origin of this phrase is usually tied to the nine-day reign of Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) as Queen of England. This reluctant queen met an untimely fate. More on that later...I added a new Fun Commandment recently to ad. . .

How to Get Through A Bad Day

No matter how hard we try to make them otherwise, some days are just awful. They start off bad, they never get any better, and they end on a low and sometimes even gloomier note. These days befuddle your mind, waste your finite resources and throw your calendar off. Some people call the state of mind accompanying this day ‘depression’ or are content to simply think of it as ‘having a bad day. . .

Be a Person of Integrity

Integrity is one of the great aspect of personality which has drastic impact on mind & has a direct effect on traits. But why it is fruitful & resultant one to become a person of integrity? it is because, Person of integrity can only makes own unique & awesome identity with difference. Lets elaborate it, Integrity is a real-time genuine value, like persistence, courage and intensity. Even more . . .

How to Command the Respect of Your Team

When I was a child my father would take me ice fishing with him and his buddies. I remember very clearly the first time he took me out on the ice. I was so excited to be included in his fishing trip that I couldn’t sleep the entire night prior. So at 4:00am when my father came into the room to wake me, he was a little surprised to find me wide eyed and full of energy. When we got out onto the f. . .

Learn How to Boost Your Self-Esteem

Building self esteem is a first step towards a happy, healthy and productive life. Yet having low self-esteem is perhaps the most common flaw of our humanity. Having self-, esteem will help build your confidence. If you have self-confidence, you will feel a self-worth and respect yourself as a person. If you respect yourself you can respect others, improve your life by improving your relationsh. . .

Follow Your Bliss...Or, Safe, Smart Career Change?

Hello Fellow Seekers!I don’t know about you… but I’m pretty tired of hearing about how you can “follow your dream” in three or four easy steps. I’ve seen plenty of people leap before they sufficiently looked --and end up dissatisfied or broke, or both. I’ve also had clients come to me after reading a hot, new book or attending a workshop. And they still can’t figure out what it is they want to . . .

Avoid Stress By Being Yourself

Ask a hundred different people how to deal with stress and you'll probably get the same amount of different answers....Which could result in more stress....And therein lies the key.Stress is often caused by too much information coming from too many places.There is more information in one daily newspaper than a person would have received in their whole lifetime a few centuries ago. And that's wi. . .

Follow These Feng Shui Tips And Sleep Better

If you are having problems at the time of falling asleep or you simply wish to improve your sleeping, you should follow the feng shui tips we will detail in the next lines and let this ancient Chinese wisdom help you. It is very important that we pay attention to our sleep due to the fact that it affects all the activities we do during the day as well as it has a direct impact on our health.Fir. . .

Achieving Your Goals

You may or may not have a set of written goals. If you do not, then I strongly urge you to make a written set of goals and clarify what you want to achieve. Whatever the case, you may be struggling with achieving your goals in life. In this article, you will learn some techniques for achieving your goals.Think of a time in your life when you achieved something you really wanted. Did you doubt i. . .

The Art of Keeping a Journal

Journal keeping is basically without rules. It is an uncensored invitation to cut & paste, sketch & chart, and to visualize and unravel every great and small thought. At its most basic it is a decision that your life has value.Just listing your experiences and endeavors can reveal incredible things and encourage you to work for the nearly impossible, the rigorous, and the unseen. Recently, duri. . .

Drop The Negations

What really binds us to any negative emotional state in which we find ourselves suffering is this: choice.Freedom from negative behavior and thoughts must begin with your recognition that you are voluntarily serving that which puts your own emotional and spiritual peace at risk. Notice the use of the word voluntarily. You voluntarily choose to serve that which diminishes your own well-being and. . .

The Need To Be Successful

The need to be successful. This is the bottom line for us all. Deep down we all, you and me, want to be successful. This is why we are attracted to the various ‘get rich quick’ schemes that appear on the internet and in the newspapers. We are searching for success. This is what drives us beyond our limits. The need to be successful. When we are breaking our necks to reach the top it is the need. . .

Ten Major Causes Of Failure

-Lack of a specific purpose in life. You can not hope to succeed in any field of your life if you don’t have a central purpose. If you don’t have a definite goal in your life then you will jump from one activity to another with no success. Almost 97% of people think and act this way. That’s why successful people, who have a clear goal in their life, are very few.-Lack of education. Most of the . . .

Muraqaba-The Sufi Meditation

When we try to learn a new skill or try to gain knowledge about a specific subject, we follow a guideline or a system, which demands that we pay attention to the subject to fully understand it. Our mind becomes curious to know the where, how and what of it. When we pay attention to the minor details, that minor point itself gains value. However, when we ignore the most important part and do not. . .

Change Is Like A Pair of Shows

Change is something we all go through all the time, though we may not realise it. We cannot actually see change happening, we just see the results of change. Sometimes change is easy, other times it is a long and torturous process. How difficult change is depends a lot on your attitude towards it and your resistance to it. You attitude to change can itself change, and make the whole transformat. . .

26 Principals of Life

1. All Are Related: There is a Native American saying, which translates roughly to "All are Related". Everything in the universe is part of The Great Spirit, from a rock, to a plant, to a fish, to a human. The spirit flows between and within us all, and is the building block of everything. Since we are all part of the same whole, we should treat the rest of the whole as if it is part of us, i.e. . .

Releasing Relationship Pain

Often times when a relationship ends there are things left unsaid and questions left unanswered. Through the use of this technique you can resolve these issues and allow yourself to move on and let go of the past. This technique can also be used with those that are now deceased. Sit yourself in a quiet space where you will not be disturbed. Ideally have an empty chair or seat opposite you. Clos. . .

6 Great Ways To Improve Your Social Skills

If you are looking for a way to improve your social skills, there are many resources available that will assist you in refining your social skills and improving the way you communicate with others. It's not only possible to learn how to improve your social skills; it's easier than you think. Imagine how much simpler your life would be if you could rid yourself of nagging self-doubt and have con. . .

Mindfulness and Panic: Ask Your Anxiety

Panic. Heart racing. Palms sweating. Breathing rapid and shallow. Mouth dry. Knees knocking. Whether it's a pop quiz, a job interview, a spider, an impromptu speech, a crowded elevator, a dirty restroom, the view from a cliff, a shot at the clinic, a flight across the ocean, a first kiss, or a trip to a crowded shopping center, we all have something that fills us with panic. In severe cases, we. . .

The Council of Advisors

Have you ever thought that it would be nice to get advice from some of the worlds greatest minds? What if Leonardo Da Vinci could advise you on inventing, or Michaelangelo could advise you on art, or Warren Buffet on finances, or Bill Gates on business success?They can very easily! Through a radical technique called the Council Of Advisors?Firstly, think of a few people who you would like to ha. . .

The Language of Confidence

The language we use programs our brains. Mastering our language gives us a great degree of mastery over our lives and our destinies. It is important to use language in the best way possible in order to dramatically improve your quality of life.Even the smallest of words can have the deepest effect on our sub-conscious mind. It is like a child, it doesn’t really understand the difference between. . .

Manifestation

For each of us, the universe is different. A homeless man may view the universe as unfair, hard and tough. A rich man may view the universe as a lovely place full of luxury and pleasure. Both of them are viewing the same universe, it is just different because of their perceptions of it and their life experiences. This is a fundamental key to understanding, to know that how you perceive the univ. . .

Finding Your Ideal Career

In the current climate, many people are looking away from the traditional job market towards working for themselves. The massive redundancies and job-insecurity has caused many people to radically rethink their career plans. With the ever rising cost of living, many would be happy just earning extra money to support their family and to pay the bills.In this article, you will discover what you r. . .

It Takes All of Its Parts to Make a Car!

An automobile is a collection of parts that work together in order to accomplish controlled movement. The Earth is a collection of entities that work together to accomplish controlled creation. All of the parts of an automobile serve a useful function. For instance, the headlights provide illuminating guidance during dark passages and although they are in the back, the taillights, by bringing u. . .

Step-By-Step Guide to Manifest Your Desires

I have been talking about manifestation for a long time. My intention is to make people be aware of the unlimited power they have been given since the moment they were born and hopefully I can help to awaken their inner potential to get them connected back to the source of creation. What I believe is that how much success, happiness and fulfillment you experience in life is exactly proportional. . .