Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

What To Do When You're Short On Time And Long On Need!

Everyday life can present us with opportunities to make us squirm. Countless numbers of tasks that we are juggling can cause dead lines to make that big swishing sound as they go flying by us. So, the next time you find yourself short on time and long on need, don't take a long walk off a short pier. Try this instead.That's The Way The Ball Bounces!Have you ever wondered why? Words! Yep, that's. . .

Looking At Time With A Capital T

I keep a fossil on my desk at all times. Whenever I feel rushed or find myself creating a sense of urgency, I pick up the fossil and caress its polished surface. It's over 200 million years old. Suddenly, returning that phone call or meeting that self-imposed deadline doesn't seem nearly as critical. My ancient arthropod reminds me that, in the scheme of things, this moment is indescribably i. . .

Creating the Best Year of Your Life

At the end of each year, and on their birthdays, many people take time to reflect and look ahead. If you're one of these people, or if you would like to start getting the benefits from a little self reflection, then I have some great questions for you. These questions can be looked at once a year, once a month or whenever you're looking for some direction in your life. I invite you to take a go. . .

Memory Markers

If you are like most people, you will eventually forget an important engagement, a special meeting or a to-do that you thought of while you were in the shower. The question is, “How can you keep from forgetting those necessary items without drastically changing your lifestyle?” I really feel foolish when I leave my house of a morning, get to the office and realize that I have forgotten somethin. . .

How To Party Like Leonardo Da Vinci

After studying scores of great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci, I think I've stumbled upon what really set them apart from the rest of the folks living (and thinking) at the same time. It's remarkably simple. They learned how to entertain a thought. Aristotle said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Hmmm. To entertain a thought witho. . .

The Information Age

Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 1, 2003My sister and I are very close, and we don't keep things from one another. Recently she shared with me concerns about her sex life, or lack thereof. She feels like there is something wrong with her because her husband is not attracted to her. They have been married 15 years.A couple of weeks ago I was on the Internet and highlighted my . . .

Five Great Ideas From Aristotle

It was Socrates who said that the purpose of philosophy is to help each of us become “an excellent human”. That seems like a respectable and reasonable big-picture goal for every person on the planet. But what about the specifics? How do we become excellent humans? How can we use philosophy in our everyday lives to help us succeed in this most important goal as homo sapiens? The surprising thin. . .

Would Socrates Be A Celebrity Today?

Last week, as I was standing in the checkout line of my local grocery store, I found myself staring at the dozen or so magazines on display. As I gazed upon the various photos and headlines praising or trashing the celebrity du jour, I got to thinking. What kind of celebrity would Socrates be if he were alive today? How would we treat him? In what way would he ask his questions in the 21st . . .

How To Be a Champion in Your Life

Are you left with inspiration but no action after hearing, reading, and watching stories about other people who are successful? If so, you're not alone. I've got a question for you: Why watch Oprah when you can be on Oprah instead? Don't you see different guests on her show every day? They're people just like you. They didn't start out on Oprah, they ended up there and it wasn't by luck either.. . .

How Poor Are You!

Do you want to know your poverty graph? You are poor if you: - do not have a firm commitment with yourself to succeed - do no set goals and follow them through - do not put your best efforts at work - do not keep yourself updated on new information and technologies - do not adopt a positive attitude and get rid of negative thinking - are not strong enough to accept the challenges of day-to-day . . .

Your True Talent Will Set You Free

When you get home from work, do you feel enriched, fulfilled and empowered? Or does it seem like you just finished an uphill battle on a treadmill? Imagine being paid to do what you love. You could return home feeling as though time stood still. Being "in the zone" virtually all day. Coming home invigorated knowing you consistently live a natural high. If this doesn't describe your day, then tr. . .

Stress Strategy: Flex Your Spiritual Muscles

In his book, Stress Without Distress, Dr. Selye suggests that a person’s interpretation of stress is not dependent solely on an external event, but also depends upon the perception of the event and the meaning he or she assigns it. So, how you look at a situation determines if you will respond to it as threatening or challenging. It has been discovered that the mind is responsible for the prob. . .

An Easy Way to End The Year

As a healthy business owner or independent professional, how do you end your year? Well, I tell my clients to stop working. That's right, stop working. The kind of work I'm talking about is the work of getting new business. There is no new business in the dark days of winter, just the clean up of old business. If you have clients that must spend in order to deduct prior to years’ end, go to it. . .

21 Secrets of Self Made Millionaires

Self-Made Millionaires are not smarter or better than you. They have just discovered these secrets and used them to become wealthy. You can do it too. (1) DREAM BIG DREAMS. Thinking Big will change your life. For a crash course on this read "The Magic of Thinking Big." (2) CREATE A SPECIFIC PICTURE OF WHERE YOU'RE GOING. The more specific you are the more likely you are to get there. (3) THINK . . .

Your Mindset Determines Your Success in Life

To keep at the top of your game you have to keep a clear head. You can't afford to fill up on news and negativity. The world's overflowin' with it and the only way to be a winner is to be in control of your thoughts. Your thoughts become words, your words become actions and your actions become your destiny. Someone else came up with that, but I've always remembered it because it's true. Our act. . .

Home For The Holidays

Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 8, 2003In my husband's family, family members send Christmas cards to other family members (parents to children, brothers and sisters to one another, etc.) even though the family always spends time together at Christmas for a meal and gift exchange.My husband and I do not know of any other family that does this. We both always understood Christm. . .

Why We Chose The Person We Love

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -- George Santayana “Why do I always wind up with the wrong person? I want someone who is kind, loving, reliable and open. Yet my relationships are always with men who are angry, hostile, emotionally unavailable and cannot keep a job.” “I want a woman who is emotionally stable and independent, but I always wind up with women . . .

Management From Within

Inspiration and Management from Within – Part 2.The more you follow the path of exploration into the mystery of life, the more life becomes revealed to you. Life begins to express its secret, its nature. What is required of us, for deeper understanding, is a commitment to follow earnestly the laws of life into self discovery. Few things have greater impact on the world, than the study of human . . .

8 Steps to Oranizing Your Life & Business

Your life is a mess!Your business is going nowhere!Your house looks like a tornado hit it!Does this sound familiar? Are you overwhelmed? Do you feel like your life and business are out of control and going nowhere?Well, if you do, you are not alone. Believe me, we all get this feeling at one time or another - maybe more often. There ARE ways of taking control and getting organized!!Step 1ST. . .

Are You A Victim Of FABS? Part 2

When you have a case of FABS, it may be hard to eradicate, but it is far from impossible. Fear, Anger, Blame and Shame may be different emotions, but they can all be gotten rid of in the same ways:First and foremost, it is very important to learn to LIVE IN THE MOMENT! The past is over and done with, and can never be changed, no matter how much we wish that it could. I remember watching a TV. . .

Impaired Judgment

Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 23, 2002My husband has a twofold addiction problem, drinking and drugs. In the six years we have been married, he has had periods of sobriety, but they don't ever last. I feel he has not confronted the underlying problem: he was molested as a child by a family member. He is currently in jail due to getting drunk and hitting a police car. Bef. . .

Reality Check

Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 16, 2002Two years ago I made the greatest mistake of my life. I started dating a coworker. She is this beautiful young girl that totally captivated my world when I met her.As time went by I realized we have almost nothing in common, including music, food, sports, movies, and outdoor activities, to name just a few. Worst of all, there is no pa. . .

Care And Maintenance Of The Human Hard Drive

The human brain is very much like a hard drive. If you stop to think of it, they are both filled with billions of tiny bits of information, stored in the memory cells just waiting to be accessed. They both use electrical energy to find those bits and put them together to recreate something that we have placed there. They work on demand, and we expect them to instantly give us what we want.An. . .

Magic of Goal Manifestation

What goals do you have for your life? If you have goals, is it just in your head? Or do you have a methodology to manifest them? A systematic process to think of anything you want, and ultimately acquire it. Sounds like magic, doesn’t it? That is because by using a process, the results are so effective that it seems like something out of a fantastic anecdote. For the beginner, I recommend the f. . .

Are You A Victim Of FABS? Part One

Have you heard of the FABS? The FABS are quadruplets; they are not identical but they are very, very similar! The FABS are: Fear, Anger, Blame and Shame. This quartet love to arrive, uninvited, at people's houses and literally stay forever. They will certainly stay as long as you allow them to; they never seem to get tired of hanging around and causing troubles for the unsuspecting host.Th. . .

Embracing Your Wildness

As small children, we were all wild. Not unlike the wolf pup in the den, we ran when we felt like it, sniffed or tasted things to see what they were, yelled when the mood struck us and danced at the drop of a hat. We loved to dig in the earth, heave a rock into a pool, roll and tumble on the ground and run naked whenever we could. We loved ourselves and we loved our bodies. We knew no fear.. . .

Mitigating Factors

Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 30, 2002I am writing for advice on a personal dilemma of the most personal nature. I am male, mid-40s, married 20 years.After all these years, I still long to make love to my wife two or three times per week, while she seems to prefer two or three times per year, if ever. Best I can tell, she no longer enjoys making love whatsoever and hasn't . . .

The Need for a Belief System ... a system of organization...

I've spoken with many people who, over time, have felt inundated by their lives. It seems as though they've accumulated all of these memories and experiences, but the information seems jumbled and overwhelming. This pile of 'mind junk' keeps getting in their way whenever they attempt to move forward in life. It's as if they feel that they have to deal with each and every disassociated memory. . .

Affirm-Actions ... Stop lying to your soul and make it real!

I hear of so many people using affirmations as the universal remedy for everything that ails them. They wake up in the morning and verbalize their affirmations. They go through their days verbalizing positive statements about situations and their lives. Then, they go to bed saying their affirmations like bed-time prayers. I tried reciting affirmations for a while, but never quite understood. . .

Breaking Your Relationship Pattern, Part 4

Finally, after all of the hard work you have done completing your past, here is a way to break your relationship pattern.Relationship choices are often based on patterns created in our childhood. These patterns are automatic and subliminal. We believe ours is the way relationships ought to be. There is no problem having a pattern that leads you to loving, satisfying, long-term relationships. Ho. . .

Reclaiming Our Resilient Spirit

Our spirits are taking a beating. The daily barrage of bad news, violence, shrinking resources, global warming, and economic slowdown can put us in a state of frustration and paralysis. Some days, getting out of bed can be a challenge. Within the word "resilience" are actions we can take to reclaim our bounce-back ability. R: Remember to breathe. The ability to calm down is critical in order. . .

Community after Tragedy

One Friday in November, I began a journey from New Jersey to downtown New York City to visit old work friends. It was my first visit since the tragic September 11th attack. Although I've traveled this same route--the commuter train to the Hoboken station from 1996-2000--there were now, of course, changes in the environment when I got to Hoboken. For one thing, it was the first time I had to ask. . .

It Only Takes a Spark ... Pass It On

Great inspiring people have influenced people in every area of life throughout centuries. Henry David Thoreau, the great 19th century transcendentalist writer, was influenced by the great Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau was the impetus for Ghandi's and Martin Luther King Jr's civil disobedience, which ultimately changed the shape of the world for a better humanity. Socrates taught Plato who taught. . .

Discovering Opportunity in Times of Challenge

You may be facing a type of disappointment, frustration, loss, or general sadness. It is in these times you can immediately begin to search for the counterbalancing positive to it. This is a flawless universal law: An opposite condition must emerge to offset the initial condition. Emerson referred to it as the "Law of Compensation". In some degree, the equilibrium of the universe if a. . .

The Importance of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the most important holiday of the year.Oh, sure, Christmas is grand, and I know it has many, many fans. I'm not knocking Christmas, but Thanksgiving is more important. And Easter has its fans, too. Rebirth is a wonderful thing, but I still say Thanksgiving is more important. Yes, the kids might put in a good word for Halloween. I am sure they enjoy the costumes and the suga. . .

Two Drops Of Water

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 17, 2002 My problem is that I am falling in love. My friend and I are both 23. He lives in the United States, seven hours away from where I live in Canada. Just yesterday I came back from seeing him again. I always have such a wonderful time, but this time on the trip home I started missing him as if a part of myself was also missing. It was such a s. . .

A Teller Of Tales

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 10, 2002 I told my daughter I didn't think my daughter-in-law paid enough attention to her oldest son, 8. He has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is on Ritalin, and lately has been kicking and hitting little kids. My daughter and I had a falling out, and she told my daughter-in-law what I said. My daughter-in-law was furious. I tried to expl. . .

Be Your Own Best Friend

What does being a "best friend" mean to you? I imagine that just about everyone is or has been a best friend to someone in their lives. I encourage you to take some time and examine what being someone's best friend really means.Usually, a best friend is supportive of you when you need it. If they disagree with something that you are doing, they are honest about it without being judgmental wi. . .

Product Testing

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 24, 2002 I suppose there are worse problems than having two men who want to share their life with me. However, it is a genuine problem. I do need advice on sorting this all out. My former husband and I wanted a baby and soon had one. The problems in our marriage stemmed from two teenage daughters from his first marriage. Their mom jumped ship after 1. . .

Worth Waiting For

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 22, 2002 I am a 31-year-old virgin male. At times I feel sexually frustrated because I've never been intimate with a woman. The only experience I ever had was a nice French kiss in high school. I'm overweight and don't see myself as being worthy of a relationship as I am. But after years of neglect and ignoring myself, I am now making changes to my h. . .

A Perverse Confidante

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 15, 2002 Dad passed away years ago and Mom lives alone. She is still young and healthy, yet she always plays the victim. I am in my 30s and divorced. Our relationship has always been based on a maternal dictatorship. Even as an adult daughter I cannot approach my mother because her idea of advice is an order. Since she makes life miserable, I withhol. . .

Repeat Offender

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 8, 2002 I am a 26-year-old escort, in the business on and off since I was 14. I have a tendency to get involved in very bad relationships. The men I go out with are usually abusive with substance abuse problems, and generally I end up supporting them. I don't have many friends because it seems people only deal with me because they are trying to use m. . .

Buyer's Remorse

Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 29, 2002 A few months after my divorce I started seeing a friend of my ex-wife. She told me I really needed a person that would appreciate me. We had a great sex life, and she told me anytime was fine. I told her I never heard that before, but she said she was different. After a year she asked when we were going to buy a house. I said, "If you want t. . .

Nine Lives

Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 2, 2002My husband of four years has been arrested for the fourth time for hurting me. This time he strangled me. I always go back with him. He is in jail now with no money to post for his own bail. I thought I loved him, but lately I can't stand his behind. He is unemployed and so possessive it's hard for me to breathe sometimes. He follows me f. . .

Breaking Your Relationship Pattern, Part 1

When you were little, you looked up to your parents. You imitated their mannerisms, words, and actions as you learned about life by watching them. This applies to relationships as well - you leaned about relationships by watching them.Not all you learned about relationships came from your parents; your learning has continued throughout your life. But what you saw your parents do in relationship. . .

Ten Benefits of Having a Relationship Coach

As a Master Certified Relationship Coach, I work with singles to help them attract a great match and with couples to help put their relationships back on track. I hear great feedback from my clients about the value of coaching.I think everyone can benefit from having a coach -- coaching can contribute that much to your life. Which is why you may be interested in seeing what some of my clients h. . .

Breaking Your Relationship Pattern, Part 3

Do you want to put to rest the people and situations from your past so they do not interfere with your current and future relationships?I bet you said yes. Who doesn't have something in their past they want to put to rest? Then let's talk about what action steps you can take to create the absence of past -- or completion -- in your life. Below are a series of action steps. You'll want to pick a. . .

Breaking Your Relationship Pattern, Part 2

The first step toward being able to attract and create your ideal relationship is to clear the way for it by eliminating baggage from your past. This baggage refers to any resentments, hurts, or fears you have toward anyone who either was a role model or who participated directly in a relationship with you.Lots of people carry such baggage for a long time, some even for a lifetime. The sooner y. . .

Bad Blood

Direct Answers - Column for the week of August 26, 2002 Recently my father passed away. My problem is he never filed a will through the court, but he did have a holographic will, which is an unwitnessed, handwritten will. That will popped out of nowhere.My father owned a nice middle-class home. My younger sister wanted his home because it is a lot more spacious than her own. I personally di. . .

An Unquenched Thirst

Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 9, 2002I'm engaged to a wonderful, warm and loving man whom I've been with for four years. We have always had mismatched libido. I would prefer to have sex nearly every day, but he would choose once a week or less.Early in our relationship we fought about this issue. He let me see that if I asked for sex much more than he wanted, he felt dimi. . .