Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

The Alternative Way To Combat Your Anxiety

Do you break out into a cold sweat when you have to deliver a talk before a group of people? Perhaps you become nervous when you have to take a test...There are certainly numerous causes for anxiety. Similarly, there are a number of treatment options for those afflicted with the illness. If you don’t like the idea of medication, you might try an alternative approach to battling your anxiety.It . . .

How to make use of your alone times.

Many people dread the times when they are left alone. They feel a sense of emptiness or boredom. They start to look out for things to do or people to talk to. Some get into habits like shopping, eating, watching too much television or anything else to "kill the time."Anytime is a good time to observe your moment to moment existence. But your alone times give you the chance to look deeper and no. . .

Goal Setting & Attainment

I am sure that many of you are deep into the drama and excitement of the holiday season. There is so much to be done and so much to think about and consider that many can hardly think of anything else. However, when the excitement is over, our attention typically turns the closing of one year and the beginning of a new one.This is a time typically reserved for reflection. We think back on the p. . .

Did You Check Your Confidence Level?

Would you like to be confident? Your answer may be - YES. I do want to be confident. However, this answer lacks the impact. It is too generalized. Just like everybody wants to do well in life and be rich but not many ever realize this wish. This is because to actually get somewhere in life, you need to quantify your confidence. You need to define the task for which you need to be confident so t. . .

Where Do You Go When The Thrill Has Gone?

The gleam has gone out of the Axis on his desk. Even his pride in the Cannes Lion has waned. Jeff’s agency is on the shortlist for a blue-chip client they’ve been courting for years. Yet as he gazes out of his elevated office, across the silver harbour, his head throbs. His mouth feels dry. The thrill has gone.Thousands of creatives, suits, planners, managers and directors live their lives focu. . .

Stop, Look and Listen!

In my experience, every event in our lives carries a message. Of course, some occurrences are more significant than others. These significant events are considered signs or messages from Spirit, or Higher Self. The purpose of all signs is to get our attention. For what reason? To get us to “Stop, Look, and Listen!” Listen to what? Our intuition.An Ancient TraditionNative peoples relate to every. . .

Success and Money – 10 Creative Ways to Attract Wealth

Many creative people have a bad attitude about making money. When it comes to talking about wealth and prosperity, they look at you like you’re from Mars.Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret.The purpose of creative art is..to inspire. Wrong. The purpose of all creativity is to make money.Oh, I can hear some of you cringe at the thought. And that’s just it. Your thoughts about money are, wel. . .

What Do Your Thoughts Add Up To?

How do your thoughts add up? Do they point towards what you want or something else? Are they scattered or focused? Which thoughts are winning?What you are thinking all day long is guiding you into tomorrow and your future. Is your future looking like you want it to?"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." - James AllenYou have a . . .

A Quarter Empty Or Three Quarter's Full - What's Your Min...

There are so many people in the world that go out of their way to find the negative, the errors, the wrongs, etc. in all areas of life they come into contact with. This article will discuss who 1/4 empty people are and the problems with having a 1/4 empty mentality.I and others like me will see a glass that has 6 oz. of coffee in it and say that it is 3/4 full, but many others will say that it . . .

Where Is Your Mystical Park Bench?

Jose often wondered when his life was going to take off. Throughout schooling Jose’s teachers has always given him praise and complements. Jose excelled in sports and was even rewarded a college scholarship. As you can imagine, Jose developed great expectations throughout this period of time.Jose used to daydream of being a successful businessman who made a lot of money and had a lot of powe. . .

How Napoleon Hill Got Me a Porsche

We all want to improve! But picking the most straightforward, uncomplicated, undemanding, uninvolved and untroublesome way to improve is sometimes discouraging. I should know...Let me explain and share with you about my personal experience with this merry-go-round enigma and maybe you can relate, or have experienced the same mind-boggler yourself.I had grown up in a commercialism oriented famil. . .

7 Tips to Save Time & Reduce Holiday Stress

My dad used to say that the holidays are when you get a whole bunch of people that really aren’t that close and don’t know each other that well and overcrowd them into a small room for an extended period of time so they can make each other miserable.” --Dr. Phil McGrawAs we approach the holiday season, that sense of "overwhelm" rings as loud as the Salvation Army bells.For some, the holiday se. . .

Get Lucky

Ready to get lucky? There are many very specific techniques for generating luck in your life. One of the simplest is to just start looking for good luck. Yes, it really can be as simple as that.Maybe you have noticed that when you buy a new car, you start to see similar cars all over? Of course they were there before, but now you are seeing them, because you are looking. It works this way with . . .

Why Work/Life Balance Doesn't Work

I can’t help feeling that using the phrase ‘work/life balance’ reinforces the problem it seeks to address. To describe a need to balance work and life implies that work is not part of ‘life’. If that’s the case then approx 50% of the average persons hours on earth are devoted to non-life – surely that’s dead.People are not asking ‘how can I balance two opposing areas of existence?’, but ‘how ca. . .

Music And Depression

What is music? All sounds are comprised of sound waves. What distinguishes music from other sound waves is the manner in which the sound waves vibrate and decrease from loud to soft. Dropping a metal pan on the floor presents jarring, erratic vibrations. Striking a note on a piano chord presents a softer more uniform and smooth transition from loud to soft. Obviously, a musical note is going to. . .

In Full Bloom

It is said that every living thing, animals, flowers, even the angels, all want to be human - because humans have choice. Like the diverse flowers that make up a garden, we can push our roots deep into the rich, nourishing loam of this generous earth, growing in strength up towards the light, unfolding ourselves in full bloom. But we can also choose to grow in the shade despite needing full sun. . .

5 Tips To Add More Spice To Your Life

You know the old saying “variety is the spice of life”, and although many such phrases are just soundbites, this one is anything but. Because let’s be honest, sometimes our lives can become routine. We settle into a comfort zone and boredom can soon follow. If you’re looking for some exciting ideas to spice up your life, here’s 5 top tips for you to try:1. Once a week, visit somewhere you’ve ne. . .

Motivate Yourself

Why do you want to motivate yourself? Actually, just answering that question fully can be one of the better ways to get your daily motivation. Below are seven more ways that have been provem to work for others. Chances are, some of them will work for you too.Seven Ways To Motivate Yourself1. Explain your plans. Usually, by the time I tell my wife about the newsletter I'm going to write, I'm out. . .

Eye Tricks

Eye tricks? What can you do with your eyes? More on that in a moment. First, let's look at what you can tell by watching a persons eyes.By watching what they are watching, you can learn a lot about people. What kind of women does a man look at? Does he pay any attention to the game on the TV? Note whether he seems bored or interested as he looks at different things.Eye watching tricks - part tw. . .

The Principle of Accountability

We are responsible for every thought, word and deed of ours. The ancient masters said we are the owner of our deeds and we are the result of them.Once we understand the concept of...AS WE SOW, SO WE REAP.. we will understand that whatever we get out of our lives is a result of what we have planted in our mind. Our past mental imprints determine our present situation in life, and the mental impr. . .

5 PROVEN Tips To Help You Wipeout Your Depression So You ...

Are you lonely?Did you know that being lonely is a normal part of our everyday lives.Lets face it, we've all been there.We get depressed when we fail in our exams, when we're rejected by the person we love, or when someone very close to us passes away.That's just part of life.But, depression, however, can be more fatal than just plain loneliness. It could render Life-Long consequences that coul. . .

Reassuring Reasons Why Hypnosis is your Friend

Believe the hype or think for yourselfFor too long hypnosis has had a bad or ‘difficult’ press. If a person doesn’t understand something they have 3 options open to them.1) They might be sceptical and therefore save the trouble of looking further and possibly benefiting. 2) They may conclude it is dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. 3) They may spend time discovering the truth behind the . . .

Making Decisions

Think about what is going on in your life. Are there things that you are really excited about? Or, are there things that you really are not too excited about? There are usually decisions you have made that led up to your current circumstances.We are always making decisions in some fashion and a lot of decisions are relatively minor. Like what to have for dinner tonight. But, if we want to live . . .

What Are You Willing To Put On The Line?

As a Christian Life Coach and as a Christian man, I know that when you realize what you are willing to put on the line, everything else becomes easier to prioritize in your life. God put you so high on his list of priorities that he laid down the life of his own son for you and me. John 3:16-17 - 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him sho. . .

10 ways to get back in the confidence club

The word for confidence in Gaelic is muinín (pronounced muneen) and it is also the word for trust. The English dictionary definition of confidence is "firm trust", "a feeling of reliance or certainty". So self-confidence is really about trusting yourself. So the question is how can you learn to trust yourself... The other important thing to note about self-confidence is that it can often be at . . .

New Year's Resolutions: 4 Simple Steps to a Great 2006

In this article, I'm going to share with you 4 of the most powerful steps you can take to meet your New Year's Resolutions. Let me tell you now that you've seen these simple steps before (but probably not all in the same place), so it's not going to be anything new to you. In fact, these are steps that you 'know' but probably don't realize. I ask that you keep in mind that though these 4 steps. . .

Forgiveness

We hear so much about forgiveness, in our churches, on Oprah, in new age magazines, but do we truly understand what the big deal about forgiveness is? We read that if we forgive others and ourselves we are doing our spiritual work and becoming better people, but what does that mean to us? You can forgive that guy you dated a while back until you run into him someplace and then you want to wrea. . .

Begin the New Year Right…Get Organized!

Here we are, facing a brand new year filled with endless possibilities. I don’t know if you’re the type of person who makes New Year’s Resolutions or not, but I have a resolution for you that you should put on your list, whether you have a list or not.Get Organized!Being organized is a terrific feeling. Being organized helps you in so many ways.When your spaces are organized you can find things. . .

Natural And Not So Natural Disasters: An Alternative Pers...

In the year 2005, Mother Nature has certainly let herself be known; first with a tsunami and then hurricane Katrina in the United States. Whenever these disasters from Mother Nature occur, it’s interesting to watch the reaction of the world and the ensuing drama. Any time there’s devastation in the world it’s a challenge to observe the human suffering that takes place. We can feel the pain and . . .

Overcoming Obstacles – The Story of Jewel

Do you have a dream? I bet you do. And I also bet you have a long list of reasons why you aren’t pursuing that dream.But you CAN start turning your dream into a reality – no matter what your current circumstances are.Take Jewel, the American pop singer. Even as a child, Jewel knew she wanted to be singer.After high school, she decided working dead end jobs was an unbearable way to live, so she. . .

Top 10 E’s to Motivate and Influence an Audience

Speak with E’s. Be a speaker of influence not control or guilt. With the privilege of the platform comes the awesomeresponsibility of motivating and influencing your audienceto feel/think/act differently.1. Educate provide your audience with extensive informationon your topic. This will empower attendees to feel competent and knowledgeable. Support your points with stories. Stories help us see. . .

A Wonderful Holiday Opportunity

Around holiday times we’re presented with a most wonderful gift – and that’s the opportunity to look at ourselves though the eyes of our family dynamics. Our siblings and parents act as mirrors for us to see ourselves and our emotional reactions more clearly, and observe where we have wounds, judgments, opinions, and emotions. The holidays can be delightful no matter what personalities your fam. . .

The Impeccability of the Word

It is amazing how many folks mention after reading “The Four Agreements” by don Miguel Ruiz, that the first agreement (be impeccable with your word) doesn’t seem to be as difficult as the second or third agreements (don’t take anything personally and never make assumptions). They say, “Sure, I can stop gossiping or be careful to speak more kindly when I am communicating, but not taking anything. . .

Get All Of The Facts In Dealing With Your Fears And Phobias

When dealing with our persistent fears and phobias, it is easy to let our imagination get the better of us. Our negative and scary thoughts can overcome the reality of the situation and can make things worse than what they really are. As a result, here are some techniques a person can use to help gain a better perspective of your fearful situation.The most important thing is to get all of the f. . .

The Number One Question Asked

Years ago I was blessed with the opportunity of traveling around the country with don Miguel Ruiz, author of “The Four Agreements,” while I was running his organization, Sixth Sun Foundation. Since then I have been traveling and lecturing on my own, and one of my most cherished benefits of teaching has been listening to the questions and concerns that so many of you have voiced over the years. . . .

How To Negotiate A Better Salary - The Inside Story

Congratulations! The hard work you have put into your job search has paid off. You now have a job offer on the table and are excited about the opportunities that this position presents. There is just one thing that is troubling you: the offered salary.It is not unusual for the final part of the job search process to involve salary negotiation, but this conversation can cause even the most se. . .

Marketing Yourself

Every good salesman knows that you must believe in your product or else be able to do a good job of acting like you do. It's no different whether you are marketing products, policies, revolutions, or people. Marketing is marketing. Overall image and believability is king. So how does that play out when you are trying to market yourself?For the sake of consistency let's say that you're apply. . .

The Question of Loyalty

Loyalty seems like a quality that's becoming increasingly harder to find, whether it's employee loyalty to a company, consumer loyalty to a product or loyalty among family and friends. Although loyalty seems to be fading, it isn't gone; many people still feel a sense of loyalty to the people, country and organizations in their lives. The important thing to know about loyalty is that trust is th. . .

Self-Esteem and the Entrepreneur

Isn’t it funny how people think that being self-employed is so cool? They think that you get to take lots of vacation time and spend all of the profits. What they don’t realize is that you put in outrageous amounts of blood, sweat, and tears to get there. They don’t know that you have to take the blame for every single thing that goes wrong. They don’t know how many times you fell flat on y. . .

3 Magic Bedtime Questions

For many people, life zooms past once they reach their working age. Everyday, it's the same flash routine of waking up, going to work, coming back from work, and sleeping. It's no wonder why you'll ask yourself, "How did I get old so fast? Where did all the time go?"The problem is in the routine work. The human mind has this habit called deletion. Anything that keeps repeating, memory does not . . .

The Reactive Mind

It’s amazing how easily we’re taken in by the things our ego-minds tell us and how we automatically default to believing that what we are thinking is truth. We immediately react to everything we see and hear around us, thinking that we clearly understand what we’re perceiving. But this is not the case, what we are thinking is not necessarily the truth at all. When someone says something to us t. . .

Points and more Points of View

Have you seen Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11? The fantastic lesson in this movie, as I see it, is the opportunity to see how many ways you can write history while an element of truth is still present in each story and point of view. For example, after watching this film, I can easily say how much of a dope President Bush is, yet if someone who liked the President would make a film, the s. . .

Why make a New Year’s resolution when you can make a One ...

If you want to lose weight, pay off your credit card, or get organized, you have a bigger decision to make.Research shows that the average New Year’s Resolution fails within three weeks. That means that 21 days after the ball drops, the champagne is gone, and the streamers have all been swept away, your grand resolution to lose weight/pay off your debt/quit smoking is going to turn into a big d. . .

Fear, Focus, and Then Some

Change is inevitable. Change is Life. Change is Good. These are the things that come to mind when I hear the word change. Even as I sit here on this beautiful, slightly overcast morning listening to the birds chirping and sipping my coffee, I know that today will be different than every day before this and every day after this.I especially know that what I choose to do today will affect eve. . .

Finding Meaning in the New Year

As the year comes to an end I think of all of the blessings in my life and all that I am grateful for. It's been a good year and I have a lot to be thankful for. I am not concerned with what didn't work or what I could have done better. There is always going to be something. For many the holidays are a stressful time. It's also a time for giving and receiving.In our family when we are feeling c. . .

Let There Be Peace on Earth

How many of us pray for peace, become involved in organizations that promote peace and, through our spiritual practices, advocate peace? Many of us certainly do yet, despite our efforts, we seem to move from one war to another, from one act of terrorism to another. As we become more technologically advanced, so do our methods of war. We appear to be more intelligent as a species than a thousand. . .

Uproot Your Procrastination

Procrastination is defined as “to put off doing something.” But to me, procrastination feels like being stuck. It feels like you are physically being held back – almost as if procrastination comes from outside of yourself instead of within. The truth is though, procrastination does begin – and end - inside of you. And, only you can overcome your procrastination. But how?Well, the first thing . . .

Never Lose Hope In Dealing With Your Fears And Depression

When your fears and depression have the best of you, it is easy to feel that things will not get any better. This is not true. There is much help available in today’s society and the best way to deal with your fears is to find effective ways to overcome them. As a result, here are some techniques a person can use to help manage their fears and anxieties.You never know when the answers your look. . .

Are YOU Killing Your Beautiful Dream?

It’s one of the saddest events I see. Fear, the most destructive of human emotions, succeeds in totally ruining the dreams and ambitions of millions and millions of people every year.And the real sad part is that the people involved give in to their fears and kill their beautiful dream. Any chance of experiencing a fulfilled happy life, of living the life they truly want, evaporates.Are you kil. . .

Creative Prosperity – How an Artist Attracts Wealth

Life will only respond to those who deserve. Life does not give to those who need.If you are a watcher you envy the doer. You keep watching the doer, just like you’re watching other people’s lives on tv. Watchers go through life needing things. Have you ever noticed that? They also like to blame others, especially their parents, for their unfulfilled life.Doers are the few who have the courage . . .