Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Secret Information

Secret information? Okay, probably not much remains truly hidden or forbidden anymore, but there are little secrets about how things work. Salesmen, politicians, and others learn and use subtle techniques to influence you. "Lucky people" use little-known tricks to get that way. Here are some examples.Controling Through WordsThere is a classic joke, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" It is di. . .

Practicing Staying Present To The Now

Transformational Counseling is about assisting others to transform their life. Transformational Counseling is a process of assisting others to learn how to let go of the past and live fully in the present. To live fully in the present is to become awaken to what is truly real and to our own natural power. Much of our life is spent living in the past, and in the process, attempting to fix it,. . .

Good Luck

Good luck, people called it, when a couple I know had a business handed to them for free. It was making a little money, but the owner didn't want to deal with it anymore. Other things were going on in his life, and he just wanted to drop the whole business. However, the lease on the building the business was in still had nine months to go. This is where my friends enter the story. The owner had. . .

Persuasion Techniques

Some of the best persuasion techniques have been developed from NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) methods. For example, if you hear a person saying, "I see," a few times, they are probably processing information visually, according to NLP. To influence them then, you would use phrases like, "You can see how..." or you would actually show them things. A more auditory person would be influenced . . .

How To Use This Christmas To Expand Your Capacity To Give...

Christmas, that time of the year is here again. I would suggest that you use it wisely to learn more about your subconscious financial blueprint, and expand it. Here is how.At Christmas time, we give gifts. And we receive gifts. It is a time of giving and receiving, perhaps the biggest such time of the year. What else is about giving and receiving? Money! One of the top reasons why most people . . .

The "Thought Process" And Its Power

Thoughts are the most important element in our daily lives. Our thoughts will clearly determine where we will be five years from today. I have a strong belief that success is dependent upon our daily actions and your decisions.I believe that there are so many people that can succeed but they fail to do so because they believe in the deepest caverns of their minds that it is an impossible task. . . .

Moving Through Breakdowns With Transformation

Success in recovery, or rather, staying in recovery, is dependent upon a variety of factors. For example, it appears that attending daily NA or AA meetings and staying in communication with ones chosen sponsor will definitely assist an individual in successfully implementing his recovery plan. Getting and staying committed to working the 12 Step Program also appears to increase the probabili. . .

Individualized Positive Affirmations For Improving Self-E...

Positive self-esteem is very important if not crucial to our happiness and well being as a human being. Having positive self-esteem can make the difference in that which we take on in life, in that which we go about achieving and creating. Having positive self- esteem also allows us to have healthy and joyous relationships with others, to experience true intimacy. One could also assert that . . .

How To Tell If Someone Is Lying

How to tell if someone is lying? Carefully. All methods of lie-detecting, including polygraph machines, are regularly fooled or used improperly, resulting in mistakes. There are a couple of the many ways described here, but try to confirm the truth by other means as well, such as confession or investigation of the facts.You should compare behavior in the person under suspicion to their "base" b. . .

Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking By Being Well Prepared

You are only four steps away from having all the best public speaking techniques and tools you’ll need to organize yourself to deliver the best speech you possibly can. Fear of public speaking and stage fright really often relate to the fact that as a speaker you’re just not sure how your speech will be received by your audience. The best tips on public speaking any speaker can give you are th. . .

Keep Your Audience Awake!

The smartest course for a speaker to follow is the rule that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. The best way of developing a speech is to focus on the one theme or thought behind the talk and drive relentlessly towards it. One of the reasons why this is a winning strategy is because most audience members cannot concentrate for the duration of a speech because of a numb. . .

Simple Ways to Have Happy Experiences

It’s the dream of many to live happy and contented lives. The truth is that life happens and with the good comes the not so good. Some become skilled at getting into the zone and ride the wave of life learning from each wave that washes over them. Others live life with a ‘que sera sera’ (whatever will be, will be) accepting kind of attitude. Then there are those who find themselves in the d. . .

Examples From The Bible To Use In Your Everyday Practice

Christian public speaking teaching doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s often just a question of opening your Bible an reading it with a different purpose.Here are three examples from The Bible to use in your everyday practice:The Bible might be the most reliable tool for Christian public speaking teachings. The rich diversification of the many Christian teachings found in The Bible is ideal to. . .

THE CONVERSATION OF RECOVERY

Transformational Counseling is all about assisting another human being to live a life that they love and to live it powerfully. Transformational Counseling is about creating a space for others to learn how to transform their lives, to live a life differently from how it was in the past, to truly create what they desire. Transformational Counseling is about assisting others in their getting an. . .

Improving Self Esteem With Affirmations And Therapeutic R...

Positive self-esteem is very important for our general health and wellness as human beings. Having positive self-esteem is also important for promoting any type of healing, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Poor or low self-esteem on the other hand can be quite detrimental to our well-being and even our very existence. Negative self-esteem can create anxiety, stress, loneliness, depr. . .

How To Get The Best Results With Your Speeches, Part 1

There are thousands of different speeches that can be arranged to suit the needs and personality of any audience. When it comes to effective public speaking, the best public speaking tip is the simple formula of speech writing based on an introduction, subject matter and conclusion. This formula should always be followed for best results.Here are the first three easy public speaking tips you’ll. . .

Be That Miracle

You are a human being, right? You also believe you areeither male or female, right? You also have other roles youplay in your life, like mother, father, brother, sister,employee, employer, boss, manager, in-law -- and the list,I'm sure, goes on. But have you ever thought of yourself asa miracle. Not in the sense of your birth. Of course, thatis a miracle. In the sense of your every day li. . .

Living in Harmony

Living in harmony means physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Harmonic living means to sense the inter-connectedness with all creation, and realizing our potential as happy, healthy and fulfilled individuals. It means listening to the wisdom within.Living a harmonic life means living it every day, not only now and then sitting isolated from the world, doing a religious c. . .

A Way to Inner Peace

We all need to find our inner peace, especially in our fast paced and turbulent every day lives. Outlined below are some steps or tips on how to search for peace of mind and make it a part of your life.First you should examine your general attitudes toward life and find out which attitudes are right for you. Be honest with yourself. If you find yourself being a person who lives on the surfac. . .

The Heart's Awakening

Recently I heard a minister arguing with a radio talk show host over whether it’s right or wrong to remove "Merry Christmas" signs from department store displays, which apparently some major stores did this season in an effort to be inclusive."We’re the reason for the season," the minister claimed. Not so, countered the host. The solstice has always been a time of celebration before we creature. . .

The Heart's Journey into Light

The Self's Ascension into LightHave you ever felt that something is wrong, but been unable to figure out exactly what? Most people have had this experience, especially those of us who would rather zip speedily through life than stop to deal with our roiling emotions. If we don’t do so, as some of us have learned, the bubbling cauldron of emotion will eventually boil over to scald us and anyone . . .

Setting Boundaries for Breathing Room

With all the roles that women fill, mastering the art of setting boundaries is crucial. Even I must confess that I have been guilty of preparing 4 individual dinners for one sitting catering to my family's multi preferences! Many of us take on too much, thinking we can do it all, but mindless of the price we pay in the long run. Take a survey of your life's boundaries….do you need to dig some f. . .

Supersize the Pleasure- But Hold the Guilt, Please

Are you short-circuiting your family, health, and friends with your work-a-holic compulsion? Deadlines, daily family dilemmas, and organizational duties…our lives fill with routines and pressure driven activities. At this very moment I contemplate a to-do list that will take me all day and into the night. My office mess surrounds me and my team members await my response to various questions. In. . .

Divorced and Dejected – 5 Powerful Reasons to be Proud of...

A painful divorce usually leaves people at the end of their tether.This is understandable, considering the amount of energy that goes into making concessions, holding it together and completely miss-managing your emotions.Every life changes, wanted or unwanted ultimately play a "roller coaster" on our emotions.For the majority of people, ending a marriage is a huge step. Thus most people would . . .

What is Success... *Real* Success? (Part 1 of 2)

Many people say they want success. Yet, when asked what "success" is, they haven't a clue. In other words, they say they want something when, at the same time, they don't even know what that "something" is.What is success... *real* success?The best definition of success I've ever read comes from the writings of Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece, "The Science of Getting . . .

Stepping Into Soul

Stepping into SoulIn the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the recent earthquake in Pakistan, I have noticed the presence of much higher spiritual energies in my life and in the Earth. The quantum field hums with these high-frequency pitches, which sound like crickets, at first, and during meditation expand into the roaring sound of a waterfall. It is a bea. . .

Give Yourself The Greatest Gift

Imagine if you could give yourself the best gift ever. A gift that would bring success, happiness and abundance into your life, not just temporarily, but for the rest of your living years.Would you be interested in having such a gift? Hmm, let me guess! The good news is that YOU CAN. The gift I’m talking about is personal responsibility. Let me share with you precisely why this gift is the best. . .

Thought and Money - Clearing Your Memory for Success

The less I remember, the better my day goes.I know, that’s a headscratcher of a statement.The more I put a stop on remembering what happened yesterday, last week, many moons ago or just a few seconds back - the better I feel.Whether those memories carry good or negative emotions doesn’t make a difference. It’s happened. And thinking about it keeps me distracted. Because any memory carries emoti. . .

Creating Possibility For Transformation

Transformational Counseling is about assisting another to transform his life. Transforming ones life is not about changing it. While life is much about doing differently, the genesis of the transformation is about a person altering or transforming his belief or thought of who he thinks he is. We tend to believe that our life is determined or influenced by people, places, things, situations a. . .

Holiday Stress Relief - 7 Reasons to Avoid Stress At Chri...

Some of my clients have difficulties enjoying holiday stress relief around the Christmas holidays.As a hypnotherapist, NLP trainer and Energy worker I help my client to relax and maintain balance on a daily basics.Here are 7 reasons for holiday stress relief that I have shared with my clients over the years.I. Maintain balanceReality check 1Balance helps you breathe, smell the roses and be awa. . .

Software Development - Overcoming Procrastination

Many independent developers have the problem of procrastinating on getting started on their own software projects because they don't know where to start or which idea to work on. A flurry of indecision and uncertainty or desire for instant gratification tangles up their brain and they can't seem to get started.At least for myself, I've noticed several things. The first is in relation to whether. . .

New Year - New Diet - New You?

Are you about to make yet another new year’s resolution, as you see out the old year, along with it’s broken promises and failed, good intentions?Fresh with new-found conviction, after the gross excesses of the Christmas period and our usual failure to control ourselves, we arrive at the new year’s resolution, an annual triumph of hope over reality!Hope, that this time you will have the single . . .

Courage and Creating

Doing anything creative often brings up fears, anxieties, insecurities. Courage may be defined as going ahead in spite of fear. But many creators not only live with their fears, they welcome them.Fear is perhaps the most basic emotion we have. As Leonardo da Vinci reportedly said, "Fear arises sooner than anything else." Writer Julia Cameron has commented that artists are often terrified. Being. . .

Master Your Beliefs, Master Your Emotions

Joe makes a comment and you suddenly feel a rush of energy. Your face flushes and your knuckles whiten as you begin squeezing the edge of the table for dear life. Some part of you knows that this feeling is not proportionate to Joe's comment or intention, but something was triggered in you nonetheless, and you're ready to bite his head off. To be effective as a friend, spouse, significant othe. . .

How to overcome boredom.

Are you bored with your work, your relationship or your life? Being bored is a state of mind when you are fed up and sick of what’s going on or the lack of activity around you. Complacency also contributes to feeling bored. Boredom becomes a great concern when it results in procrastination, indecision and feeling listless and jaded.The best way to avoid feeling bored is to make your life intere. . .

How to Manage Your Holiday Stress

Are you plagued by holiday stress year after year? Do you feel as if you are a victim in all of this? Do you believe that you are the ONLY one in your household who is contributing to the success of the holiday?Let me share with you some ideas for making the holidays manageable. I used to literally make myself nuts during holiday time. I was married to a man who thought his contribution to the . . .

Have Yourself an Awful Little Christmas

Words are very powerful. In fact, vocabulary has a remarkably high correlation with IQ scores. We use words to communicate our thoughts and feelings. Internally, we use words to think. For both reasons - thinking and communicating - having a strong vocabulary is valuable, and improving our vocabulary is a worthy self-improvement goal.I'm not writing about a new, highly technical, or difficult w. . .

The 3 P’s: Perfectionism, Procrastination, and Paralysis

Do you set your standards high, but always feel like you've failed? Learn about the 3 "P's" and end the vicious cycle that keeps you stuck and ineffective.The Vicious CyclePerfectionism, procrastination, and paralysis – one often leads to the next, in a vicious cycle, especially on large, long-term projects with no clear deadlines. Let’s look at each part of this cycle, and explore some concr. . .

Refining The Golden Hour

In one of the classic personal finance books, “The Richest Man In Babylon,” we are told that the way to wealth is to “pay yourself first.” That a portion of all you earn is yours to keep. Great words, and just as applicable to your life itself. In other words, out of every sixteen-hours of wakefulness in a day, one hour should be yours, and yours alone. Not your job, not your husband or wife, n. . .

Soluble New Years Resolutions

As Big Ben chimes at midnight on 31st December we toast in the New Year and make all those decisions about what we want for the next year, and talk about all the great things we will achieve. Then what? By the end of January or possibly, if we are lucky, February our resolve has ‘dissolved’ and life carries on as normal until the next time Big Ben chimes out a new year.Does this sound familiar?. . .

Value of goodness

Having the good fortune to be born in the country, I have always had this gut feeling of encouraging people in their dreams, and at some rare occasions I have actually contributed in seeing to it that they come true.Now this is me, a young man who has always wanted to see himself as somebody living a life between Man and God. For a great time I believe I have actually grown to it. Because if I . . .

The Power of the Spoken Word

The pen is mightier than the sword, says an adage. But most people do notknow that when written words become spoken words, they explode likefirecrackers! If books speak volumes, speeches fire up entire lives.There are three kinds of words: the written, the meditated, and the spoken.Written words inform and give full spectrum of probabilities about a topicor event. Meditated words have the poten. . .

How to Create Stability in a World of Constant Change

Every day there seems to be something new to learn, something new to tackle, something new that you have to do to keep up. If you don’t keep up, look out, because you may just get left behind! And then who knows what it will take to ever catch up again. It is absolutely exhausting. Not to mention completely out of alignment with what your inner knowing believes life is about.Fear and overwhelm . . .

Be Your Own Best Friend

How do you be your own best friend? It’s simple.Be someone you love to spend your time with.Be someone you’d love to just hang out with on a Saturday night.Be the first person to congratulate yourself whenever you succeed.And be the first person to tell yourself that “it’s all ok” when things go wrong.Celebrate your happy moments with a smile.And give yourself an even bigger smile whenever you’. . .

The Act Of Being Politically Correct Has Gone From The Su...

There was a time that being politically correct meant speaking and acting in a considerate manner to others. Now it means speaking and acting in a manner acceptable to the Hollywood and politically left wing Elite who have appointed themselves as the arbitrators of what is proper and what is not proper. For instance Christmas is a legal holiday and was made a legal holiday in order to celebrate. . .

Is Life Keeping You From Getting Anywhere?

Are you too busy with what you are doing to change or get ahead?Are you so distracted with life that you have time to pay attention to what you want in life?Can you even remember what you want any more?The routine tasks of daily life can so easily use up all of your time that they become the main part of life.When was the last time you spent time thinking or contemplating what you want in your . . .

The 7 Unfailing Laws of Successful Relationships

Most think that relationships exist to make them happy. When they find that special person, they believe that love will naturally grow. But in relationships we encounter everything, challenges, joy, fulfillment, loss. Yet, despite all training in life, we seldom learn about the knitty gritty of relationships, how to build the relationship in a way that brings out the best in all.To start this p. . .

Increase Your Self Esteem With This Simple Method

Low Self Esteem is essentially a civil war. It is an internal battle between two belief systems that disagree. We often spot the struggle between these two in our behavior causing emotional torment.Another way to look at this is as a lack of integrity. Integrity means ‘wholeness’. It is when beliefs and actions are congruent. If they lack congruency then we end up in conflict and our pride in o. . .

Mindfulness and Commercialism: A Coca-Cola Christmas

It's Christmas time here in Mazatlan, Mexico.I can tell by the Coca-Cola Christmas tree in the plaza facing the cathedral. In fact, last Friday must have been St. Coca-Cola Day or something. At sunset, we heard a commotion. Nothing too unusual about that--there's always some sort of celebration going on. I figured it was part of the presentation of the Carnaval princesses going on in the oth. . .

Make Your Life Happen In 2006!

Here it is again. The end of another year. Did this year go by in a flash? I know it did for me, just as it does every year. With 2006 just around the corner now is the time to sit down and write out our goals for next year. If we don’t, we will suddenly be at the end of the year again wondering what happened in the last twelve months and wondering why we are no closer to our dreams than we wer. . .