Freedom On Toast

Now I know I usually keep things positive and neutral (relatively speaking) but I want to fuss today. You see, last week I had two pain in the butt situations that made me really want to question the morals or at least sense of people.

First, somebody decided they wanted to go on a shopping spree - with MY debit card. Now I know we all enjoy a good splurge but it is commonly assumed that you will only spend your money or maybe the money of your family. Obviously some have other ideas. You see, he (I say he because he told the order department he was Ken) wanted me to buy him a laptop computer. Now, I am generally a nice person and even generous when I can be. But even my daughter had to buy her own laptop. But that’s not even the part that pushed me closer to the edge. It was the THREE, not one, not two, but THREE orders to a…are you ready? To a CHRISTIAN clothing store that got me. Now I know that some people are thieves. I get that. But to purchase Christian clothing with a stolen card? COME ON! I can see it now…

Ken - “Hi God, it’s nice to see you
God - “Hi Ken. I was sorry to see you had died”
Ken - “Yeah, I guess I live too close to the edge sometimes.”
God - “You know, Ken, I don’t understand why you stole Kim’s debit card to buy Christian clothing?”
Ken - “Well God, I wanted to wear something to spread the good word.”
God - “Well, I appreciate that you want to spread the good word, but did you know we have rules? They are called the 10 Commandments and one of them is Thou Shall Not Steal.”
Ken - “But I was using it for good.”

Do people really think like this? Geez. Good thing I believe most people are inherently good.

So that’s strike one.

Then, my daughter attends a volleyball play-off game and is playing with the school band. As they CAN’T (read aren’t allowed) to carry their cases as they are on the field playing music, they leave their cases in a student area - after they have already passed through security. So what happens? Security decides unattended cases are a threat to security and confiscate the cases. Okay, I can deal with security in general and although it is another pain in my butt, I figure I can drive 25 miles to get it back. But no, when I contact security, they tell me they don’t have any music cases, that Lost and Found will have it. So does Lost and Found have it? Of course not. Nobody knows anything about it. And it’s not just her case - several others were taken as well. So what - there’s a instrument case thieves ring? What in the world would people want with a bunch of empty instrument cases? Maybe I should check eBay as when I called the store (yes, I gave up after several calls and conversations) to order another they wanted almost $70.00. Which of course I didn’t have my debit card to pay for.

Strike two.

All in all I still retain my general optimism. But next time I see someone with a nice Christian shirt I am going to yell, “Hey Ken!” and see if my debit card turns up.

I can only remember one other time in my life where the people of the US felt so unified.  That was 9/11 - a much different circumstance indeed.  And if someone would have told me 5 years ago - heck, 2 years ago, that an African American named Barack Obama was going to be President, I would have waged a substantial bet against that ever happening.  Yet here we are today, watching the celebrations around the world and in our back yards as a man named Barack stands on the edge of history.

Much is to be learned from this historic event.  Perhaps most importantly, from a Country with a very racist history, that different cultures can come together and unite toward a common goal.  That in itself feels like a monumental victory.  Does it mean that racism has been wiped out in the US?  Sadly no, but maybe, just maybe, we are a step closer.

We’ve learned too, that passion, compassion, and hope can indeed prevail.  People WANT to hope.  They WANT to believe in a bright future.  But so often politics go the easy route of instilling fear rather than inspiring hope.  And when hope and fear go to battle, often it is fear that wins.  At least it did in 2004.

And we learned that losing with grace commands respect.  Whether you like John McCain or not, his service to our Country and his commitment to unify the Nation is worthy of a great deal of respect.  Few would give so much of themselves.

And we learned that humor has a place in politics as well.  If the Saturday Night Live skits didn’t have you laughing, well, you need to lighten up a bit.  Even Sarah Palin had a laugh or two.

So as we ALL embark on this journey ahead with Barack Obama at the helm, I hope the Nation and world continue to believe YES, We Can!

I know some people bellieve the Law of Attraction takes God out of the picture.  But if you have ever studied James Arthur Ray and other noted leaders, you know that isn’t necessarily the case.  I, myself, absolutely believe in the Law of Attraction.  I have seen it over and over again in my life and LOVE when I can say, “I made that happen.”  I’ll post more stories about that later, but I have a great one to share today.

My daughter, bless her heart, started a fire in our microwave.  Completely freaked her out while my husband and I shrugged it off as a learning experience.  Well she has felt terrible about this and has been wanting to replace the microwave.  Again, my husband and I shrugged it off and figured we would pick one up on sale during the holiday season.

Jump forward 3 or so weeks - she is sitting in her church class and they always start by saying a community prayer and asking God for what they want.  Well, these are teenagers so their thinking is relatively advanced.  Some kids KNOW you “shouldn’t” ask for your own self (bad recommendation by the way) so they ask for worldly things.  The group starts going around, one asks for world peace, one asks to provide enough food for the starving, one asks for shelter for the homeless…you get the idea.  All GREAT requests, don’t get me wrong.  Maybe if the whole world asked for these things we would be in a better place.  Here comes my daughter, bless her heart, she asks for a microwave and a water heater (she knows ours is leaking.)  How she knows these things is a bit of a mystery and a reminder to be careful about what I say or leave around.  The prayer stops.  The leader - who is, by the way, the closest thing to an angel living here on earth - says, “your prayer has been answered.  I have a microwave you can have for free.  It’s pretty new but I just don’t need it.”  You can imagine the other kids wondering why world peace hasn’t been granted!  But you see, I know my daughter well enough and the law of attraction has almost literally (note I say almost) been pounded into her head.  I KNOW she has been putting that out to the world or God or whomever you want to believe the great Genie of the world is and so she attracted a microwave.

We picked the microwave up last night.  Works like a charm.  And her wonderful class teacher noted, “next time she is asking God for something in her prayers, she might want to ask for the winning lottery numbers.”  I agreed and made a note to speak with her about this.  But her world is back in harmony.  Maybe the WHOLE world isn’t in harmony, but she feels she has “fixed” what needed to be fixed in her life.  A valuable lesson learned, no doubt.

So next time you are in need of something, put that thought out into the world, take action (in her case her action was as simple as asking) and watch God, the world or the magic Genie reply.

One of the biggest complaints I get from both people who are considering a Network Marketing Business as well as those who have started is that they don’t have enough time.  That’s not true - we all have the same number of hours in a day.  But we all choose to use them differently so some feel like they have plenty of time while others run around with their heads cut off.  It is all about priorities.  What are your priorities?  Are you giving your priorities enough time?  Or are you taking care of so many putsy tasks that pretty soon you don’t have time for the important stuff?

Micheal Clouse  wrote a GREAT article on  time.  It is really quite interesting and I hope you enjoy it!  Happy Monday!

Overcome The “No-Time” Syndrome
by Michael S. Clouse

Millions of Network Marketing distributors are building successful part-time business in their spare time. And yet perhaps you’re thinking, “I’d like to, but I just don’t have the time….” There are 168 hours in every single week. Where does the time go? Take a good long look:

So where do the remaining 20 hours typically go? According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than four hours of TV each day (or 28 hours per week, or two months of non-stop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent nine years glued to the tube! How much is the TV habit costing you? $5,000 a year? $10,000 a year? More? Rethinking your TV habit and investing a few extra hours into your own home-based business could make your rich. In other words, you can either watch Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, or you can become one! That, again, is your Future Choice.

So the next time someone says to you, “I’d like to, but I just don’t have the time….” show them the above referenced chart. After all, it appears we all have enough time to do what is truly important.

All the best,

MSC

P.S. The above information, Overcome The “No-Time” Syndrome was reprinted from our newest book, Future Choice. If you would like to know how others are using this book to grow their respective businesses, we have posted just a few of the more than 500 comments we’ve received so far… To read them, click here!

P.P.S. And if you’re looking for a few amazing ways to get back even more of your time, scroll down and check out the life-improving ideas I’ve linked below this article….

© 2006 by Michael S. Clouse. All Rights Reserved.

About the author: In addition to over 50 published articles on the subject of Network Marketing, Michael S. Clouse is the author of numerous books and CD programs on the subject of Network Marketing. An internationally recognized Network Marketing expert, Michael is a well respected business consultant, personal success coach, and a dynamic educational speaker. His weekly newsletter is read by tens of thousands of Network Marketing Professionals around the world.

Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel like you can’t accomplish everything you wanted to? Did you feel just a little sorry for yourself ever? I know I have had those days and will probably have them again. But this great video about Ben Underwood will remind me that it’s all in the attitude. Enjoy!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/779704/best_video_of_the_year_blind_kid_uses_sound_to_see/