How many times have you asked yourself, ‘why is this happening to me?’ or ‘why is God punishing me?’ Whatever word you give to your problem and choose to search on the net for an answer or explanation, you will find thousands of places that claim to be able to free you from all of your tribulations.

You name it, there is a book, a site, and a ‘guide’ over there that will give the answers you desperately need. Some of them are sincere, and are honestly done to inspire hope and to support you in achieving a positive life and self-esteem. What they all have in common is that ‘you hold the answer to all your questions, and the solution to all of your troubles.’

Maybe you don’t even believe in God but nevertheless when something bad hits you over the head you question ‘who, or what, is the power that threw me that punch?’ Have you ever thought about first asking yourself the answer to that thorny question? Remember that little voice that is constantly nudging you? Well, that voice can be your best friend and advisor, or your worst enemy. If you believe in God or a force that connect and guides our dimensions you will pray and try to find comfort in your beliefs. If not, the road will be long, wide and hard. As one of these believers I pass to you this simple advice, if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

What I call spirituality is not going to church every Sunday or joining any mystic group. Spirituality is being responsible for all of your thoughts and actions. The forces of the universe will take care to coordinate these thoughts and actions and transform your life and the world. As opposed to advising you on how to live your life, I will entertain you with this short story I heard a long time ago. Especially now at this difficult period of global uncertainty, when we are exposed to so much suffering, misunderstanding and pain, it has an even more poignant feel.

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared but instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid he saw standing by and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, ‘What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?’

The young boy was apologetic. ‘Please, mister….please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,’ He pleaded. ‘I threw the brick because no one else would stop…’ With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. ‘It’s my brother, ‘ he said, “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, ‘Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.’

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: ‘Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!’

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It’s our choice to listen or not. He didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but God did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Let this thought sink in… If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Have a great journey.

Ton Pascal

Sent to you as a courtesy of…

Your friends at Xqisit-Lifestyles.com
For a free eBook of Napoleon Hill and W.Clement Stones classic:
http://www.ASenseOfDirection.com

As Napoleon Hill said, “Within every problem or setback lies the seed of an equal or greater opportunity or benefit.”

You can download his book “Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude” free as a thank you for subscribing to our website.

You position yourself for tomorrow by developing the knowledge and skills that you need to be a valuable and productive part of our economy, no matter which direction it goes.

A Sense of Direction

As Earl Nightingale (Founder of Nightingale-Conant) said, “People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.”

Now is the time to “¦

clearly define your goals

J.C. Penney said “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”

My personal mission statement has not changed in years. It is: “To help people achieve their goals faster than they ever would in the absence of my help.”

Your success is the ability to spend your life in your own way.

Welcome to 2011″¦ A great new adventure is about to begin.

_________________________________________________

Let me share with you an intriguing thought. The real value in setting goals is not in their achievement. The acquisition of the things you want is strictly secondary. The major reason for setting goals is to compel you to become the person it takes to achieve them. Let me explain:

What do you think is the greatest value in becoming a millionaire? Is it the money? I don’t think so. No, the greatest value is in the skills, knowledge, discipline, and leadership qualities you’ll develop in reaching that elevated status. It’s the experience you’ll acquire in planning and developing strategies. It’s the inner strength you’ll develop to have enough courage, commitment, and willpower to attract the money.

Give a million bucks to someone who does not posses the attitude of a millionaire and that person will most likely lose it. But take away all the wealth from a true millionaire and in no time he or she will build a fortune. Why? Because those who earned their millionaire status developed the skills, knowledge, and experience to duplicate the process again and again.

As you can see, when someone becomes a millionaire, the least important thing is what they have. The most important thing is what they have become.

Here’s a question you should spend some time pondering: What kind of person will you have to become to get all you want? In fact, why not write down a few thoughts on this in your notebook or journal. Write down the kind of skills you’ll need to gain. The answers will give you some new goals for personal development.

Don’t let our economy beat you down, learn the vital techniques necessary to get out of this slump and achieve your goals!

I want to help you reach your full potential, so please take advantage of this opportunity to invest in yourself today.

You may be doing better than you have ever done before. But at the same time, you often feel overwhelmed with the demands of your job and your personal life. You may be working harder today than ever before and yet you are getting less and less satisfaction and enjoyment from what you do. Our Xqisit Coaching Program gives you the solution to these unavoidable challenges of modern life.

Our Xqisit Coaching Program explains why and how some people accomplish vastly more in each of the important areas of their lives. It tells you how you too can accomplish more in your work while simultaneously having much more time to spend with your family and on your personal activities.

Click here to request a Free 30 Minute Self-Discovery Session.

It will be the most important decision you will ever make!.

Wealth Building

The rich follow a different set of rules for making and keeping money. In fact, the rich live in a world most of us know nothing about. They pay less in taxes and set their lives up in such a way that money constantly comes into their pockets. At the same time, they use expenses to their advantage. In other words, it”’s the rules of the rich that make them rich … Learn more>>

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A proverb says, “˜There are three kinds of people in the world: those who make things happen; those who watch things happen and those who don”™t even know anything is happening.”™

A Sense of Direction is your starting point of any worthwhile journey.

What is your ideal Success?

Live with passion,

Gerald Alexander

Here are effective strategies to help you remember names and faces easily:

1. Instead of merely listening to the faint sound of a name, focus on hearing it clearly and concentrate on firmly implanting it on your memory.

2. Repeatedly say the name many times over in your mind. If possible, use the name as often as possible. You can tell your friend now, and then your sister later: “I”™ve just met Jonathan Nowitzki.” You can also make a comment about his name: “I have a former classmate named Mark Nowitzki who is very good in electronics. Do you know him?”

3. After hearing the name, write it down several times. By doing this, you are acquiring the benefit of a double sense impression, adding eye impression to ear impression.

4. When you hear the name of a person being spoken, look purposefully at the person bearing it. By doing this, you are connecting the name and the face together in your mind at the same time. The next time you forget the name, just recall the face and you might have a good chance of remembering it.

5. Visualize the name as an object in your mind. See the name”’s letters in your mind’s eye, as an image or picture. Exaggerate it as much as you can. You can imagine the name “Nowitzki” in your mind as a big hairy object with 3 eyes and with spikes all over it. For a clearer image, visualize Mr. Nowitzki himself lifting the giant word “Nowitzi” over his head, like a weightlifter lifting a barbell. The more exaggerated or humorous, the better chances it will get stuck in your mind.

6. Connect a new person with a well-remembered individual of the same name. Associate a new Mr. Coppenhagen with an old customer of the same name. When you see the new man, you would think of the old one, and the name would flash into your mind. You can even visualize the 2 Coppenhagens attached to each other like Siamese Twins, to trigger the thought that they have the same name.

7. Reminisce the atmosphere or environment. Recalling what you felt or what you did, when you met a person, could trigger memories of how he or she was introduced to you, how he or she looked like, and
other aspects regarding the person.

8. Analyze the distinctive features of the person”’s face. Notice what makes that individual stand out or different from the rest. You may notice the eyes, nose, ears, lips, hair, or other parts of the face. Such notice and recognition tend to induce an interest in the subject of features. It forces you to focus on the person”’s face the first time you meet him or her. Right now, you know the importance of having interest to remember things. If you were introduced to a man who would pay you over $500 on your next meeting, you would be very inclined to memorize his name and to study his face carefully to recognize him, as opposed to a man who has nothing to give to you.

9. Link a name with a visual object. Let”’s say you just met Mr. Quinlan. To remember his name, you can visualize a land full of queens (Quinlan). Imagine the queens dressed in elegant dresses and wearing shiny crowns with big jewels. If Mr. Quinlan is interested in basketball and you want to remember that too, then imagine the queens wearing basketball uniforms over their elegant dresses, and shooting hoops. And if Mr. Quinlan is also a doctor, then visualize the queens in basket ball uniforms, having large stethoscopes around their necks, shooting hoops. You can even imagine the queens saying in a bugs bunny-like way, “Nyieh. What”’s up doc?” The funnier, the better. Here”’s another example, but this time with a longer name. Let”’s say you”™ve been introduced to Mary Bennetton. Now how do you remember “Bennetton?” You can divide it into “Bend-a-ton.” Imagine a large piece of metal with the words “1 ton” engraved at all its sides bending like a soft pillow. You can exaggerate it a little bit by making that piece of metal cry in agony as the bending is taking place. If Ms. Bennetton is a tennis player, you can imagine the bending piece of metal having
tennis rackets stuck on top of its head.

10. Visualize the faces of persons you have met during the day, in the evening. Try to develop the faculty of visualizing their features to practice your ability. Draw them in your mind and see them with your mind’s eye, until you can visualize the features of very old friends. Then do the same with acquaintances, and so on, until you are able to visualize the features of every one you know. Then start to add to your list by recalling the features of strangers whom you meet. By a little practice of this kind you will develop a great interest in faces and your memory of them, and the power to recall them will increase rapidly.

11. Make a study of names and faces. Start a collection, and you will have no trouble in developing a memory for them. A good idea would be to analyze photographs in detail, not as a whole. If you can incite adequate interest in names and faces, you will be more prone to remember them.

Course: ‘A Sense of Direction‘ = 4 x 2 Hour Workshops

* JANUARY 2009 ‘A Sense of Direction‘ Course (£240.00)

Esporta Health & Fitness Club, Hamilton *

6th, 13th, 20th, 27th January, 7:00-9:00pm

NOTE: * Course Limited to 25 people at this venue.

Promoting Healthy Working Lives

Whatever the size and type of your organisation, we know that you have an important job to do. At Xqisit Lifestyles we want to help you do it even better.

We provide expert advice and resources to employers, of all sizes and in all sectors, with one simple but crucial aim: improving health and well-being in the workplace.

• Improve your productivity through reducing absence rates and supporting staff returning to work
• Enhance your reputation as a responsible, well-managed organisation, helping to attract and keep employees
• Raise your profile among clients and stakeholders, setting your business apart from your competitors
• Avoid health and safety pitfalls and protect employees from workplace hazards
• Create a healthier, more motivated and productive workforce
• Contribute to controlling insurance costs
• Contribute to the health of the wider community
  

Xqisit Lifestyles
Website: www.ASENSEOFDIRECTION.co.uk
Tel: 07940 220 283
Email: gerald@xqisit-lifestyles.com