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As we continue our investigation into the biblical concept of wisdom, it behooves us to scrutinize briefly a few passages associated intimately with the notion of an understanding heart. For as we will soon see, the Bible teaches that true wisdom flourishes only in the person of one whose heart displays a tendency to look for the good in others. First, I wish to note 1 Kings 3:5-15:

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said . . . thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

And the speech pleased the LORD . . . and God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream . . .

Here, we note that Solomon’s request variously receives the names: 1. an understanding heart to judge thy people 2. understanding to discern judgment 3. [which means] walk in God’s ways, to keep [his] statutes and commandments 4. Verse 28 calls Solomon’s gift: “the wisdom of God, to do judgment.”

In other words, Solomon had asked for the ability to judge correctly in difficult cases, to discern between good and evil in life’s many and often complicated situations, so as to be able to impose the correct rewards and punishments as judge over all Israel. Solomon saw wisdom as a means for achieving justice in society — or national righteousness. And this saying pleased the Lord.

Even the young lord Solomon understood that God gives wisdom in order to 1. Glorify God 2. benefit other people. Wisdom is not “knowing for the sake of knowing,” but for carrying out the law of the Lord to the benefit of those who love and do what is right.

1 Kings 4:29-34

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. … And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

Remember, Solomon had asked God for a wise and understanding heart; and now we have learned that as part of God’s answer to that prayer (a request made to God in a dream is still a prayer), God gave to Solomon extraordinary “largeness of HEART.” Note the common denominator here. We can deduce from this conceptual overlap that to possess a wise and understanding heart, a man must also possess “largeness of heart.” But what is this? This idiom refers to a heart full of charity, or what some call “largesse.” The Bible refers to it often (metaphorically) as a “good eye,” or “open hand.”

Here, we have learned and extraordinarily important point from the narrative about Solomon — Charity is the better part of wisdom. The rest of the Scriptures also bear out this point, though not usually in such bold relief. Moreover, depending on how it is applied, charity bears various labels — that is, depending on which aspect of charity one wishes to highlight. Mercy, the most important of all facets of biblical charity, also knows of several peers: patience, kindness, gentleness, and meekness. Each portrays a different facet of charity.

Next, we will learn that the biblical complement to charity bears the label “justice” — variously called “righteousness,” “judgment,” or in the plural, “statutes” or “judgments,” “laws,” or precepts of the Lord. The proper application of the Law of God — the source of God’s wisdom to men from the Holy Spirit, is called “justice.” Justice is truth in action properly applied. Here, “Properly applied” means applied with biblical charity, or mercy. Thus, in the Bible, we learn that mercy (charity) and justice (truth) form the two basic keys of wisdom.

Deuteronomy 4:5-8 says of the Law of God that it is the basis of all wisdom for national righteousness:

Behold, I [Moses] have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

Now kings, more than any other class of persons (because theirs is the task of administering justice), the Bible calls upon to exercise charity, or mercy in judgment, as well as in their personal affairs. This customary largesse of kings finds expression in the biblical idiom, “according tot he generosity of a king.” King Xerxes provides an example of such a charitable man from the book of Esther:

Esther 1:4-5

For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa. … Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality. By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.

And again, Esther 2:17-18 reads:

And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.

1 Corinthians 8:1 explains that the fundamental trait associated with charity stems from its impetus to build up the kingdom of Christ in the persons of the saints, other Christians, saying: “knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”

1 Corinthians 13:12-14 adds to this aspect of charity several others in these words:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Charity never faileth … And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The Solomonic wisdom of the proverbs, and that of the Lord Jesus, concurs with Paul’s assessment of charity (or mercy):

Proverbs 19:11 — The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

Proverbs 19:17 — He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Proverbs 20:28 — Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.

Proverbs 21:21 — He that followeth after justice and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

Proverbs 22:9 — He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Matthew 6: 22-23 — The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single [pure], thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Matthew 7: 1-5

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Here, the Lord reminds us that we ought to judge others the way we wish to be judged, charitably — with both justice AND charity — not by raw justice alone, or worse, by an unjust standard. And again, what kind of “eye” one has toward his brother or neighbor determines whether he has “light” — a metaphor for wisdom. A good eye, or charitable frame toward others implies wisdom inside the man; whereas a bad eye — contempt for one’s neighbor, implies darkness of the soul, folly of heart.

The Question and Answer #144 of the Westminster Larger Catechism correctly and properly links charity to what is required by the ninth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”?

Q144. What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?

A. The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbour, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging tale-bearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; keeping of lawful promises; studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.

The Westminster divines have here given a most excellent answer to the question, in terms of the entire Bible’s view of truth-telling, which necessarily includes the charitable telling of the truth. More than mere accuracy is required.

Proverbs 10: 12 — Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth [over] all sins.

Proverbs 11:17 — The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

Now the mercy of the proverbs begins with empathy. It seeks the good of others, desiring them to succeed and prosper in everything that is good for them and others. It seeks out the needs of others, overlooking their faults, and aims to meet their needs — to see others prosper. Mercy is the essence of a “good eye.” Synonyms in the Bible are compassion, lovingkindness, kindness, tenderness, gentleness, pity, charity, and love — or possession of a large heart.

Let us then conclude this segment of our study of wisdom with an example of Solomon’s charity in the wise administration of justice, from 2 Samuel 16:5-11:

“And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.”

Here, we see an example of King David’s charity in judgment. While Abishai son of Zeruiah calls for the death penalty for cursing the king — in agreement with the law of the Lord — David wisely defers his anger, recognizing in the immediate situation the hand of the Lord, as the wise woman Abigail had taught him to do long ago in the case of Nabal.

Now, Solomon, as we will see, received instruction from King David, when the latter was upon his death bed, to make sure Solomon carried out the law of the Lord against Shimei (1 Kings 2:8-9) — not to let him die a peaceful death of natural causes — which Solomon does “according to his wisdom.” So just what did Solomon do to Shimei? Here is the biblical account (1 Kings 2:36-46):

Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.” Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath. When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ Why then did you not keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?”

The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing. But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.” Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and killed him.

Now from the above account, we can learn some important points about Solomon’s wisdom. First, Solomon extended great charity toward Shimei by permitting him to continue living (possibly indefinitely), but in the confines of Jerusalem only. Shimei had to incur at least SOME punishment.

Second, by placing Shimei under oath, for the breaking of which Shimei would perish, Solomon arranged for situation that would entail precisely a reciprocal judgment (Lex Talionis, the basis for biblical justice) upon Shimei. Shimei had cursed King David; now, if he violated his oath, Shimei would die by a self-imposed curse consequent to his oath-breaking — a curse for a curse.

Third, Solomon left the timing of the execution up to God, trusting — just as David had done — that God would handle the issue in His own timing. Solomon, like David, deferred his wrath, just as the proverbs recommend. This is the patience of charity.

Fourth, Shimei’s slaves ran away. Why? Most likely because Shimei was a tyrant. We see this tendency already in the very crime that had got him in trouble with the king in the first place — he took advantage of David’s hard times. When David was at a low point — brought on by God — Shimei most irreverently hurled stones at King David and his men to add to their trouble and great heartache. That was brutal. Shimei was a brutal person who would crush the spirit of downtrodden David by reveling in David’s hardship and (as it were) rubbing his face in it.

Fifth, note that Shimei’s slaves ran to Gath, one of five capitals of the Philistine Empire, and the home of the giant, Goliath — who just like Shimei HAD CURSED KING DAVID. Shimei traded (or rather betrayed) his oath — something holy to the Lord — for the retaining of his slaves, which in the ancient world represented quite a bit of money. Shimei traded what was holy for what was common — the essence of the biblical concept of profanity. The Lord Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The punchline here is this: Shimei lived in Jerusalem — the capital of Israel (the holy nation) — but his heart was in Gath, the capital of the nation best exemplifying the enemies of Israel and of God. The Holy Spirit thus signified that Shimei was a Philistine at heart — a tyrant like Goliath who despised and cursed King David, who was a type or picture of Jesus Christ the Lord. And Shimei paid for this blasphemy with his life, just as Goliath had.

Now Shimei’s severe lack of charity (contempt) toward King David would return to haunt him. Here, God Himself imposes the principle of Lex Talionis against Shimei. Shimei’s tyranny toward his slaves would bring upon him the curse of the King — King David as represented by his son Solomon. Thus, Solomon had managed the perfect balance of mercy and justice, of patience and the wisdom of Lex Talionis. To behave so is to act like the Lord, who always remembers mercy in judgment. For God is a God of indescribable wisdom: of solemn justice, and of extravagant largeness of heart.

Praise the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever.

Carson Day has written some 1.3 gazillion articles and essays, with insightful, if alternative, viewpoints. He studied the history of ideas in college, and loves to plunder the internet for cool stuff to write about, and loves to read and reflect upon the Bible. He remains at large, despite the best efforts of the civil authorities.

To visit Carson’s websites, go to: http://ophirgold.blogspot.com (The Omniblog) or http://extremeprofit.blogspot.com (Carson’s Day Trading Outpost)

A merchant bank in Fall River Massachusetts or so may have a total totally different actual interest rate for a 7500 dollar loan then a moneylender in El Paso Texas and that makes a large clear difference in your weekly pay backs. Check out to see if the bank who is willing to give you a loan is trustworthy. You should be lustrous today to inspect if you have a bargain or if you don’t with the merchant bank that offers you a bank loan. 13.5 percent loan rate may appear so upright but will it stay constant after you have to repay your money loan. Nowadays you can suss out rates of interest quickly on the internet and cypher if there are other sneaky conditions you should know about.

Translated it means: Woon je in Terneuzen of Hilvarenbeek en heeft u BKR. Lenen met een BKR notering is nog nooit zo eenvoudig geweest. Haal snel een nieuwe auto met flitslenen en mini krediet, 260671 euro is altijd mogelijk om te financieren. Van Harlingen tot Maastricht, financieren met een BKR registratie gaat hier altijd.

Lots of of the merchant banks wil show you a rate of interest that is looking good but feels severely or so after a period of time. It doesn’t matter if you live in Altamonte Springs Florida or in Chattanooga Tennessee a just online examination will preserve you often a lot of disorder. That’s the reason why now you really need to inquire and jut if you can have a money loan at a secure percent rate of interest.

Are you still calling prospects to set up appointments? Just calling? Well, every other salesperson is doing the same exact thing! If you want the prospect to believe that you and your company are different from the competition, then you must prove it to them from the beginning. First impressions are lasting; so make sure it’s a good one!

Calling your prospects is only one of the many resources you have for establishing contact with them and setting up the appointment. It’s also the method most likely to leave the worst impression on your prospect. When you call, you are assuming that you are important enough for your prospect to stop whatever they’re doing at that moment just so you can try to sell them something. Get over yourself; they don’t want to talk to you.

This doesn’t mean you should stop calling your prospects, it just means that you should stop relying on this method to gain that appointment. If you want to successfully intrigue your prospect, you must learn to match the right message with a variety of mediums. Use your imagination! Think of some creative ways to get in front of your prospects and grab their attention.

Your initial contact with your prospect should show that you are creative, persistent, and that talking to you is worth their time. Have the courage to try something fun and new with your prospects. If you feel scared to come out of your comfort zone, think about this: if your boring method isn’t working with them now, don’t you think it’s time to try something new?

Customers don’t care about you; they care about themselves, so give them something they’ll enjoy or can actually use. Try sending them sales leads, fax them a joke, or create a customized document with creative business ideas and solutions that your client can use to become more productive and profitable. Prospects want to read about themselves and how they can get better results. This kind of result-based approach will stand out among the other stuff your prospect receives.

No matter what you try, some prospects may simply try to wait you out. They will ignore your voicemails and e-mails, and wait for you to get bored and go away. You must have the longevity to remain pleasantly persistent with your prospects or you will never win the appointment or the sale.

The only thing separating you from your competition is your ability to decide that you are going to win. You will get the appointment with the prospect because you have the creativity to stand out and the determination to remain pleasantly persistent! Being pleasantly persistent means that you are NEVER annoying or pushy and that you will apparently NEVER go away.

So how do you remain persistent without seeming pushy? Make them your friend before you try to make them your customer. Send your prospects personalized e-mails or handwritten notes to set the tone for the transaction. Regardless of your company, your product, or the nature of your situation, you should always make your contact with your clients as personal as possible. In today’s high-tech world, people are starving for personal attention, and your effort to contact them in this manner will show them how important their business is to you.

This sets the tone for your relationship, and your relationship sets the tone for the sale.

Throughout this entire process, keep a clear objective in mind. See your transaction as a series of goals. Sure, you may want that appointment, but first you must work on getting your prospect to pick up the phone and call you, or finally take your call. Representing your good ideas creatively, personally, and persistently will not only get the appointment, it will get you the SALE!

Tom Richard conducts seminars on sales and customer service topics nationwide. Tom is also the author of Smart Salespeople Don’t Advertise: 10 Ways to Outsmart Your Competition With Guerilla Marketing, and publishes a free weekly ezine on selling skills titled Sales Muscle. To subscribe to this free weekly ezine go to http://www.tomrichard.com/subscribe

Many people have heard and seen the many advertisements about tea and its various cures and benefits. Along with weight loss, cancer fighting, and other cellular benefits curing Headaches and Migraines while reducing stress is among the top advertised. But when I see these ads, I think Why ?

After drinking tea for a while, including Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Rooibos, Lemongrass, and a wide listing of organic herbal blends, I have found that I don’t really know if I am fighting cancer inside my body. But I do know that tea can greatly help me to balance out a stressful time, and help get rid of and prevent headaches.

Simply drinking tea, especially some of the herbal blends specifically mixed for the occasion, can help with headaches, and you will receive all other benefits from the actual tea itself. But only drinking the tea in itself will not allow you to fully maximize all the potential, especially in regards to headaches and migraines. Because not always, but sometimes, drinking tea is about Drinking Tea.

I drink tea all day long. Cup after cup (Thank you, Tea Stand) I drink with no sense of traditional practice, or religious afterthought. I just drink it. But when I have a headache (from stress, sinus headache, caffeine, or many other reasons), just drinking tea isn’t always best. That is when my tradition comes out.

I don’t use special pots, or time honored traditions. There is nothing wrong with them, but I rarely have time for that, and growing up in the United States, there are no time honored tea drinking traditions. I always used tea bags (low quality as they were my only option, and didn’t know any better).So now, even though I am closer to tradition, I still do not have time for this. My Headache/Stress tea drinking practice takes less than five minutes. Usually, that is all the time I have (which is mostly why I have the headache in the first place).

I begin with the double chamber gourmet tea bag. High quality loose tea, easy to use tea bag, reusable; three of the reasons why. I rough it up a little to make the tea inside spread out, and then I put the bag into my mug. With the tea bag ready I pour steaming hot water over it. A little bit too hot to drink. When the cup is full, I bob the tea bag in and out of the water for a minute or so, and let it site for a minute (maybe, depending on how strong I want the tea, how many times have I used the tea bag already, etc.) When letting the tea bag sit, I wrap the string around the mug handle and anchoring it with the bead at the end. After the tea is ready, I take the tea bag out of the cup, and hang it on my tea stand. With green teas and Oolong teas, this is especially important. If you leave the tea bag in the cup too long it can get very bitter.

Now that my tea is ready ( a process which took maybe two minutes) I am ready to relieve myself from this nagging headache. With the cup still steaming, I cup my hands around the mug and slowly breath in the steam. Slow, deep breathes. I do this three to five times, or until the tea has cooled down a little so that I can begin drinking it. It is still hot, but I won’t burn my tongue or lips if I drink it. Then I take small slurping sips. The hot water is important not only for the steam but also for these first few sips. The hot water slows down your drinking, and also helps to clear out your head. After a couple minutes of this I am generally feeling better.

Maybe this 5 minute practice is loosely based on tradition, and doesn’t sound too complicated, but it helps me. I am sure that all in this hectic world can appreciate 5 minutes where life is slowed down and especially a tradition that is fast, easy, and that really helps to get alleviate life’s little inconveniences; headaches, migraines, and stress.

David Giusti is a partner of Sabaidi Tea Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and exporter of Handmade Gourmet Tea Bags containing high quality herbal teas. You can read more on the company’s home page at Sabaidi and their Forum

When you think about the legacies Walt Disney left us, do
talking mice and a multigizillion dollar company come to
mind? Actually, those are only the products of his prodigious
and rich creativity dig deeper and you start to realize one
of the most intriguing heritages Disney left was his
processes.

Disney was a creative and problem-solving genius. He
knew how to make fantasy come alive in the minds and
hearts of millions of people around the world. He employed
several techniques to do this, but one of the most
interesting is his ability to seamlessly slip into different
creative “people” or “roles.”

The dreamer, the realist, the critic
One of Disney’s coworkers once said: “There were actually
three different Walts [and] you never knew which one was
coming to your meeting.” Robert Dilts, a scientist who
studied Disney, called the three different Walts “the
dreamer, the realist and the critic.” Each persona had a
specific role in the creative process, and only together did it
become “Disney magic.”

• Dream a little dream The dreamer

  Roger von Oech, creative consultant and author of A Kick in
  the Seat of the Pants, actually divides the dreamer into two
  different roles. The explorer, where you search for tidbits of
  information and interesting facts, and the artist, where you
  rearrange all the different pieces of information to make new
  and interesting patterns.

  Being the dreamer means you let your imagination go wild
  combine random thoughts in new and unusual ways; ask
  what if?; try every possibility then think of a few more. There
  are no stupid ideas at the dreamer stage every idea has
  some possibility, no matter how remote.

• Now for the real world The realist

  That idea may sound good on paper, but how do you make
  it come to life? That’s what the realist does. The realist, or
  warrior in von Oech’s language, figures out a way to
  implement the idea after all, it doesn’t do a lick of good
  lying flat on the paper.

• But is it any good The critic

  Okay, you’ve thought of a new and unusual idea and you’ve
  figured out a way to make it work. Now, the question you
  have to ask yourself is should you? Here’s the place where
  you can finally label all those ideas as being really cool or
  really stupid. Von Oech also called this persona judge.
  Evaluate the idea, look for drawbacks and benefits and
  critically weigh the evidence only then will you know if it’s
  worth pursuing or not.

How can I get all this to work in my life?
Say you’re looking for a new way to market your business, or
you’re trying to figure out a way to beat the competition, or
you need a new sales tactic. Whatever your business
problem, you can use these techniques to fire up your
creativity.

Bryan W. Mattimore, creative consultant and author of 99%
Inspiration: Tips, Tales and Techniques for Liberating your
Business Creativity (where, incidentally, he goes into much
more depth on Disney’s creative process), recommends
setting up three different rooms a dreamer room, a realist
room and a critic room. When you want to take on a different
persona, you go into a different room.

Don’t have three rooms? Why not put three chalk marks on
the floor? This exercise, taught to me by Organizational
Consultant Tracy Puett, has you physically moving to a
different circle on the floor depending on which role you
want to invoke. The physical act of moving helps many
people take on the different persona.

Or, a third possibility invented by creativity expert and author
Dr. Edward DeBono is to use different colored hats. Each
color represents a different persona. When you want to think
like that persona, put on a different hat. You can even add
additional colors for other moods, such as feeling an
emotional point of view, if you want.

But, the real point of creativity is to try to break the mold.
Once you’re able to step out of habits and old ways of
thinking, then you re ready to let your creativity soar.

Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and
Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She
offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine
their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting
principles to become more successful at attracting new
clients, selling products and services and boosting
business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com

Professional athletes and other highly successful people use the power of visualization technique on a regular basis. Why? Results of a 20-year study of the effects of visualization on results revealed an amazing discovery. Humans see pictures on the screen of the mind when thoughts are being processed; i.e. when they think of things.

For example, if a person, let’s say, George Right, stopped doing what he was doing right now, closed his eyes and thought of his car. What would he see? Is it the word CAR that pops up on the screen of his mind or a visual image?

Mentally, here’s what is actually happening…

George is accessing a memory from his mind that was instilled while he was first learning what a “car” is. Then specifically, his present car popped up. He didn’t always know it was called a car.

Similarly, other humans associate names with images or other forms of stimuli as a way to refer back to them in the mind. And here’s an example of why this simple talent is so important.

Let’s go back to George for a moment. When he goes to find his car after he’s been at a shopping mall, all he is focusing on is finding the image that he has inside his head for his car. He quickly scans the parking lot and with lightning speed eliminates all other cars until he finds the familiar one that he is focused on.

With this example in mind, here is a behind-the-scenes look at how to use visualization to achieve any goal.

• Visualize an outcome you want over and over again to build ‘cells of recognition’ in your memory bank, just like you may have had with a car or other learned object when you were younger. This serves in the following two ways.

• First: you become consciously and acutely aware of everything that can help you achieve the visualized outcome that you desire. (Just like looking for a car). You quickly scan over anything that is not in tune with that image.

  When you continuously focus on an image in your mind, every cell in your body is involved in that image and you vibrate and resonate with everything that is in harmony with that frequency both on a physical and non-physical level. This frequency moves you towards, and moves everything that is needed towards you, for the manifestation of the desired image.

• Second: you impress an idea into the subconscious part of you, it eventually becomes ‘fixed’ and you automatically attract and move towards that which you desire.

The reason athletes practice visualization is because they want to condition their mind in such a way that the body automatically behaves the way they want it to without effort. It is the only way to become ‘unconsciously competent’.

The same is true for highly successful people. If they visualize the success they want over and over again, eventually their bodies will automatically do whatever it must to make the image a physical reality.

The outside world is a mirror image of the inside and hidden mental world. Unfortunately, very few people have really taken the time to learn this side of their personality. And that is unfortunate because this is the part that is so powerful.

To visualize is to direct unseen energy into an orderly vibration and that is what is needed to manifest desires of the inner self. Desires must first be created in thoughts and then they are created in ‘ real life’. Humans are the sum of what they think about and focus on most.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated – send to: John@TheStreetKid.com

About The Author

John Assaraf, aka The Street Kid, New York Times & Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author, Trainer & Entrepreneur

http://www.TheStreetKid.com

A free prepaid debit card is a viable alternative to a credit card. If you are looking for a mode of payment which can save money and also help you manage your finances, then you can go for free prepaid debit cards. Prepaid debit cards are easier to apply compared to credit cards. If you are an employee of a business organization, you are given a free prepaid debit card. You often get these cards free as a promotional move also.

Free prepaid debit cards require no employee verification, bank accounts or past record of credit history. There is no credit line attached, so there is no worry about going past the credit limit and getting involved in a bad credit situation. You can manage your finances well and your overspending habits are curbed. Here are some of the 5 tips which can help you choose a free prepaid debit card wisely:

1. World wide acceptability: Most free prepaid debit cards are accepted at locations and shopping outlets which display the logo of the debit card company. However there may be some places and shops where which your free prepaid debit card may not be accepted. Make sure that you thoroughly know about the acceptability of the card in most of the locations you will be shopping or using the card.

2. Convenience: A prepaid debit card is just as convenient to use as a credit card. You should however know if you can use the card for online shopping and purchasing items over the phone. You can read the fine print of the free prepaid debit card company or find information from its website about the terms and conditions if any, of the usage of card online and for transactions over the phone.

3. Value added services: Your free prepaid debit card company should give you different value added services like sending your statements online or through the mail to your home or office. Some prepaid debit cards also notify you about the salary credited to your account, on your cell phone itself. Choose a debit card which can transfer funds from one debit card to the other without any problems. You can also choose a customized card where you can emboss your name or photo. Check with the debit card company if you have a certain amount for the customization.

4. Insurance: Choose a prepaid debit card which gives you insurance against loss, theft or damage to the card. You should be reimbursed for any funds that are taken out of your bank or debit card account when the card is stolen.

5. Terms and conditions: Though it is stated that a free prepaid debit card does not have any fees, you may be charged for things like card renewal or replacement of the card lost or damaged. You may be also charged a certain fee if you withdraw cash from the ATM for more than a certain number of times in day. Also a free prepaid debit card is offered as a corporate salary account by big corporate companies to their employees. After you leave the organization, the bank notifies you that the corporate account will be converted into a current account with your permission. You will be required to keep a minimum quarterly balance or so in your debit card account, otherwise you will be charged a certain amount of fee for non-maintenance of the minimum balance. You are also charged a transaction fee if you use the free prepaid debit card to remove cash on your account from the ATM location of another debit card company or bank. Find out if the above conditions are attached with your free prepaid debit card and to what extent you are liable.

Daniel Cohen recommends Find Credit Cards for comparing different free prepaid debit cards.

Hands down, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is the best Christmas-themed comedy ever filmed. Personally, I make it habit to watch this movie about ten million times between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Even after seeing the film so many times that I can recite it word-for-word, Christmas Vacation remains as hilarious and entertaining as the previous holiday season. More than just a seasonal film, it’s one of those rare comedies that it near perfect from beginning to end.

Christmas Vacation follows the ongoing exploits of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and the Griswold family, but this particular rendition of the classic Vacation movies is arguably the best. As in the previous films, Clark’s goal is to create the perfect vacation for his family. Only this time, instead of hitting the road for Wally World or flying to Europe, the Griswolds stay at home in suburban Chicago.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (mere months away from signing on for the role of Elaine on Seinfeld) makes several appearances as Clark’s annoying, yuppie neighbor Margot, a character accompanied by her equally elitist yuppie partner, Todd (Nicholas Guest). Randy Quaid makes a return appearance as Cousin Eddie, playing the same role from the original Vacation film. As Clark’s unsophisticated and backward relative, Eddie is a man whose “heart is bigger than his brain”. Beverly D’Angelo also returns in her previous role as Clark’s wife, Ellen.

When Clark vows to create “the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever,” things naturally go awry. With the Griswold family and their in-laws living under one roof, the relatives constantly get on each others’ nerves. Clark sets out to decorate the house for Christmas, and his quest culminates in a 25,000 light extravaganza that covers every square inch of the house. In the process, he nearly breaks his neck several times and knocks out Todd and Margot’s window with a flying lance of roof gutter ice.

The laughs multiply several times over when Cousin Eddie arrives uninvited and parks his RV in the Griswold driveway. In tow are his wife Catherine, their two kids Ruby Sue and Rocky, and their lovely dog “Snots”. The crescendo of disaster steadily increases as Christmas Day approaches with Clark’s agony compounded the absence of his annual Christmas bonus. Clark’s big Christmas surprise for the family is that he’s putting in a pool, but in order to start work as soon as the ground thawed out, he had to put down a hefty deposit which his check won’t cover without the Christmas bonus.

After a Christmas Eve in which the turkey explodes, Aunt Bethany’s cat electrocutes itself, Uncle Lewis burns down the tree, and a squirrel gets loose in the house, a late night knock on the door provides Clark with hope. A deliveryman hands him an envelope which fell between the seats, the fabled Christmas bonus. But when the bonus isn’t quite what Clark expected, Cousin Eddie surprises Clark with an unexpected last minute gift…

Originally released in 1989, Christmas Vacation has surprisingly little content that makes it seem “dated”. As such, it’s certain to be a holiday viewing tradition for generations to come. With some of the best one-liners in all of comedy, you’ll find yourself reciting its dialogue for many Christmases to come. But what makes Christmas Vacation such an enduring film is that everyone who watches it can relate to the events within. Almost everyone has a strange relative like Eddie or a pair of snotty elitist neighbors, and of course, who hasn’t had a squirrel ransack their house on Christmas Eve? Overall, this movie is a barrel of laughs. If you don’t like it, you probably aren’t breathing…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (DVD).

Throughout confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill for sormer South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle senators as different as Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Bob Dole (R-KS), joined together to sing the praises of Daschle to lead the department of Health and Human Services, a department widely seen as the focal point of the new administration’s promised action on health care reform.

Mr. Kennedy called Mr. Daschle “the perfect man for the job”, while Mr. Dole praised his “thorough understanding” of the issues involved in the monumental undertaking that is the reform of the American health care system.

When you consider that the Senate is, above all else, a club with membership privileges which (generally) transcend partisan policitcs, Mr. Daschle’s nomination appears to be all but assured.

Those who are very interested in issues such as universal coverage, can take heart in the knowledge that Mr. Daschle (who worked extensively on health care reform with then-First Lady Hillary Clinton) will bring the energy and knowledge of the issues surrounding health care reform that will be definitely necessary in the time ahead.

More importantly, Mr. Daschle will have to sway a hostile republican delegation, which sees the incoming president’s plans for a public health coverage scheme to compete with private insurers as an abomination.

Whether the former senator’s clout on Capitol Hill will be enough to convince the GOP (and their partisans and lobbyists in the private sector ) remains to be seen. The incoming administration has pledged to fix the struggling U.S. health care system once and for all (a mission which has been tried before), and Mr. Daschle definitely appears to be right person in the right place at the right time.
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———-Jonathan Krakowski writes a weekly column for Life Insurance In-Depth, an award-winning insurance information site.

He also writes regularly about Massachusetts auto insurance.

It probably won’t surprise you that experts disagree on whether or not children should take vitamins. On one side of the debate are medical experts who believe that children obtain a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals from their diet. On the flip side are medical professionals who view the need for vitamin supplementation for adults to be the same for children. Experts with this belief recognize that children, like adults, don’t always consume the foods they need to obtain sufficient nutrients.

For example, children commonly have an aversion to vegetables, such as broccoli. Children may also have health conditions that prevent them from consuming a particular food. In these cases, children may not obtain sufficient amounts of nutrients. This concern is significant for children because the nutrients are imperative to their growth.

One element that is significant to a child’s growth is fluoride. Fluoride contributes to healthy teeth and bones. Most children obtain all the fluoride they need from drinking water. However, the growing popularity of bottled water places many children at risk of fluoride deficiency. There are also many communities that use non-fluoridated drinking water. Children older than six months who are affected by these situations are good candidates for fluoride supplementation. Parents should inform their medical doctor of these circumstances so that the physician can possibly recommend fluoride vitamins for the child.

Similar to fluoride, calcium is another mineral that children need for strong teeth and bones. Children rarely have a calcium deficiency. There are, however, a small percentage of children who do not obtain the recommended amount of calcium for their age group (from 800-1399 milligrams). These children either have an allergy or consuming dairy products or are vegetarians who do not consume dairy products.

Deciding to supplement a child’s diet with vitamins is not a decision that parents should make alone. While an excess of most vitamins in adults may cause mild side effects, children may experience more severe side effects. In addition, vitamins for children often look like candy and should be stored in a location out of the reach of children to prevent overdose.

To check out the supplement we take daily and highly recommend, be sure to check out http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/what-we-use.html

Nutrition supplements

John Gibb manages Multivitamins

www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com

The site dedicated to optimising health.