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Archive for November, 2008

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A Success Building BLOG

November 29th, 2008 by Krayton M Davis | No Comments | Filed in Achieving Success

BLOG postings: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for all posts and PDF downloads)

Discipline to Success: The Spiritual Attribute

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

continuation from BLOG posting: spiritual development

Building Your
Spiritual Skills

Moral Ethics

Finally, spiritual development is your adherence to moral ethics. These ethics are the “Thou shall’s . . .”

Thou shall being honest is all of thy doings.
Thou shall treat everyone as equal regardless of race, religion, or background.
Thou shall obey the laws of the land, if the laws are representative of the people.
Thou shall not tell lies or spread false rumors.
Thou shall not steal, covet or murder.
Thou shall not inflict harm in any way.

There are many “Thou shall’s” and “Thou shall not’s.” You can find them in our laws and public policies. If you lie, steal, commit fraud, or engage in any raciest or sexiest acts, you should work to overcome these moral faults and engage in acts that are goodly and just.

…………

There you have it — spiritual traits that make up the spiritual attribute. Spiritual development is the increase of faith, virtue, patience, charity, humility, diligence and moral ethics.

You can see why the spiritual attribute takes the most amount of energy to develop, while impacting your motivation at lower levels than any of the other four character attributes. Spiritual development is mostly intangible. The time to notice a spiritual change takes much longer to measure. That is why you should develop the spiritual attribute last.

Next week, we will start our discussion on building our spiritual attribute.

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Happy Black Friday, Now Start Your Shopping!

November 28th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 3 Comments | Filed in Consumer Tips, Fun Stuff

Happy “the day after” to you and yours – the day after Thanksgiving, that is.

Today marks the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season, the countdown to Christmas which is less than four weeks away. Hopefully, you’ve picked your bird clean, polished off the last of the pumpkin pie, and sent unwanted leftovers home with your guests. After eating the equivalent of three meals in one sitting, you’ll need to get all the exercise you can to Christmas giftput off undesirable bulk. So, strap on your running shoes, throw on your overcoat and do what you do best: shop!

Before you run out, do you have all the tools at your disposal to help you find the best deals? In many locations, the Thanksgiving Day newspaper is the biggest issue of the year – jam packed with ads, advice, and savings tips. You’ll end up spending a significant chunk of your time sifting through all of the ads, but here is one bit of advice that you cannot discount: pull out those ads for stores you’ll want to visit and toss the rest.

Many stores will open early and some will offer specials during their first few hours, great buys that aren’t offered at any other time of the year. This means that if you hit the store when it opens at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m., you stand a chance of finding that four-slice two-slot bagel crisping toaster that your Aunt Bertha wants. Who cares that she lives alone and has no use for the thing? That’s what she wants, so be a good nephew or niece and line up at your local Global*Mart at 4:30 to secure your place in line.

Okay, so getting up before the sun rises isn’t your cup of tea, then what? Well, you’re probably still in luck. Some stores will be fairly well picked over by 8, while others will be restocking all day long. What’s more, you’ll find stores having specials in the morning – 7 to 11/12 – and in the afternoon – 12/1 to 5 – perhaps in the evening too. This year, with the economy being so tight, retailers are competing for customers and will be offering their best deals early. So, if you can’t stand being online out in the cold at some awful hour, grab a cup of coffee and head out a few hours later.

While malls will be jam packed, don’t forget downtown areas even if your business district is only a shell of its former self. Lots of mom and pop stores are still out there, some selling jewelry, others selling clothing, while still others featuring household items. You may not find the best prices on Black Friday at one of these stores but you’ll have smaller crowds to contend with and enjoy one attribute lacking almost everywhere else: customer service.

Finally, if even leaving the home has you dreading traffic, crowds, rude people, and the attendant sore feet, why not simply skip the shopping and stay at home? Computers are a great way to get your shopping done as some of the best buys can be found right online. In fact, the busiest online shopping day is Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving when holiday weary employees return to work, log on, and continue to shop…on company time!

Adv. — Do you need some great gift ideas? Does the thought of venturing out to the mall have you stressed even feeling anxious? If so, then look for what you want to buy online! Visit nBuy Plaza to find better deals than your local strip mall. While there, print out Santa’s List and download your free Christmas Party Holiday Kit to help you plan your social events for the month of December, even beyond. Happy shopping!


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Let’s Give Thanks Today!

November 27th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Fun Stuff

I’ve been taking a look at various presidential thanksgiving proclamations lately and have concluded that we, as a nation, tend to forget just how bountiful our blessings really are. The Thanksgiving holiday is a truly secular holiday, but it was created to allow Americans of every race, creed, ethnic group or other background to give thanks to God for his protection and provision, particularly for the past year.

George Washington issued the first presidential thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, which was the last Thursday of November. Much later, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, the Thanksgiving holiday became law, established on the fourth Thursday of November. Today, in between food, football games, and family times, why not read the following proclamation to your family as a reminder of what the day is truly about?

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to you and yours!


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Looking To Save Money? Show Your Card!

November 26th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 6 Comments | Filed in Consumer Tips

Tight economic times means one thing: you need to find ways to save money or cut back. The latter is often the choice for some, but what if you simply cannot stop doing something? Families need to be visited, clothes for children purchased, and food purchased. Some leisure items can be trimmed such as premium cable, magazine subscriptions, sports clubs, etc., but what about the rest of your Piggybanklifestyle? Is there any room to save?

Fortunately, showing a small piece of plastic can often spell the difference between paying full price for something and receiving a discount, saving money or paying too much for what others are getting for less. Yes, plastic could be the material that keeps your budget intact, spelling the difference between living in the red and living in the black. Please read on to learn about plastic savings and how you can reap similar rewards.

AAA – If you have an auto club membership, that little card can be flashed often to yield savings for you. Book a hotel, reserve a rental car, save on airfare, and even save at several retail locations by showing your AAA card when you make a purchase. Savings can vary widely, but a handful of flashes of your auto club card per year and you’ll more than make up for the membership cost.

AARP – Who says that growing old isn’t advantageous? If you are as young as 50 you can join AARP and do what millions of others have being doing before you: save on mostly everything. Like your auto club card, savings can be had on so many different things as the power of AARP helps to bring down consumer costs.

Supermarket Cards – If you frequent one or two supermarkets, do you have a store card handy to reap all of the rewards? Clipless coupons have replaced store coupons and one way to get the best savings is to sign up for your favorite supermarket’s savings card and use it every time that you shop. Savings come automatically – just show your card before your transaction is totaled and you’ll save money off of your purchases.

Warehouse Clubs – I belong to BJ’s while Costco and Sam’s Club are two other warehouse clubs that offer similar savings. I save about thirty percent off of my purchases and routinely stop by the adjoining gas station for an additional ten cents per gallon savings. The latter means that I save about $150 on gas each year, more than triple the annual warehouse club membership cost alone.

Union or Club Card – If you belong to a union or are a member of some other trade group, your card could result in additional savings for you. Not all discounts are posted, so break out your card before the transaction is totaled to see if savings can come your way.

Even cardless shoppers are finding out that some retailers are in the bargaining mood in a bid to sell slow moving goods. At the very least you can ask and they can say no, but then some will say yes, bringing to you unexpected, but very welcome savings.

Adv. — Save money on all of your consumer spending by shopping wisely. Visit SayLowerBills.com to find ways to save on health costs, home improvement, travel, entertainment, toys for Christmas, and much more.


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