Having low self esteem takes an enormous toll on quality of your life. You take fewer risks, which limits your opportunities, both personally and professionally. You are reluctant to voice or acknowledge your needs. You are probably also haunted by past mistakes and making future ones.

It doesn't have to be like this, tools you've used to (unconsciously) lower your self esteem are same ones you use to raise it. The following article gives you ten tips to raise your self esteem and improve quality of your life!

1. Stop comparing yourself to other people. If you play this game, you're likely to compare yourself in a negative way and set yourself up for continuing to have low self esteem. Why continue to play a game where you've set rules against yourself, so that you're less likely to win!

2. Don't keep putting yourself down! You can't develop high self esteem if you constantly repeat negative comments about your skills and abilities. Other people will pick up on it and take on board negative way you view yourself. How are they likely to treat you? Also don't beat yourself up over "mistakes" that you've made - learn how to reframe them so that they work for you.

3. Using affirmations is an excellent way to raise your self esteem. It's opposite of no 1. If you can programme your mind to repeat negative phrases about yourself (and see how effective that's been!), then you can certainly get into habit of continually thinking (and saying to yourself) positive statements about you. When you do, allow yourself to experience positive feelings about your statements. Also use inspirational quotes to assist you.

4. Accept all compliments graciously. Don't dismiss or ignore them. When you do you give yourself message that you do not deserve or are not worthy of praise, which reflects low self esteem. It also means that others will become more reluctant to praise or acknowledge your abilities, if you don't.

This nation born in bloodshed, grew mighty by bloodshed - and perishes in bloodshed. Or maybe not. Is it unreasonable to imagine we have as good as a 50/50 chance? Help! Call 911! Done. Now what? The alarm clock rings and none can silence it. The people of world fear and tremble. The great warrior nation goes again to war.

The war on terrorism, like great wars on poverty, crime, drugs, disease, education and family, will never be won, or ended. This is because people who profit from war, write rules by which we agree to live. As long as business and government have unlimited credit, backed by workers, taxpayers, and consumers, war will continue and expand. America will perish.

The message of 9/11 is change or perish. The people of America are getting message. How about you? Have you heard message? Have you learned to count your blessings, which include ability to change your ways and by so doing those of your neighbors? Have you learned you can no longer depend on people you trust with your very life? Have you decided to abandon sinking war machine for a life of peace and harmony in little lifeboats of New Age? If so, welcome aboard, we desperately need your help. If not, we'll try to save you a place and do without you - no hard feelings.

The name of New Age lifeboats is Independence, unfulfilled promise of our founders. From birth we have been dependent on others for necessities of life; food, clothing, shelter, love, caring, companionship. You name it. We demand others provide it and we pay whatever price we can afford. The more we can afford, more is supplied.

We pay top dollar for doctoring and get greater disease as treatment only spirals in cost. We die for lack of money and cure. Does this make sense? Of course not. So why do we continue this fraud that kills us, makes us weak and foolish?

One of key answers is Tell-A-Vision. Once a week, TV news will tell us to pursue a healthy lifestyle. Get regular exercise. Drink more water. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Eat less meat. Get more rest. When typical viewer/watcher gets this message, paid for by corporate sponsors, s/he will have received 100 messages telling her to watch more TV, drink Coca Cola, eat burgers and Doritos. Get new drugs from her doctor. Turn off this electronic mind bender.

How did we learn alphabet, our math tables, science, history? We learned by repetition, repetition, repetition. Science has proven that anything repeated often enough becomes accepted as truth by subconscious. By this simple method, Machine Age has created entire nations of uncritical, unthinking, uncaring robots. There is hardly one of us that wants to be a cog in machine that is Enron, Exxon, Arthur Anderson, World Com, Quest or America, because we perceive machines are breaking down, as they always do. America is looking for its soul - and finding it. Hooray for America!

The message of Tell-A-Vision is consume, consume, consume. We have lost so much respect for customer of yesteryear, we are called consumers. Implied in that label is idea we produce nothing of value and our purpose in life is to consume what we are told, and like it. We are nothing if not obedient and we are sad to learn how much truth there is in this implication. If and when we learn this truth that oils machine.