8 Brief Lessons in Success

Written by Thom Rutledge


Continued from page 1

The bad news is that you can’t just make those negative, toxic thoughts go away. Here isrepparttar good new: You don’t have to make them go away. You just have to disagree with them.

THE NUTSHELL: To your Should Monster, say, “I see you; I hear you; and I disagree with you.”

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LESSON SIX: Seerepparttar 106693 Greater Possibilities.

Any motivational speaker will tell you that in order to succeed, you need to be open torepparttar 106694 positive. Learn to see and seekrepparttar 106695 greater possibilities. Takerepparttar 106696 time to develop clear images of your goals. Takerepparttar 106697 risk (and it will feel risky) to practice expecting positive outcomes. When necessary, utilize a simple slogan heard repeatedly inrepparttar 106698 program of Alcoholics Anonymous: fake it ‘til you make it.

Too often, we know much more about what we don’t want than what we do want. If we stop there, we will not have any idea how to change, and frequently we will return torepparttar 106699 safe haven ofrepparttar 106700 familiar, those old patterns of thinking and behaving that we have already proven to be ineffective. Set you sights on specific goals, your specific goals.

THE NUTSHELL: Once you identify something you don’t want, put into words, and into a visual image, something that you want instead.

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LESSON SEVEN: Remain an Independent Thinker.

Trust no one who will tell you they have THE answer, THE way, THE plan, THE diet, THE anything. There are probably as many different approaches to genuine self-improvement as there are people, or at least as many different approaches as there are hucksters (like me) on their soap boxes telling you how to do it.

This lesson is a word torepparttar 106701 wise. Take inrepparttar 106702 information --- from this article and from any other sources that seem potentially credible --- as raw material, raw material to be processed by your own good judgment. Accept nothing at face value. If an idea, a method or a technique appears to have value for you, take it offrepparttar 106703 shelf, hold it in your own hands, examine it, try it on, or try it out. Make adjustments according to your own good thinking. Accept it as your own “by decision,” not “by default.” Userepparttar 106704 line-item veto; you never have to accept anything all or nothing.

THE NUTSHELL: I will respect your opinion. I will trust my judgment.

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LESSON EIGHT: Work fromrepparttar 106705 inside out.

To insure that I am pursuing a path of personal responsibility that will lead me torepparttar 106706 success I seek, I keep this slogan in mind: “The first part of any conflict that I must solve is that which is between me and me.” This is not to say that I will not have legitimate “external” problems with you, or my wife, or boss, or colleague. And this is not to encouragerepparttar 106707 old codependent (and self-victimizing) approach of habitually opting for self-blame. When I remember to begin by resolving what is between me and me, I am effectively practicingrepparttar 106708 principle Stephen Covey emphasizes, “First Things First” (Covey, 1989), and being congruent withrepparttar 106709 simple and powerful truth that growth always moves fromrepparttar 106710 inside out. Growth in its literal sense is expansion. Expansion moves fromrepparttar 106711 inside out.

Considerrepparttar 106712 ripples in a pool of water when a pebble is dropped in. Now picture it this way: The pebble is dropped inrepparttar 106713 water, and somewhere far away fromrepparttar 106714 pebble, slight ripples begin to form, moving inward towardrepparttar 106715 point whererepparttar 106716 pebble was dropped. The ripples become more and more prevalent as they move in towardrepparttar 106717 center point whererepparttar 106718 pebble hitrepparttar 106719 water.

It is a strange image, isn’t it? It is an image that will make no sense to us because it is not based on reality, or at least any reality that we know of yet. We can agree that to expectrepparttar 106720 ripples to move fromrepparttar 106721 outside in is ridiculous, and yet that is exactly what we are expecting when we wait for others around us, of for our circumstances, to change before we do.

THE NUTSHELL: The change I seek always begins with me.

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AND ONE TO GROW ON

Put any or all of these eight lessons into practice in your life, and I will guarantee that you will see a change forrepparttar 106722 better. But giverepparttar 106723 lessons time to work. One problem that most of us ---if not all of us --- face from time to time is impatience. Remember that perfection is out ofrepparttar 106724 question as long as we are walking around in this human skin. Remember also that there are more often than not many ways to “get it right.”

Then, to quote an old Roger Miller song (You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd): “All you’ve got to do is put your mind to it, knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it.” Therein liesrepparttar 106725 ninth of these eight lessons, and very likelyrepparttar 106726 most important lesson of all: Inrepparttar 106727 end, it is persistence that will always pay off.



Thom Rutledge is a psychotherapist and author of several books. His new book, Embracing Fear, will be available June 2002. Contact: thomrut@us.inter.net www.webpowers.com/thomrutledge


Cutting Health Insurance Costs

Written by Tony Novak


Continued from page 1

4. Use student medical plans and foreign travel plans if you qualify. These plans offer better deals than traditional coverage.

5. Choose a higher deductible. By taking a $1000 deductible, you will save more than $1000 in premium payments over a year's time. This should be an easy decision from a mathematical viewpoint, but still many people buy policies with a low deductible. It makes no financial sense to pay an insurance company $1000 in premiums for medical care that you could buy for $600 cash.

6. Choose indemnity type coverage and avoid HMOs. This lets you andrepparttar doctor that you choose maintain control of your own medical care. This saves money inrepparttar 106692 long run by allowingrepparttar 106693 best course of treatment fromrepparttar 106694 outset of any medical condition.

7. Userepparttar 106695 Internet. Technology now allow for online pricing and enrollment with policies issued within 24 hours. Savings have resulted in lower premium prices. Some plans offer premiums as low as $25 per month for catastrophic coverage for young people.

8. Avoidrepparttar 106696 scams. Unfortunately, self-employed individuals are a prime target market of numerous health plan marketing scams. State insurance departments continuously shut down disreputable plans, but new ones sprout up just as quickly. Well-established and reputable health plans are obtained from well-established and reputable distributors. Good health plans do not use multi-level marketing schemes. All individuals handling your health plans enrollment should be licensed, bonded and insured. Beware of individuals who claim that they do not need an insurance license in your state or can not provide evidence of errors and omission coverage or a bond issued by an insurance company. Rememberrepparttar 106697 old adage “if it sounds too good to be true…”. This certainly applies when shopping for health insurance.

Tony Novak, MBA, MT is a writer and financial adviser in Narberth, PA. His businesses MedSave.com and Freedom Benefits Association provide online benefits enrollment to individuals and businesses in 47 states.


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