Turn your mind towards solutions. We have created more advanced technologies than ever before yet we still struggle to live together without fear of other person. Turn your mind towards solving our world's greatest problems. Begin with five biggest problems in your life. Seek to solve them as your contribution to solving world's problems.

You are not alone. Many people are making small changes in their lives. Although media and newspapers portray mainly bad news, there are still people of honour, goodwill and vision who wish to make a difference. The survival of our human species and our planet is causing people to connect at a higher consciousness. Small shifts lead to major changes. This is happening all over planet. People are asking questions about how we can change our lives and world for better. It gives you a sense of connectedness when you think that people all over world are feeling something similar to you right now. People are re-evaluating their lives. In living rooms, classrooms, prison cells, wheatfields, skifields, temples and hospitals. Change is happening.

Start now. Start to make changes in your life now. Many people are waiting for a new leader to emerge, someone to say "follow me". Well, irony is that we all need to become a leader of sorts. We cannot abdicate our own responsibilities by looking towards someone or something else. Just look in mirror and start there.

Muhammed Ali once produced world's shortest poem when he simply said "ME, WE". It's a simple message that can perhaps save an entire species.

Hirini Reedy is a native Maori author, civil engineer, retired military officer, martial arts black belt, NLP master practitioner and internet entrepreneur. He combines technology with native wisdom to create holistic life solutions. http://www.maori-secrets.com

All those "bad" things -- smoking, overeating, gambling, alcohol, list goes on and on -- are easy ways to fill void. Smokers will be able to relate to this one -- if you've just had a fight with your family, what do you do? You go for a smoke. Smoking makes it feel like problem goes away. (I call this "smokescreen." Har har!)

I'll let you in on a little secret--the real reason it's so hard to quit is not nicotine. It's this void-filling. When you quit smoking (or any bad habit), you're suddenly faced with real life. All those stresses and needs that you've been avoiding? There they are, pulling at your coat tails, yelling, "Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!" If you got in touch with your real inner needs and took baby steps to start fulfilling them, you would actually have little desire for cigarettes. It's true! I see it happen time and again in my Stop Smoking Coaching practice.

How do you do that, you ask? Here are some baby steps that you can start trying out now: •Next time, instead of taking that quick fix--stop. •Have a little quiet time and listen to what your insides have been trying to tell you. •Try journaling -- don't edit your thoughts, just write. •Some people find meditation and yoga to be great accesses. •Try deep breathing. •Go for a quiet, leisurely walk by yourself. •Personally, I find it easiest to just start noticing where in life I seem to be avoiding things most, or if I want something more immediate and active, doing a mindmap (a word drawing) to figure out what I'm really thinking.

For each person, key to figuring out your needs is different. Play around with it, don't give up! You'll be glad you did! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jill Binder is a Stop Smoking Coach with a 90 day program to show people how to quit smoking forever, with a 100% success rate. She is author of "What's Your Smoking Type?" and has appeared on radio on "Radioactive Women" and newspaper Metro Toronto Today.

You can sign up for her newsletter, "YourTurn - Turn Your Weaknesses Into Your Perfect Life" at http://www.StopSmokingCoach.ca.

Jill Binder is a Stop Smoking Coach with a 90 day program to show people how to quit smoking forever, with a 100% success rate. She is the author of "What's Your Smoking Type?" and has appeared on the radio on "Radioactive Women" and the newspaper Metro Toronto Today.