For example, beauty fades, cars rust, houses deteroriate and relatives inherit. Many people believe that power comes from things they control and manipulate. Nothing in this external world is permanent...everything is "slippery" and will one day slip away from you.

Real power only comes to us as we take responsibility for our lives. It comes when we stop playing "victim" and "blame" game. You and you alone are responsible for your destiny.

When I working on my masters degree I had to face was called a professional assessment close to graduation. Completing this assessenment would make me a candidate for graduation. If I failed assessment I could be made to stay in school longer.

by Doug C. Grant

"What's this nonsense I keep hearing you mutter? 'Every day in every way I'm getting better and better.' "

"It's part of my new self-improvement program," I proudly announced in response to another nagging i-mail from Other-Self. These i-mails arrive internally with regularity of e-mail but without a delete button.

"You call muttering a cliche a self-improvement program?"

"Absolutely. I also thought you'd send along a little applause. After all you're one who's always nagging me about self-improvement."

"And you actually think that saying a silly phrase over and over is going to result in some sort of magical change?"

As usual, Other-Self had me on defensive. "Well, not over night, of course. It's a gradual thing. But even if there's no magical change, as you put it, repeating an affirmation can't hurt."

"Who says?"

"Everybody says. Besides, I thought positive thinking was a big high for you."

"Positive thinking...yes. Positive lying...no."

"Lying! You call an affirmation a lie?"

"Doesn't matter what I call it. It's what your subconscious calls it. And every time you repeat your silly cliche, your subconscious is saying, 'Ain't a word of truth in it.' "

"That's ridiculous. Why would my subconscious say something like that?"

"Because you've programmed it that way. Just this morning I heard you tell someone on phone that if bus fares were a nickel you still couldn't afford a trip down block."

"That was just a joke."

"Your subconscious didn't think so. It doesn't have a humorous cell in its brain. Your so called joke went right into a reality file labeled ‛Lack'...along with a lot of other dumb statements you've made over years. Here's another example. What did you tell Harvey just this afternoon when he asked how you were feeling?"