Stress, Stress and more Stress

Sometimes we all feel like this. All stressed out and believing we have no where to go. That there is nothing we can do to change the situation we are in. We feel like life is just too much for us to handle. Can't take any more.

I am going to make a statement that I am sure that some will disagree with: Stress is not always bad. Okay, I know what you are thinking: I must have lost my cookies to state something like that. But, if you will do some research you will see that the statement is true.

Some stresses may actually be good for us if the stress you are feeling makes you really take a look at what is causing the stress. Then you take positive action to correct whatever circumstances are causing you to feel stressed. Most of the time this is not easy but will pay big dividends because you will find a way to eliminate your stress.

Stress can come on us at any time. It can be something that threatens our personal life. It can also be something that threatens our business. If you have stress in one area you will have stress in all areas of your life. The two are inseparable.

Bad stress will have a big impact on you mentally and physically. It will wear you down to a pulp. It will chew you up and spit you out. This is when you need and must take a positive step to correct the stress you are feeling.

If your life or business is causing you to stress out then maybe you need to make some drastic changes. That business is not worth your sanity and health. Look elsewhere and take some advice from this movie:



Do you have stress? Let me know how you handle your stress by leaving a comment. Thanks.

Elaine

Facebook Scams

Millions of people a day use Facebook for socializing and business. Including myself. Most of us are moral, ethical individuals but not all. It is a sad state when we have to be on the look out for those that only want to cause us harm in some way.

Today while eating lunch I happen to come across a TV show on HLN with Clark Howard. He does a regular segment on HLN and I have watched his show before. Today I was paying half attention until I heard Facebook Scams. My ears perked up and my eyes focused on the TV screen.

This topic, of course, was of interest to me since I use Facebook. The scam he was talking about had to do with iPads and/or iPhones. As soon as I heard it I remembered some time back getting a private message about just this same thing. I had not responded to the message and had deleted it.

I thought if I had a copy of the message I could include it in this post so everyone could see what it looks like. To my surprise after logging into Facebook this afternoon there was a new message for me and it was another message about a free iPhone. Great!!!! Now I can show you what it says.

CAUTION: DO NOT CLICK THE LICK
"greetings, since you are as well a friend of John I'll tell u what exactly I discovered. that website http://www.facebook.com/pages/1144466119/233941543337782 is messing up right now and giving away an i phone5 to persons which usually are on face book for nothing...all they will want is your opinion about the iPhone5 and u can keep it permanently. but u should hurry up before they shut it."

iPhone Scam

Note the grammar in the message. I have no idea what 'John' this message is referring to. Could be a pimp for all I know. (No, I don't think I know any pimps.) I realize that this type of message or post is very enticing but beware. It is better to be cautious than to get wrapped up in a scam like this. Report the message or wall post and then delete it.

You should be very careful when using any social site or responding to an email. If the message sounds to good it is probably not good for you.

By the way, according to Clark, not only do you get scammed but when you click on the link a message will go out to all your friends and connections with the same message. Also, you have just given the scammers access to your computer. Not good!!

I hope you have not already fallen for this type of scam. If you have you can go to Clark's website and look for scams. A solution is posted to get rid of this problem. Sorry, I found it one time and for the life of me I can't find it again. But, I know it is there. You just have to look for it.

Let me know what you think about scammers that pray on innocent people by leaving a comment below. Thanks.

Elaine

Just One More Inch

A lot of times in our life we desperately need something or someone to help us move forward. The same can be said of those of us that own our own business. We just need a little boost. A little spark of something that will keep us going. And, give us some inner energy to keep moving forward toward our why we started down this path to begin with.

I tend to be a very optimistic person but even at times I have needed a calm fire put under by back side to get me moving on. I read a book several years back by Charles Swindoll titled Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back. It helped me to understand that life can be a bummer at times (I knew this already.) and that I just have to bend with the wind and keep going. That is what I do. I may fall back but I keep going. This allows me to gain success in my life and my business.

Even if that forward movement is only an inch at a time.

I certainly, like everyone else, feel like throwing my hands up sometimes and quitting. One of the helpful things that I do when this happens to me is to walk away, clear my head and give myself some time to think through what it is that I personally want out of my life and my business. I am not quitting. I am merely meditating upon my own beliefs and actions.

Something else that I find that helps me is to stay tuned-in with my business. Even at my worst times I continue to be on conference calls, webinars and whatever else is offered by the company I am affiliated with. This helps me to clear my thoughts of being down because things aren't going exactly the way I want them to go. I don't quit being involved.

My faith plays a major role in everything that I do. I know that if I keep moving forward and believing that I am where I am suppose to be that soon I will turn that corner and be on a clear path to the finish line.



When you feel like that you just can't take another step toward what you really want for your life and business then take a tiny one inch step and keep going. You will reach whatever it is you desire for yourself. Believe it!

Thanks to Linda Grace Cox for sharing this video on her website. Be sure to look her up on Facebook.

Just One More Inch is all it takes to move forward...

If you liked this post please leave me a comment. I would appreciate your input.

Elaine

Are You Pulling Your Hair Out Yet?

The figures below are enough to make you pull your hair out, hold your head in disbelief and stress yourself to the max.

So, why would I post something like this. It certainly isn't like anything else that I have shared on this blog. I try to give you inspiration and motivation not desperation.

The reason: seeing facts can inspire and motivate all of us. Especially when those facts involve how we are going to sustain ourselves.

These figures are real! We can't afford to stand by and allow ourselves to be part of a dream world where some are just waiting to see what is going to happen. It has already happened. I believe it will continue to get worst before it gets better.

Waiting on a 'job' or the government to save us from living on the streets is futile. In my opinion a home business is the best answer. Most of you reading this are probably involved in a home business. I am. You can look around this blog and tell which one I am with.

If you really look at these figures it will help you to be more motivated to work harder, allowing nothing to stand in your way of getting ahead and reaching your goals.

 

	January 2009	January 2011	% chg	Source
Avg.. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S.	$1.83	$3.44	84%	1
Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)	$43..48	$99..02	127.7%	2
Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)	$38..74	$91..38	135.9%	2
Gold: London (per troy oz.)	$853.25	$1,369.50	60.5%	2
Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL	$3.56	$6.33	78.1%	2
Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL	$9.66	$13..75	42.3%	2
Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. Fob	$13..37	$35..39	164.7%	2
Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall	7.6%	9.4%	23.7%	3
Unemployment rate, blacks	12.6%	15.8%	25.4%	3
Number of unemployed	11,616,000	14,485,000	24.7%	3
Number of fed. Employees	2,779,000	2,840,000	2.2%	3
Real median household income	$50,112	$49,777	-0.7%	4
Number of food stamp recipients	31,983,716	43,200,878	35.1%	5
Number of unemployment benefit recipients	7,526,598	9,193,838	22.2%	6
Number of long-term unemployed	2,600,000	6,400,000	146.2%	3
Poverty rate, individuals	13.2%	14.3%	8.3%	4
People in poverty in U.S.	39,800,000	43,600,000	9.5%	4
U.S.. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings	5	9	n/a	10
Present Situation Index	29.9	23.5	-21.4%	11
Failed banks	140	164	17.1%	12
U.S.. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate	89.76	82.03	-8.6%	2
U.S.. Money supply, M1, in billions	1,575.1	1,865.7	18.4%	13
U.S.. Money supply, M2, in billions	8,310.9	8,852.3	6.5%	13
National debt, in trillions	$10..627	$14..052	32.2%	14

Sources:
(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration;
(2) Wall Street Journal;
(3) Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(4) Census Bureau;
(5) USDA;
(6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor;
(7) FHFA;
(8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller;
(9) RealtyTrac;
(10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ;
(11) The Conference Board;
(12) FDIC;
(13) Federal Reserve;
(14) U.S. Treasury

Steve Jobs, "Visionary Entreprenuer"

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”
[NBC Nightly News, May 2006]

"I'm the only person I know that's lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year.... It's very character-building."
[Apple Confidential 2.0]

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” [BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998]

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” [The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."
[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

My condolences and prayers go out to Steve's family and friends. We all have lost a great visionary mind.

Elaine

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