I didn't get any e-mails for or against my e-zine changes so I'll
assume everybody is happy with them. I know I am 
In the last month I have watched as close on eighty percent of my
local investments vanished.
Our stock market crashed due to speculators dumping shares in an
effort to recoup some of their investments.
Basically, people were trying to find ways of financing their
Christmas shutdowns. With inflation at over 600% and borrowing
rates more than that, nobody could afford to stop trading.
Even if some tried to stay open for the Christmas break, the gap
in credit inflows caused by other businesses shutting down for
the break, bankrupted many small to medium sized businesses.
Some people saw this coming and tried to speculate on the stock
exchange and in the money market, as just prior to the Christmas
break, the stock exchange had seen some spectacular gains accross
the board.
I suppose the result was predictable, the stock exchange did not
perform to expectations and the speculators panicked and started
dumping shares on the stock market, causing a general crash in
share values.
Now that the speculators have all burned their fingers and gone
elsewhere, share values are starting to climb again.
But it's going to be a long time before they get back to the point
where share values keep pace with inflation.
With my current source of income all but dried up, all my previous
plans have gone out the window. My goals are still the same but
their execution has changed dramatically.
Fortunately, I had already changed tactics with regards to making
money from internet marketing.
The most extreme decision I have made is to spend every waking
minute I can possibly afford getting my new online venture
operational and making an income.
Three things have been made abundantly clear to me during this
little "crisis" and they are:
I've worked with hundreds of people who were interested in losing
weight. Over the years I started to notice that the people who
were successful at losing weight and maintaining that loss, had
several traits in common. If your goal is to be successful at
losing weight and keeping it off, my suggestion would be to make
these traits your own;
As we begin this New Year, I want to help us focus in on the
choices we make, because the choices we make will create the
lives that we live. We are a product of our choices. The
direction of our lives is determined by the choices we make every
day. They accumulate and add up to our ultimate destiny. Here are
eight choices you can make - choices that will create for you a
life of abundance and prosperity in all areas of your life.
- Choose to grow personally. This sounds simple but many people
only wish to grow personally. They never choose to grow by taking
action, such as actually exercising, saving more money etc. Make
a decision today to be a person who is on the never ending journey
of personal growth.
- Choose to always treat others right. We come across all sorts
of people, many of whom will treat us poorly. We can choose to
treat them right, no matter how they treat us. When the lie, we
will tell the truth. When the cheat, we will play by the rules.
We may get the short end of the stick some times, but in the
long-run we will win. And most importantly, we will be able to
sleep at night.
- Choose to break a bad habit. Take the biggie first. Tackle it
head on. If you don't know what it is, ask a friend. Then spend
every effort you can to break that habit. Forget about the others,
as you will get to them later. Stop smoking, get out of debt,
lose your excess weight. Exercise the power to choose!
- Choose to work smarter. Many people I work with feel like they
are out of balance. One of the first things I do is try to find
out how much time they are wasting at work, which makes them work
longer, which throws the rest of their life into chaos. Getting
your work done by diligently working in the time you have will
free your life up extraordinarily.
- Choose to see your work as a way to help others, and not a way
to make money. If you put your heart into helping others, the
money will most assuredly come. Spend time helping others grow
and your finances will grow with it.
- Choose to become balanced spiritually, emotionally and
physically. Our lives are best when we have these three major
areas in balance. Spend some time cultivating your spirituality,
becoming emotionally healthy, and physically fit.
- Choose to sow more than you reap. There are many takers in
this world, but our lives will be better as we become givers.
The world will become better as we become givers. Give away your
time, give away your money, give away your love.
- Choose to get home for dinner more often. The family is the
most important group of people you will ever belong to. Make a
decision today to grow in your relationship with your parents,
siblings, spouse and children. This one choice you will never
regret.
One of my favorite quotes: “The history of free men is never
written by chance, but by choice - their choice.”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made
for Success and Extraordinary Leaders, two companies helping individuals and
organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their
lives and achieve their dreams.
Join subscribers in over 100 countries around the
world! Get Chris' FREE weekly Made for Success E-zine by sending a blank email
to
.
Get his FREE daily SuccessQuote™ with action point
by sending a blank email to
.
Get his FREE monthly
Extraordinary Leaders E-zine, one of the world's most widely distributed leadership
newsletters, by sending a blank email to
or visit his
websites at
http://www.madeforsuccess.com
and http://www.extraordinaryleaders.com
Copyright 2002 Made for Success. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Featured Online Marketing Article: Identity Thieves Find Treasure
In Your Trash - By Jim Edwards
Imagine this scenario...
After serving you well for three to five years, your old computer
earns a well-deserved retirement.
You transfer all your old files to your new computer, delete them
from the hard drive, and pack the old computer off to the trash
heap, sell it, or give it away.
Sounds innocent enough until you stop to consider that you may
have just given away your social security number, all your
passwords, your credit card numbers, bank statements, financial
records, and every other bit of sensitive data you ever
maintained on that computer.
With computers getting cheaper by the day, many folks now find
themselves replacing old machines with newer, faster models.
But understand one thing: just hitting the delete button to get
rid of sensitive files basically rates the same as putting a bank
statement in your trash can without shredding it - anybody can
reach in and pull it out.
In fact, with inexpensive over-the-counter data recovery software
(the kind you can buy to recover files you delete accidentally),
virtually anybody can fire up your old hard drive and start
pulling off data even though you "deleted" it.
This creates a veritable field day for identity thieves who comb
through junk yards for old computers and attend computer shows
buying up used hard drives by the dozens.
Whether selling it, giving it away, or tossing it on the junk
heap, when it's time to replace your computer with a newer model,
you basically have three options for permanently wiping out your
data.
First Option:
Many computers come with recovery disks that will completely
format the hard drive and return it to its original "factory-fresh"
state. Using this approach makes a great option when you plan to
give away or sell the computer.
Second Option:
Use a software program designed to erase your hard drive, or at
least totally destroy your deleted files.
You can find one free at www.active-disk-wiper.com that claims to
completely erase your deleted files without affecting Windows or
your other programs.
Third Option:
In keeping with the times, the third option requires a disclaimer.
Only attempt this with safety glasses, a flak jacket, and under
close professional, adult supervision.
Unplug your computer and let it cool off.
Take off the cover and remove the hard drive.
Bash the hard drive with a hammer until it looks like a pancake!
That should render it completely resistant to any would-be
identity thief armed with even the latest data recovery software.
Physical destruction of the hard drive rates about as secure as
you can get in protecting your deleted files from prying eyes.
But before you take drastic action on the computer, remember that
your "trash" may just represent a dream come true for someone who
can't afford a new one.
Try to find a child, a student, or a struggling parent who could
really use your old computer and would consider it a real blessing.
Finding the right new home for it could well change someone else's
life forever.
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here => http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
Motivational Quotes
Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having
some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have
developed the opportunity that was at hand.
- Bruce Barton
I've never been poor, only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind.
Being broke is only a temporary situation.
- Mike Todd
Take A Break: Old Man, No Seat
An old man gets on a crowded bus and no one gives him a seat. As
the bus shakes, the old man's cane slips on the floor and he
falls.
As he gets up, an 8 year old kid, sitting nearby turns to him and
says, "Sir if you put a little rubber thingy on the end of your
stick, it wouldn't slip."
The old man Snaps back, "Well, Sonny, if your Daddy did the same
thing eight years ago, I'd have a seat today!"
Tell Me What You Think
I would love to hear what you think of this issue of the "Cols-A-To-Z" Newsletter.
And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you'd like to
share with me, please send those, too!
Just e-mail me at:
To subscribe to my "Cols-A-To-Z" Newsletter, go to the following URL:
http://www.cols-a-to-z.com/join.html
Written by Colin Evans
Editor, Cols-A-To-Z.com
7 Kinross Road
Hillside
Bulawayo
Zimbabwe
+263 9 246210
© copyright 2004 Cols-A-To-Z.com
