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<title>Latest Articles by viper58</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/</link>
<description>Articles at Populate.NET</description>
<language>en-us</language>
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<title>Teeth Whitening in Denver</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Beauty/teeth-whitening-in-denver.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Beauty/teeth-whitening-in-denver.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ You may feel that your teeth are too discolored to ever be white again, but cosmetic dentists are achieving amazing results with the newest whitening techniques.  Red wine, soda, coffee and tea, among other food and drink, contribute to the discoloration of teeth over time. Smokers teeth can become permanently stained if the discoloration is not treated in a timely manner. Tooth trauma caused by a fall or collision can cause tooth discoloration.  Tooth brushing alone can not brighten teeth dulled by years of exposure to such discoloring agents. In fact, people with dull teeth sometimes over-brush in an attempt to eliminate stains, and this can harm the enamel covering of the tooth.

The Advantages of Teeth Whitening

The advantage of having your teeth whitened in the dental office is that this approach is fast and produces immediate improvement. Typically, your teeth can be whitened by several shades within 45 minutes, dramatically improving your appearance in the shortest possible time. Tooth shade charts are used during the consultation stage of treatment to establish your current shading and determine your whitening goal. In-office whitening is unique in this respect, as your dentist has more control over achieving your specific teeth whitening goals.

The Procedure

During your teeth whitening procedure, you are made comfortable while your teeth are prepared. Your dentist places a guard in your mouth to protect the lips and gums from a whitening gel that is applied to the teeth.

Here are some of the top providers in Denver:

-Denver BriteSmile Teeth Whitening Spa - You may feel that your teeth are too discolored to ever be white again, but cosmetic dentists are achieving amazing results with the newest whitening techniques.  The patented BriteSmile tooth whitening gel contains only 15% hydrogen peroxide while other teeth whitening gel has as much as 35%-50% which could cause tooth sensitivity. The gel also contains other ingredients such as glycerin and highly purified water to prevent tooth dehydration and to further ensure safety.  Brite Smile Denver  231 Detroit Street Suite 100 Denver 80206

-Cosmetic Dentistry Denver Dr Bernard Slota, D.D.S. - Dr. Bernard Slota. Your cosmetic dentist in Denver creates dream smiles for patients on a daily basis. We also offer Zoom teeth whitening as seen on ABCs Extreme Makeover television show for in office 1 hour tooth whitening.  1050 17th Street, Suite B190
Denver,Colorado  80202

-Cosmetic Denistry of Denver Dr Gary Radz  -  If you would like to smile more confidently, knowing your teeth are their whitest and brightest, you might want to consider dentist-supervised teeth whitening. Teeth whitening is a safe, effective and lasting way to lighten most smiles, available in a variety of methods and concentrations for various kinds of teeth.  999 18th Street  Suite 235 Denver, CO 80202

-Teeth whitening at the Denver area practice of Steven Weinstein, D.D.S.  -  can refresh and brighten your smile. We offer an in-office laser treatment that allows you to walk out of our practice in one hour with the results you deserve. For those that prefer at home teeth whitening, Dr. Weinstein also provides a tray whitening system that has proven to be successful for our patients.  7180 E. Orchard Rd. Ste. 306, Englewood, Colorado 80111

More often than not, teeth whitening is an adequate solution to discoloration. The effectiveness of teeth whitening can vary, depending on the individual. Also, whitening procedures can cause temporary, which varies in intensity from person to person.  Occasionally tooth discoloration is so severe that whitening alone cannot fully treat the problem. In these situations, veneers might be a better option. Your dentist can advise you about this. ]]></description>
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<title>Learn Satellite Radio</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Technology/Satellite_Radio/learn-satellite-radio.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Technology/Satellite_Radio/learn-satellite-radio.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Satellite radio is actually composed of two Boeing HS 702 satellites orbiting our atmosphere and aptly named Rock and Roll.  One is located at approximately 85 degrees west longitude and the other at 115 degrees west longitude. Geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) is about 22,223 miles (35,764 km) above Earth, and is the type of orbit most commonly used for communications satellites.  The first satellite to up, Rock, was placed in orbit on March 18, 2001. Roll followed with its launch on May 8. Satellite radio has a third HS-702 satellite on the ground ready to be launched in case one of the two orbiting satellites break down or fail.

Satellite radios station on earth transmits a signal to its two GEO Satellites, which bounce signals back down to the ground. The radio receivers are programmed to receive and unscramble the digital data signal, which contains up to 100 channels of digital audio. In addition to the encoded sound, the signal contains additional information about the broadcast. The artist, song title and category of music are all displayed on the radio. In urban areas, where buildings can block out the satellites signal, broadcasting equipment is supplemented by ground transmitters.

Each receiver contains a unique manufacturers chipset. Satellite radio began delivering chipsets to its manufacturing partners in late September or early October of 2000. The chipset consists of two custom integrated circuits designed by STMicroelectronics. Satellite has partnered with Pioneer, Alpine, Clarion, Delphi Delco, Sony and Motorola to manufacture satellite capable car radios. Each radio receiver uses a tiny, car-phone-sized antenna to receive the digital signal.  GM has invested about 100 million dollars in digital satellite radio, and Honda has also created a contract to use these same radios in its cars. General Motors first began installing satellite radio receivers in specific models in late 2000 and early 2001.

For approximately twelve dollars per month, subscribers can listen to crystal clear digital sound. For this small price, music aficionados receive up to 100 channels of music, talk and news. They can also listen online via streaming audio service with over 70 channels. Most of the stations received are commercial-free, with none of the channels having more than seven minutes of ads per hour. Satellite advertisers include USA Today, BBC, CNN-Sports Illustrated and The Weather Channel. The service is clean, clear and more of what the surveyed population asked for.  The future of satellite radio is clearly bright. ]]></description>
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<title>Two Tier Affiliate Programs are an Incredibly Lucurative Income Stream</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Internet_Marketing/Affiliate_Programs/two-tier-affiliate-programs-are-an-incredibly-lucurative-income-stream.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Internet_Marketing/Affiliate_Programs/two-tier-affiliate-programs-are-an-incredibly-lucurative-income-stream.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ The following article presents the very latest information on marketing. If you have a particular interest in marketing, then this informative article is required reading.

To those who are not familiar with affiliate marketing, two-tier could be a new term to you but to those who are involved in this kind of money-making experience; it could mean a stream of income. Two-tier is an enticing feature of a particular affiliate program wherein, affiliates are allowed to sign-up additional affiliates below them. So that when the sub-affiliates otherwise known as second tier affiliates, earns a commission, the affiliate above receives a commission too. 

In two-tier system, the first tier of commission is just like in the usual affiliate program. The sole difference is that it has an additional tier or sub-affiliates, whereby marketers also gain a commission once the people that the additional tiers referred to the program generate sales. Theoretically, affiliate programs can have multi-tier program with infinite number of tiers, however, there are practical limitations. As tiers increase, the affiliate program draws more webmasters who are mostly interested in gaining profit from others work and effort. 

Two-Tier affiliate program is also recognized as Multi-Level Marketing. When you sign-up for an affiliate program, you are identified as the first tier and the person that you have recruited or encouraged to sign up is the second tier. If there are additional tiers, then the system can now be regarded as multi-level marketing. But today, MLM is not as effective and successful as it was several years ago. It is because at present, affiliates can freely select from thousands of affiliate programs and they can quickly switch from one program to another.

You could probably go wrong if you are thinking that you can depend on your second tier to do the job for you. So if you want to use two-tier affiliate program to your advantage and generate more income by encouraging sub-affiliates to sign-up below you, make sure that you carefully choose your affiliate merchant. Pick those merchants who generate stable stream of high quality products, give high or just commissions, offers real time tracking, furnishes you with a proven and tested advertising arsenal and treat their affiliates very well. You can also sign-up for the merchant who gives high visitors-to-sales conversion rate.

So far, we've uncovered some interesting facts about marketing. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

It is also advisable if you engage yourself with a web merchant that has a user-friendly website which you can access anytime so that you can monitor your statistics including visits and sales. And if possible, choose the one with powerful marketing tools which you can use in promoting their products. 

You are just wasting much of your time and effort and worse, damaging your integrity once you promote poor affiliate program because your visitor will surely presume that the product or service you are reselling must be dreadful too. That is the reason why it is important to pick first-rate affiliate programs. Through these, you can not only build up a good relationship with your visitor, but also, you can easily get more tiers to sign-up under you. You should also be cautious of some affiliate programs that give more importance on the profits to be earned in taking on other affiliates than on the income from sales, because you will just eventually find out that someone has already close those sales without informing you. Usually, this kind of affiliate program offers a very low first-tier payment but a sky-scraping second-tier commission.

If you want to start an affiliate program of your own, you surely have to decide whether it will be a single tier or two-tier affiliate program. Who am I to say which of these two programs are better? But let me tell you the benefits you could get out of two-tier affiliate program.

First, your profit will increase due to increased sales from the customers that your second tier has referred. Second, you have a much broader customer base to which you can sell your products and services. Then, you gain more and stable income because the customers referred by your affiliate and sub-affiliates could probably develop a lifetime loyalty on your site and your products. Plus, you have an army of sub-affiliates who will promote and resell your products and services to their visitors and subscribers. 

Two-tier program has been a proven winner and should be the number one choice for the budding affiliates as well as for the affiliate program managers. When you start gaining profits from your site as well as your tiers, this is now the right time to say that you have used two-tier affiliate program to your advantage.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of marketing. Share your new understanding about marketing with others. They'll thank you for it. ]]></description>
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<title>Making Positive Changes</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Health/Wellness/making-positive-changes.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Health/Wellness/making-positive-changes.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ We all know that certain lifestyle changes are good for our health. But, what some people may not realize is how difficult it can be to follow through with their decision. Unexpected roadblocks may get in the way, such as lack of family support or self-confidence.  But, simply considering a healthy change is a step in the right direction. You even may be ready to take action right now. No matter where you are in the decision-making process, it can be helpful to understand how change evolves. 

Stages of Change = Researchers have discovered that most people follow a similar pattern when making a change. Studies have shown that success is more likely if one moves through the pattern one step at a time. 

1.	Precontemplation - At this point, one has not yet decided to make a healthy change. They may not have all the information they need to weigh their options or, they may be hesitant because they were unsuccessful the last time they tried. To move forward, one needs to think about how changing their habits will benefit their life.

2.	Contemplation -  In this stage, it is common to put off making a decision. One is not quite ready to commit - but may consider it a possibility in six months. When one is stuck here, weighing the pros and cons of the change can help one take the next step.

3.	Preparation - Change is on the horizon. One wants the transition to begin in the near future. Right now the person is researching the best ways to help that happen. It is important to tell your doctor or counselor about their plans so he or she can give you tips for going through with your decision.

4.	Action - It is time to make the change!  Having a set goal to be working towards for the next six months is very important. One may suffer a setback on occasion, so try to stay positive and listen to encouragement from friends and family.

5.	Maintenance - This is when one has kept with their program for at least six months. This is a huge milestone! Setbacks are less likely to occur, but continue to avoid temptation. It is important to reward yourself for your success.

Keep in mind that change does not happen overnight. Patience is essential. Do not be afraid to ask for help or talk with a health professional when guidance is needed. Rarely does change take place without hitting a few barriers, but the important thing is to not to give up! ]]></description>
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<title>Inevitable Change is a Fact of the Business Journey</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Business/Strategic_Planning/inevitable-change-is-a-fact-of-the-business-journey.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Business/Strategic_Planning/inevitable-change-is-a-fact-of-the-business-journey.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Once there was a time in business when you could experience a change and then return to a period of relative stability.  Nowadays, changes occur constantly - one on top of another.  We need to acknowledge change and realize that change is a continuous journey - a way of life rather than a one-time event that can be lived through.  

With considerable momentum and continuity building in an organization, it definitely can be said that nothing is ever absolutely certain (other than possibly death and taxes).  

These changes and challenges that are encountered can at times bring added strain to business organizations.  What is not always clear to us is how much more trouble we would be in for organizations failed to change.  Often times people can have a funny way of hanging on to old habits.  

In particular, we are often unwilling to quit doing what we can do well, even if it is no longer valuable to our customers.  It is easy for people to get stuck in the thinking that got them to where they are today, even though that thinking cannot be used to get them where they need to be tomorrow.  

It is important that we continue to break through the traditional thinking and avoid any prevailing mindsets, such as the thinking: it has always been done this way.  We need to continually focus our efforts beyond our business-as-usual thinking.  As progress calls for each of us to change, we need to remember that constant change is a way of life in business today.  Together, people need to simultaneously manage the present and plan the future.

Currently, some jobs are taking on totally new dimensions...making new demands...calling for new work habits.  We need to be willing to alter our mindsets as well as our techniques.  Rather than continuing with the same old job behaviors that worked well enough in the past, we must learn new routines and make the necessary shift in our mindset so that our thinking is aligned with our new company mission and the new realities of the present work world.  

We all need to focus our efforts on doing the right things for our customers.  A key mistake can be ignoring how priorities and customer expectations have changed. We can be focused on doing things right, but we really are failing to do the right things.  What can we offer our customers that they will value and be unable to get from anyone else?  

We need to have an intense and unwavering commitment to making a difference in the business' of our customers.  It is important that we look at change as an opportunity...and use it! ]]></description>
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<title>Why Employees Do Not Work to Full Capacity</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Business/Management/why-employees-do-not-work-to-full-capacity.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Business/Management/why-employees-do-not-work-to-full-capacity.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Many workplace studies show that at least 25 percent of workers said they were capable of doing 50 percent more work. On average, they estimated they could do 26 percent more. But why do they not? About a third mentioned one or more of the following explanations:

1.	Not being involved in decision making.

2.	The lack of a reward for good performance.

3.	No opportunity for advancement.

4.	A lack of supervision and inadequate training.

Good managers remember to recognize and motivate employees. Great managers do it every day. Here are some proven methods for making sure that praising employees becomes part of your daily routine:

1.  Make employees a part of your weekly To Do list. Add the names of the people who report to you to your list of goals to accomplish. Then cross off names as you praise them.

2.  Write notes at the end of the day. Keep a stack of note cards on your desk, where you cannot ignore them. At the end of the day, take a minute to write thank-you notes to any employee who made a difference that day.

3.  At the beginning of the day, put five coins in your pocket. Then, during the day, each time you praise an employee, transfer the coin to your other pocket. It may sound corny, but once you get in the habit, you will start relying on tricks like this one.

Many managers think that handing out praise indiscriminately is better than not praising at all. They are wrong. Do not make the mistake of thinking any praise is good praise! If you hand out praise the wrong way, at the wrong time, or for the wrong reasons, it can do more harm than good. Here are some guidelines to follow when using praise to motivate employees:

1.	Be very specific about what you praise. Never say: Bob, you are doing a great job, keep up the good work.  For all you know, Bob may have spent part of the morning making personal phone calls and goofing off. He is going to think that you are a pushover and easy to fool. Wait for something specific to praise. For example: Bob, you did a great job on the Anderson account. Keep up the good work.

2.	Do not praise ordinary performance. If you praise employees for daily routine tasks, they will not be motivated to do better. Also, if and when they do excellent work, your praise will not mean as much.

3.	Do not just hit and run. If an employee does excellent work on a project, spend some time with that employee to let him or her know how much it means to you and the company. Better yet, take that employee to lunch as a way of rewarding the behavior.

4.	Use praise to improve poor performance. If an employee is doing well in one area, but poorly in another, use praise to improve the poor performance. Sit the employee down, praise what he or she is doing right, and then say: Now I want you to take the same approach on this other matter... ]]></description>
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<title>Commitment Needs to be a Top Priority!</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Business/Management/commitment-needs-to-be-a-top-priority.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Business/Management/commitment-needs-to-be-a-top-priority.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Commitment needs to be a top priority.  This needs to be stressed and emphasized for it needs to be expected from everyone. People need a clear aiming point. Be specific in explaining the standards of commitment that is expected of them to adhere to.  State clear and specific expectations.  Do not leave room for confusion regarding what high commitment looks like.

Are your people in total alignment with what needs to be accomplished and when it needs to be completed and why it is so crucial that it be finished now? Expectations need to be ironclad. It is time to be totally intolerant of apathy. Weed out the uncommitted. Reward those who try the hardest and contribute the most. People should benefit in direct proportion to their efforts and to the results they produce!  This makes commitment count for something, for behavior starts to matter, attitude becomes a big issue, and performance begins to make a real difference to the people involved.

Now I realize this approach might seem a little stern or hardnosed. But we need to remember, tolerating weak commitment doe not serve as an act of kindness. Commitment is not just a matter of words. Commitment is ACTION and a willingness to do whatever it takes! Ownership is closely tied to commitment and taking responsibility plays a big role in this. It is important to assign people responsibility for outcomes and hold them personally accountable for results!

Every person needs to realize that his or her contribution carries weight and has an impact on the outcomes and results that are being produced!
In todays world, career success belongs to the committed. To those who work from the heart ... who invest themselves passionately in their jobs ... and who recommit quickly when change reshapes their work. Strong job commitment makes work far more satisfying. It is therapeutic, too. An excellent antidote for stress and a fine cure for the pain of change. Commitment will empower you. It will bring out your very best potential, and will make you a more valuable employee. Bottom Line:  Commitment is a gift you should give to yourself!

Commitment in leadership is more than a position on the organizational chart or supervisory role. Courageous leadership depends on the consensus of a leader and a group of followers to work together. To create a place where people work in common, we need leaders who are willing to open themselves to caring relationships with people, deal with difficult issues, and stick with the vision of a new way of work despite the difficulty.

Assign generous responsibility for results. When you give people responsibility, their commitment grows. It is important to assign your people responsibility for outcomes and then hold them personally accountable for results. You have to wonder why responsibility for outcomes wields such a potent influence on commitment. For one thing, we know it makes a positive statement about the amount of trust placed in others. If you assign people heavy responsibilities, that implies confidence in them, belief in their ability to deliver the goods. Such a move stimulates their desire to prove your faith is wellfounded.

It is also a known fact that ownership is closely tied to commitment, and responsibility plays a role in this. When you give people responsibility for making changes, they are more committed to making the changes work. They own their solutions. They invest themselves more fully in making sure their approach succeeds.

Conscious commitment involves recognizing and responding to a need to find a new way and a better and more efficient way of doing work. It means that we need to begin to look at our work and our relationships with each other, in a new light. ]]></description>
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<title>Live An Enthusiastical Life!</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Business/Leadership/live-an-enthusiastical-life.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Business/Leadership/live-an-enthusiastical-life.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Live life enthusiastically! Dale Carnegie often called this principle the little-known secret of success. Without enthusiasm, all the skills and techniques you learn will not be as effective as they could be. On the other hand, if someone is enthusiastic, it is an energy builder. They can sell their ideas and ultimately accomplish more than sheer intellect.

History is ripe with stories of people who overcame adversity and achieved great success simply because they were enthusiastic about their job, the project or even just enthusiastic about living another day to its fullest. Remember Frank Bettger, a turn of the century professional baseball player who often wrote about how he turned himself from a failure to a success in the game. He never had a great deal of talent, but he always loved what he was doing and put his entire heart and mind into it every minute. He later was able to use that same strategy to become one of the highest paid life insurance salesmen of his day.

It is not always easy to be enthusiastic. Perhaps you do not want to make the move across country with your family to stat a new job. Personal problems can become overwhelming. Sometimes life becomes unbalanced and work or family literally drains your energy. However, it is possible to create enthusiasm.

Try the following strategies to create enthusiasm:
1. Act happy. Too many people condition themselves to be negative. They are afraid they will be seen as too gung-ho. Some say they are just being realistic by not getting their hopes up. Others say they know that a project or strategy will not work because it never has before. Why should they get enthusiastic about a sure failure? Yet one can find that if they simply act enthusiastic, it eventually becomes real. Others will pick up on their enthusiasm, become excited themselves and then feed their enthusiasm back to the originator. It becomes a beautiful circle of energy.

2. Create a mission and vision. Experience shows that people get much more excited when they see the big picture. For example, a friend once toured a defense plant and asked the people what they were making. They gave him a very technical answer but the bottom line was that they really do not know what they were doing to help keep the world safe. In fact, they were manufacturing a part for a missile system that was used in the Gulf War. He could not help but think that they would have been more enthusiastic about achieving quality and high productivity if they had known the importance of their work in the grand scheme.

The same is true in any department. Often we ignore the work of clerical workers, for example. The most mundane jobs, when done well, can actually help transform an organization.

3.  Give people the opportunity to be enthusiastic. Ask staff members to come up with projects that cut costs or save money. Often this is the first time they have been asked to use their insights to help the company. Following are some examples:

The facilities maintenance manager at a hospital had only a sixth-grade education, yet he saves the hospital $15,000 by inventing a new way to open the operating room doors. He never knew the hospital cared about his ideas until this training.

A lumber mill had a process that involved picking up the lumber and moving it an extra time. Management knew it cost $150,000 in labor every year but they could not find a solution. During some internal training, a worker offered a solution. He had come up with the idea a long time ago but did not offer it because no one had asked him.

4. Do not criticize, condemn or complain - and do not put up with people who do. Just walk out of the room and say you refuse to let anothers negativity affect your enthusiasm. Consciously decide to generate positive enthusiasm.

5. Keep perspective. Life is too short to just put up with negativity. Have some fun with life. Grab the gusto. See the excitement in every situation. Be enthusiastic about the chance to make a difference with even your smallest actions: smile; hold the elevator door; allow another driver into traffic . . . even these simple actions can make a difference in others lives. Now this is something to be enthusiastic about! ]]></description>
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<title>Keeping A Positive Attitude</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Business/Leadership/keeping-a-positive-attitude.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Business/Leadership/keeping-a-positive-attitude.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ People see things differently. While some concentrate on negative possibilities and see their glasses half empty instead of half full, others consistently look on the bright side. But being positive does not mean being unrealistic. So an important question to ask yourself when evaluating one's demeanor: Is your glass half empty or half full?

While life can bring challenging times, having a positive attitude often can have real mind and body benefits. People who are less burdened by pessimistic thinking do not suffer the health risks associated with stress. They feel more empowered to change their lives for the better. If your perspective seems focused on negative thoughts, try these tips:

1. Eliminate negative self-talk. 

When we constantly tell ourselves what we ought to do, should have done, and can not accomplish, we are filling ourselves with negative self-talk. This can make us feel unable to make positive changes. Turn negative self-talk into positive self-coaching. For example, instead of focusing on what you think you can not do, brainstorm about your strengths.

2. Stay flexible.

Change can be difficult. Often, we do not have control over the changes in our lives. Instead of concentrating on the way things were, focus on how you can make the best of the way things are. For example, if changes at work mean new challenges in your job, try to excel at your new duties instead of dwelling on the past.

3. Get involved.

Activities that provide a sense of accomplishment -- such as volunteering at a nursing home or homeless shelter -- can make a big difference in both your life and the lives of others. You will feel good about the work you do and help someone else in the process.

4. Speak up.

Learning to assert yourself at work and home is important in cultivating a positive attitude. When you express your ideas tactfully, you feel better about yourself and earn respect from others. Keeping things to yourself can lead to stress and frustration.

5. Be adventurous.

Encourage yourself to try new things -- take a class, begin an exercise program, try for that promotion. Challenge yourself to break out of your rut, and you will be rewarded by feeling better.

6. Avoid unhealthy responses to stress.

When times get tough, it is easy to let a negative outlook lead to destructive behavior. Smoking, drinking and substance abuse are typical methods people may use to distract themselves from difficult situations. These destructive habits can only make you feel worse.

7. Live for today.

Today's little pleasures and accomplishments are the events that make up our lives. Instead of reminiscing about the past or living life in anticipation of tomorrow, take time to enjoy and savor the special moments today brings. ]]></description>
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<title>Generating Quantum Leaps By Doing the Right Things</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Business/Leadership/generating-quantum-leaps-by-doing-the-right-things.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Business/Leadership/generating-quantum-leaps-by-doing-the-right-things.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Our strengths often become weaknesses because we rely on them too heavily, habitually doing what we do best instead of seeking the best things to do. Someone said: If your only tool is a hammer, you approach every problem as if it were a nail.

Put down your old, familiar tools for now, or else find a different way to use them. Doing the right things, even very imperfectly, can bring about a quantum leap. Doing the wrong things, even if you do them to perfection, will never deliver your dreams.
What is important is to think beyond what common sense would allow.  

Webster describes common sense as: Ordinary good sense or sound practical judgment. Ordinary, according to the dictionary, means customary, usual, regular, normal; familiar, unexceptional, common; relatively poor or inferior. Webster also describes common sense as sound practical judgment. The meaning of practical is obtained through practice or action. In other words, common sense is judgment based on past experience. When you boil it all down, common sense is just what it sounds like - it is what people today commonly believe. And common sense is full of dumb, limiting ideas. It has always been that way. 

Common sense used to say the world is flat, people can not fly, bleed people if you want to heal them. The idea of a man on the moon was once pure science fiction, so was television and the idea of a heart transplant. Common sense lies to you. It focuses on the obstacles, reviews what you have done in the past, studies the normal achievement patterns of people in general, and tells you what you can commonly expect to achieve. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Rely too much on common sense, and you can expect to see common results.

Quantum leaps require that you start thinking
about what you want, instead of what common sense
says is the reasonable thing for you to expect.
What would common sense say you can accomplish? What would be a sensible goal?

Uncommon sense says that you can accomplish astounding things. What would be a goal well beyond the boundary of improbable... far beyond the obvious next logical step? What would you go for if you knew your success was guaranteed? What would you do, how would you proceed, in terms of specific action steps?

Most people have the wiring in their brains messed up. They have decided to doubt the wrong things, such as their potential, the availability of breakthrough opportunities, and their chances for making a quantum leap. For now, if you must doubt something, doubt your limits. While it is true that you cannot make yourself believe in your ability to make the quantum leap, you definitely can act like you believe. 

You can go ahead and do what you would do if you had complete faith. You always get to choose how you are going to act anyway. You decide how you are going to behave. You do not have to eliminate doubt to disregard it for the time being. Let it lie there, without influence, while you produce a remarkable set of results by acting as if your success is for certain. Instead of letting doubt decide what you will do, decide what you are going to do with your doubt.

Focus on ends rather than means. Develop a razor-sharp picture of where you want to land at the end of your quantum leap. Make your goal specific. Pay careful attention to the details. Focus on this goal constantly in your thoughts and imagination. Carry in your mind a picture of you achieving the objective. 

Adults rarely make quantum leaps, but small children make them all of the time. Little ones focus on ends, rather than means. Kids have no hang-up about technique. Being so young and inexperienced, they are often practically devoid of methodology. But they are open-minded, goal-focused, and true believers in experimentation. They lock in mentally on their objective, and seem quite willing to let the goal determine the methodology. In fact, they proceed such that the goal often creates the methodology. The child does something for the first time ever, it works, and inherent potential is discovered. The necessary technique, the means, just sort of evolves in the process.

Grownups get it all backwards. Adults cannot seem to choose a goal without simultaneously evaluating their resources and personal repertoire of skills to see if they have what it takes to reach the objective. The adults command of technique methodology or resources then becomes the screening device used to select the appropriate goal. The choice of goals (the ends) depends too heavily on what the individual perceives as his or her obvious, available methodologies (the means).

Start by working on defining your goal, not by worrying about everything that will be involved in getting from here to there. The technique or methodology of the process you will need to follow will come to you. Just make sure your aim is good, open yourself to the unexpected, and proceed. You do not have to know how you are going to get there, but you must know where you want to go.

Think of problems, mistakes, and failure as growing pains. When you stop running into problems that is when you truly have a real problem. Somewhere in the process of growing up, we got the idea that it is best to avoid problems. Parents encourage kids to keep trouble at a minimum and eliminate mistakes as much as possible. Teachers give out As for getting everything right, and nails a student with a low grade for making errors. Eventually, failure gets a bad reputation. 

In the world at large, however, failure can be a friend. There is a certain magic in mistakes. Problems, foul-ups, and breakdowns push you back on track, educate you, leaving you better equipped to navigate accurately toward your goal. 

Unless you are willing to stretch yourself beyond the point where you know you can perform basically error-free, you will never find out how good you really are. If you are unwilling to taste failure, there is no way on earth you can taste the sweet fruits of your true potential.

Remember that progress often masquerades as trouble.
Mistakes and failures typically carry clues for breakthrough performance. ]]></description>
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