Be Selfish With Your Goals – Goal-Setting
Be Selfish With Your Goals
All too often good-intentioned people set forth goals designed to satiate others rather than themselves. While the intent is honorable, the results will likely lead to failure. Why? As the somewhat provocative title of this article indicates, you need to be selfish with your goals and select ones that mean something to you.Through segments on the evening news, magazines, talk shows, radio programming and even the advice of family and friends, we are consistently subjected to a whole litany of goals that anyone with half a brain should strive for. If we were to listen to all the experts, we would all need to be perfectly fit and rich individuals with at least two college majors under our belt.Baloney.Now I won't deny that there are tremendous benefits to being physically fit, financially well off or highly educated, but let's be honest here ? one doesn't require all of the above to live a successful and happy life. There are many somewhat overweight individuals that are quite happy to escape the annoyances of careful food selection and exercise and instead focus on earning money or spending time with family. By the same token, there are many physically fit individuals that see no need to bring in extraordinary levels of income to be happy; they would just as well get by with what they need to live.I firmly believe all of us should constantly strive to improve ourselves, but there is no single blueprint that we should all follow. What might be important to me (business and management) might not be important to you, and vice versa. For this reason, when you are determining which goals you would like to pursue you should always block out the wishes of others and select goals that are dear to your heart.This sounds incredibly selfish, but obviously I'm not advocating adopting a goal that would hurt others, and ideally in a committed relationship you and your significant other would share common goals. But when push comes to shove, if you choose a goal for someone else rather than yourself you will do yourself a huge disservice.Take, for example, weight loss. Many overweight people lead happy and successful lives despite their weight; you don't have to be as fit as a fiddle to be happy. Let's say one of these somewhat overweight individuals decided one day to finally buckle under the constant societal harping about the benefits of weight loss and begin a diet program. What would happen?Chances are very high the individual would adjust his diet and get off to a good start. Almost all of us are capable of losing a few pounds during the first couple weeks, particularly since much of the initial weight loss is water. But during this time chances are good the dieter will be fairly unhappy, and this unhappiness will fester over time. Eventually when the body stops losing water weight and shifts into fat loss, the weight loss will slow down to about a pound or two a week.Throughout the diet the dieter's morale and optimistic outlook on life will suffer, and this might even affect other areas he was already successful with, such as his relationship with his family or his business. Eventually he will quit his diet in disgust, and immediately upon reverting to his old eating habits he will not only gain what he lost he'll also gain even more! Diets play havoc with the body's metabolism, so more often than not a person that quits a diet will end up weighing far more than had they never dieted to begin with.Clearly weight loss is a fantastic goal that can provide a lifetime of benefits, but it isn't for everyone! If you are not passionate about such a goal, you could actually harm other areas of your life when stress is added and morale and motivation drops due to your lifestyle change, and then to add insult to injury you just might end up being heavier than you were had you not even tried to adopt to society's standards.The above example holds true for every single goal under the sun. Many people love the business world and all its risks and challenges, but others would rather avoid the stressful situations and problems that all businessmen face. Perhaps they would rather live a middle-class lifestyle, stay physically fit and enjoy hiking or camping trips with a partner over the weekends during the time the business-oriented are probably working overtime.Choose only the goals that are compatible with your desires and needs, because selecting an incompatible goal that society or family advocates is a virtually guaranteed formula for failure, and can very easily do more harm than good.Copyright 2005 Goals and Motivation.comJeffrey Rolo is an experienced human resources manager, business owner and also the owner of Goals and Motivation.com, a website offering a free 20+ page guide on goal setting. Visit http://www.goals-and-motivation.com to view this guide as well as other articles about goals and management.
Shorten Your Journey to Book Success with Teleclasses – Part 2 – E-Books
Shorten Your Journey to Book Success with Teleclasses - Part 2
Are you an author who wants your book to be a success? Have you read books, but still need some handholding on how best to promote your book? Are local seminars on book marketing and promotion just not available to you?Something wonderful has happened with our flattening world. We can now give and attend seminars over the phone. As a presenter, I send by email ahead of the teleclass the workbooks and how to materials. If you have joined an eNewsletter like Dan Poynter's "Publishing Poynter's" or Judy Cullins, "The Book Coach Says..." or John Kremer's "Book Marketing Tip of the Week, you probably have seen teleclasses offered in them.Part one of this article is available at www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-182.shtml or article-182@bookcoaching.com.How Long are the Teleclasses?Most teleclasses offer you a 55-minute or one hour format. That is a good listening time for most. It allows for 4-5 major points and discussion.You may join a teleclass that is longer too--maybe 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the format. Presenting a marathon of questions and answers can take from 1 1/2 to 2 hours with people coming and going as they want. When I offer this kind of teleclass I ask for questions via email before the phone session, and am sure to answer those on the call.You can also join a group of one-hour teleconferences spread out every two weeks for a total of five or so sessions. These are sometimes called Small Group Coaching such as "The Book Achievers Small Group Coaching" or "The Marketing Achievers Small Group Coaching." These are even more interactive, and your fellow participants on the line can talk to each other and the presenter. These groups do peer editing by email as well as getting feedback from the coach.How to RegisterLearn how to register when you visit a particular site. They give you step-by-step instructions. Then, you give them ordering information: They offer several ways to prepay for the teleclass such as a credit card or toll-free number. Once you are paid, you are registered and emailed the bridgeline and the handouts or workbooks for the conference call.The Benefits of Teleclasses Over In Person SeminarsNo dress code, travel, traffic, parking problems, computer, time wasted, or large expenses. Many top names charge $2000 for a weekend seminar--one in which you get too much information and little hands one. A teleclass is inexpensive, and is as easy as picking up your phone and talking to a friend! Get expert guidance from professional coaches and other presenters and learn from all on the call if you want to boost your book writing, book publishing or book promotion skills.Over the past five years, people attending my teleclasses have come around to loving teleclasses.. With a personable teacher, you feel you are "there." With a presenter who knows that hearing is important, you can relax and learn--with the back up of follow up email as well as email sent before the program. It's a good thing, and some times the only way you'll get to meet top people for your book writing and marketing needs.Teleclasses are the most cost-effective, quickest, and easiest way to stay on top of your book, business, and marketing skills. They don't replace one-on-one coaching, but they can shorten your learning curve before you spend money on a coach.Judy Cullins
Dealing with a Dog Food Allergy?
Dealing with a Dog Food Allergy?
Just as humans allergies can show up as a sneeze or rash, your dog's allergies can manifest as itchiness -- or even ear infections. In fact, if your dog's allergic to his food, it can cause him to scratch himself constantly, even with no obvious parasite problem.Dog allergies rarely get solved with medicine, so the best we can do for our four-footed friends is focus on prevention. Providing the right type of food is essential to stopping your dog's scratching habit.Many people like to share their food with their dogs or let them help "clean up" the kitchen after a meal. Little do they know, their dogs just may not be able to take the tasty food we love so much, and some breeds (like the greyhound) are extremely sensitive. Even common foods like cheese, beef sausage and tuna may cause allergic reactions in some dogs. So it's best to let dogs enjoy dog food and not human food, even though they clearly adore and want what we're eating!Narrowing Down the ProblemTo determine the exact ingredients your dog is allergic to, try an elimination diet. Although powerful, it also requires patience. In fact, the elimination diet can call for eliminating specific food for up to 12 weeks before you'll notice the effects. And if you still haven't found the right (and wrong) ingredients, you'll have to repeat the process all over again.So is there an alternative to the lengthy elimination diet? Yes -- give your dog a brand or type of food he's never eaten before. But simply changing to a new brand of dog food might not be enough to eliminate his food allergies, since many brands contain similar ingredients. Instead, study the existing ingredients your dog is eating to determine which types of protein source he hasn't been exposed to. Then, hunt for a dog food that doesn't contain any of the ingredients you saw listed. For example, there are many brands of dog food that contains unusual protein sources such as rabbit or venison -- great for testing allergic reactions to other, more common proteins.Perhaps the best way for you to get control of dog's allergies is to whip up your own dog food. That way, you'll know exactly what he's getting and what he isn't -- something that's extremely hard to tell from reading the back of a dog food bag. Making your own food is especially helpful in elimination diets. To start, combine a portion of rice with baby food and lamb -- so long as your dog isn't already eating lamb and possibly displaying a reaction to it.Dog food allergies are a special condition that can be frustrating and take patience to solve. Since allergic reactions don't disappear overnight, you'll need lots of time and thoughtfulness to help your dog overcome this problem -- but his goofy smile and those scratch-free days ahead will probably make it all worth it.About the AuthorBlake Kritzberg is proprietor of Poodle-oo: Fashion for Toy Dogs. Stop by for toy dog couture and home decor, free dog postcards and the Toy Dog Blog.http://www.poodle-oo.com/