Success is a course of action, Don't You Give Up Now

We are often so much closer to achieving our goals and dreams than we could imagine. The Bible says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". Find out all that it takes to to reach every goal and dream.

At midnight on January 1, I wonder how many people renewed the same resolutions they made the New Years before and the New Years before that? Why is it so hard to follow through on the list of things we say are most important to change in our lives? Why do we find ourselves repeating the same mistakes that end us up in the same place of failure year after year? Why do we hit the ground running toward our goals every January 1st and within weeks we are right back in the place we were the previous December 31st?
I think we set ourselves up for both failure and success. Neither of these things just happen to us. One way we set ourselves up for failure is to fail to prepare. Someone once said "To fail to plan is to plan to fail".
Take dieting for example (I don't know about you, but it seems to appear every year on my Things-I-want-to-change-this-year list). When I'm walking into the kitchen famished is not the best time to decide upon a healthy, well-balanced meal. I'm more likely to grab the quickest, closest thing in the fridge at that moment. The time to prepare for success in my diet is the night before. Writing out a meal plan for the following day only takes a few minutes but it can be a great tool for success in reaching my weight-loss goals.
I like to think of life as a series of snap-shots. A professional photographer doesn't show up to take wedding pictures with a quick-shot instant camera. He knows you can get a quick picture with an instant camera, but it is not going to be the quality of photograph that a wedding photo deserves. Using the "Diet" analogy again, we too can get some quick results with fad diets or pills if we are more concerned with getting it done quickly than getting it done properly. The goal of the photographer is to eventually enable the newlyweds to see the beautiful images that he alone is now viewing through his lens. Let's compare the process of reaching our goals to the process of photo development.
First of all, the photographer must Focus the camera. Just as I must Focus on my target goal. If I do not know exactly where it is I want to go, how will I know when I have arrived? The dictionary defines the word Focus as: "Clear and sharply defined, A central point of attraction, attention, activity, to concentrate or focus ones attention".
No wonder so many of our resolutions fall by the wayside within days of our making them. How much Focus are we giving to achieving our goal? How "Clear and sharply defined" have we made our target? Is our goal "The central point of our attraction, attention and activity?" Can I truly say I'm "Concentrating" on my goal at all times?
After the photographer has Focused his lens, he takes the picture. At that split-second, the shutter opens and the light hits the film creating an exposure of the image onto the film inside.
If we are to meet our goals, we must also get Exposure, and become Enlightened on the subject we are aiming for. If my goal is to become the owner of a pizza shop, I need to expose myself to the business of pizza-making; read books, listen to cd's, expose myself to people who have succeeded in doing what it is I have decided to do. This applies to any goal we may set for ourselves. Don't just "Hope" to reach your goal, get informed and equipped in the subject. Find every resource available to support and encourage your success in this area. If you need to lose weight, find friends or on-line support groups who can hold you accountable and encourage you when you feel like throwing in the towel and running to the nearest ice cream shop to buy all 31 flavors!
Now that the photographer has the image on his film, the film must be "Processed" or "Developed". There is one and only one reason you have not reached every single one of your goal yet, and that is because without fail, somewhere along the way you have lost your focus and given up on the goal during the process of reaching it!
We must submit to the process of development in the area of our goals. Again, when we diet, each temptation we are able to say no to strengthens our resolve and better equips us to greater focus and determination each day. Every time we push ourselves in exercise we stretch our muscles, breaking them down only to find that the result of our pushing and pain produces bigger, stronger muscles than we had before. The Process of creating bigger muscles is a hard one and not many people either attempt it or follow through with a long-term commitment .

The film can only be developed in "A dark room". How many times have we heard, "It's always darkest just before the dawn" The Dark Room is a place of seclusion. It's not a place where people are running in and out and exposing the film. We too, will find times in the process of changes being made in our lives, when we feel alone and secluded from others. They are all going out for pizza and bread sticks and you are left behind with your weight-loss goal and menu planner, or everyone is out partying all night while you are left at home making phone calls or doing paperwork or reading up on the next step to building a successful home-based business. The dark room of life is not a lively, exciting place but it is a necessary part of the process of success. This is what separates the men from the boys, the dreamers from the achievers. This is when it is easier to follow the path of least resistance. And though some do for a while, not many are willing to sacrifice comfort-zones and put fleshly pleasures on hold for the long haul.
After pouring the right solutions over the film in the dark room, the photographer now finds himself holding what is called "A negative". The negative is an interesting stage of the process of the photograph. When the photographer holds up the negative, the bride, which he witnessed in a snowy white gown, is now dressed in black, and the groom, who was wearing a black tuxedo, is now dressed in white. The negative is the complete opposite of reality. Have you ever been in the 'Negative" stage of your business? You've been working harder than anyone you know and so far nothing seems to be changing, or worse, you're losing accounts. Or you've stayed on your diet perfectly all week only to step on the scale and find not only did you not lose any weight, you actually gained 2 lbs. This is the "Negative" stage. This is when people, even the ones who seemed to be determined to tough it out before now find they just don't have it in them to continue.

The "Negative" stage is the most discouraging and difficult stage of all, but if you can see the "Negative" for what it is, you will understand that it is the complete opposite of what is happening in reality! You ARE succeeding, you just have to persevere a little bit longer and you will see on the outside the things that have already started to change on the inside. That negative can never convince that photographer that the bride was actually wearing a black wedding dress, he knows that after the process is finished, he will see things as they actually are!
The photographer then pulls the negative out of the solution and hangs it to dry. Have you ever felt like you've been hung out to dry? Things are not as they appear, not to those who persevere. You see, it's not what you Do, it's what you Keep On Doing that will get you to your goal, so stay focused, continue to do the next right thing and you will without a doubt reach your goal...hell or high water couldn't keep you from it!
Finally the pictures are fully developed and the photographer presents them to the bride and groom. Everyone sits in awe of the beauty of each captured moment. Each photo is a moment in time that will be forever treasured, yet how many will ever consider the Process it took to produce such beautiful images? Few if any.
Today let me remind you that Life Is Not An Event, It's A Process and so is the act of reaching your goals and dreams. And if you will learn to embrace the process, you will eventually find yourself having attained each and every one of your dreams and goals.
I am Vickie Jordan. Author of the soon to be released fantasy novel, The Chronicles of Cambrlon,. I am a wife, and mother of 2 beatuiful daughters. I love writing and reading what others have to say. I am an avid reader, ever learning and love sharing what I learn with others.

Can help you enjoy life? after retirement, and eliminate some of the hassles.

Planning for retirement? Already retired? Or just thinking about it?

Today's retirement is very different than it was for earlier generations. For a growing number of seniors, retirement is a liberating experience filled with options never before available. Traditional retirement — a life of leisure in Florida, Arizona, Texas or another sunbelt state — is rapidly becoming an outdated concept.
Today's seniors are healthier and more active than those who came before us. In today's world, planning for retirement involves much more than just financial planning. Thoughtful planning of what you want to do with the rest of your life — whether it's starting your own business, part-time work, consulting, volunteering, mentoring, enjoying a variety of leisure activities, or a unique combination tailored to your needs — is the key to a happy and successful retirement.
Whatever your situation, Today's Seniors offers retirement planning tools, tips, news and advice about a wide range of topics written especially for seniors, including:
10 Insurance Policies Older American's Don't Need – Don't let your fears sell you insurance you don't need.
401k Retirement Plan – If you are still working, don't forget that you can earn free money for your retirement.
401k Contribution Limits – What are they this year? What are the "catch-up" limits for people age 50 and older?
Advance Directives and Living Trusts – What seniors can do now to prepare for their later years with greater peace of mind.
Bank Safety – Find out if your bank is healthy and safe ... or sick as a dog.
Beneficiaries – Are yours up-to-date? Or, will the wrong people inherit your money?
Credit Reports – Now, you can get a free copy once a year. But, why should retirees care?
Disabled Travel – As you've matured, your body may have given you obstacles to overcome, maybe a cane, a wheelchair or the fact that you aren't as nimble as you once were. But that doesn't mean you can't travel with the same sense of wanderlust you've always had.
Don't Retire, REWIRE! (2nd edition) – Especially for seniors, 5 steps to fulfilling work that fuels your passion, suits your personality or fills your pocket – whether you are already enjoying life after retirement, planning for retirement, or want a more enjoyable and fulfilling career. (We highly recommend this book.)
Find Unclaimed Money and Other Property – Is your money missing?
from A to Z – Resource Directory – More interesting and helpful Internet resources for seniors.
Glossary of Terms – Easy-to-understand definitions of the specialized terms related to retirement (including financial, insurance, legal and estate planning) and elder care.
Healthy Living – Helping seniors enjoy life after retirement.
High Rate Certificate of Deposit – New rate map. Find the highest CD interest rates in your neighborhood ... in your state ... or anywhere in the country.
Improve Your Quality of Life – products that eliminate some of life's frustrations – a TV volume regulator, TV Ears (a personal assisted hearing device), the Jitterbug cell phone (designed for seniors who want a hassle-free phone), and more.
Large Print Books – They can make reading enjoyable again. Here's a wide selection of novels, humor, non-fiction and bibles. Many also have an audio CD and/or audio cassette version.
Life Settlements – Another option that can help pay for your housing needs after retirement.
Medicare Benefits – FAQs, tips, and nasty surprises for retirees.
Medicare Prescription Drug Plans – What does Medicare's new benefit mean for seniors?
Men's Health – Improve your quality of life with impotence aids and male incontinence products.
Money – How much do you really need to enjoy life after retirement?
Patient Privacy – A frustrating 2-edged sword.
Pensions – Are any of your pensions missing? Many seniors can't find pensions owed to them from old employers that have gone out of business. Here's help.
Personal and Financial Organizers – Recommended by The Wall Street Journal for two consecutive years, these free personal and financial organizers are comprehensive, yet concise and easy-to-use – especially helpful for seniors and boomers.
Planning for Retirement – Your "to do" list for a smooth transition into retirement.
Prescription Drugs Interactions – Problems for senior citizens.
Replace Lost, Stolen or Damaged Documents.
Retirement Calculators – Will you outlive your income?

Senior Discounts – Includes money saving tips, strategies and special offers.
Social Security Benefits – When should you retire?– and more.
Symptoms – of major health conditions.
Working after Retirement – Whether it's a part-time job, volunteer work, or a second career, here's help to find work situations that are both financially and personally rewarding.
On the lighter side, we've assembled a collection of funny cartoon pictures, clean jokes, humorous stories, etc., in our Humor section.
We also let you know about the nasty little surprises – the Gotchas! – that companies, Medicare and government agencies often "forget" to tell you about. Most of the time, we give you straight, unbiased facts – we tell it like it is with no sugar coating. At other times, we offer our opinion. When we do, we tell you.
We hope your visit is rewarding. Send us an email to suggest other topics for us to consider, or to comment on the information we've included.

Down So extensive: The furtively Life Taught Herea.

Patrick Swayze, right, as a longtime F.B.I. agent and Travis Fimmel as his new partner in the new cable series “The Beast
Patrick Swayze’s performance as an ungoverned F.B.I. man in “The Beast,” a new crime drama beginning on Thursday on A&E, is impressive for its resistance to cliché and remarkable for the mere fact of its execution.

Not extended after the pilot was shot last year, Mr. Swayze was given a analysis of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, but chose to stay with the project, in receipt of treatments throughout fabrication. During the filming of 12 subsequent episodes, as producers explained at the Television Critics Association press tour this week, the actor missed only a single day of work.

“One thing I’m not going to do is chase staying alive,” Mr. Swayze told Barbara Walters in an interview last week. “You spend so much time chasing staying animate, you won’t live.” (He was hospitalized on Friday for pneumonia.)

On “The Beast” Mr. Swayze is stonewalled from making analogous displays of honesty. As Charles Barker, he plays an undercover agent who has used up so much emotional capital down deep in the foxhole that there is nothing left to nourish him when he burrows back up. Barred from feeling too much, he is made to speak from a Top 20 list of police show aphorisms: “Yeah, there’s a line. So we recognize where to cross.”

“The Beast” is set in a Chicago where spring seems to come only every leap year, and Barker’s piece of the city compounds that broad, bleak vision. He lives in a dark, foul apartment that begs for a psychiatric appraisal of its occupant: it’s a place in which to curl up with a bottle of Lexapro.

But Barker doesn’t even stock the proper antidepressants. When his rookie partner, Ellis Dove — named as if we’d miss his brooding innocence — shows up for one of Barker’s coarsened, avuncular cop lessons, Barker offers Dove a beer but can deliver only a glass of milk.

Dove learns after the fact that he has been assigned to glean what he can about Barker’s rogue habits. The agency’s Internal Affairs Department has begun an investigation, but Dove is reluctant to believe that Barker’s approach to law enforcement strays much beyond a game of hopscotch around paperwork and rote procedure. Dove, as he tells a date, watched his father walk out when he was a small child, and in his mind it wasn’t soon enough. Barker won’t show him when to deploy a nine iron, but he fits a certain variant of the paternal bill.

It is a problem for “The Beast” that we are just as prone to trust Barker’s decency as his partner is. The moral and psychological ambiguity doesn’t appear to be there: however Barker might have sideswiped orthodoxy in the past, we get the sense that he was probably justified in breaking the rules he did. By the end of the first hour of “The Shield,” we knew that Vic Mackey was the kind of cop who didn’t stop at taking short cuts; he killed whoever got in his way. After the first two episodes of “The Beast,” we see that Barker is made of the stern stuff it takes to weasel around some security clearances.

Mr. Swayze, though, is another story. He takes hold of the role with the assurance of someone who has little time or tolerance for nonsense. He works to keep things in a low register, refusing to ride and screech and jump curbs presumably the way the writers have intended.

It is unfortunate for Travis Fimmel, who plays Dove, that his co-star maintains such formidable composure. Mr. Fimmel is all loose ends; he can’t seem to find the character. I’ve had old socks with a firmer grip than the hold Mr. Fimmel, who is Australian, has on his Midwestern accent. He gives the impression of having watched Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Departed,” tried on a flak jacket and turned up for filming. Mr. Swayze has a great deal to teach him indeed.