I am including in this blog today an article that I think will help you and also the links where you can hook up with some people that really are helping others understand what a blog is and how to get your head wrapped around the concept.  I hope this will intrique you to start blogging.

1. What A blog really is and how to get your head
around this whole blogging thing...
**************************************************

So what the heck is a blog anyway?

If you're new to the blogging world, you may still be wondering what on earth a blog actually is.

And you may even feel a little embarrassed or evenashamed when others talk about blogs and you don't really know what they're talking about.

Well, don't feel bad, because I'll now help you
demystify this whole blogging thing once and for
all...

The word "blog" is short for "weblog", and it's a
term that was created for a special kind of
website that essentially helps you write down a
"log" of...stuff... well, anything really!

In the "old" days (just a few short years ago now)
a lot of people used blogs as a type of online
journal where they could write down whatever
happened in their lives, and share it with their
friends and family.

And this still happens today. But, nowadays, blogs
are the most popular type of website on the
internet - for both people, as well as for search
engines - but more on this soon...

People now use blogs to publish content related to
any and every topic you could imagine, ranging
from how to raise kids to internet marketing to
personal development - in fact, almost any topic
that you can conceive of.

A blog is really just a special kind of website
that lets you easily publish content whenever you
want and allowing other people to interact with
your content in the form of writing comments in
response to whatever you published.

So, it's quite different from the stuffy old
"static" websites that do not change their content
as a general rule of thumb. Blogs are a lot more
fluid and interactive than the normal "old school"
websites... and much more effective too!

But why have blogs become so extremely popular in
the recent past?

Well, there are at least three reasons...

a. Blogs are popular with the search engines.

Because blogs get updated with new content so
often, search engines lists them very high up on
their search results.

This means that blogs are likely to get more
traffic than normal "static" websites because more
people can find them quickly and easily in search
engines like Yahoo and Google.

Now, if you were a website owner, which would you
prefer? A stuffy old static website that does not
change and does not get listed in the search
engines, or a vibrant ever changing interactive
blog that gets listed in the major search engines?

Easy decision right?

b. Another main reason is because blogs are
interactive.

Whenever you visit a blog, you can read the
original post by the author of the blog, and then
you can also submit a comment expressing your own thoughts on what the blog post was about.

When other people join the "conversation", things
can get very interesting, and you could end up
with a very exciting collection of thoughts from
people from all over the world.

Because conversation in itself creates a bit of
"drama", people naturally get attracted to it, and
want to be a part of it. And thus, the more people
who do this, the faster this whole blogging thing grows.

c. And of course, blogs have got to be one of the
easiest kind of websites to set up.

Believe it or not, but you don't actually need any
technical knowledge such as html programming and a lot of money to be able to set up your own blog.

If you can click a few buttons and type letters on
your keyboard, that's all you need for setting up
your very own blog.

And in some cases, you could even set up a new
blog in a matter of minutes!

In fact, we've created 10 complimentary videos
that show you exactly how to set up your very own
blog using the very popular and powerful WordPress
blogging platform. If you want to check them out, simply visit:

www.becomeablogger.com

They don't cost a thing either.

But these are only three of many reasons why blogs
are so popular, and there are many other reasons
as well and I'll leave you to explore those for
yourself.

So, in summary, a blog is really just a special
kind of website that allows you to easily add
content, and get other people from all over the
world to absorb and interact with your content on
the internet.

Ok, so now that you know in a bit more detail
about what a blog actually is, let's move onto the next point...

**************************************************

2. Why you need to set up your own blog if you
haven't done so already...

**************************************************
At this stage, you might be wondering why YOU
should be setting up your own blog.

And you're probably thinking, "Why should I
bother? What are the benefits of having my own
blog? What's in it for me?"

.

Well, here are a few benefits of setting up and
running your own blog:

a. It's fun and fuflilling!

b. It's easy to set up!

c. It allows you to create a following and
therefore the ability to influence others on a
massive scale.

d. And, you can make money from it - and lots too!
But only if you know how!

Let's now look at each one of these benefits in
some more detail...

First, it's fun!

Blogging has got to be one of the best ways that
you can express yourself on the internet.

It's a place where you can call your own shots and
express the views that you have about any topic.

[My disclaimer: Of course I'm assuming here that
you'll only be blogging about legal stuff!]

As you start growing a following for your blog, it
becomes really fun interacting with people from
all over the world with the same interests as
yourself.

In many cases, you'll meet people through your
blog that could open up many other opportunities
for you.

For example, if you have another website where
you're selling a digital product, you may meet a
potential joint venture partner who may be willing
to promote your products.

This is not uncommon, and in fact, we use it as an
active strategy for enlisting joint venture
partners for many of our own product launches. For
our recent launch, we enlisted over 700 people
that helped promote our new course.

It really is a very powerful tool in that sense,
other than being totally fun of course.

Second, blogs are really easy to set up.

You don't even need to have a technical
qualification to set up your own blog. It really
is one of the easiest things to do online these
days.

As I mentioned before, if you can click a few
buttons, and type, you can pretty much call
yourself a blogger.

The videos that we created for you on
becomeablogger.com shows you exactly, step by step
how to install your blog.

We've already had thousands of people go through
our videos, and we've have had an overwhelming
positive response from people all over the world
saying how easy the videos are to follow.

So if you haven't viewed the videos and set up
your own blog yet, I suggest you head on over to
becomeablogger.com, and start the process as soon
as possible.

Third, a blog allows you to create a following and
the ability to influence others on a massive
scale.

I've kinda touched on it before, but by running a
successful blog, you can have a HUGE influence on
the people in the niche area that you're blogging
about.

Take Yaro Starak from Entrepreneurs-Journey.com
for example. He currently has a following of over
50,000 people.

So, every time he writes a new post, over 50,000
people will get to see his post almost instantly.
And in the niche that he's in, that can be a very
powerful and influencial thing indeed.

Everytime he wants to promote a new product, he
simply blogs about it, and get an instant stream
of traffic to whatever new product he is promoting
- and hence sales.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. I'll be
covering more about these kind of strategies a bit
later on.

Even if you don't want to use blogging to make
money, you can use it as a tool to influence
others.

If you're really passionate about a topic, like
alternative energy sources for example, you can
write compelling articles about it on your blog,
build your own following, and provide people with
insights into your own research, opinions and
conclusions.

Over time you'll become known as the expert in
your field and people will start contacting you
for interviews and advice about your topic of
interest.

I hope you can see that blogging can be a very
powerful tool indeed - the bottom line is that you
can use blogging to get a following and influence
others to take a certain action - like buying your
products or doing something good for the
environment for example.

And fourth and finally, you can make money from
blogging - and lots too! But only if you know how!

If you know what you're doing, you can make a
decent income from blogging. And over the following few weeks, you'll be finding out exactly how to do that with your very own blog too!

Yaro currently makes around $350,000 per year from
his blogging and related activities. And there are
plenty of other bloggers who make similar amounts of money too, and even more.

There are so many different ways of making money
from your blog, but we'll be covering this in a
lot more detail in part 7 of this mini course. So
make sure you stay tuned for this a bit later on.

There are a number of really great reasons why you
should be setting up your own blog if you haven't
done so already.

All you have to do, is head on over to

becomeablogger.com,

and watch the complimentary
videos that show you exactly how to set it all up.

You should have your very own blog set up within
no time at all!

Inside the next part of this mini course, I'll
reveal how you can select the best possible topic
for your own blog.

I think you'll discover some amazing insights
inside the second part that Yaro and myself
discovered through many hours of trial and error
over the last few years.

So, stay tuned for a lot more great information
coming your way!

Here's to your blogging success!

Gideon and Yaro
Become A Blogger

PS: Before you select a domain name for your blog,
maybe wait for the second part of this mini course
first.

It will help you figure out what kind of topic you
should be blogging about. And this will help you
select a more appropriate domain name for your
blog too.

But if you've already secured your domain name,
don't stress about it. It's not too big a deal in
the long run.

Making, Keeping, and Sustaining Resolution 

   Dr. Joseph J. Luciani

If you’re like most, you’ve probably made a few resolutions for the upcoming year. And if you’re like most, you’re probably wondering what went wrong with all those wonderful intentions, “Why can’t I stick to a diet?” “I just don’t understand it; I promised myself that I’d go to the gym?” “Why am I so weak?” Scratching your head, you wonder what sabotaged all those resolutions that only a few weeks ago seemed so convincing…so doable?

Let’s face it, the best laid intentions for changing behavior are only as good as your ability to embrace these efforts and sustain them over time. After all, turning down one piece of apple pie or getting yourself off the couch for one, solitary jog isn’t what you had in mind. Sure, these efforts may seem like a start, but as I mentioned, unless they’re sustained over time, they remain nothing more than frustrations to your otherwise well-intended goals.

Why is embracing and sustaining effort so difficult--especially when your objectives make so much sense? One way to explain this rather common human shortcoming is to recognize that positive thinking and positive affirmations represent only fifty-percent of the solution. The other fifty percent is positively believing what you intend. Without conviction and belief, positive thinking remains just that, thinking, not action.

When it comes to any personal challenges and change, there are two essential components: what you tell yourself and what you believe. The equation looks like this: what you tell yourself + what you believe = is what you become. Keep in mind that this equation can be negative or positive. If you tell yourself, “I can’t,” and you believe you can’t, than you won’t! It’s that simple. Who hasn’t been victimized by, “I can’t stay on this diet!” Or, “I can’t ask for that raise.” If this sounds like you, you’d best be forewarned: ineffectiveness can become a chronic habit. If you let it!

The good news is that all habits are learned and all habits can be broken. Whether it’s losing weight, finding a new job, fighting off anxiety and worry, or simply not staying up too late at night; with a Self-Coaching attitude, negative habits can be broken and replaced with personal effectiveness. In order to take your life back from reflexive, powerless thinking and living, you’re going to need to begin by developing your trust muscle. Just as you would with any muscle, building trust (in self and in life) will require some exercise and effort. So before you toss out those resolutions, take a look at the trust-building tips below.

1. Think small. Begin with small successes. Take a look at the habits that are holding you back in life. Find one that’s simple, like, “When I finish this meal, I’m going to wash my dish.” Make a contract with yourself that that dish must get washed. No ifs, ands, or buts! Make it happen! Throughout the day, find simple challenges that you MAKE happen.

2. Believe. Once you get used to making small things happen, begin to recognize and embrace the simple truth: What I say to myself, is what I do. Remember, in order to cultivate a capacity for believing in the self, you must succeed. In order to guarantee success, don’t challenge yourself with a pledge that you’re not sure you can handle. If, for example, you’re not sure you’ll only eat one cookie, than don’t promise yourself. Better to eat the whole box of cookies than to fall short and wind up jeopardizing your growing capacity for believing. When it comes to building trust, it’s better to lose the battle than the war. You’ll soon get used to this black and white kind of thinking which is so important when it comes to cultivating the capacity for empowered, healthy living.

3 . Invent challenges. Invent various challenges throughout the day to strengthen your burgeoning ability to believe and to do. Don’t allow yourself to procrastinate, make yourself finish your paperwork before turning on the TV, decide not to spend too much at the mall. These are all trust-muscle builders and you should view them as you would an actual muscle. Just as you would do repetitions at the gym to develop a muscle, so too must you get your reps in each day. And just like a muscle, the more you workout, the more your capacity for personal success will grow.

Good evening! I have been chatting with some friends about website building and getting started with building their presence online. It is a daunting task and everyone is snowed under when they start.

There is light at the end of the tunnel however if you follow a few guidelines for dummies like I am! In the beginning I just did not know what I was getting into when I began to develop a website. I have found however that you must follow a logical path if you are going to be successful!

The first thing is deciding on a name (what you are going to call your website) then getting a domain name set aside. There are numerous webhosting companies out there and I have tried a few of them. Namely Homestead and GoDaddy etc. I paid a lot for Homestead and created "clic and plug in" sites that I used for other business's I was involved with. They just did not have the support or the bandwidth I needed however and I finally settled on HostGator which you will find advertised on this website.

HostGator was the answer to my prayers it seemed. They have the support I needed, the websets, and the back office capabilities I had been looking for. They are a growing company and I highly recommend them for their willingness to answer all your questions however dumb they may seem at the time!

I am now venturing into the world of online social networking and the tasks are really complicated but I am wading through all the back office instructions the best I can. Somethings just take time to fix however so I beg your indulgence as I muddle through. I am thrilled with the support we are getting with our first venture and I intend to keep building websites and creating new avenues to discover on the web. If someone my age can learn new tricks anyone can and I am hoping you will jump in with both feet and start getting your presence on the web if you have not done it by now!

Once you have settled on a name and you are looking at procurring webhosting, you must ascertain the traffic you think your website is going to get. If you get a lot of traffic does the hoster provide enough bandwidth to keep your site from crashing?

When I had Homestead I found that what I thought was a lot of bandwidth was just not sufficient when my website got busy and I found I had to keep paying for more. That is when I started looking at Hostgator for they offer UNLIMITED bandwidth usage and I about did cartwheels when I seen that on their advertisment!

We are going to be covering the pitfalls and the cost of startup etc in another blog but for now I really want you to consider that having a presence online for your business is almost imperative. If you want to be competitive, and that means all businesses including psychics and related counseling services.

Blessings and abundance to you all!

Journaling is a process that can be so liberating that once you start doing it that it will become a habit for life!

All you need is pen, pencil or a laptop and a place where you can find a little quiet.  You don't have to worry about grammer, creativity or being precise.  You just have to simply begin writing down your thoughts, things that have happened throughout the day and most of all your worries.  There is no correct or incorrect way to do this.  You can just list events that happen, draw images, even doodle a little bit.  The important thing is to get things on paper in any format that you are comfortable with.

When I first started journaling I was in College and it was like a diary to me.  Then I begin journaling in earnest as I moved into my career.  I have journals that go back years and years and it is fun sometimes to review where I have been and the space I occupy now in my life.

Journaling can be very cathartic if you can envision the process of writing your stressful moments on paper and as you do this you are actually transferring them away from you and onto the paper.  Feel the release as you imprint your problems to the paper.  I used to tell myself that I have to put things down on paper before I could go to sleep at night because that would release them from my mind and body and I could relax because they were on the paper and not in my head!  It is a trick of self hypnosis that is very effective.    Many people will keep their journals by their bedside and do their journaling just before going to sleep.  Journaling helps you organize your thoughts and provides a release. 

When you first start journaling you will find that you will spend a lot of time deciding what you think is important enough to write about but I caution you not to do that.  Just put down the first thing that comes to your mind and let the information flow out of you onto the paper.  You will be giving yourself permission to dismiss your negative thoughts because you have captured them on paper and their is no need to keep them in your head. 

I have journals that are work related, family related etc.  At work I  kept a daily log of events that happened during my workday.  It helped me to be organized and to remember important conversations that I would not have remembered if I had not entered them in the journal. 

Some people journal each day and others two or three times a week.  I journal each day and I find it is very relaxing for me.  I have even discovered that I receive some pretty strong messages from spirit when I begin writing.  I do most of my journaling now on the computer but when I used pen and pencil it seemed the information flowed easier for me.  Perhaps this is just my imagination but I liked the process of writing better than typing however now that I am on my computer most of the day that it is easier to use the computer and print out the file each day and keep it in a folder.  Instead of journals I know have folders for each year.  It works for me but ...I think if I had more time I would go back to using the pen or pencil to journal.

Many of my friends have found journaling an introduction to the process that is called "automatic writing" from spirit.  I have many tell me that when they were lost in journaling that when they went back to read what they had written down that solutions to solving their problems was there also.  So I recommend journaling for everyone and like meditation it has a therapuetic effect that promotes well being.

Blessings to all this glorious day and happy journaling!