101 WAYS...

17. DEVELOP AN INVESTMENT PLAN.

Since, to a large extent, your future is at stake here, you should take your investment plan seriously. Determining how long your money will be invested will help you figure out how much risk you can tolerate. Investing for the short term usually means you are trying to meet a goal within one or two years. Intermediate-term investing translates into two to five years, and more than five years signals that you are investing for the long term. Make an appointment to consult a professional financial adviser. He or she can provide you with information about a number of secure options, such as the following:

~IRAs
~trusts
~Keogh plans
~profit-sharing SEPs
~government bonds and T-bills
~mutual funds
~401(k) plans

It's never too soon to start making the investments that will increase your income and ensure your family's security and dreams.

16. OUTLINE YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS.

Our dreams for the future, lofty as they may be, at some point almost all depend on cold, hard cash. Looking forward to that retirement home on the lake? Or watching Junior accept his Harvard diploma? Or cheering on your daughter as she competes for her fifth Olympic gold medal?

Dream big--but plan now. Begin by gathering the family together to discuss your goals. Then start mapping out the short-term objectives that will lead you to them. This will require drawing up some sort of budget (see#8), and most likely making some tough decisions about how and where to start saving. Chances are this will lead you to ...#17.

15. COMMIT TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.

Research indicates clearly that making the right choices now, you can add years to your life--healthy, active years. If you want to feel better, and look better, here are some ground rules:

~ Always eat breakfast.
~ Eat balanced meals.
~ Try not to put on extra pounds.
~ Favor moderation.
~ Don't smoke.

The most important ingredient, however, is your attitude. Your commitment to better health must be complete and enthusiastic, or you will not be able to maintain the discipline both to diet and exercise. Ask your doctor for a pep talk. He or she should not have any trouble extolling the virtues of healthy eating and exercise. But the commitment must be yours. What are you waiting for?

14. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS.

I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
---Rudyard Kipling

We're sometimes reluctant to ask questions because we fear embarrassment. Sometimes, perhaps, we fear the answers. But the consequences we've suffered by not asking questions probably have been far worse than any caused by asking them.

There's a Native American saying that goes as follows: Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. Questions involve you. They make you an active participant in your work, education, and relationships, and are the fuel that drivescommunication. The only thing you have to fear is the answer you didn't get to that question you didn't ask.

13. DRINK LOTS OF WATER.

At least eight glasses a day, doctors advise. Water helps flush the body's wastes and toxins, carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, lubricates every joint in your body, provides a protective cushion for your tissues, helps regulate your body temperature, and is essential to the health of your skin. Make a conscious effort to down your daily requirement. You'll really notice the difference.

12. NEVER, EVER, MAKE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.

11. BE A GOOD CITIZEN.

Not that you aren't already--but really good citizenship means going an extra step beyond obeying the speed limit and paying your taxes. Keep these things in mind:

~Be an informed voter--and vote.
~Recycle.
~Use mass transit.
~Support your neighborhood schools--their teams, bands, orchestras, PTAs.
~Write letters to newspaper editors about issues that concern you.
~Accept your summons for jury duty enthusiastically.
~Donate blood.
~Visit the elderly or infirm.

10. STAY IN TOUCH WITH OLD FRIENDS.

You'll be glad you did. Old friends are often the best--tried, tested, dependable. And chances are, they understand you better than anyone outside your family. Drop a card, send a fax or e-mail, or give them a call. So what if your phone bill's a couple bucks higher each month--you can't put a price on friendship.

9. GET ENOUGH SLEEP.

Many health-care practitioners recommend eight hours of sleep a night for optimal functioning. By contrast, sleep deprivation can leave you feeling drained, both physically and mentally. Take the following quiz to test your sleep IQ:

TRUE or FALSE

1) If you've lost many hours of sleep over the course of a five-day workweek, you can "make-up" the lost time by sleeping longer on the weekend.

2) If you are having trouble falling asleep, remain in bed, lie still, and take long deep breaths.

3) An alcoholic drink in the evening can help you fall asleep.

4) Exercising in the evening, particularly within two hours of going to bed, helps one to fall asleep.

5) Sex is an effective, natural sleep inducer.

6) People who have difficulty falling asleep can help themselves by varying their bedtime from night to night.


ANSWERS

1) false
2) false
3) false -Alcohol is more likely to disturb sleep.
4) false -Exercise within two hours of bedtime should be avoided.
5) true
6) false -Everyone should try to go to bed and get up at consistent hours, from day to day.

8. LIVE WITHIN A BUDGET.

To live within a budget, first you're going to have to make one. So get out the notebook, the old bills, the canceled checks, the calculator, and the pencils. To determine where you can save, you need to find out how you have been spending money.

7. KEEP A JOURNAL.

You'll be surprised how constructive this can be. Think of your journal as a place to have conversations with yourself--on any topic. A simple notebook will do, but how about treating yourself to one of those beautiful blank books sold at bookstores and stationers? Then select an elegant pen and discipline yourself to write in your book regularly. At the end of a year, you may find your journal is one of the most captivating reads you've come across in a long time--and you'll probably learn some interesting things about yourself that you never knew before.

TO GET OUT OF A "DEAR DIARY" MODE, INCLUDE:

~reviews of the movies you see
~poems
~favorite quotes you come across
~letters too angry or too intimate to actually send
~your plan for a better mousetrap
~progress reports on your goals
~doodles and drawings (all books need pictures!)


I know everyone reading this is most likely doing this already by form of a blog, but I didn't want to just skip to #8! (Although you guys probably think this is hokey anyway! But hey, it's for me for the most part anyway.) :)

6. LOOK FOR THE POSITIVE.

That's the message to needlepoint on your throw pillow! No goal is ever achieved by concentrating on negatives; that will only lead to failure. Sure, you've got to be realistic about obstacles and setbacks, but you've also got to be realistic about what works--what is in your favor. Tackle those negatives as they come up, not before. As the literary genius Samuel Johnson once said, "Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome."

5. SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH YOURSELF.

I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. --Henry David Thoreau

4. ACCEPT CRITICISM GRACEFULLY--DISPENSE IT SPARINGLY.

3. SET REALISTIC GOALS

If you wanted to conquer Mount Everest,you wouldn't fly to Nepal, pack a lunch, and start climbing. You might want to learn a little something about mountain climbing first. It's the same with any goal. The Big Enchiladas--our long-term goals--can be achieved only by first reaching the more modest goals that form the trail to them.

2. GIVE YOURSELF A PAT ON THE BACK

Write down what you consider to be your 10 best qualities--these can be anything from "intelligence" to "good listener" to "nice earlobes." Take a good, long look at your list from time to time.
(If you feel that you need more than 10, cross "modesty" off of your list!) :)

Room to Improve




I found this book today while going through some old books. I remember that I really enjoyed it so I thought I could share it with you guys. It's exactly like the title says. It has 101 ways to improve your life so I figured each day I could list another way. Here it goes:

1. DON'T BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes." -Mahatma Gandhi