Emerson Publications

 

 

 

The Family First Newsletter
Promoting family unity one issue at a time
Vol. 10 Issue 10 - Week of March 5, 2007
ISSN: 1527-6201
©2007 - Joyce Pierce --All Rights Reserved


In this issue:


Find the Right Home Business
Talk to Yourself to Reduce Stress and Relax
Oprah Told You The Secret - These 7 Simple Steps Show You How to Use It


Good morning!

 

A couple of weeks ago our 4 year old granddaughter, Savannah,  came over for awhile because her mom needed to take her brother to the doctor.  We were having a wonderful time having a tea party when my daughter came to get her.  I wish I would have  had my camera to capture the look of disappointment on Savannah's face when she thought the party was over!  We talked her mom into letting her stay, and she actually ended up spending the night.  The next day when her mom picked her up, she told her how much she had missed her.  Savannah responded with, "I know, Mom, but sometimes I just need to be with my grandma."   This is one of those stories I had to write in my journal; one of those priceless stories I wouldn't want to fade with my memory.

 

Enjoy your week.  Please forward this issue to someone who may benefit from it! 


Joyce Pierce

 


 

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Finding the Right Home Business
by:  Joyce Moseley Pierce

I sent this "tip" into my favorite budgeting newsletter, The Budget Stretcher, www.homemoneyhelps.com and was flooded with responses from people wanting more information.  I thought I'd include it here.

There is a lot of interest in working at home, or having your own home business. The internet offers unlimited possibilities, but I thought I'd offer some suggestions for finding the right business.

1. Be sure the company has been in business for awhile. Not just a year or two. If you're going to invest your time and efforts (and money) into building it, you want to make sure they're around for you. Go to www.bbb.com  and check out their standing with the Better Business Bureau.

2. Beware of MLMs. You usually have to get in on the ground floor to make money. Many of those who came in early are making money not on the product, but on the tools they sell to help you be successful (books, tapes, etc.). Go to www.mlm.com  and look up your company.

3. What does this company sell? Are their products consumable items that you use in your home everyday, or is their product or service specialized. People don't need new pots and pans or home decorations every month.

4. If your goal is to be at home with your kids, don't get into a business that requires you to go out and promote your product or service at night. There are plenty of businesses that you can work online.

5. Beware of promises to get rich quick. It's not going to happen. Anything worth having is worth working for.

I've been working at home for the past 5 years and love the freedom it allows. It takes some effort and commitment on your part, but at least you aren't accountable to anyone but yourself!

For more information on my home business, visit www.familyfirst.fourpointmoms.com

Copyright 2007.  Joyce Moseley Pierce is a freelance author and owner of Emerson Publications.  Visit her website for information that is vital to your family.  http://www.emersonpublications.com     Tired of working for someone else?  Visit http://www.familyfirst.fourpointmoms.com


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Talk to Yourself to Reduce Stress and Relax
By Liz Labrum  

What is self-talk? It is something we all do, when we’re at work, shopping, traveling in the car or by train. But are you aware of the potent power this habit has to raise your level of stress and lower your ability to cope?

Helpful or unhelpful thoughts? We create thoughts to help us explain things to ourselves, and making comments to ourselves seems to be automatic. Often the habit is so ingrained we believe we have no way of changing our internal dialogue. However, you can change the way you talk to yourself, and doing so will make you more effective and self-confident.

Become aware of your thoughts. Want to discover if you are using positive and supportive self-talk or negative self-talk? The following are a few examples of the things that positive and negative people say. Look closely to spot the difference. When you do, you will immediately see how these "mere words" can affect your life. Negative people explain bad things by internalizing them: "I got that wrong -again." Their thinking makes this viewpoint seemed fixed: "It's always this way." They generalize: "Life is the pits." When they explain good things, they externalize them: "It was just luck," or consider them temporary: "That went well, TODAY," and see them only in a limited context: "At least THIS went right." Positive people explain bad things by externalizing them: "The weather caused it." They consider setbacks as temporary: "That was a rough couple hours." They see problems as isolated: "THAT part of the plan didn't work, but..." When they explain good things, they internalize them by thinking, "Life is great!" Their thoughts describe them as more or less permanent changes: "Now I know how to do this." Then generalize by thinking, "Things are working out well."

Change old thoughts for new. Try a simple exercise now to notice the difference in how thoughts affect your feelings. Look at yourself in a mirror and thinking of something that you did recently, say the following words: "I failed, I totally failed to do what I set out to." When you complete that, how do you feel having said those words? Note the expression on your face as you said them.

Now look at yourself and say, "I succeeded in some ways and learned how to respond in a smarter way." With the saying of these words, how do you feel? What does your expression look like? Isn’t it easier to see that your choice of language does indeed affect your body? Now you’ve experienced the power some words and phrases have and how you can use others to move you into a more relaxed state.

The following is a Three-Step Lesson designed to teach you to use language to improve your perspective on life.

  1. See the situation that produces stress. Hear the language you and other people use. Feel how you feel affected by your language and that of others.
  2. Replace negative words and phrases with positive, uplifting words and phrases.
  3. Repeat to yourself silently, but with a loud internal voice, positive, uplifting words or phrases that you find solution-oriented. See yourself in the mirror. Then ask yourself how you feel when you use a different set of uplifting words and phrases.

Practice thought stopping. This is a time-honored behavior modification technique for disrupting a pattern of negative or anxious thoughts. Many people have found thought stopping (either alone or in combination with deep breathing) to be a highly effective technique for reducing stress as well as obsessive "what-if" thinking. Take a deep breath and then shout, "Stop!" "Stop it!" or "Get out!" (If there are other people around, you might want to do this silently or just visualize a huge STOP sign.) Repeat several times if necessary.

Replace anxious thoughts with calming and supportive statements to yourself, such as, "This too will pass," "I am calm and strong," or any coping statement that you can create and that has meaning for you. After you have disrupted your thoughts, you may find it useful to shift your focus to deep abdominal breathing.

Slow down your breathing and breathe as gently as you can through your nose and abdominally. This reduces the dizziness, disorientation and tingly sensations associated with stress and panic. Just two to three minutes of slow abdominal breathing will have you thinking more clearly and calmly.

If you practice any or all of the techniques above, you will find that in a very short time you will be more focused, able to relax quickly and generally happier about your lot!

liz@lizlabrum.co.uk
Author's URL: http://www.lizlabrum.co.uk
Liz Labrum, master practitioner in neuro linguistic programming (NLP) and an advanced hypnotherapist, works with clients who are stuck with issues such as stress, anxiety, fears, phobias, lack of confidence and IBS. She believes in guiding her clients to finding the solution that's right for them so they can live the life they were meant to.
 


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Oprah Told You The Secret - These 7 Simple Steps Show You How to Use It
By Antonio Thornton

By now you may have heard of a phenomenon known as "The Secret". It has been featured on numerous media outlets as well as Oprah and Larry King. While you may know that it is referring to the Law of Attraction, you may not understand what that means.

What is the Law of Attraction? A very simple way to describe it is "like attracts like." This means that whatever thoughts you hold will manifest in results in your life. If you think thoughts of lack and limitation, your life will also be full of lack. If you think only about prosperity, you will become wealthy. One thing that must be remembered is that thoughts become things. Guard your thoughts carefully.

Once you learn this important truth, you must get very clear on what you want. The universe will give you exactly what you ask for. Therefore you must be careful what you ask for. The best way to do this is simply by writing it down. This eliminates any confusion as to what you want. After you write it down, practice feeling what it would feel like to have what you've written. If you wrote down that you want a million dollars, act as if you already have it.

The next step is to nourish your mental vision with only positive influences. You must learn to have a very positive attitude. For starters, don't watch the news anymore. The only things they ever report on are negative things. You won't miss anything. The really important news, you'll hear from people you know. Secondly, don't associate with negative or unsupportive people. If someone thinks you're crazy for believing in the Law of Attraction, just stop hanging out with them. Another thing to watch out for is vicious vocabulary that actually sets you back in your effort. Don't say anything that isn't supportive of your vision.

Next you must utilize the knowledge of others. Like causes produce like effects, so if you can emulate a successful person, do it. Masterminding with others is a great way to get new ideas. Associate with like-minded people. Ask yourself what a successful person would do in a given situation. Would they take the easy way out, or do it right? Then once you have the answer, act as if that person would act.

Additionally, you must continually learn about the Law of Attraction. Read books that support what you want to do also. You can utilize tools such as frequent visualization, affirmations, or exercises. Just make sure to remain focused.

By far, the most important step is to believe in what you're doing. Without belief you will get nowhere. Every moment that you spend entertaining doubt, you are actually moving further away from what you want. See yourself in possession of the good that you desire and believe that it is coming to you.

If you follow these steps, you cannot fail. It's the law!

editors@antoniothornton.com
Author's URL: http://www.antoniothornton.com/law-of-attraction
Antonio Thornton has helped hundreds of people grow their business, find love, and live the life they desire simply by changing their thinking. Discover the fastest and easiest way to create your life using the Law Of Attraction and Psycho-Cybernetics: http://www.antoniothornton.com/law-of-attraction


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Looking for Great Grocery Coupons?  Try Flattery!
By Faye Prosser

How many times have you wished there were more great coupons available for your favorite grocery and drug store brands? Week after week, you thumb through the coupon inserts in your Sunday paper wondering if you will find the elusive coupons for the products you love. Unfortunately, week after week you only cut out a few coupons. Lament no more. There is an easy and FREE way to find coupons for the products your family loves - flattery. Whoever said that “flattery will get you nowhere”, clearly did not have e-mail!

Since September, I have been sending e-mails and making toll-free phone calls to manufacturers who make the products we like. The e-mail I send is nearly the same for each company. First, I let them know how much our family likes their product. Then I mention that I am a stay at home mom who needs to stick to a budget. Next, I politely ask if they have any coupons available. Finally, I thank them again for such a great product.

Here are the results of my little coupon request experiment:

E-mails and phone contacts made: 74

Companies that sent coupons: 51

Companies who refused: 20

Companies that have not responded yet: 3

Face value amount of coupons sent: $200.30

I average three contacts per week, mostly made via e-mail once the kids have gone to sleep at night. To date, I have received coupons worth $200 for products we use all the time. Even better, in three grocery chains in my area, and in many stores throughout the country, they double coupons. If a company sent me a coupon for 50 cents off one product, that coupon will be doubled to $1.00 at Harris Teeter, Lowe’s Foods and Kroger stores in my area. My family loves Green Giant frozen sugar snap peas. So I e-mailed Green Giant and they sent four coupons for 50 cents off any frozen or canned Green Giant products. I waited for the frozen sugar snap peas, which we love, to go on sale for $1.00 each. Using the 50 cent coupons, I was able to buy four boxes of FREE vegetables once the coupons were doubled.

That $200 worth of coupons was actually worth more than $300 once the stores doubled the coupons that could be doubled. Another surprising result of this experiment was that many companies sent coupons for FREE items including free yogurt (Dannon), cereal (Kashi), canned tuna (Starkist), jelly (Smuckers), paper plates (Zoo Pals), and tissues (Scotties). Dannon even sent stickers and magnets for the kids and a t-shirt for me! Wasn’t that nice?!

Your homework for this week (and every week if you want a reason to look forward to going to the mailbox): *Look through your pantry, fridge and freezer. *Choose three products your family likes and look on the package to find the website addresses of those companies. You can also do a Google search to find the website addresses. *Once on a company website, click on Contact. *E-mail (or call) the companies using the format below.

Sample letter:

“Hello, I am writing to let you know how much our family loves the boxed Green Giant Sugar Snap Peas! Even my 5 year old, who is very picky, eats them all up and asks for more. If you happen to have any coupons available for the sugar snap peas, I would really appreciate it. We are a one-income family, on a budget, and I use coupons whenever I can. Again, thank you for offering a healthy product that my picky 5 ... 7 year olds love! Best Regards, Your Name.”

That wasn’t so hard, was it? For just a few minutes a week, you can offer valuable feedback to companies and fill your mailbox with coupons for products you know your family likes. Now wait patiently for your coupons, use them with good sales and enjoy your great deals. Remember, it’s your money – spend it wisely!

Faye Prosser is the author of "The Smart Spending Guide", December 2005. Her mission is to help others become effective advocates for themselves and their hard-earned money. She teaches people how to budget, reduce debt, and save tremendous amounts of money on groceries and everyday purchases. She has been profiled on various TV stations, newspaper articles, websites and radio shows. For more information on "The Smart Spending Guide", the Smart Spending Coupon Organizer or Smart Spending Workshops, visit www.SmartSpendingResources.com .


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Last modified: 01/01/01