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blue... We'd like to welcome all our new subscribers to...THE BALANCING ACT You are receiving this newsletter because you or someone you know
subscribed you to our mailing list. THE BALANCING ACT The only FREE weekly publication dedicated to Helping you create a life of Health, Wealth, and Balanced Abundance in today's hectic world. July 24, 2003 Volume 1, Issue 3 Liz Thompson, Publisher (mailto:lthompson@healthywealthynwise.com) ----------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS ISSUE: ----------------------------------------------------------------- - Note from the Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ----------------------------------------------------------------- As you know this is our third issue of The Balancing Act. Right now we are in the process of coming up with a standard list of questions to ask our "SAM’s" (speakers, authors and mentors). What I need from you is the questions YOU want answered. I believe Ric put it best when he said, "The feeling we had was that giving people the opportunity to learn from mentors such as Mark Victor Hansen, Brian Tracy, Harv Eker and literally thousands of other speakers, authors and mentors was a very powerful thing. Lives could be changed by what could be learned through a magazine." and "You see, in many ways, what we are giving to others is simply what we wanted for ourselves: a great place to learn and grow in ALL aspects of our life. A magazine that spreads the beliefs of success and abundance, but in a proper balance of health, wealth and spirituality." As you can see you have the opportunity to pick the brains of so many great minds, we just need to know what you want us to ask. Please just send your questions to me at maldnino@healthywealthynwise.com or BalancingAct@healthywealthynwise.com. Sincerely, Meredith Landino REMEMBER: Each month we will dedicate one entire issue to answering your questions. If we don't know the answer to your question, we'll find someone who does! Simply send an email to BalancingAct@healthywealthynwise.com and look for your answer in the next issue. ----------------------------------------------------------------- This regular feature of The Balancing Act will provide you with insight and inspiration in the words of fellow readers. Sometimes the words of one who has walked the path are the most helpful words of all. Enjoy! ******************************** "I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am, I am, I am." ~ Sylvia Plath Have you ever had the opportunity to be an observer in your life? While I was recovering from surgery, I spent three months just observing. I gained such clarity about what was important in my life. Just getting up, getting showered and into a chair for meals was a big deal and a huge accomplishment for the day. I savored my warm shower, clean pajamas, and every meal so lovingly prepared. I felt nourished, comforted and grateful to be alive. Stepping out of my daily routine allowed me to see that the essence of life isn't in the busyness of doing, or in the titles or degrees we hold, or the balance of our checking accounts. All of our life, our experiences and relationships are important and worth so much more. The funny thing is that when you are faced with a crisis, your life quickly and without reservation becomes the priority. Work becomes secondary. Unfortunately, many of us in this culture have made our work our priority and the rest of our lives have taken a back seat. It’s not until we are faced with losing a job, illness, or loss of an important relationship that we realize that we have nothing to fall back on. Our relationships with friends and partners may have become brief exchanges. We don't have time for developing personal interests and hobbies, or when we do, we have no energy left. The most important relationship, the one with ourselves, may be almost non-existent. The thought of sitting alone for one hour send many, including me at one time, into a state of panic. When you let the nonessentials fall away from your life, you are then faced with you. It can be frightening if you haven't spent the time getting to know yourself. Many of us have also lost our inner voice from years of stuffing things down, not wanting to say anything to upset anyone and always trying to please. These years of stuffing and putting the lid on things can leave us disconnected and out-of-balance. Like a pot left unattended, it eventually boils over and leaves a mess to clean up. One of the ways that I have found to develop this relationship with myself is by keeping a journal. I've kept one for many years. I recommend that if you don't already keep one that you give it a try. Get to know yourself by writing in your journal everyday. Write about the things that you observe in your life. If your inner critic starts chatting away about how you can't write, then give voice to your critic. Let it say whatever it has to say. It will finally run out of things and you will then move in another direction. You may be amazed at the quality, the sound, and the strength of your own voice. What the world needs now is for each of us to be who we truly are and to bring our gifts into the world. Don't hold back any longer. Be Present, Be You. That is enough. Really it is. Nancy Bishop Nancy Bishop is a Life Coach, Writer and Speaker. She coaches busy women who want more TEA - Time, Energy and Abundance for the things that really matter in their lives. For more information, or, to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, visit her Website at http://www.yourlifeyourway.com. ******************************** Hello, Friend. Here’s my story! I'm a 30-something mother of two elementary school boys who began my weight loss journey with Atkins nearly 3 years ago. I was 30 pounds overweight and had been carrying this excess weight for about 9 years - since the birth of my first child. Like most women, I gained a lot of weight - 54 pounds - with this pregnancy!! Needless to say, I had a lot of weight to drop when I got home from the hospital. Then, three years after his birth, while still carrying an excess of 25 pounds (despite following a low-fat diet and running 4X/week), I become pregnant with my second child. While I gained only 35 pounds with my second child, by now I had become quite bloated and unhappy with my body. I promptly began running again - as soon as I could after my C-section and got myself to within 25 pounds again of my ideal weight. Because I had gestational diabetes with my second child, I’d been put on a diabetic diet for the last 4 months of my pregnancy and this seemed to help keep my weight stable, but it did little to help me lose any excess weight. While not huge by any means, I felt ugly and disgusted with my body. I thought I was doing everything right, eating a balanced, low-fat diet and running 3 times a week. My heart was in pretty good condition, I felt pretty strong, but I couldn't bear to see myself in a sleeveless top, let alone a swimsuit!! So, I wore very baggy clothes and NEVER wore a swimsuit in public without a cover-up. I looked so flabby!! My husband was in the military until our second child turned 2, when our lives changed dramatically. He left the Air Force to pursue a civilian career and to allow me to create a career, too. I had my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and my Master’s Degree in Counseling, but I hadn't been able to work outside the home because of all the idiosyncrasies of military life and demands of nurturing young children. Now, however, I could pursue my dreams! The only problem was that I felt HUGE and didn't have any professional clothes to wear. I hated that I had to buy size 14 suits!! I retained the excess weight for several more years, but with my career now blooming in technology marketing, I was gaining more confidence and grew tired of being overweight. I learned about the Atkins Diet because my mother had tried it, but I was extremely skeptical of it, since I was a nutrition buff who SWORE by the low-fat diet. She shed some weight quickly, however, and this caused me to take notice. I remember very clearly the moment I decided I could stand my fat no longer: We were vacationing in San Diego with friends, and my dear friend, Judy, and I were on the beach with our kids. She looked fabulous in her size-8 bikini, but I refused to remove my sweatshirt and shorts. I sat there, angry with myself for not having the guts to disrobe and more disgusted than ever with my body shape and size. After a good cry, I decided it was time to finally make a change. Remember, by now I was already running 2-3 times a week for about 30 minutes, but not seeing my weight come off. I would practically starve myself at times, eating only bread and fat-free foods for days at a time. I had virtually given up on meat - too much saturated fat, I was told - and I disliked fish. Potatoes and bagels sustained me, and some days I didn't even eat one "green" thing. If I did, it was likely a banana or an apple. So, now ready to commit to losing weight, I did what I typically do; I dived head first into learning about Atkins and read the entire Atkins New Diet Revolution book in 2 days. I learned how sugar interacts with the blood and how people who are addicted to sugar come to crave it like addicts crave cocaine. I learned how my history of weight loss and gain were telling me that I am a sugar addict (and it runs in my family). I discovered that my overweight and struggling 9-year old son was also a carb-addict just like me. So, I created a plan, followed the plan, and it worked! FINALLY! Over a period of 3 months, I dropped 25 pounds, with 8 of those pounds by the second week. I experienced a plateau for about 4 weeks, then started rapidly losing again until I reached my goal weight. After 6 months, I decided I was staying at that weight for good (although I was a little skeptical that I could indeed maintain), and treated myself to some new clothes. I was three sizes smaller, so none of my size 12 and 14 professional clothes fit me anymore. I’d been pinning them to keep them on! Dr. Atkins gives great advice on how to start your plan, but he doesn't give much advice on how to maintain the diet over the long haul. I wanted MORE information, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I had to create my own strategies out of necessity. And when my friends and neighbors saw my success, they all wanted to know all about how I did it, too. Which brings me to where I am today--a coach, consultant and author who's succeeded at living a low-carb lifestyle for nearly 3 years and willing to share everything I know. I hope I hear from you! Sincerely,Wendy L. Jameson, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK'S RESOURCE ----------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to know the secrets to making all the money you'll ever want? Now, two mega-bestselling authors with decades of experience in teaching people how to achieve extraordinary wealth and success share their secrets. Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the phenomenal Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and Robert G. Allen, one of the world's foremost financial experts, have helped thousands of people become millionaires. Now it's your turn. Is it possible to make a million dollars in only one minute? The answer just might surprise you. The One Minute Millionaire is an entirely new approach, a life-changing "millionaire system" that will teach you how to: * Create wealth even when you have nothing to start with. The One Minute Millionaire is a revolutionary approach tobuilding wealth and a powerful program for self-discovery as well. Here are two books in one, fiction and nonfiction, designed to address two kinds of learning so that you can fully integratethese life-changing lessons. On the right-hand pages, you willfind the fictional story of a woman who has to make a million dollars in ninety days or lose her two children forever. The left-hand pages give the practical, step-by-step nonfiction strategies and techniques that actually work in the real world. You'll find more than one hundred nuts-and-bolts "Millionaire Minutes", each one a concise and invaluable lesson with specific techniques for creating wealth. However, the lessons here are not just about becoming a millionaire - they are about becoming an enlightened millionaire and how to ethically make, keep, and share your wealth. Whether your goal is less than a million dollars or that amount many times over, there's never been a better time to achieve abundance. Let The One Minute Millionaire show you the way. Authors Biographies: Mark Victor Hansen is the coauthor of one of the biggest-selling book series in history, Chicken Soup for the Soul, with more than 80 million copies in print. Mark has been a public speaker for twenty-five years, entertaining and enlightening audiences worldwide. He is the author of five other books and six popular audio programs, and is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Horatio Alger Award. Robert G. Allen has probably helped to create more millionaires in this country than any other single person. He is the author of some of the most successful financial books in history. Nothing Down has sold more than 1,250,000 copies , and his other books - Creating Wealth, Multiple Streams of Income, and Multiple Streams of Internet Income - have all been major New York Times bestsellers. Every issue of The Balancing Act will contain a resource that we believe will be of value to you, be it a book, a software program, an audio or video tape, etc. We hope you'll share your knowledge and insight with other readers of The Balancing Act by reviewing these resources and allowing us to share your opinions in a future issue. Simply send your review to mailto:BalancingAct@healthywealthynwise.com?subject=My_Review. ----------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTE OF THE WEEK ----------------------------------------------------------------- "If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot
paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." ----------------------------------------------------------------- INSPIRATIONAL STORIES ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Cracked Pot A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of it's water and was only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength. ~Author Unknown How to Submit an Inspirational Story for Next Month’s Issue: We are always looking for inspirational stories to share with our readers. One of the best things about Healthy Wealthy n Wise is bringing together people from all walks of life in various stages of success and letting them learn from each other. We encourage you to send in your story and share with your fellow readers. Simply send your story mailto:BalancingAct@healthywealthynwise.com?subject=My_Story. ----------------------------------------------------------------- YOUR SUCCESS TIP ----------------------------------------------------------------- Could your deli meat be causing your headaches? Research suggests it may be so for people who are sensitive to nitrites. Nitrites are used as a preservative in processed meats, such as hot dogs, ham, sausage, bacon, and luncheon or deli-style meats. They may dilate blood vessels and cause headaches in people who are sensitive to nitrites. If you are prone to headaches and frequently eat processed meat, see if cutting back helps. ----------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT AND PUBLISHER INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Balancing Act is Copyright © 2003 by the Metis Group. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher. Liz Thompson, Publisher ----------------------------------------------------------------- LEGAL STUFF... ----------------------------------------------------------------- We accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within The Balancing Act. Although all of the articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles within this newsletter does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles. Be responsible! Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer. _________________________________________________________________
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