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Would you like to be able to predict the future - your future? You can, you know, to a great extent. If you want to know what's in store for you, take a look at your thoughts. What do you think about? What do you dwell on and picture? What do you expect and believe you can cause?  

You see, it is your present thoughts that determine your future. Now it's not to say that if you imagine yourself walking on water you'll do it or if you think about winning the lottery you will. But if your thoughts are… >>>

Why do some people seem to do things quickly and easily while others struggle or simply give up?  How we do things, perform on the job for example, often depends on how we were trained.  Now, most of us are trainers as well as trainees. You're a trainer when you show someone how to run a piece of equipment, how to behave, or how to tie a bow.  

But what makes training take?  What's to say that the people we train will be able to do what we teach them?  Well, many studies have shown that four things are needed… >>>

What do you know about visualization? Have you heard people talking about learning how to do it? Well, here's something you should know. You don't have to learn how to visualize. Visualization is something all of us do all the time, either positively or negatively.  

What you can learn is that if you want to improve the quality of your life, visualization is the way to eliminate negative and increase positive thoughts. Now the term visualization may be a little misleading.  Some people do see clear, colorful images when they visualize, but for others it's really something they hear, and… >>>

Did you know that you can "try on" the future, just like you try on a new dress or suit of clothes? Did you know that we all rehearse the future with our thoughts?  

When architects make drawings of a building, they are helping people imagine exactly what that building will look like. The more precise their drawings, the more completely they can "see" the building. Freud compared thinking to a military general, moving miniature figures over a map before sending troops into action.  

This is exactly what you do when you use visualization and imagery to project yourself into… >>>

There is a lot of negotiating going on in the world today, and a lot of it is showing up on TV news shows, news sites, and the front pages of the newspapers. There is an art and a science to good negotiating, and whether you are negotiating a cease-fire between countries or neighbors, here are some tips for you on how to become a better negotiator. These come from an older book, "Negotiating Rationally," by Drs. Max Bazerman and Margaret Neale of Northwestern University. (It is still in print, and available in eBook.)

First, it's important to recognize that… >>>

Did you know that you have a built-in screening device that either admits or blocks information?  

The human nervous system contains a marvelous network of cells called the reticular formation, or Reticular Activating System - RAS for short. Its primary function is to screen out unimportant information that comes to you through your senses. Because of the work the RAS does for us, we are not aware of most of the information bombarding our senses every second of every day.

A mother with a new baby in the next room will sleep through jet planes screaming overhead, but she'll wake… >>>

If you think positively, does that mean that you shouldn't pay any attention to things that are negative?  

Have you ever listened in on a conversation like this? "People who think positively are OK, but too much of the time they're out of touch with reality. They're so busy thinking positively that they ignore the danger signs. The next thing you know they're in big trouble. When you point out that they could have seen it coming, they don't like it one little bit. How can you pay attention to both positive and negative things at the same time?"  

This… >>>

What happens to us when the society in which we grow up doesn't value our personal attributes?  You know, many, if not most, of our feelings of self-worth or self-esteem have been influenced by the messages we get from our society. 

Some of those messages are overt and up front: we know without question that our society values affluence, power, efficacy, youthfulness and health.  Now, imagine how it might feel to be poor, relatively powerless, or chronically ill or disabled in this society.  

Some messages are subtler. We say we value diversity, children, old people - but our behavior often… >>>

If you encountered roadblocks or obstacles (or just plain traffic!) on your way home today, would you put a "for sale" sign on your car and give up?  Why is it that if you encountered unexpected obstacles on your way home, you wouldn't think of giving up?  It might take you longer, but you'd figure out another way to make it home, wouldn't you?

Do you think it's because you have a crystal-clear picture of your goal in mind, so you won't quit until you get there? Do you know what inevitably happens when you hold in your mind a… >>>

When you think about mountain climbing, maybe your stomach does a little flip-flop. But, you know, people who are successful in life are really a lot like mountain climbers. They don't start out climbing Mount Everest. Instead they train and practice on smaller slopes until they build the skills and confidence to move on to bigger challenges.  

When they choose a goal, they map out a plan and, as much as possible, they follow it. They equip themselves as well as they possibly can and they learn from the competition. They fully expect to run into problems, so when they… >>>