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David Snape

Master of Fate?

Posted Thursday, July 31, 2008 (1 year 100 days ago.) Viewed 199 times.

Do you have what it takes to be in control of your own Fate? Do you believe that you are the master of your Destiny?

In my early twenties I was duped by a shrewd marketer from New Jersey who ran a multilevel marketing company out of Las Vegas. I didn't know him personally, but I was tricked by the people that he trained. He taught them how to take advantage of powerful loopholes in a person's thinking. The idea of being the master of your own destiny was one of those.

They took advantage of the notion of mastering destiny through a few key concepts. Some of the concepts were that you wouldn't fail if you just tried hard enough, that you should ‘fake it until you make it' and if you did not succeed, it was because you didn't try hard enough or didn't believe in yourself. Who would want to admit that they didn't believe in themselves?

This company was eventually shut down by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

The concept that we are master's of our own destiny can be very dangerous. It can be exploited. It is also not true.

Another misconception that arises out of this idea is from those who market their 'success secrets'. The notion is that if you read their secrets you can duplicate their success. But if it were that simple, everyone would be doing it.

Success isn't necessarily duplicateable, because there are many factors involved in success. The circumstances that make up a person's environment and background may not be similar to many other people's situations. You also don't have the same resources as that person.

If we were truly the masters of our own destiny, any one of us could decide to be the President of the World tomorrow when we woke up. But the reality is, you can wish all night and day for that to happen and there is no way you are going to wake up as the ruler of the world tomorrow.

Have you ever been in a bad situation, and wished you could make the consequences or the harsh reality of it completely go away? Were you able to?

The notion that we are masters of our destiny seems to be this suttle idea that slinks in the background of whatever we do or have conversations about. I admit it is a seductively wonderful notion that can make you feel drunk with the illusion of control.

As human beings, we don't want to admit that we are not in complete control of what happens to us and our lives. We CAN often affect what happens. It is a matter of degree. It takes honesty and sober assessment to recognize that we have far less control than we would like to believe.

To be sure, there are times when you can make a difference. That is not the same has having complete control over what happens to you in your life. We can make choices and we can have control over our own thoughts and attitudes. However, most of the time, you cannot make something happen just because you want it to.

You cannot buy a particular house that never goes up for sale. You cannot attend a school that will not accept you. You cannot have wings like a bird or breathe underwater. As human beings we have limitations.

To put it simply, you cannot always have what you want. Sometimes you can, but not always and perhaps not even most of the time. Therefore we are not masters of our destiny.

The notion of mastering our own destinies is a dream. It is a beautiful dream, but it is not reality. There are many forces that may conspire against us. Let's say the sum total of those forces is called fate. Generally, you cannot change your fate. And you cannot master fate.

Beware of those shrewd people who will take advantage of the idealist in you that wants to believe in a beautiful dream. Why do they call it a dream?

Some dreams do come true. That is fate. Some do not and that is also fate.

However, the notion that you can control your fate if you ‘just try hard enough' appears frequently in marketing. "Buy this course to learn how to be a millionaire real estate investor." "Become a millionaire Internet marketer." People shell out their money to learn the 'secrets'.

Free your mind from such abusive marketing tactics. Never stated directly, the key is realizing the underlying notion is there. Shrewd marketers are ready to pounce on the loopholes in your psyche to get money out of your wallet and into theirs.

If you still think you can master destiny or fate, I'd be interested to hear your point of view. What do you think?

Maybe I could interest you in purchasing a large bridge between New Jersey and New York? You could charge a toll and make a fortune. You would then be the master of your fate. Sound good? The bridge could sell at anytime and you would miss out on this wonderful opportunity of a lifetime. Lock in your position now. This is a limited time offer. Act now. Time is short. Get the picture?

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Abstinence, Choose Abstinence

Posted Monday, July 14, 2008 (1 year 117 days ago.) Viewed 76 times.

I did not know what a rough ride I was in for when I chose abstinence over 8 years ago. Yet, it was totally worth it, both for the understanding it brought me and the character development abstinence required me to find.

Unfortunately, back when I made this choice in April of 2000, my girlfriend of the time was neither amused or sympathetic. In fact, she broke up with me over this issue. Trial number one had begun. I was racked with the pain of loss and the uncertainty of whether I really made the right decision or not.

Since she was not encumbered by such an 'impractical' choice, it was easy for her to move on and find someone new. Not so for me, as I subsequently discovered that most women today have absolutely no wish to be abstinent and will shun the man who does. Additional pain and suffering rained down upon me.

Experience has taught me that very, very few people actually practice abstinence. There are a few more that talk about it or say they do, but in reality they don't practice it. In fact, it is shocking to me to hear from people that think it was good enough to remain abstinent for a year. Yet, they still did not marry. Well, that isn't really abstinence, is it?

Some people talk-the-talk, but it is amazing to me how many of those people don't walk-the-walk. In fact, it is downright disgraceful.

The beauty of abstinence, if truly practiced, is that you can build a stronger foundation for a relationship. You can truly learn whether a person is right for you or not. But as soon as you unleash the chains of passion, you are forever blinded to what you don't have and the growth of the relationship is retarded to a very strong degree. How many people stay in such a relationship, when deep down inside they don't feel good about it?

In fact, experience and observation has shown me that many people are mismatched. And I suspect that a lot of people, if they asked themselves this question and are honest with themselves about the answer, know that they are with the wrong person.

For those who profess to believe in God, there is a bigger dimension to consider. These people, by nature of their belief, would mostly agree that God has a plan for everyone. That means your life is predetermined to a large extent including the person you were supposed to marry. But what ruins this natural plan is having sex without being married. You bond yourself to the wrong person and you aren't available when the right person walks right past you.

But, don't worry, 99% of the people around you are in the same boat. And with so many people missing the person they were supposed to be with, according to God's plan, then no one is following His chosen course. The whole society is in ruins as a result. Everyone is with the wrong person and having the wrong set of experiences. No one follows the plan. This ruins God's plan for your life and the lives of so many others - the plan that was best and custom tailored for you. This is why sex outside of marriage is a sin - it ruins everything and forces us on a path of spiritual evolution that is not the best.

I realize that not everyone believes in God. You can also look at this in practical terms. In fact, I think that many people don't need me to point out the practical, it should be pretty obvious. Single parent families, abortions, unwanted pregnancies, misery, despair, unhappiness - all for a little premarital fun.

I'm not perfect either. I was thirty-one when I decided to become abstinent. It's been a hard road, harder than you might imagine. I've finally found someone who actually can endure abstinence. We are compatible in so many little ways, that I can have little doubt that we are right for each other. None of the partners in my days of non-abstinence even came close to this.

I'm not condemning nor judging, I'm just pointing out the facts. Or, as some may argue, I'm pointing out my opinions. Fact or opinion? YOU be the judge.

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Toe Tap Your Way to Weight Loss

Posted Saturday, July 12, 2008 (1 year 119 days ago.) Viewed 200 times.

"Toe Tap Your Way to Weight Loss", sounds silly, doesn't it? I admit it. Yet, could there be a kernel of truth here?

How could someone toe tap their way to weight loss? Is that really possible? I remember watching a documentary on TV about the obese. Something very interesting was revealed during the study. Of course, obese people often have different habits from skinny people. We are not talking about eating. The habits discovered in this study had to do with what the two different body types did while sitting around.

Muscles use energy, even when they are not being used. This is good for weight loss because it is a nifty way to lose calories while doing nothing. Unless, of course, you are sitting there eating, in which case you are most likely gaining calories.

What they found was that skinny people tend to fidget a lot, they do things like shaking their leg while sitting. You probably remember someone like that from high school. Remember the guy that sat there shaking his leg all the time, he could not sit still!

Thus, he and other skinny people burn a lot more calories while sitting around. You could take advantage of this too.

Here are some ideas. Move around while sitting, fidget, change positions a lot. Actually shake your leg up and down, stretch frequently, pace. These are all calorie burning activities. At least you will use more calories then sitting there without moving at all.

You can also tense and relax the major muscle groups, this might even trigger a feeling of relaxation, almost like a massage would. What do I mean by major muscle groups? The upper arms and shoulders, abdominals, thigh and gluteal muscles, these are all muscles that you could tense and relax repeatedly. Since they are relatively large muscle groups, they will expend relatively more energy. This might even have a slight toning affect at the same time.

True, this alone is not going to solve a weight problem for you, but perhaps it can help. There are indeed many more things that go into weight loss such as drinking plenty of water, eating MORE frequently, working out, eating properly, getting enough protein and essential fats. These are all important and helpful components to losing weight.

That is the point. Weight loss is not some simple formula that you can apply. It is certainly not some fad diet. There is a lot too do. The more you know, the more you can apply your knowledge and make small adjustments during your day. The more knowledge that you have the closer to success you can bring yourself.

It would be helpful to get your hands on as much weight loss knowledge as you can. You don't have to rely on one source only. Just like it was a valid strategy for Bruce Lee to adopt the tactics of multiple fighting styles, it wouldn't hurt to absorb weight loss information from more than one source.

This does bring up a problem, who can you count on to bring decent information? It seems to me that there is a lot of information out there that might be less than helpful. Who can you trust when it comes to factual, worthwhile weight loss information?

To hear more from Dave on weight loss send a blank email to : weightlosstbi@aweber.com

Work with a physician before changing your eating habits or level of exercise.

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