Status: O
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A Better Life: ItsYourFuture!
Be Happy, Be Healthy, Live Long and Prosper
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Vol. 1, No.13 November 1st., 1999 ISSN 1442-5211
CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Our Sponsor
2. Welcome - From the Publisher
3. Our Motto
4. BE HAPPY: the MIND-ATTITUDE
A Personal Story: The Tatooed Stranger- by Susan Fahncke
Humor: Signs Of Competition
5. BE HEALTHY, LIVE LONG: the BODY-HEALTH/FITNESS/NUTRITION
Item: The Health News We All Want To Hear!
What To Do About The Common Cold- by John Payne
Glen's Fit For The Fit Recipe: Christmas Pudding
6. PROSPER: MONEY-CAREER/BUSINESS/INVESTING/HOME BUSINESS
Article: Shoot For Success By Aiming To Please
7. In Our Next Issue
8. The Next Issue of Successful Thinking
9. Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
10. Contact Information
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1. Our Sponsor
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2. Welcome from the Publisher
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This is the place where I was going to welcome our 400th.
subscriber. Things, however, have been moving a bit faster
than that. In the last fortnight OVER 80 new subscribers
have joined. It's not that long ago that we started with 23
subscribers. Now our total has now passed 450, and we are
read in at least 25 countries. Thank you all for your support!
Many of you enjoy the quotes we print each fortnight. I'd
like to make a collection available to all our readers, and
I'd like YOUR help. During the month of November, I'd really
appreciate it if you would send to me your favourite quotes.
Let's see how many we can get together- 100, 200, 300?
This month has been rather special for me, as I have taken
over publishing another ezine- Successful Thinking. ST is
published weekly, and has almost 1000 readers. It's a great
mix of humor, quotes, articles on success, classified ads.
and some hilarious examples of the most Unsuccessful
Thinking of all time! I'd love you join me there each week-
to subscribe just send a blank email to
mailto:
[email protected]
Well, enjoy your read, and I'll see you next time.
John
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3. Our Motto
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Our Motto is- "Be Happy, Be Healthy, Live Long and Prosper."
>From this Motto, we can define the three main areas in which
we intend to assist our readers..
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4. BE HAPPY: the MIND-ATTITUDE
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Quote:
"Happiness belongs to those who are sufficient unto
themselves. For all external sources of happiness and
pleasure are, by their very nature, highly uncertain,
precarious, ephemeral and subject to chance."
-Arthur Schopenhauer
A Personal Story: The Tatooed Stranger
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By Susan Fahncke
He was kind of scary. He sat there on the grass with his
cardboard sign, his dog (actually his dog was adorable)
and tattoos running up and down both arms and even on his
neck. His sign proclaimed him to be "stuck and hungry"
and to please help.
I'm a sucker for anyone needing help. My husband both
hates and loves this quality in me.
I pulled the van over and in my rear-view mirror,
contemplated this man, tattoos and all. He was youngish,
maybe forty. He wore one of those bandannas tied over his
head, biker/pirate style. Anyone could see he was dirty
and had a scraggly beard. But if you looked closer, you
could see that he had neatly tucked in the black T-shirt,
and his things were in a small, tidy bundle. Nobody was
stopping for him. I could see the other drivers take one
look and immediately focus on something else - anything
else.
It was so hot out. I could see in the man's very blue
eyes how dejected and tired and worn-out he felt. The
sweat was trickling down his face. As I sat with the
air-conditioning blowing, the scripture suddenly popped into
my head: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of
these, my brethren, so ye have done it unto me."
I reached down into my purse and extracted a ten dollar
bill. My twelve-year old son, Nick knew right away what I
was doing. "Can I take it to him, Mom?" "Be careful,
Honey," I warned and handed him the money. I watched in
the mirror as he rushed over to the man, and with a shy
smile, handed it to him. I saw the man, startled, stand
and take the money, putting it into his back pocket.
"Good," I thought to myself, "now he will at least have a
hot meal tonight." I felt satisfied, proud of myself. I
had made a sacrifice and now I could go on with my errands.
When Nick got back into the car, he looked at me with sad,
pleading eyes. "Mom, his dog looks so hot and the man is
really nice." I knew I had to do more.
"Go back and tell him to stay there, that we will be back
in fifteen minutes," I told Nick. He bounded out of the
car and ran to tell the tattooed stranger.
We then ran to the nearest store and bought our gifts
carefully. "It can't be too heavy," I explained to the
children. "He has to be able to carry it around with
him." We finally settled on our purchases. A bag of
"Ol' Roy" (I hoped it was good - it looked good enough for
me to eat! How do they make dog food look that way?); a
flavored chew-toy shaped like a bone; a water dish, bacon
flavored snacks (for the dog); two bottles of water (one
for the dog, one for Mr. Tattoos); and some people snacks
for the man.
We rushed back to the spot where we had left him, and there
he was, still waiting. And still nobody else was stopping
for him. With hands shaking, I grabbed our bags and climbed
out of the car, all four of my children following me, each
carrying gifts. As we walked up to him, I had a fleeting
moment of fear, hoping he wasn't a serial killer.
I looked into his eyes and saw something that startled me
and made me ashamed of my judgment. I saw tears. He was
fighting like a little boy to hold back his tears. How long
had it been since someone showed this man kindness? I told
him I hoped it wasn't too heavy for him to carry and showed
him what we had brought. He stood there, like a child at
Christmas, and I felt like my small contributions were so
nadequate. When I took out the water dish, he snatched it
out of my hands as if it were solid gold and told me he had
had no way to give his dog water. He gingerly set it down,
filled it with the bottled water we brought, and stood up to
look directly into my eyes. His were so blue, so intense and
my own filled with tears as he said, "Ma'am, I don't know
what to say." He then put both hands on his bandanna-clad
head and just started to cry. This man, this "scary" man,
was so gentle, so sweet, so humble.
I smiled through my tears and said, "Don't say anything."
Then I noticed the tattoo on his neck. It said "Mama tried".
As we all piled into the van and drove away, he was on his
knees, arms around his dog, kissing his nose and smiling.
I waved cheerfully and then fully broke down in tears.
I have so much. My worries seem so trivial and petty now.
I have a home, a loving husband, four beautiful children.
I have a bed. I wondered where he would sleep tonight.
My step-daughter, Brandie turned to me and said in the
sweetest little-girl voice, "I feel so good."
Although it seemed as if we had helped him, the man with
the tattoos gave us a gift that I will never forget. He
taught that no matter what the outside looks like, inside
each of us is a human being deserving of kindness, of
compassion, of acceptance. He opened my heart.
Tonight and every night I will pray for the gentle man with
the tattoos and his dog. And I will hope that God will send
more people like him into my life to remind me what's really
important.
-Read in the Motivational Mailer
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Cheer & Inspiration and Prayer. This is the
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Humor: Signs Of Competition
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A business owner was dismayed when a brand new store, much
like his own, opened up on his left and erected a huge sign
which read BEST DEALS.
He was horrified when another competitor opened up on his
right, and announced its arrival with an even larger sign,
reading LOWEST PRICES.
Panic ensued until he came up with an idea. He put the
biggest sign of all over his own shop.
It read... MAIN ENTRANCE
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5. BE HEALTHY, LIVE LONG: the BODY-HEALTH/FITNESS/NUTRITION
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Quote:
"Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. You are
as old as your doubt, your fear, your despair. The way to
keep young is to keep your faith young. Keep your self-
confidence young. Keep your hope young."
-Luella F. Phean
Item: The Health News We All Want To Hear:
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Chocolate May Be Good For You!
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A recent study by scientists in the Netherlands, reported in
The Lancet magazine, tells us that there is a health benefit
in eating chocolate.
Over the last few years, there have been many studies,
including one reported in an earlier issue by Australia's
CSIRO, that have looked at the amount of catechins in both
green and black teas. Catechins are flavonoids, and are
believed to reduce the risk of many medical conditions-
including heart disease and some forms of cancer.
The Dutch study found that one ounce of dark chocolate (not
the milk variety) contained as much of these compounds as
half a cup of tea.
Now, if I have those choc-chip, choc-coated cookies with my
tea.......
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WOMEN! THIS LIST IS FOR YOU!
THE BALANCED WOMAN!
Parenting tips, household hints, ideas for pampering yourself,
articles on subjects such as time management, money management
and more. Subscribe to The Balanced Woman. It's easy and it's
FREE! Just send a blank email to:
[email protected]
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What To Do About The Common Cold
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by John Payne
In the Northern Hemisphere, it's now the "sneezin' season".
Everywhere, people are coming down in their thousands with
the common cold. A cold is caused by any one of a number of
viruses that can infect the throat, sinuses and nasal
passages. Why we catch a cold at one time and not another,
why one person catches it, and not another, is a matter of
some conjecture. It's likely, as with many other medical
problems, that we catch a cold when our immune system is
'down'. This could be a result of many different factors,
for many people, more than one! Poor diet, stress, poor
sleep, overwork and over-exercise, to name a few. Yes,
kiddies, a lousy lifestyle DOES lead to more sickness!
So, what do you do if you already have a cold. First, have a
realistic expectation of what to expect. Expect it to last a
MINIMUM oh 2-4 days if you are in good health, and take action
to treat it. If you just got zero out of 2 in that test, then
expect it to last up to 7 or 8 days before you get rid of the
symptoms. Here are some action steps recommended by Michael T.
Murray N.D., with a comment from me.
1. Rest and sleep. (Your body IS telling you something! Listen.
2. Consume plenty of liquids. (avoid those with high levels of
sugars- they interfere with Vitamin C absorbtion)
3. Avoid sugar. (see comment above about Vitamin C)
4. Take Vitamin C. (if you want Vitamin C to work, don't just
buy the cheapest. Plain ascorbic acid is not absorbed as
well as mineral ascorbates, and may damage the 'good'
bacteria in our digestive system. Particularly avoid the
sugared Vitamin C. Read the comments above, and wonder why
it's on the market)
5. Use zinc lozenges, or zinc in supplementation. (one
recent study had subjects take zinc lozenges or a placebo.
Those on placebo took 7.6 days to clear their symptoms,
the zinc-takers 4.4 days)
6. take Vitamin A or Beta-carotene. (I'd suggest the Beta-
carotene)
7. Take Echinacea. (There have now been over 300 scientific
studies on it's immune-enhancing properties)
For an extensive , well-researched article on the subject,
see Michael T. Murrays article "The Common Cold" at this
site;
http://www.nat-med.com/archives/cold.htm
(Due to space limitations, the "Towards a Slimmer You"
Series will start NEXT Issue. My apologies for any
inconvenience- Ed.)
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Glen's Fit For The Fit Recipe- with Glen Esse
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With Christmas fast approaching I thought it was time to add
the "PUDDING" to our list.
QUICK CHRISTMAS PUDDING
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2 cups PLAIN FLOUR
1 cup CURRANTS
1 cup SULTANAS
1 cup BROWN SUGAR
1 cup strong cold TEA
2 tabs. BUTTER
2 teas. BICARBONATE SODA dissolved in the cold tea.
Rub BUTTER into FLOUR.
Add SUGAR and FRUIT mix with COLD TEA and
SODA mixture.
Boil for 2 hours in cloth or steamer.
The mixture may be doubled or tripled if need be.
Increase cooking time accordingly.
Serve with custard and/or Brandy Sauce.
A Kids Thought for the Day:
"When your Mum is mad with your Dad don't let her brush
your hair!"
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6. PROSPER: MONEY-CAREER/BUSINESS/INVESTING/HOME BUSINESS
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Quote:
"You will find more friends by being interested in other
people - than by trying to get others interested in you."
-Dale Carnegie
(Thanks to those of you who enjoyed reading Rick Beneteau's
"Entrepreneur's Prayer". As a follow-up, this week I'd like
to present another article from Rick. In my business life
I've found that if you start with the aim of truly serving
your customer, then you are well on the way to success. See
how Rick applied this truth in his first business.-Ed.)
SHOOT FOR SUCCESS BY AIMING TO PLEASE
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(c) 1999 Rick Beneteau
Many a great teacher has professed the pearl of wisdom that
when one chooses to focus on helping others to attain
satisfaction and achieve success, they in turn enjoy
ultimate success.
Consider this from the Bible: "Riches and honor are with me,
enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than
gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.
I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the
paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to
inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries."
I was too young to really understand this wisdom when I
bought my first business - a failing drycleaning shop -
during the peak of the early 80's recession when interest
rates of over 20% made many a loan shark shy(lock). But what
instincts I did possess guided me to the realization that if
I made it my mission to hire the best people and work with
them in a harmonious fashion to produce the best product in
my trading area, I would in turn bring success for everyone.
I paid my people more than any competitor. I wrote a sales
manual with the direct input of my employees and had meetings
"away" from the sweatshop at my home. Enjoyed regular dinners
in nice restaurants with my store managers. In reality, I
became friends with my staff and made them call me by my
first name rather than the cold and stoic "Mr. Beneteau",
like my competitors did. Generous bonuses were given to the
truly deserving. I tried my hardest to make a true team by
asking for their opinions and advice on every critical issue.
And I'll tell you what, I got great ideas from them!
The beauty was, they all thought like our customers did! And
what a way to approach customer service in a business where
in reality, the drycleaner was the last in a long line of
services customers didn't want to have to spend their hard-
earned income on.
And what about my customers?
Well, the employee sales training reflected my employee's
ideas. It all boiled down to "treating" customers like
family. And since my staff had a lot of input into the
manual and our procedures, they took the job of training new
employees very seriously. So, they took possession of the
training ritual, which became "Customers are King".
On the production side, I had all the bases covered -
experienced and (now) well-paid staff, good machinery, the
best supplies, slick packaging, upgraded stores and of
course, top-notch public relations.
Complaints? Of course we had them. But my eager staff was
trained to turn every complaint into "an opportunity". The
opportunity to make every unhappy person a loyal, lifetime
customer. A customer who would in turn tell everyone they
knew that their drycleaner bought them a brand new suit just
a week after losing their seven year-old suit. Competitors
told me I was a "sucker". My heart told me this was the way!
Word-of-mouth became my number one form of advertising.
I was young and wet behind the hearing organ when I made
these choices. But the epilogue has it that I did "clean up"
in my town. In one of the most difficult and complicated
businesses to run, I simply parlayed my early beliefs, which
gratefully were the ones I still carry with me, into a
successful multi-store business with happy customers,
employees and a pretty darn good bottom line.
And you know what else? After having sold this business from
"underneath" my wonderful employees nine years ago, they
threw me the most wonderful and unforgettable "retirement"
party. I was only thirty-six. Their best-wishes cards still
bring tears to my eyes and their gifts, a gold neck chain
and bracelet I wear to this day. I still get phone calls,
Christmas cards and letters from some of them. I'm forever
running into my former customers who almost without
exception, in some fashion, say to me "I wish you were still
in business".
Thing is, I AM still in business, albeit in cyber-space. And
I'm doing very well thank you. I still hold dear, and know
that those same values that I started with almost twenty
years ago, are responsible for what I have achieved today on
the Internet.
Folks, if there is only one thing that I will ever write
that has any kind of impact on you, let it be this:
Shoot for Success by Aiming to Please.
============================================================
Visit Rick's "New Niche on the Net":
http://www.interniche.net/
Subscribe to Rick's highly-acclaimed newsletter, The Mirror:
http://www.interniche.net/news.htm
============================================================
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The best ezines are in the 'All About' Series!
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7. In Our Next Issue:
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Our Contents for next Issue aren't finalised, but you'll be
happy to read that "Laughter is Good for You", the "Towards
a Slimmer You" series will start, and Glen will have a
special recipe for us. Plus much, much more!! See you there.
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8. The Next Issue of Successful Thinking:
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What's In The Next FREE Issue of Successful Thinking Ezine?
A Motivational Thought- Choose Your Rut Wisely; Humor with
"'Ear,'Ear"; Unsuccessful Thinking, with Winston Churchill
and The Bomb; Feature Article "Why Word-of-Mouth Works
Wonders", by Dr. Michel Fortin Ph.D. PLUS Classifieds! To
subscribe, mailto:
[email protected]
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9. Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
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PRIVACY POLICY: Your privacy is important to us. We will
not, under any circumstances, divulge your details to a third
party, without your permission.
DISCLAIMER: A Better Life: ItsYourFuture! Ezine is intended
to increase your knowledge of the opinions and options in the
fields that we cover. Its contents should not be used to
replace professional advice. If you use this information
without the approval of a qualified professional, we can
assume no responsibility. The opinions expressed are not
necessarily those of A Better Life: ItsYourFuture!.
(c) Copyright 1999 A Better Life: ItsYourFuture!
A Better Life: ItsYourFuture! may only be redistributed in
its unedited form. You are welcome to forward it to as many
people as you like, with our thanks. Written permission must
be obtained to reprint or quote material published in
A Better Life: ItsYourFuture!.
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10. Subscription and Contact Information
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ItsYourFuture is published By John Payne AAMI AIMM
At November 1st., 1999- 455 subscribers, 25 countries
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