In learning the German language, there are certainties that a student must and needs to consider. Since the Internet have taken its many changes mostly for the betterment of each Internet user, there have been countless German programs and materials, be it video or audio, scattered all over the World Wide Web. All you need is several left-clicks or right clicks and you’re good to go for your first German lesson. But searching for the correct and appropriate German material isn’t the only time-taking part in learning the German language. You do realize that learning the German language still requires a lot of time, effort and understanding. Experience and practical use of the language is also a high necessity. So what else is there that you need to know about learning a foreign language? Aside from the reality that people say learning the German language isn’t much of a difficulty when you are learning it, the part where you have and need to stick to your lessons is dragging. It can be more of a temptation to completely forget about it. At some point, you will lose interest, disregard the lesson or think about how to abandon the entire course. But there are real factors that can happen when you are on the process of learning the German language regardless what foreign language you want to learn. Embracing each and every difficulty should be the only way to do it. And of course making mistakes is going to happen in a rampant manner. This too, you have to expect because if you are not well prepared, you might see yourself a failure. And that’s not a very good thing at all. With every obstacle that you learn in life and from learning German at least, there are some things that you need to accept. Don’t try to be too perfect because even a native German speaker still makes mistakes. And of course, expect to have fun as you move along.

When most of us set goals, we hold an expectation that everything will work out as planned. We have this picture in our minds of a smooth process from start to finish, easily achieving our goals without a hitch. This is especially true when it comes to the timing of our desired results! Let’s face it; we wouldn’t be setting goals in the first place if we didn’t believe they were possible to achieve. Even if we expect a fair amount of difficulty in reaching our goals, we usually don’t expect to encounter major delays and setbacks. Early in the game an optimistic mind-set can be a strong benefit because it gives us high confidence and strength to push through any preliminary obstacles that appear before us. However, as more and more time passes and our desired results aren’t showing up – or worse, we continue to experience problem after problem, our determination begins to wane. We wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into. We wonder if we were crazy to think we could accomplish something so difficult! Most importantly, we forget that there is one little aspect to any goal that is often beyond our control: timing. As much as we might like our results to show up quickly and easily, that is not always how it happens. When we find ourselves stuck, we have three choices: We can strengthen our focus and put forth a stronger quality of energy toward our desired outcome; we can build up our resolve to work through obstacles more persistently, or we can wait patiently for the timing to be exactly right. That last one is the stickler! We don’t like to feel out of control, especially where our own lives are concerned. We don’t like feeling that there is some mysterious “force out there” controlling what happens to us. There is no easy answer for why results don’t appear when we expect them to. Each situation is different, as is each goal and the person setting it. When this happens to you, the important question to ask is not WHY it happens but what you will do when it does. Will you shove through obstacles with vicious determination? Will you find an easier path to your goal? Or will you wait patiently for obstacles to dissolve in their own time? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions; only what you choose for yourself. Like most people, you may find that certain outcomes cannot be rushed. No matter how hard you push, you will not be able to move forward until the timing is right. In situations like these, hindsight usually reveals clear reasons why you could not move ahead until the timing was exactly right. Perhaps you needed to wait for the assistance of someone who could provide the right opportunity to move ahead. Maybe you weren’t emotionally ready to handle the responsibilities of your desired outcome and once you did some more work on your personal development, all obstacles simply melted away. There are endless possibilities for why the timing may not be right, but what can you do when you find yourself stuck? Two of the most beneficial steps have proven to be: 1) Do what you can. Remain open to the possibilities, re-evaluate your plans and see if you can make improvements or adjustments. 2) At the same time, be willing to detach from the exact timing of the outcome. This is not easy, but it can open up many doors for you! When you let go of trying to force something into being, you automatically decrease the pressure that deadlines place upon you. Because you feel more relaxed, you are better able to focus and awaken your creative thinking process. Through this creative insight, you may accidentally discover the perfect solution to your problem, or at least have more fun exploring possible workarounds. In the end, the length of time needed to achieve your goals is not nearly as important as the delicious satisfaction you get from seeing them through to the end. And when that day arrives, you’ll believe only one thing: it was well worth the wait.

As a Life Coach, and after coaching many different clients, I have come to realize that to effectively manage time, we need to first realize that time itself cannot be managed! We all get seven days a week and 168 hours within those seven days. This cannot be increased or changed in any way. However, what we can change, improve and manage is ourselves. In essence then, true time management now becomes management of ourselves – “self management!” So being aware of this, we now know that it’s not the amount of time we have that’s important; it’s how effectively we use that time that makes the difference. Successful people have exactly the same amount of time in the day as each of us. The only difference is they use their time differently – more effectively. You might say “I don’t have the time to commit to learning some time management skills”. I hear this a lot during life coaching sessions, but the fact is if this were true, do you really think you have the time not to? Time management principles and techniques are usually quite simple to learn. They do not require deep thinking, a high I.Q or lots of preparation. In fact if you were to put the search term “Time Management Resources” into a search engine you will get dozens of websites offering help, advice, tips and suggestions on how to manage and prioritize your time. To sum time management up I would say you need to ask yourself two questions: 1. Do I physically have enough time to do the tasks that are required of me? We only have so much time. Sometimes it’s not always physically possible to fit everything in. If this is the case then you need to prioritize and drop some of the low priority task/activities to claim some time back. 2. Do I fully optimize and use my time effectively? If the answer is NO then you might want to learn and implement some time management principles and techniques. Below is a list of some time management (self management) techniques and tips that I use during life coaching. You may find a couple of them helpful yourself. They are in no particular order. • Figure out when (what time of the day?) you work most efficiently. • Establish your priorities for what you want to get done. Identify the tasks and activities that are the highest priority and eliminate those of low priority. • Allow more time than you think you will need. This makes your schedule flexible and allows for the unexpected. • Get into the habit of using your odd five minutes here and there more productively. Don’t just dismiss it as only five minutes – they add up throughout the week! • Accomplish one or two important tasks rather than lots unimportant ones. • Keep a calendar/diary. Mark all your important dates/tasks. • Keep a list of “Things to Do” and mark them off as completed. • Every day make a list of what you have to do tomorrow. • When possible do the unpleasant tasks first. • Tidiness makes your life easier and reduces stress. • Allow time to relax, recharge and do nothing. • Leave time in your schedule for un-planned activities. • Know your strengths, skills and weakness. • Ask yourself, “What am I doing that someone else could do for me?” Delegate! • Don’t be scared to ask for help • Bin things straight away to reduce the clutter (junk mail, newspapers and spam email etc). • Divide large overwhelming tasks into smaller chunks, and attack them one at a time. • Complete at least one task each day that you don’t like to do, but know you should. • Realize that all your email checking, surfing the internet and other procrastinations add up to hours of lost time each week (sometime even each day!) • Watch less T.V. If you watch T.V for three hours a day from the age of five years old, by the time you are fifty five the amount of T.V you will have watched will be the equivalent to watching non-stop 24 hours a day for six years and three months. If you cut this down by just one hour a day, so then only watch two hours of T.V, you will have gained back over two years worth of time. “Living is the constant process of deciding what we are going to do” (Jose Ortega y Gasset)

“A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.” – Seneca A brief observation about man and his ability to think opens a door of empowerment worthy of exploring. It’s easy to be happy when things are going well, isn’t it? But what about those times when things are going badly? What do we do? Some of us brave on with a stiff upper lip and breeze right over the trouble as if there wasn’t any at all. Some of us cave in under pressure and behave pretty miserably. What makes us different? Seneca reveals a secret power of the mind when he observed that some of us convince ourselves to be in a certain state of mind. Why would anyone do such a foolish thing as to convince themselves to be unhappy? There are plenty of reasons; but let’s leave that to the psycho-analysts and therapists to work out. I am interested in the fact the man can change his state of mind. Can people change their state of mind by sheer will power? Yes you can! You know you can! Haven’t you as a child put on a mask of pretense and played the role when you had an incentive. I once stayed home from school, so I played sick. Later my mom can in my bedroom and said she was going to the store and wanted to know if I wanted anything. Well that was all I needed. I through off the covers and stood up fast as lightening and said, can I go with you? Ice cream was my incentive. Of course I blew my cover and that was the end of that. So how do we do it? How do we convince ourselves to be happy? Here are the 5 simple steps: 1) You must have an incentive. You need a burning desire. Think about the goal. What will “acting” happy do for you? Well it will make people around you nicer for one thing. Having happy people around you will make you happy because a positive state of mind is catchy. You can turn a situation around. 2) Remember it’s an act. You are playing a role. Fake it till you make it! Even if you are not happy, act as if you are. Keep talking to yourself. Keep telling yourself the reasons why you need to be happy. Sell yourself on the outcome. Make it real. Details make stories real. Think of details. 3) Ignore the negative self-chatter. Your mind will continually try to interrupt your play by reminding you about the reality of things. Don’t listen to the negative tapes that tell you that you won’t succeed and you are a failure. Just act happy. 4) Use positive triggers. Everyone has a trigger that makes them happy. Maybe its whistling, maybe it’s singing a song in your head. 5)Remember that time heals all wounds. In time your trouble will pass. Let’s face it; we sometimes have to convince ourselves to be happy when we are not in the mood. Just knowing we have the power to do that is empowering enough for me. Taking the action to convince yourself to be happy is even more empowering. Try it on the next time your day goes bad. You may just be surprised about the outcome!

What is the purpose of your life? Have you ever wondered? Have you ever attended a funeral, touched the lifeless body, listened to the eulogies, and asked yourself, “Why am I alive?” or “What am I doing with myself?” Maybe the questions arrest you when you encounter the limitless expanse of an ocean or the lumbering enormity of a mountain. Nature has that mystical power to lift our inner gaze and cause us to ask big and important questions. Just a brief walk in the woods under a canopy of trees, surrounded by a million unseen organisms has the power to re-focus our attention away from the distractions of daily life ! and back to those haunting, often perplexing, questions of purpose. Best-selling author Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has suggested that the purpose of life is to know God. Similarly, another best-selling author and pastor, Rick Warren, notes in The Purpose Driven Life that the search for life’s purpose begins with God. Both Dyer and Warren are correct, we think, but by pointing us to God they place a bigger – maybe the biggest – question squarely before us: What do we mean by “God”? Multiple religious traditions across millennia have reflected on the divine. Taking just one notion, albeit a persistently popular one, let’s turn to Michelangelo’s sixteenth century depiction at the Sistine Chapel. Here one encounters the classic white beard and muscles image. Does the purpose of life really begin with this attractive, sixty-something grandfather with a piercing gaze and bulging biceps? Is this the guy who we are supposed to get to know in order to fully understand ourselves? Does he—the Man Upstairs—hold the key to discovering our life’s purpose? We do not think so. While some might find inner inspiration with this notion of God, it does not work for us. As we struggle with questions of purpose and meaning, we are only frustrated by the literal and mental images and energy conjured by this classic portrait of the divine. While a host of religious traditions point to a God who is “out-there” somewhere, waiting for our prayers and perhaps willing to help us (at least to the extent we are aligning our lives with “His purposes”), we wonder whether our search for the divine, meaning, and purpose in our lives ought to start “in-here” somewhere. Perhaps the first step to discovering God and ultimate meaning in our lives is through discovering and exploring the divinity that inhabits each one of us. We are suggesting that traditional notions of a God who has wisdom, power, and goodness wholly external to us is possibly a distraction that keeps us from recognizing the divine potential for flourishing that each person already contains within his or her Authentic Self. What would happen if we broke-free of ancient ideas regarding humanity’s limitations, sinfulness, and powerlessness? What if we consciously rejected the language of divine parent residing outside and apart from us – this Father God “upstairs” or “out there” – to whom we as subservient children must look to and rely upon? What if we instead embraced a more universal concept of the divine as the animating and empowering Source of everything that has been, is, and might be created? What if our life’s purpose was understood as harmonizing with the Uni-Verse, the One Song that sustains and connects all of us? What if we viewed our ultimate life’s purpose and destiny as knowing our Authentic Self, learnin! g to sing our own song in harmony with others, and playing our own music in concert with this Animating Energy that connects everything? Perhaps it is in discovering our own divine attributes and then living a life with the intent of collaborating with God that we might fully realize our life’s greatest purpose and meaning. These insights are ancient and their inspiration rooted in our earliest texts. Consider the exchange between Eve and the Serpent in the mythical Garden of Eden. God had commanded Adam not to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because doing so, God warned, would result in death. But we are told that the Serpent was crafty, and the snake suggested to Eve that far from death, taking and eating the tree’s fruit would open Eve’s eyes, animate her awareness, and make her like God. And the Serpent was right. Eve took a bite of the luscious fruit, and she did not die. She then shared the fruit with Adam, and he did not die either. Rather, the eyes of both Eve and Adam were opened, and, as the Serpent had predicted, the holy scripture tells us that they became like Gods. In this story, which circulated as an oral tradition throughout the wandering tribes of the ancient Near East, we are confronted with two important concepts. First, the concept of a God up in Heaven answering prayers and demanding our allegiance – the parental God that many of us were raised to believe in – provides an inadequate conceptual framework for realizing our divine potential. If you continue reading beyond these opening verses of Genesis’s third chapter, you will find these first two human beings making clothes and making offspring. Neither of them died on the day they touched and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rather, and this brings us to the second point, Eve and Adam demonstrated an admirable boldness as they challenged the received wisdom. Rather then accepting the limits imposed by the social forces of her environment, Eve challenged the constraints of both Adam and God, and she modeled an unbridled courage that refused to settle for less than life’s best fruit. And in the process of recklessly and passionately pursuing where her instincts guided her, Eve had her eyes opened. She was enlightened and empowered. She discovered something about herself that living a safe, uninspired life would have always kept hidden. And in this act of challenging the status quo and rejecting the conventional wisdom – the commands from those in authority – Eve models the type of behavior that always enlightens and empowers us to discover the Authentic Self – our unique voice in the song of the Uni-Verse. Eve gives us an example to follow. Eve points us down the path to discovery of our Authentic Self. The danger lies not in eating of life’s fruits, rather it lies in the limitation we place on our ability to be open and aware. As quantum theory demonstrates, every thing emanates from Source energy and every thing is, ultimately, connected. We should not be surprised, therefore, when our departure from the collective whole leaves us feeling inadequate and incomplete. What we must do to reclaim our Authentic Self is to reclaim that we are entirely Source, wholly god- vibrations. And when we are operating like Eve with our eyes wide open and our spiritual frequency tuned to the unity vibrations of! the divine One Song, such a state resonates with our soul. When we live a life of divine resonance we are living a life of authenticity. Thus, the first step in our exploration of the Authentic Self is the realization that a divine Spirit vibrates within each one of us. And what do we mean by “divine”? Originally from the Latin, divinus literally translates as “of a god.” So, the first step in recognizing and realizing your Authentic Self is the acknowledgment that you are “of a god.” You are divine. You are eternal. Embrace the possibilities. Feel the resonance. Take the first step.