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Top Six Reasons To Forgive

No one can change the past, but you do have the power to upgrade how you feel about it, and that makes all the difference. You can take your power back from all those painful memories, and make peace with your past. Forgiveness heals the guilt and the hurt, and does this quietly, privately, and thoroughly. Forgiveness does not mean that you let anyone off the hook, it means that your present happiness is more important than your past suffering. Forgiveness does not mean that you condone the hurtful things done to you, it means that you reclaim your right to run your own life.

Right now those hurtful things are running your life, and how is that working for you? The people who hurt you may have ruined your yesterdays, but only you are in charge of your tomorrows. And if you feel guilt over people that you have hurt, forgiving yourself will heal you and allow you to move forward with a happier attitude and a healthier body.

So here are the top six reasons to forgive.
1 You will feel better and laugh more. Resolving all that negative spin from your past allows you to enjoy yourself and have the daily fun you really want. Your buttons will stop being pushed because they will be gone. You see, guilt and hatred resolve nothing, they just sustain the negativity that continues to stop you from reaching your personal and professional goals. Forgiveness, on the other hand, undoes the stickiness that binds you to all those unhappy yesterdays, and this returns your personal energy to your present life, and you get more done. Forgiveness is excellent for improved prosperity and success in every area of your life.

2 You will be healthier. Carrying negativity appears to cause many physical ills. The body and the mind are the same thing. Just as ice and steam are still basically water, your body and your mind are simply different manifestations of your spirit. Relieve your mental stress and your body will be happier too. Nothing relieves mental stress like forgiveness. Forgiveness heals.

3 People will like you better.You will be a more enjoyable person to be around, and will attract more positive people to your life. Humans are imperfect, and we all make mistakes. One trait of positive people is that they take life less personally, and readily forgive mistakes as they happen. On the other hand, perfectionists are often miserable people, having standards way too high to be reached. Would you settle for mere excellence? Then do so, and your relations with others will improve immediately. Perfectionists are all about judgement, whereas happy people are all about smiles. Sure, there are fights worth fighting, but if you live is one long series of fights with other people, the exhaustion must be terrible for you. Forgive and life improves. It really is that simple.

4 You will stop the constant suffering. Forgive others exactly because what happened was not your fault. Ask yourself: What was done to me? How long ago did all that happen? Are those hurtful people still in my life? Why should I keep suffering for what someone else did? Since it was not my fault, why am I still paying for it? Of course you have suffered way too long and way too much already. And those hurtful people have probably been gone from your life for years. So let the suffering stop right now. Forgive them.

And it may be that complete, one hundred percent may not be possible for you at first, and that is fine. Not to worry, because you can start with a small percentage of forgiveness and work up. How about forgiving them ten percent? Twenty? Eighty? Even five percent forgiveness is an excellent step in the right direction. The more you forgive, the better you will feel.

5 You have punished yourself long enough. Self forgiveness stops the overwhelming feelings of guilt that obstruct your happiness. Ask yourself: What was my crime? How long ago did that happen? Am I still doing stuff like that? If I had been imprisoned for it, would I be out by now? You have likely already punished yourself way too much, and it is time to grant yourself a full pardon. Forgive does not mean forget, it means accepting responsibility, and moving on with your life in positive ways, having learned your lessons. You can stop spinning over how you used to be and get on with creating the good life you have always deserved. So forgive yourself. Today. Right now. Since you cannot undo what you did, you must do the next best thing, and that is to face what happened, and then let the blame go.

6 No one needs to know. Forgiveness happens privately, between you and God, or between you and your higher self. You do not need to call anyone up or write any letters. Forgiveness is an internal healing, and it is all about you. Other people will have to forgive themselves for what they did. Your concern is you. You evolve all the time anyway, so why not evolve for the better?
And here is how do forgiveness. As you remember past events and the people involved, feel forgiveness flow from your heart out to them and back to yourself. Visualize what happened and who was there, forgiving everything and everyone involved. If you are not particularly visual, that is not a problem at all, since you can just sense and feel what happened, and process from there. Sensing and feeling work just as well as visualizing.

If anger arises when you think of some people, then in the privacy of your own thoughts, confront them. Tell them how you feel about what happened, and spend all of that anger you feel toward them. Tell them all the things you would never say to their face, but need to express. And then forgive them.

You may need to feel forgiven by your higher power. Please know that God forgives you the first time you ask, so only ask once. If you have to ask twice, then it is you who is not forgiving you. Forgive yourself fully knowing that God never needs to be asked twice.

Ultimate Caring in Life

Many people have the ability to truly care and receive joy when caring from the heart. Yet even very caring people sometimes find themselves using caring as a form of control.

Take a moment right now to think about a situation today in which you were caring - at home, at work, with a friend, or with someone you don't know such as a salesperson or a waiter. Are you willing to be completely honest with yourself regarding why you were caring? If you are, then go inside and notice if your caring had any outcome attached to it. Is there something you wanted from the other person? Is there some reason you were caring other than caring for the joy of it?

Ask yourself these questions:
* Was there some part of me that was trying to control what the other person thought of me? Was I behaving in a caring way to get attention, approval, validation, love, time, or sex?

* Was there a part of me hoping that my caring would result in monetary gain? Was I acting caring in the hopes of getting the other person to trust me enough to participate in some way that would bring me more money?

None of us like to think of ourselves as manipulative, yet we all have a part of us that wants control over getting what we want, and we may have learned to use our caring as one form of control.

While caring as a form of control may seem to work at times, it will never bring you joy. You might receive approval or sex or money, but something will always seem to be missing from your life. Getting what you believe you want may feel good for the moment, but it will never bring you the deep joy that results when caring from the heart with no agenda or attachment to outcomes.

When we are caring from the heart, we become, as Mother Teresa said, "God's pencil." We are giving to others just for the sake of expressing what is most beautiful about life - caring about each other. Giving to others from an open heart fills the soul with joy.

You can express this pure caring only when you are also caring about yourself. If you are not giving yourself the attention, validation, and love that we all need, then you will covertly be trying to get this from others. Others will pick up the "giving to get" energy and may not feel your "caring." In fact, others may even become resistant to receiving your caring because it feels controlling to them - and it is.

We can be caring purely for the joy of it only when we are taking 100% responsibility for ourselves - for thinking and behaving in ways that lead to inner safety and a deep sense of self worth. When we are not doing this for ourselves, then we need this from others, and we will be unable to be caring without strings attached.

It is in primary relationships with mates, children, and parents, that our giving to get has the most negative consequences. No one likes to be controlled by others, so when you give with an agenda, you may encounter anger and/or withdrawal. Your loved ones might not even know why they are angry or withdrawn. They just know that something feels bad inside them when you are "caring" about them.

While the outward behavior may look exactly the same when you are caring with an agenda or caring for the joy of it, energetically these two intentions feel totally different to others. If others are not responsive to your caring, you might want to honestly look at your intent in being caring.

Question that always haunt us!!!

If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?

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Can you cry under water?

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How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

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Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

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Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

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Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

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What disease did cured ham actually have?

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How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

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Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

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Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

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Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

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Why do doctors leave the room while you change?

They're going to see you naked anyway.

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Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

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Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

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If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

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Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?

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If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

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Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours?

They're both dogs!

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If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

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If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

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If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

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Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

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Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

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Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

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Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

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Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address in the first place?

Something to Ponder Again...

The Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'

[Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]

The Pretty Lady

Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river. The big monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the little monk. But he kept quiet. The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.

All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of acussations about big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation. Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. 'How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite. The big monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?'

[This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous .. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away. We keep on carrying the baggage of the 'pretty lady' with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony. Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the 'pretty lady'. We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river, that is after the unpleasant event is over. This will immediately remove all our agonies. There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over.]

The Turtles

A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!

For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'

[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.]

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

You GottA READ THIS STORY

Are you contented?

Have you ever, at any one time, had the feeling that life is bad, real bad, and you wish you were in another situation?You find life make things difficult for you, work sucks, life sucks, everything seems to go wrong...

Read the following story... it may change your views about life:

After a conversation with one of my friends, he told me despite taking 2 jobs, he brings back barely above 1K per month, he is happy as he is.

I wonder how he can be as happy as he is considering he has to skimp his life with the low pay to support a pair of old parents, in-laws, a wife, 2 daughters and the many bills of a household.

He explained that it was through one incident that he saw in India that happened a few years ago when he was really feeling low and touring India after a major setback.

He said that right in front of his very eyes he saw an Indian mother chop off her child's right hand with a chopper. The helplessness in the mother's eyes, the scream of pain from the innocent 4-year-old child haunted him until today.You may ask why did the mother do so; had the child been naughty, had the child's hand been infected?? No, it was done for two simple words-TO BEG! The desperate mother deliberately caused the child to be handicapped so that the child could go out to the streets to beg.

Taken a back by the scene, he dropped a piece of bread he was eating half-way. And almost instantly, a flock 5 or 6 children swamped towards this small piece of bread which was covered with sand, robbing bits from one another. The natural reaction of hunger.

Stricken by the happenings, he instructed his guide to drive him to the nearest bakery. He arrived at two bakeries and bought every single loaf of bread he found in the bakeries. The owner was dumb founded but willingly sold everything. He spent less than $100 to obtain about 400 loaves of bread (this is less than $0..25 per loaf) and spent another $100 to get daily necessities. Off he went in the truck full of bread into the streets.

As he distributed the bread and necessities to the children (mostly handicapped) and a few adults, he received cheers and bows from these unfortunate. For the first time in his life he wondered how people can give up their dignity for a loaf of bread which cost less than $0.25. He began to tell himself how fortunate he is. How fortunate he is to be able to have a complete body, have a job! , have a family, have the chance to complain what food is nice and what isn't nice, have the chance to be clothed, have the many things that these people in front of him are deprived of...Now I begin to think and feel it, too! Was my life really that bad?

Perhaps... no, I should not feel bad at all... What about you? Maybe the next time you think you are, think about the child who lost one hand to beg on the streets."Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, it is the realization of how much you already have." When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times welook so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which hasbeen opened for us. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that! we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past,youcan't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

The Power of Intent

Imagine two big spotlights. One is pointed upward, casting light far into the air. The other is pointed downward and buried into the earth - no light is cast at all.

This is like intent.

There are only two possible intentions in any given moment: the intent to learn about loving yourself and others, and the intent to protect against pain with some form of controlling behavior.

When you consciously choose the intent to learn, your light points upward, shining upon the truth that will guide you in your highest good. Your mind opens and becomes a receiver of the information you need to support yourself in manifesting your dreams. Consciously choosing the intent to learn is the most powerful thing we can do. When we consciously choose the intent to learn, we open ourselves to our Higher Self - the part of us that connects us with the information and creativity in the universe.

When we unconsciously choose the intent to control, we shut off access to truth. Our mind closes and becomes like a closed circuit TV - recycling the old information that has been programmed into our mind. We become stuck in our limited mind, operating from the false beliefs that we learned as we were growing up. We become stuck in the past, recreating old hurts.

The challenge here is that our unconscious automatic choice is to control. When we were growing up, we all had to learn many ways to control to survive the challenges of childhood. We learned ways of trying to have control over how people feel about us and treat us, such as anger, blame, judgment, righteousness, or compliance. We learned ways to protect against losing ourselves to another's control, such as resisting or withdrawing. We learned many addictive ways of avoiding feeling our pain, such using food, drugs, alcohol, TV, Internet, sex, work, sports, gambling, shopping, self-judgment, and so on - all to have control over not feeling our painful feelings.

Most people immediately, and unconsciously, choose the intent to control the moment they feel any anxiety. The problem is that the intent to control is self-abandonment, always causing even more fear, anxiety or depression. Instead of shining the light of love upon your distress in order to learn and heal, you shove the light into the ground, causing more darkness.

Choosing your intent is the essence of free will, and it determines what you feel and what you manifest. While you might have momentary pleasure when something good happens, the deep joy and wellbeing that we all seek, and the ability to manifest your dreams, is the result of your intent to learn about loving yourself and others.

The challenge in our lives is to REMEMBER that we are at choice - to remember to choose the intent to learn.

How can you remember to consciously choose the intent to learn? How can you remember, the moment you feel any fear, anxiety, or any stress, to open to learning about what you are thinking or doing that is creating this stress? What can you do to stop your automatic reactive controlling behavior?

First of all, you need to accept that this is a lifetime practice - not something that will occur quickly. We have all been practicing the intent to control for most of our lives, so it will take much practice to even remember that there is another choice.

The place to start is to practice noticing your feelings throughout a day. Perhaps wearing a rubber band that you can snap on your wrist will remind you to check inside to see how you are feeling. You cannot begin to learn about your thoughts and actions that are causing your feelings until you are aware of your painful feelings. You cannot stop your addictive anesthetics until you are WILLING to feel your feelings and take responsibility for them.

If you decide that you are willing to feel your feelings, that willingness will lead you to becoming more and more conscious of your feelings. This is the beginning of being able to consciously choose your intent to learn.

Manulife in talks with AIG

ROME — — Manulife Financial [MFC-T] is among the global insurers poised to launch bids for parts of American International Group [AIG-N], the giant insurer that became a ward of the U.S. government when last week's financial crisis pushed it to the brink of collapse.

Manulife executives, led by CEO Dominic D'Alessandro, met with financial advisers late last week to consider ways to exploit AIG's probable breakup, sources said.

Buying all of AIG, or big parts of it, would propel Manulife to the top rank of the global financial services industry.

It could also severely damage the company if the hurricanes hitting Wall Street do not lose their fury.

Manulife Financial

American International Group

Mr. D'Alessandro isn't talking about Manulife's plans and did not return e-mails seeking comment. Manulife spokeswoman Laurie Lupton declined to comment yesterday.

AIG, the world's biggest insurer, would have collapsed had the U.S. Federal Reserve not agreed to lend it up to $85-billion (U.S.) in exchange for 79.9 per cent of its equity, making its rescue a de facto nationalization. Analysts expect AIG to be sold, in whole or in part.

While other insurers, ranging from Germany's Munich Re to Australia's QBE Insurance, are also potential bidders for large chunks of AIG, Manulife is viewed by some as a more logical suitor.

The Toronto-based insurer is a strong player in a weak market.

Like other insurers and banks that escaped the worst of the credit crunch, the company is ready to feast on the remains of the companies consumed by their own excesses, analysts said.

In a note published last Wednesday, Citigroup insurance industry analyst Colin Devine called Manulife, Canada's largest insurer, "an ideal candidate to make an aggressive bid for AIG."

"We consider [Manulife] the only insurer in the world with sufficient balance sheet strength that would allow it to bid for all of AIG's U.S. and Asian life insurance businesses," Mr. Devine said in his report.

Manulife's share price - $35.15 on Friday - is only 24 per cent off its 52-week high, giving it a market value of $52-billion.

Its profits, balance sheet and investment portfolio are robust and its insurance subsidiaries are rated triple-A, Standard & Poor's top rating. It has $3-billion in excess capital and could borrow much more to finance a deal.

Mr. D'Alessandro, 62, is set to step down as CEO by next spring, and he is to be replaced by chief investment officer Don Guloien. With little more than half a year to go, Mr. D'Alessandro might be reluctant to plunge himself and his executives into yet another transformational deal. Nor could he do it without Mr. Guloien's approval. Whatever Mr. D'Alessandro starts, his successor will have to finish.

But Mr. D'Alessandro has always wanted to build a Canadian-based global champion, and prizes like AIG come along only once in a century.

AIG's share have gone from a high of $70.11 to about $4, giving the biggest name in the business a market value of a mere $10-billion. The insurer's Asian business would turn Manulife into a powerhouse in that part of the world. Manulife is already third among foreign insurers, measured by earnings contribution from Asia. AIG is first, with 70 per cent of its earnings from Asia.

Analysts say AIG's crown jewels are its Asian operations and the group pension business in the United States. The U.S. business would be doubly attractive to Manulife because of the synergy potential with John Hancock, the big U.S. insurer bought by Manulife in 2004 for about $11-billion.

AIG is certainly a target. Its loan from the Fed comes at a punitive interest rate - 8.5 percentage points above the London interbank offered rate (Libor). The expensive loan gives AIG a huge incentive to unload assets so it can pay back the money quickly. Even before last week's nightmare, AIG had announced its intention to sell International Lease Finance Corp., the largest aircraft leasing business.

Manulife could make a quick offer for the whole company, which would please the regulators.

The problem is that the toxin levels in AIG's portfolios are not known. Buying certain divisions would be far less risky for Manulife or any other bidder.

The risk that comes with buying divisions instead of the whole company is getting trapped in bidding wars with powerful foreign rivals eager to build their U.S. presence.

Buying parts of AIG would be very much in character for Mr. D'Alessandro, who turned Manulife into a perpetual motion machine. Under him, the company de-mutualized and joined the stock market in 1999. He was keen to have a takeover to build the company.

In 2002, he bought Zurich Life's Canadian arm and tried to buy CIBC, an effort that was stopped by John Manley, the finance minister at the time. A year later, he landed John Hancock. Businesses were collected across Asia.

Today, Manulife is the top insurer in Canada, the second-biggest in North America and the sixth-biggest in the world. Half of its earnings come from the United States, with the other half split between Asia and Canada.

Size doesn't guarantee success, as AIG found. But Manulife is no AIG. While it has been an aggressive purchaser of companies, it was careful not to pay too much. In 2003, for instance, it ended its pursuit of Canada Life when the bidding got too rich (Great-West Lifeco was the winner).

Crucially, it shied away from products that seemed too good to be true, like credit default swaps, or CDSs, which are insurance against defaults on assets linked to corporate debt and mortgage securities. AIG teetered when it was downgraded by S&P on Sept. 15 and was suddenly unable to come up with the collateral to back its swaps. That's when the Fed came charging to the rescue. Its collapse would have sent financial shockwaves around the planet.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080922.wrreguly22/BNStory/Business

Iron Lady Fall Sick

The mentioned Iron Lady is my mom, of course, she was used to be tough everyday but not for past 3 days. She was not feeling well but still reacted that she was okay after all until few hours ago where i forced her to meet our family doctor. Along the way, mama can't take it anymore as she started to vomit approximately 5 times within an hour time.

Gosh, how pain in your heart, time for me to take care of her, brought her bread, ensure she took medicine on time. Today, usually her busy day as so many football matches been live telecast on Astro but she have to give up for this week. Time to go bed and have a good rest.

As for me, no holiday, i have to take care of everything as i'm the only one at home where else everybody was outstation.

Enjoy your weekend.

Support Chelsea tommorrow..

Warning of world financial crisis?

Stocks fluctuate as investors mull future of AIG

NEW YORK – Stocks fluctuated Tuesday following a report that the government is considering extending aid to troubled insurer American International Group Inc. — the latest in a string of companies that investors worry could be undone by a shortage of cash.

A partial recovery in several other financial companies helped the sector show signs of life a day after leading Wall Street to its worst session in years. Investors also grew hopeful about a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

Worries about AIG's well-being intensified Monday and early Tuesday after several ratings agencies downgraded the company. Lower ratings can add to the amount of money the already cash-strapped company has to set aside. Investors fear that a failure by the world's largest insurer would touch off a wave of financial turmoil.

But a CNBC report said the government is at least discussing extending a financial lifeline to the company; it cautioned that an agreement is far from certain and also that the company isn't likely to find help from the private sector. AIG fell $2.07, or 43 percent, to $2.69 after being down nearly 75 percent in earlier trading.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080916/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

The Right Path

By taking the time to gain new insights into ourselves and our business, we create an opportunity to see things in a different light - to truly see things as they are. Once we do that, we can much better determine whether we need to take a new and better approach to building our business or instead, choose a new path for ourselves. You may find that you're running hard down the wrong path altogether...

If you decide that you're on the wrong path, it's OK. It is VERY common for that to be the case. In truth, many people suspect they're on the wrong path but don't acknowledge it. They end up spending a lifetime being unhappy and/or dissatisfied with their life. Take stock of the things you enjoy doing and where your true talents lie, and then go about identifying new and different opportunities in which to apply them. Once you're in an occupation that you enjoy, life really becomes enjoyable and satisfying. You'll end up working less (mostly because what you'll be doing you won't consider to be work), and you'll achieve a much greater level of success.

If instead, you decide that you ARE on the right path, then good for you! But you have a different challenge ahead of you. Remember that old saying about the definition of "insanity"? It goes like this: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!"

If you aren't at the level of success you want to be and you've determined that you ARE in the right kind of occupation, then it probably is time to do something different. Stop conducting "business as usual". You need to become more open-minded about how to get the job done. Here's how I see it: You can insist on doing things the way you've always done them, or you can choose to reinvent yourself and your business, and start doing things differently. Even if you've been in this business a while, be open to taking advice from others. Even newer people can have good, fresh ideas. Things that didn't work years ago may now be effective - given changes in society, and given your present level of expertise and experience. Commit to investing in yourself and your development. Start reading on a regular basis. Start attending or acquiring educational programs. Even ONE new idea can take your business to a whole new level.

One of the problems we have is that we often get completely caught up in our day-to-day routine. This prevents us from stepping back from our work, reflecting on our lives and our business, and reevaluating what we really want to do. My suggestion is to do just that. It is CRITICAL to your success and your happiness to take the time to reflect. When you get away from your office you gain new perspectives.

Re-evaluate yourself and your business. Gain clarity as to whether you should continue to build the business you're in or change occupations. If staying where you are is right, then commit to changing and growing. Be open to new ideas, even if the "new" ideas are ones you tried years ago without success. Remember, times have changed and you have changed. We are not the same people we were 10 or even 5 years ago. As our experience grows, so does our ability to succeed where we once faltered.

Chelsea Won Clash of Cash

Chelsea 3 - 1 Manchester City

It should have been a bright new dawn but ended up being more of the same for Manchester City as they slipped to defeat against Chelsea despite a debut-day opener from record signing Robinho.

Robinho scores from a free-kick on his debut for Manchester City. The £32.5million man paid off the first instalment of his British record price-tag by putting Mark Hughes' men ahead with a superb 13th-minute free-kick.

But it was downhill all the way after that as Chelsea scored three times without reply to register a seventh straight win over City even though England captain John Terry was sent off for a professional foul.

Best of luck Robinho and Mark Hughes, Hurray Chelsea...

Greatest Quality in Life

You take decisions often every day, don't you? Some are easy, some less so, but you know all about taking decisions, and then sticking to them. You might decide to move to another city due to a fantastic job offer, you might decide to stop smoking, you might decide to incorporate some physical activity into your life, you might decide to spend more quality time with your kids, or you might decide to stop straightening your hair, and let it out in all its curly glory.

Imagine taking a decision one day to be happy. The ability to enjoy life, the ability to be happy, is, from my point of view, the greatest quality in life. With this one quality your life becomes - ipso facto - better, more enjoyable, increasing in satisfaction and daily contentment. What can go wrong, if you have decided - in advance - to always be happy, no matter what?

Imagine waking up in the morning and saying to yourself, no matter what happens today, no matter who does their best to frustrate or anger me, I will not stray from my path of feeling good about my life. No one will have the power to make me leave that path. No event will cause me to leave that path. This means that you correct your feelings, your reactions, at their very inception...in other words, if you notice that something is occurring that is threatening to make you go in another direction, you literally decide to choose another alternative at that moment, because you know - you are aware of the fact - that you have this choice.

You have the choice because in the end it always depends on your own decisions much more than on absolutely anything else. I repeat this over and over again, because in psychology, just as in marketing, it typically requires that a concept is heard or read nine times before it totally sinks in, and this concept of how you feel at any time, and how you react to events, is truly your choice.

Go about your morning, your day, your life with a new decision to give yourself the greatest quality in life ... deciding to live a content life ... no matter what ... simply because you so decide.

Who Are You?

In truth, it's WHO YOU ARE, rather than what you do or what you know, that persuades someone to buy from you. People will choose to do business with you because they like you, relate to you, and trust you.

What traits define "who you are" in the minds of others? Obviously there are many things which define who we are, but the following list is a good place to start.

Have Integrity

* Do what you say you're going to do.

* Show up on time

* Return phone calls in a timely manner
Care About Others

* Do what's in the best interest of others, even if it doesn't result in a sale

* Add value beyond the value of your products and services

* Take an interest in your prospects and your clients as people, not just as business relationships

Have a Professional Appearance

* Dress and act professionally, which usually means slightly better than your prospects

* Be relatable

* Be respectful of people and their time

Have a Positive Attitude

* People like to do business with people they like and like being around

* Be a positive and optimistic person

* Focus on the possibilities and not the obstacles

If a person continually improves in these areas, not only will it cause more people to choose to buy from them, but they will ATTRACT more of the kinds of clients they want. Opportunities will seem to "materialize" because of who we are. Plus, you'll enjoy your business more than ever before.

Most of us could benefit from improving in one or more of the areas mentioned above, but it can be a challenge to achieve that improvement. Often it's difficult to improve in these areas simply because we're blind to where and how we could improve. We're creatures of habit and mostly operate on "autopilot". Additionally, it's really not about how we see ourselves, but rather how others perceive us.

Therefore, trying to make many of the changes necessary is almost impossible. The most effective way to identify areas for improvement is to ask those around us. (Obviously, we need to choose people who want us to succeed and who we trust.) Once we become aware of those areas we want to change, the next challenge is in actually making those changes. The problem here is that because what we're trying to change are habits - habits that no longer serve us - we generally aren't even aware when we behave the way we do.

After all, they're HABITS. So once again, the best way to make the changes that we want is to enlist the help of people around us. Ask those people you trust to point out to you when youfall into those old habits that you want to break. In this way, your attention will be drawn to your actions so you can act with intention rather than by habit or reaction. By getting an objective perspective and then making the changes you want, you'll be able to accelerate your success, make more money, and stop selling!

Slam to end a Slump Year

Roger Federer capture lucky 13 Grand Slam

NEW YORK (AP)—No matter what anyone else said or thought, Roger Federer knew he was still capable of elite tennis.

Knew he was still capable of winning Grand Slam titles.

Knew he was still Roger Federer.

Back at his best, back at the top of tennis, Federer easily beat Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 Monday to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th major title overall.

Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the tournament that many times in a row. He also moved within one major championship of tying Pete Sampras’ career record of 14.

“One thing’s for sure,” Federer said in an on-court interview. “I’m not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible.”

I woke this morning about 6am to catch the match live telecast and it didn't dissapoint me. One lesson that i learned from the great Federer is that never give up after much slump for this year, no major titles until today, no Master series titles this year and lost his no1 ranking that he hold for 4 1/2 year, winning doubles gold medal at Olympics in Beijing instead of Singles gold medals, and received tonnes of criticsim from media around the world that he is old and no longer able to win major titles anymore especially with rising star Rafael Nadal and Noval Djokovic come fast and furious.

When we are in a "slump", keep our mouth shut, seek more advice and make it happen for ourselves. Never stop, and never give up. Always believe in yourself even nobody believe again in you.

Salute Federer.

Temper Management

NAIL IN THE FENCE

Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence.
(Most importantly the last sentence)

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the and and led him to the fence He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.'

USD50 Lawyer

Two lawyers, Jon and Amanpreet, head out for their usual 9 holes ofgolf. Jon offers Amanpreet a $50 bet. Amanpreet agrees and they'reoff. They shoot a great game. After the 8th hole, Amanpreet is aheadby one stroke, but cuts his ball into the rough on the 9th.''

Help me find my ball. Look over there,'' he says to Jon. After a fewminutes, neither has any luck. Since a lost ball carries a four pointpenalty, Amanpreet secretly pulls a ball from his pocket and tosses itto the ground. ''I've found my ball!'' he announces.''After all of the years we've been partners and playing together,"Jon says, "you'd cheat me out of a lousy 50 bucks?''

''What do you mean, cheat? I found my ball sitting right there!''''And you're a liar, too!'' Jon says. ''I'll have you know I've beenSTANDING on your ball for the last five minutes!''

Urgent Memo

To: All Employees From: Human Resources

Re: Important Message from Human Resources

To All Staff, Please be advised that there are new rules and regulations implemented to raise the efficiency of our company.

ATTIRE:

It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Adidas sneakers & carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes and therefore you don't need a raise. If you dress in-between, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

PERSONAL DAYS:

Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

LUNCH BREAK:

Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Overweight people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that is all the time needed to drink a Slim Fast and take a diet pill.

SICK DAYS:

We will no longer accept a doctor statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

RESTROOM USE:

Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. There is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes,an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.

SURGERY:
As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments,concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplation, consternation and input should be directed to the Unemployment Offices. Have a nice day. Human Resources.

Systemize Your Success

When it comes to personal behaviour and getting your daily activities in harmony with your life goals, it is absolutely critical to have a system in place. Brain researchers claim that between 90-95% of all human behaviour is habitual which means we literally perform these activities without really thinking about them. Without a system to govern your critical activities, you will very likely fall victim to your habits and never truly accomplish the goals you set out to achieve.

As a person who is working on a number of major goals for my lifetime, I am always examining my results and looking for ways to improve the quality of my work and manage the time I choose to allocate to all of my activities. There have been periods of incredible productivity and other times where it seemed that everything was at a stand-still (even though I felt extremely busy). Upon reflection, it is easy to see that the main reason I experienced success during those productive times was due to the presence of a well defined system.

The word system can be defined as "a coordinated body of methods or a scheme or plan of procedure; organizational scheme." When I think of a system, I think of a list of activities performed in a certain order with a specific result in mind. Ultimately, a properly defined and implemented system is the key to success in any area of life.

Just take a quick look around you and you can begin to appreciate the value of a well defined system. In many cases, the entire system has been automated for optimum performance. If you have any doubts, just think about what happens when you place a phone call, start your computer, turn on your lights, flush your toilet, start your car or even when you eat dinner. Each process is handled by a system that is responsible for producing a certain result. In the same light, I believe it is critically important for every person to have an activity management system for their life; a system that has been designed to help a person reach all of their desired goals and aspirations.

For me, having a system brings clarity to my mind and removes the potential of procrastination. It forces me to focus on what I really want to accomplish and take action accordingly. Before I really understood the concept of systemizing my calendar, I instinctively knew that I had to build a system that would help me create my new habits. For a period of probably 100 days (maybe more), I woke up every morning and opened my activity journal. I would divide the page in half. The right side of the page was a list of six success habits that I had decided to implement in my life; family time, fitness, good deed, personal development studying, business activities and mental fitness (which would include something like meditation, visualization exercises, vision boarding, etc...). The left side of the page would be a growing list of all activities that would pop up throughout the day (for example, returning an important phone call, doing my online banking, filing mail, etc...). I would write every single activity down and check it off upon completion.

As basic as it sounds, that particular system actually changed my life. First and foremost, I would not allow myself to go to bed at night without first crossing off all critical daily activities from the right side of the page. I was literally obligating myself to create new habits. Secondly, I would see the left side of each page completely full of checked-off items. I felt great every time I looked at all of the important activities I had completed and it gave me energy to do it again the next day.

I believe that a good portion of our own self esteem comes from our ability to give ourselves an assignment and complete it. If there was a time I was feeling overwhelmed by my to-do list, I could quickly glance through my journal and remind myself how productive I could be when I put my mind to it. The accumulation of pages in my activity journal ultimately acted as a "success log" and always provided that extra boost of confidence when I needed it most.

After a certain period of time, I'm not sure why but I decided to stop using that system. I went back to a more informal task management system and basically relied on my calendar appointments to keep me on track. The really interesting thing I noticed was that the habits I formed have remained with me for the most part. I have replaced some of those original "success habits" with new habits that fit my current business structure and lifestyle. At the same time, I recently came to the realization that due to my ever-growing list of work demands, my schedule was once again out of control and rather chaotic. I had been spending far too much time on low priority work tasks, my fitness regimen was suffering some setbacks and my overall level of enthusiasm was being affected. After some introspection, it became quite evident that it was time to systemize!

The most difficult part of the entire process was forcing myself to stop, take a breath and examine my results. Once I was able to do this, I could easily see the areas that needed improvement and it was simply a matter of designing a new system that matched my current demands and lifestyle. I'm now back on track, more organized and best of all I'm feeling enthusiastic about my days.

Are you aware of how you spend the time in your day? Could you stand to be more efficient and productive? Perhaps you have broken some of the good habits that used to be part of your daily routine? If so, there has never been a better time to systemize.

Robinho Hijacked

Manchester City sealed the British record transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid late last night with manager Mark Hughes describing the amazing signing as 'a huge statement of intent'.The Blues managed to steal the limelight from rivals Manchester United's successful pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov with the capture of the Brazil forward in a deal understood to be worth around £32million after the club moved close to a takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment.

Shocking news as i first heard from MIX FM this morning while im on the way to meet new client. Hey, to Mr Roman Abramovich, the new owner of Manchester City Football Club Mr Al-Fahim declare himself at soccernet.com that he is the new Abramovich in England football.

Best of luck Robinho.