10 Things I Hate About Books

I absolutely love to read. My library is overflowing with books and until we move to a larger house, all new books will end up either on the floor or sloppily stacked on top of other books.

Despite my love of reading, there are some things that I simply hate about books. I've read enough books to know the kinds of books that will be a good read, and ones that will get on my nerves.

Here are 10 things I hate about books:

1) Chapters That Are Extremely Long

Chapters are logical places to stop and put down a book for the day. If you're like me, you usually don't like to have to stop reading a book mid-way through a chapter and continue reading it the next day.

I like books with smaller, shorter chapters because it gives me lots of logical places I can put down a book.

What I really hate are books that consistently have really really long chapters.

Sometimes I sit there reading a book and I tell myself that I'll read for about 5 more minutes or until the current chapter is done...30 minutes later, I'm still struggling to try to finish reading the chapter.

2) Awkward Book Sizes

I understand the need for a book to grab your attention visually, but do they really have to make some books in such awkward sizes?

I'm talking about books that are too tall or books that are too long to fit normally on a bookshelf.

My bookshelf has become a complete mess because of these kinds of books - with various titles jutting out from the bookshelves while others I've had to shelve horizontally instead of vertically.

I also find that these awkward sized books are just downright difficult to handle when reading them. If the book were tall, I sometimes have difficulty keeping them open. If the book were too wide, I often have difficulty turning the pages.

3) Too Much Fluff At The Beginning Of The Book

When I mean fluff, I mean all that stuff that is written at the beginning of the book (but before the book itself).

I'm talking about Acknowledgments, Foreword, How To Use This Book, About The Author, Dedications, Rave Reviews, Preface, Introduction, and on and on and on...

Sometimes I felt as though I've read an entire book before I even start reading the actual book itself.

Yes, yes, I know - I understand the need to give thanks and dedications and for the need to explain a few things about the book before you read it and all....

But honestly, if I had just finished reading a book that I thought was one of the best books I've ever read, THEN I would probably want to read about things like reviews by other authors and those who should be acknowledged in the making of the book and who it was dedicated to.

There have been many times I simply said to myself "Who cares?" when going through all that "pre-book" fluff because I don't even know if the book I'm about to read will be any good at all.

Again, honestly - a lot of that stuff should be put at the back of the book because if I liked the book, I'm more willing to read it AFTER I've finished reading the book.

4) Graphs, Tables, and Diagrams That Are Displayed Before They Are Referenced

Sometimes I'm there reading and I see that a graph/diagram/table is coming up and as I get closer and closer to it, I start thinking "Ok, are we going to mention what that graph is all about?".

Then I keep reading and reading until I finally get to the graph with no mention of it whatsoever.

At this point, a number of thoughts go through my head...

"Should I read and understand this graph?"
"Should I just continue reading and skip over the graph and hopefully it will eventually be mentioned?"
"Did I miss a reference to it or something...maybe on a previous page somewhere?"

The worst is when the book has a lengthy analysis about the graph/diagram/table...and it's on the next page or previous page! I then find myself having to flip back and forth...reading what the book is telling me and going back (or forward) to the graph/diagram/table that it wants to explain.

5) Beating A Topic To Death

Some things only take a page to explain and some topics can be understood by the general public very quickly....

But when you take an entire chapter to explain something very simple, it tells me that the author had little in the way of a book and is now trying to stretch every little basic detail he/she can in order to make it appear like a book.

What's worse is that I sometimes have seen whole sections (several chapters) dedicated to explaining the simplest of things.

You know when an author is beating a topic to death when you begin seeing the same sentences being repeated over and over again.

6) Huge Table Of Contents, But Skimpy On The Contents

Sometimes I look at the table of contents and think "Wow! There's going to be a lot of information in that chapter". But when I go and actually read the chapter, it's only 4 pages long!

The table of contents listed almost every single sub heading in the chapter to make it seem like there was a lot of content, when in reality, there wasn't. Then when you take a closer look at the table of contents, 4 or 5 topics are listed on the same page!

7) Dedicating Too Many Pages On The Basics

I see this a lot in trading books. Usually when you see a book that dedicates a lot of the book on the basics, you know that the author really didn't have a great idea for a book (either that or they just published the book just for a quick money grab).

If it's a book about trading, please don't spend 2/3 of the book reviewing what trends are, what a chart looks like, and what "going long" and "going short" means.

I tell you, at least 80% of the trading books available out there are not worth buying because of this.

8) Awkward/Inappropriate Cover Art

So you get this great book that you eagerly want to read and you think you can go read it in public, but what if the cover art is deemed somewhat inappropriate or cover art that doesn't really depict what the book is about?

I've seen books about economics or trading that look more like romance novels and I've seen biographies look like cookbooks.

The book itself might be about something mundane, but if it's got an awkward or inappropriate cover art, I sometimes feel almost embarrassed to read it in public!

9) The Use Of Too Many Footnotes

I have read books that make use of so many footnotes that I sometimes wonder if half the book were footnotes!

I can understand the need to cite sources, but to be honest, I really don't want to read what the footnotes have to say because it breaks the flow of my reading.

Put them in the back of the book, then OK, I don't mind, but when you have half the page dedicated to footnotes, I don't know how a reader can focus on the book itself.

10) Books That Make You Fill Out Blanks Or Worksheets Within A Book

There are some self help books that have worksheets or fill-in-the-blank type pages, but whenever I encounter them, what do I do most of the time?

I end up not filling it out nor do I take the time to actually do the exercise shown in the book.

Why?

It's usually because I know at some point in the future I may want to read the book again and by filling in the worksheets, it spoils my future reads (my goals or my opinions may have changed). Not only that, but if I ever need to get rid of the book or if I need to downsize my library, I may have to sell the book or donate it.

Another reason why I don't usually do the exercises listed in these books is because I'm usually reading it in bed where I don't have access to a computer and/or paper and pen.

Sometimes I see pages and pages of fill-in-the-blanks in these kinds of books and I often wonder if that is the author's way of making a book seem longer than it actually is.

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Currently Manifesting...30,000 Visits To This Site & 100 RSS Subscribers

In the month of February, there were 13,000+ visits to this site and the number of RSS subscribers currently sits around 50.

I would like to thank all those who visited the site and to those who subscribed via RSS. Also special thanks to all those who Stumbled and/or bookmarked my posts.

My next goal will be to have 30,000 visitors to this site in one month and to have a target of 100 RSS subscribers.

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Emotions, Trading, And Life - When People Blow Up

As an equities trader, I routinely see tempers flare on the trading floor.

People swear and yell out loud, they bang on the desk, they throw down the mouse or they pound on the keyboard.

I've seen this occur many times and what usually happens is that the trader eventually blows up.

What does it mean when a trader "blows up"?

When a trader blows up, it means that the trader is no longer thinking logically and is prone to making bad, snap decisions. As the trader gets angrier and angrier, his (or her) trading gets worse and worse and the losses from each trade gets bigger and bigger.

In the trading world, we call this revenge trading - a trade made out of anger with the intention of extracting revenge to try to make your money back and to punish the market or the stock for making you lose money.

As you can probably tell, in the trading world, revenge trades are a no no.

It pretty much is the same way in life.

If something sets you off on a tantrum, you will also tend to do things that you wouldn't normally do or say and in the process, you can potentially harm or even destroy a relationship or hurt someone close to you.

A good example is when you and your significant other gets into an argument. As the argument proceeds, sometimes we get angrier and angrier until it gets to the point where you say things to intentionally hurt each other.

Or it could be that you got cut off in traffic and you get upset about it and you start driving like a maniac. Perhaps you try to chase after the car that cut you off or you blare your horn continuously for several minutes.

Essentially, you blow up just like a trader. And just like a trader, you try to somehow extract revenge for whatever it was that was done to you, potentially making the situation even worse.

The best way for a trader to handle it would be to take a break, go out for a walk and simply step away from the trading workstation for a while. This allows the trader to come back to their senses and to cool their jets.

I would recommend the same thing in life. If you're in an argument, take a little break, go out for a walk and let your emotions settle. The last thing you want to do is to say something out of anger that you will later regret.

I will be the first to admit that I didn't always cool my jets when an argument ensued with my wife. Things were said that I wish never came out.

But now I've taken what I've learned from the trading floor and applied it to life.

If my wife and I ever get into a dispute and I feel that tensions and tempers are starting to rise, I'll usually go out to take a walk - a sort of "time out" for at least a half an hour.

Once I come back, I will feel as though I can discuss things in a rational manner and we usually resolve our conflicts productively and quickly.

I cannot tell you what a world of difference this makes in our relationship.

In the past, an argument would last for hours and hours because things were said in the heat of the moment that brought on even more arguing. The one thing we were arguing about eventually snowballed into 4 or 5 different things because of the "revenge" we were trying to extract on each other.

Today, if we get into an argument, they are resolved peacefully and rationally in a matter of minutes (not including our "time out" time). Once our emotions dissipate, we can then work on our disputes without adding fuel to the fire.

So next time you feel tempers starting to flare, just remember: don't blow yourself up.

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Treating Your Goals Like A Game

Whenever I have goals or targets, I try to approach it as though I were playing a game. As the game progresses, I strive to achieve higher and higher goals and I try to learn new ways of doing things to help me achieve them.

It works very much the same way when I'm trading. I don't see the dollar values I make as money - instead I look at it as a score. At the end of the month, I tally my scorecard up and I try to see if I can beat it the following month.

By doing this, it forces me to try new things or apply different techniques to my game. In essence, it allows me to grow - or better yet, it motivates me to grow.

I've used the same approach to growing this site. I look at the number of visitors during the month and I try to beat it the following month. The number of visitors can be considered my scorecard and I'm constantly trying to beat it.

By doing this, it forced me to take a look at new ways to market my site and to connect more with the blogging community.

You can approach life in very much the same way, whether it's your financial goals or your social goals.

My wife recently started a new business and had a huge stack of business cards printed. We were discussing ways to market her business when we started talking about treating it like a game.

At first, her goal would be to give out maybe 5 business cards a week.

Then she would try to increase it to 10 business cards a week and so on and so on.

As this "game" progressed, I found that my wife became more and more motivated to get the word out about her business. She began attending social events and seminars and I was quite impressed with the way she handled herself.

I have attended some of those events with my wife and at the end of the evening, I was quite surprised at the number of business cards she was able to give out!

In no time, my wife began giving out business cards by the handful. She also became more innovative as she looked for more ways to hand out her business card and she connected with others in the same industry.

You know, when she first brought home her freshly printed business cards, she looked at the stack and wondered how she would ever give out all of those business cards. That was about 3 months ago. If you were to look at her stack of business cards today, you would have to estimate that she will need more business cards printed within the next couple of months!

That being said, how's your game going?

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A "Thank You" To All The Carnivals

What is a blog carnival? A blog carnival is a great place to find a collection of articles and posts from around the blog-o-sphere.

Some carnivals have topics that are broad ranging while others have a very narrow focus.

Most carnivals run weekly or bi-weekly and are hosted on blogs or websites. Some of these carnivals are "traveling" carnivals in that several blogs take turns hosting a carnival on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to all the carnivals out there that have either included my posts in their carnivals or who have even considered my posts for their carnivals.

I'd highly recommend you check each one of them out as these carnivals are on-going and can be found on high quality websites and blogs. Below is a list of carnivals (along with their hosts) that I've had the opportunity to participate in and/or have considered some of my posts in the past.

• Terry Holley at The Health And Life Mixing Bowl who runs The Carnival Of Personal Change.

• Anna at A Widow's Quest who runs The Carnival Of Positive Thinking.

• Peter at I Will Change Your Life who runs The Personal Stories Of Change Carnival.

• PinkBlocks who runs the Blog Carnival Of Personal Power.

• Alex Blackwell at The Next 45 Years who runs The Personal Development Carnival.

• Ananga at Living By Design who runs the Living By Design Blog Carnival.

• The Just Linux Site who runs The Carnival Of Tech News.

• Anja Merret who runs The Carnival Of Observations On Life.

• Credit Card Lowdown who runs The Carnival Of Money, Growth, and Happiness.

• Life Insurance Lowdown who runs The Carnival Of Life, Happiness, and Meaning.

• Anne at The Tall Poppy who runs Living A Real Life Carnival.

• Dr. Insanity who runs The Carnival Of Insanities.

• Jirel at Positive And Successful Lifestyle Tips who runs The Carnival Of Inspiration And Motivation.

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"Hard Work & Determination" vs "Visualizing & The Law Of Attraction"

A while back, someone left a comment that made me think. The comment was as follows:

"I don't believe in the Law of Attraction. The secrets to success are hard work and determination."

I will have to say that I totally agree that the secrets to success are hard work and determination, but isn't that what's really keeping 95% of us from never achieving the things we want to do in life?

If something is hard work, wouldn't you think that at some point or another, we would just give up and quit? Well that's exactly what most of us eventually do.

Let's back up a bit first and take a look at visualizing and the Law of Attraction.

First of all, I would have to say that visualizing is one of the key components to keeping your motivation up - it keeps you focused on your goals and dreams and above all, it keeps your determination up.

Next let's take a closer look at the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction basically tells you to have a positive mindset in everything you do. When you have this mindset, you will take more inspired action or you will see opportunities that you may have never noticed before.

If your visualizations are strong and full of feeling, all the inspired actions you take should take you closer to what it is you want. And since these inspired actions you take will take you closer to your dreams, you will feel as though it really isn't hard work and at times, it's probably more fun than work.

So in essence, "hard work and determination" really is another way of saying "visualizing and The Law of Attraction".

Take Donald Trump for example. Some can say that yes, he put in a lot of "hard work and determination" to get where he is now.

But take a closer look - I'm sure that all of his real estate deals involved some kind of vision on his part...he could probably see what his finished mega project would look like and he probably envisioned it every single day as it was being built. He managed to do everything by having a success mindset - that nothing is impossible and no matter what gets in his way, his deal and projects will get done....that's the Law of Attraction in action.

If you ask Donald Trump if all of his deal making was hard work, he would tell you that it was more fun than anything else and that he actually enjoys deal-making. That is something that the Law of Attraction is based on - doing something that doesn't feel like work because it's inspired action.

So which would you prefer?

"Hard work and determination" - in which case many who take this route fail because hard work is something that most people would rather not do - sure you can work 8 hours and put in an extra 8 hours of overtime a day, but most wouldn't...but I guess if you were determined you could...

or

"Visualization and the Law of Attraction" - in which case you keep your motivation high and any "work" you need to do is more fun than anything else.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather achieve my goals and have fun doing it!

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List Of Lists - 5th Edition

Here is the list of articles that were posted this past week from around the blog-o-sphere that contain lists.

Again, this post is a weekly post that will highlight some of the great posts from my fellow bloggers and gives me an opportunity to give some link love to some great sites out there.

I'll try to concentrate on posts that conform to the theme of this site.

There were plenty of excellent posts this week...here is 5th edition of the List Of Lists:

Personal Development

• 20 Things I Wish I Had Known When Starting Out In Life posted at Zen Habits

• 30 Easy Things You Can Do To Reduce Stress And Balance Your Life posted at Life Balanced

• 5 Ways To Infect Yourself With The Personal Development Virus posted at Today Is That Day

• 5 Ways To Help Your Children Turn Their Dreams Into Reality posted at Pick The Brain

• 10 Steps To Handle Relationship Conflicts posted at Dumb Little Man

• 9 Tips To Clean Your Mental Palette posted at Scott H Young

• 4 Fundamentals To Overcome The Fear Of Change posted at Middle Zone Musings

• 10 Ways To Get Your Kids To Listen Without Yelling, Threatening Or Nagging posted at First Ourselves

• 5 Simple Things You Should Do For Yourself Everyday posted at Charged Audio

• The 3 Steps Of Being Extraordinary posted at Reason 4 Smile

• 3 Sure-Fire Tips To Turn Of Your Negative Mental Chatter posted at Powerfull Living

• 7 Tips To Live A More Spontaneous Life posted at Scott H Young

• 9 Ways To Keep Moving Forward In Life posted at The Next 45 Years

• 8 (Plus 2) Tips To Stay On Track And Reach Your Goals posted at Middle Zone Musings

• 16 Powerful Tips To Overcome Laziness posted at Life Optimizer

• 7 Ways To Redecorate Your Life posted at Positive And Successful Lifestyle Tips

• 10 Reasons Your Child Will Hate Their Life posted at The Next 45 Years

• Top 7 Pearls Of Wisdom From Epictetus posted at The Positivity Blog

• 15 Steps To Success - The Art Of Negotiation posted at Dumb Little Man

• 10 Ways We Hurt Our Romantic Relationships posted at LifeHack.org

Health

• 13 Scientifically Proven Health Benefits Of Exercise posted at Dumb Little Man

• A 12-Step Program To Eating Healthier Than Ever Before posted at Zen Habits

Money/Finances/Business

• 41 Money Facts That Will Blow You Away posted at Virtual Advice

• 10 Signs Of Incompetent Managers posted at WorkBloom

• 20+ Free Passive Income Resources posted at Life Optimizer

• 10 Ways To Become A Wealthy Thinker posted at Change Your Thoughts

• 3 Ways To Show You're A Positive Winner - Why Positivity Wins Promotions posted at The Positivity Blog

• Top 10 Movies For Entrepreneurs posted at Young Entrepreneur

Writing

• 5 Unconventional Ways To Ignite Creativity posted at Lyved

• 8 Ways To Avoid A Blogger's Worst Enemy - Information Overload posted at CopyBlogger

• 10 Tips For Getting Started As A Freelancer posted at Write To Done

Finally, here was a list posted earlier in the week at this site:

• 10 Motivational & Inspirational Movies

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Being A DINK Ain't Half Bad

My wife and I have been asked repeatedly "When are the kids coming?". We've been married for about 3 years now and that question has been asked by family and friends.

But for us, being a D.I.N.K ain't half bad. In fact, I think we rather like being DINKs.

In today's society, more and more couples are becoming DINKs and research shows that year after year, the number of DINKs increase (at least in North America anyways).

So what exactly is a DINK? It's a Dual Income, No Kids (DINK) household, which is exactly what we are.

Being a DINK enables us to plan and schedule things like vacations and road trips whenever we want. We also don't have to worry about things like daycare, tuition, and an extra mouth to feed.

Like so many other North Americans, we are deciding to postpone having children until we are more financially secure, which allows us great freedom in exploring what it is we want to do.

Had we had children a few years ago, I think our lives would be very different and I probably wouldn't have had the flexibility to change careers and to try new things. My wife would have had to give up on some of her hobbies and her pursuit of a side business just to spend more time with the kids.

There are some that tell us that nothing is better in this world that having kids and I can understand their point of view.

In fact, I do want to have kids because I know nothing can bring more joy - but at the same time, I know that having kids will mean we may have to put off some of the things we want to do....some of the things we can enjoy now while our bodies are still young and fit (like scuba diving, long hikes across Europe and Asia).

There are also others that are telling us that we're smart - by traveling the world now before the kids come is probably the most enjoyable way one can spend their vacations because once the kids come out, everything (including your trips and vacations) will center around them.

People are now saying that "60 is the new 40" and "40 is the new 20" and if that's the case, then great! We've got another 10 years to really figure out what life's all about before we actually figure out that it's all about the kids!

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The World's Largest Cruise Ship - The Freedom Of The Seas

When we first started going out on vacations, one of the first things we did was go out on a cruise. We enjoyed it so much that we ended up taking 3 more cruises.

But after a while, we got tired of the cruising atmosphere and we haven't been on one for several years.

However, I wouldn't mind going on a vacation on the world's largest cruise ship - The Freedom Of The Seas.

This Royal Caribbean behemoth services the Western Caribbean and has ports of call in Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Cayman Islands), Montego Bay (Jamaica), and Labadee (Haiti).

The ship itself has a passenger capacity of over 3600, a crew compliment of over 1300, 15 decks with over 154,000 tonnes of pure fun.

For those who have never been on a cruise before, you may be asking - "What on earth is there to do on a cruise? Isn't that for old folks??". My answer - there are plenty of things to do on board...so much in fact, that you may not even want to disembark at the various ports of call!

On the ship itself, you have a mini-shopping mall, a wave machine used for surfing, the largest rock climbing wall on a Royal Caribbean ship, a regulation sized boxing ring, and an ice skating rink!

If that's not enough, there are several bars and restaurants, a full service spa, a waterpark, several swimming pools, a golf simulator, a full casino and game room.

Still not enough? Try a library, a full sized theater, business conference rooms, night clubs, full tennis and basketball courts, a chapel, karaoke lounges, a fully equipped gym, and a 9-hole mini golf course.

On top of that, practically every hour there are several events that are scheduled to occur concurrently along with entertainment and broadway-type shows.

I remember when we first went on our first cruise (it was a Carnival cruise), I remember being simply overwhelmed and the sheer number of things to do and the number of things that were scheduled to take place. I can tell you from experience that cruises are not at all boring.

So the next time we go on a cruise, we'll probably give The Freedom Of The Seas a try. (By the way, if this post seems "busy" with all the photos, that's exactly how you'll feel on any cruise ship!)

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10 Inspirational & Motivational Movies

For me, most movies I watch just feel like a waste of time while others I feel as though I got a little entertainment value from.

But there are some that really make you think about yourself, your life and the path you are currently on. These are the movies that somehow changes the way you think about things and make you really want to take control of your life.

Even if it is a temporary feeling or a life changing one, movies that have the power to move us in such a way should be an inspiration to us all.

We've all encountered movies like these, but here is a list of 10 movies that that have either inspired or motivated me, even if for a short while.

Keep in mind that these are more current movies (I haven't really seen some of the older movies) and that most of these are more mainstream movies. Here they are in no particular order:

1) The Pursuit Of Happyness

This is your classic rags to riches story and one of the reasons this one stands out is that it is based on a true story. It's a story of how someone with so little manages to stay true to himself and how he made it from living on the streets with his son, to multi-millionaire.

As you watch this movie, you sometimes had to ask yourself "How much worse can this guy's life get" and as you watch him struggle on a day to day basis, you just have to admire his determination, his dreams, and his aspirations.

Despite having to work as an unpaid intern with no guarantee of a job afterwards and despite having to compete with some of the elite from various business school, Chris Gardner (whose life the movie is based on) never gave up.

Chris Gardner's story leaves you thinking that if he can do it, so can I.

2) Forrest Gump

Here is a story of a simple minded child that we watch grow up into a man and the sheer number of things he is able to accomplish it astounding. Despite having the IQ of a child, we see Forrest Gump accomplish more things than what most people can ever dream of.

It also gets you thinking - if you were to view life through a child's eye (as was the case with Forrest Gump) with no limiting beliefs, you can really go far.

Had this been based on a real story, Forrest Gump would have been an inspiration to us all!

3) The Family Man

This is a more modern re-make of the classic "It's A Wonderful Life".

Here we find very successful man that can have anything he wants - drives an expensive car, has all the women he wants, and can buy whatever he pleases.

Then one day he finds himself waking up to a family he could have had with an old flame had he made different decisions in life. Even though he seems to struggle living this middle class life, in the end, he learns to love it.

This movie just reminds us of the opportunities that exist for all of us and that we have the power to change our lives significantly depending on which opportunities we choose to follow.

4) The Secret

This is a movie I watched not too long ago and was a real eye opener.

Not really a movie and not really a documentary, it consists of several interviews with well respected people from around the world and is mainly about having a success-intended mind and explains why is it that people who constantly find themselves in bad situations never seem to get out and how one can turn it around.

It explain such things as the law of attraction and the power of the mind and after watching this movie, you are bound to feel and think differently on your approach to love, life, wealth, and success.

5) The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

Okay - you might be wondering what this trilogy is doing here, but if you take a look at the story, it truly is inspiring.

First, take a look at some of the main characters: hobbits - who are a type of people that live in underground dwellings in close knit communities and rarely venture outside their own lands. They live a simple life and could care less of the dealing of outsiders.

They are somewhat ignorant as to what lay outside their lands and most of their knowledge comes by way of rumors or extravagant stories.

But here you have two hobbits who travel far and wide and encounter countless obstacles, beasts and enemies to save the entire land.

With so many other powerful creatures that roam the land, how is it that these two small people, with no special skills or experience, can accomplish so much. No matter how dire their situation was, they were determined and never gave up - something we can all learn from.

6) Glory

If you haven't seen this multi-academy award winning movie, I'll give you a brief description.

Based on a true story, this all-star cast (Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick) delivers a truly amazing performance about the 54th Massachusetts infantry - an all volunteer, all black regiment - one of the first during the Civil War.

In a fight to abolish slavery, this regiment was in essence fighting for their freedom and despite the lack of equipment and experience, and despite resentment from other white regiments and the Union army, they prevailed.

Eventually they fought and suffered major casualties but were proud to lead the charge at Fort Wagner - a strategic military target. Their success led to the raising of other all black regiments, which helped the Union eventually win the Civil War.

It was truly an inspiring movie about those who were willing to fight to the death in something they believed in.

7) Saving Private Ryan

Amidst all the horror of World War II, we find a small band of men whose sole purpose is to find one man (Private Ryan) deep in enemy territory to tell him he can go home (because 3 of his brothers were killed in action).

Eventually, most of these men will lose their lives just to save this one person. At the time, Private Ryan refuses to go back and seems somewhat ungrateful for what this small group of men had to go through.

It is only when Private Ryan is old and gray does he realize what that small group of men did for him and as we see Private Ryan with his family and grandchildren do we really see what their sacrifice meant.

8) Star Wars (Episodes I - VI)

Well what can I say? Star Wars in and of itself was not so much inspiring, but it was the philosophies of the Jedi which seemed so universal that it could have applied to life in general.

Really listen and take heed of what the Jedi were trying to teach to it's disciples - focus, discipline, emotional management, and social conduct were among the recurring themes and even though the Jedi had powers that were superior to mere mortals, their philosophies can ring true in your life.

9) The Matrix

The thing I like about the Matrix is that it has you thinking outside the box. You think about the main character and how he had to release and let go of all his limiting beliefs and how he had to realize that he was ultimately in control.

It was also interesting to see Neo (the main character) taking his first steps in learning about the truth and how Morpheus guides him to change his thinking. By making Neo believe he was faster, and making him believe he could do it, and making him break his limiting beliefs, he was able to achieve things that he thought were impossible.

"Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve" were the famous words written by Napoleon Hill and in The Matrix, we really see it in action.

In one scene, Morpheus tells Neo "Don't think you are faster - know you are faster" - a line that blew me away when I recently re-watched the movie because it is this kind of thinking that the Law of Attraction and success gurus always preach.

10) Minority Report

Alright - some of you may not have seen this one, so I'll give a brief overview (there may be some spoilers below so don't read it if you really want to watch the movie).

Minority Report takes place in the not too distant future where they have created a machine that can look into the future. People can sort of see fuzzy images and actions that will occur in the near future and thus a new crime division is setup to stop crimes before they actually happen.

We see these "pre-crime" cops arrest individuals for crimes they have yet to commit.

Problems arise when this machine shows evidence of a crime that will be committed by one of their own.

What makes this movie inspirational is that despite all the evidence and everything that was seen about the imminent future, the main character is able to make a decision that ultimately alters what is about to happen.

Even though the main character and everyone else really believes that the crime will be committed by him, he breaks his limiting beliefs by truly believing that he has the power to control his destiny (despite all the evidence otherwise).

So there you have it - 10 movies that make you want to take control of your life. If you have any suggestions, please leave them via comments and I'll be sure to try to watch them and I may post a part 2 of this list!

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Successfully Manifested...2,500 Visitors To My Site

Late Monday night, this site surpassed the 2500 visitors mark for the month of February, thus accomplishing one of my goals for this site.

First I'd like to thank all the carnivals out there (once again) for including me in their wonderful carnivals and to all those other carnivals that considered my posts.

Secondly I'd like to thank all those who Dugg, Reddited, Shouted, Stumbled, Delicious'd, Propelled or did any other social thingy on my posts.

I'll see where this site sits at the end of this month before I decide what the next target should be.

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Profiles Of Success - J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling (left, photo: AFP) is probably one of the most famous female authors around. She's the writer behind the huge best selling book (and movie) series Harry Potter.

But it wasn't always easy for Rowling, as she would have to overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where she is today. At one point, she was living on welfare, was a single parent, and was diagnosed with clinical depression...yet somehow she managed to pull through to become one of the richest female authors in history.

J.K. Rowling is this famous author's pen name - her real name is Joanne Rowling (the "K" doesn't stand for anything) and was born 1965 in England.

Her childhood was fairly typical and she ended up studying French and Classics at the University of Exeter.

Back in 1990, the Harry Potter idea came to her while she was delayed on a trip and as soon as she got home, started writing immediately. Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series were loosely based on some of her acquaintances while she was at school and Hermione (one of the female characters in the Harry Potter series) was said to have been loosely based on J.K. Rowling herself.

Rowling later moved to Portugal to teach English and in 1992, married a Portuguese journalist. Shortly thereafter, her daughter was born and around the same time, she ended up divorcing her husband.

Then in 1994, she moved back to Scotland where she was unemployed and lived on welfare for a while...around the same time, she was diagnosed with clinical depression. Some of what was going on in her real life was reflected in some of her writing in the Harry Potter series.

Rowling ended up worked long hours at different cafes and shops and continued writing whenever she could.

Finally in 1995, she completed the first Harry Potter book and submitted it to 12 different publishing houses - all of whom rejected her book. A year later, she finally found a small publishing house, Bloomsbury who decided to publish her work.

Once the first Harry Potter book was published, it quickly won several book awards and prizes and Bloomsbury (the publishing house) had to quickly print more books because only 1000 books were initially printed.

From there, everything has been picture perfect for her and she would go on to complete 7 books in the series, all of which have become (or will become) bestsellers and huge movie hits.

The Harry Potter brand is said to be worth $15 billion and Rowling herself worth over $1 billion.
She is now one of the richest women in the world and as her Harry Potter series comes to a close, she can now do what ever it is she desires as her success with both the books and the movies are things that are well deserved.

J.K. Rowling is yet another example of someone who truly believed in what she was doing and refused to accept the idea of failure, despite being rejected multiple times. With her back against the wall, there was nowhere for her to go but forward - something we can all learn from.

For more information and bios of J.K. Rowling, check out the following links:

J.K. Rowling at Wikipedia
J.K. Rowling Profile at January Magazine
J.K. Rowling Bio at eSsortment
J.K. Rowling Biography at Biography Online

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A Brief Primer On The Law Of Attraction

This site has made many references to the Law Of Attraction and to some of those readers who do not really know what it's all about, this post is for you!

How It All Got Started

Back when I had my trading blog, I kept close tabs on all the other trading blogs out there and several of these traders mentioned the movie "The Secret". Many were saying how inspiring it was to them and how they were going to apply it's techniques.

I followed some links that some of these trading blogs had to the movie's website and I originally thought it looked too spiritual and too cult-like for my tastes and didn't explore it any further.

At the time, I didn't really know what the big fuss was all about. Others kept mentioning the movie "The Secret", but I wouldn't bother reading they had written about it.

The Discovery

One day, for whatever reason, I decided to browse around at Amazon.com as I was looking for some inspirational reads and I came across "The Secret" movie. I decided I would keep an open mind and I'll order it just to see what exactly the fuss is all about.

"The Secret" is not really a movie per se - it's more of a documentary with interviews from many well respected people from around the world as they share how to utilize "The Secret" and how it works.

I cannot tell you what an impact that movie had on my life. It was a new way of thinking for me and after I had finished watching it, I suggested to my wife that she watch it too.

That night we watched the movie together and I could tell from her expression that it was eye-opening for her as well. After the movie, we both stayed up all night talking about how the things that had happened to our lives up till that point really did seem to follow "The Secret" to the letter.

A Brief Primer On The Law Of Attraction

Okay, this is just going to be a very brief primer on the Law of Attraction and by no means is it going to be comprehensive.

First and foremost, you must know that everything in this universe is made up of energy. Whether it's a rock, a piece of wood, or even your body - each of these things are made up of atoms and ions and when you get down to the smallest part, it is essentially just energy.

What are thoughts? Thoughts are just impulses of energy sent throughout a bunch of nerve cells in your brain.

So what is "The Secret" from the movie? It's one of the most fundamental law in the universe - the Law Of Attraction.

The Law Of Attraction simply states that "like attracts like".

In a nutshell, if you have positive thoughts, you attract positive things. If you constantly have negative thoughts, you will attract negative things in your life. Whatever you think about the most, you will get more of.

As an example, if you are in debt and you are constantly thinking about how much in debt you are, then you will never be able to get out of debt because of your thoughts.

But if your thoughts are about success or about happiness, you will attract more of these things in your life.

Whatever it is you are thinking about, the Universe will slowly re-arrange the energy around us to eventually give us whatever we think most about - essentially it's our thoughts that are attracting the things around us.

What About All The Bad Stuff?

Some of you might be thinking about all the bad things that happen in life. You might be thinking "I didn't want to get injured in that accident" or "I didn't want to get sick".

According to pundits of the Law Of Attraction, you did indeed attract it...it may have been a limiting belief you had or perhaps it was something you thought about in the past or perhaps it was something that you were constantly worrying about.

Even the thought of avoidance will attract it to you. If you are constantly thinking "I don't want to be in a car accident", then guess what, you are thinking about a car accident and the Law of Attraction will bring it to you. Likewise, if you're thinking "I don't want to be in debt", the Law of Attraction will bring you more because debt is what you are thinking about the most.

Also think about the diseases one can get - most of it relates to stress and/or other things we do to our bodies that are unhealthy. What causes one to have stress and/or do things unhealthy to their bodies (smoke, drink, drugs, overeat)? Most of it stems from unhealthy, negative emotions which in turn causes disease and is your body's way of physically manifesting all that negative energy.

Learn to restructure your thoughts and you'll become a more positive person.

Why It Appealed To Me

Many of the world's greatest leaders, politicians, and scientists utilize this train of thought and most religions from around the world are based on this premise.

We would all like to believe that there is a power that is greater than us all and since I'm an atheist, I like knowing that it's the Universe that is providing for me (and I don't have to affiliate myself with any type of religion).

For others who do have a religious affiliation, you can just as easily substitute "Universe" with "God" or "Holy Spirit" or any number of other names.

Some Final Thoughts

One of the key things to get it working for you is to visualize yourself having whatever it is you desire. If it's a new house you want, then you have to visualize yourself living in it. If it's a new car you want, visualize yourself driving it.

Why? Several studies have shown that when people visualize something, their bodies react as if what they are visualizing is real - this helps set you up for success in manifesting what it is you want. The main thing you have to do is to feel the emotions in your visualizations.

Overall, I'd have to say that The Law Of Attraction is mainly just a state of mind that helps you achieve success and if by doing the visualizations and the positive thinking helps you get into that state of mind, then so be it. I will continue to do these things if not for the success it may bring, than for myself.

I've written about how it I applied it (without knowing it) and attracted the things that I wanted so hopefully you can find it in yourself to manifest the things you want.

There are a lot of resources out there about the Law of Attraction, but probably the best source for you to start from is to actually watch the movie "The Secret". Keep in mind though, many authors and Law of Attraction followers believe that "The Secret" is a good introduction, while many others believe that "The Secret" was too wishy washy and that many of the things explained in the movie needed to be further expanded.

My suggestion - watch the movie, then get your hands on some books about the topic.

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List Of Lists - 4th Edition

Here is the list of articles that were posted this past week from around the blog-o-sphere that contain lists.

Again, this post is a weekly post that will highlight some of the great posts from my fellow bloggers and gives me an opportunity to give some link love to some great sites out there.

I'll try to concentrate on posts that conform to the theme of this site.


Another week, another great set of posts by my fellow bloggers....here they are:

Personal Development

• 75 Questions To Ask Yourself posted at Lyved

• 7 Steps To Turn Your Self-Improvement Desires Into Reality posted at Zen Habits

• 10 Timeless Lessons On Better Thinking posted at Life Optimizer

• 5 Ways To Deal With Irresponsible People (T.H.U.M.P.) posted at LifeHack.org

• 4 Pillars Of Effective Growth posted at We The Change

• 5 Time Tested Techniques To Control And Calm Your Mind posted at The Positivity Blog

• 12 Tips To Improve Your Listening Skills (And Relationships) Instantly posted at Life Balanced

• 10 Biggest Influences On Zen Habits posted at Zen Habits

• 20 Things I'm Glad Life Taught Me posted at Dumb Little Man

• 20 Tips For Staying Positive And Productive posted at Craig Harper

• 22 Sure-Fire Igniters For Inspiration posted at The Next 45 Years

• 7 Tips For Fighting Information Overload posted at The Blog Of Tim Ferris

• 50 Tricks To Get Things Done Faster, Better, And More Easily posted at LifeHack.org

• 10 Tips For Life's Greatest Challenge: Love Thy Enemy posted at Zen Habits

• 9 Ways To Play posted at Slow Down Fast

• 5 Ways To Make Valentine's Day Last All Year Long posted at We The Change

• 8 Ways To Return To The Present Moment posted at The Positivity Blog

• 5 Lessons From Indiana Jones posted at Lyved

• 7 Most Significant Lessons Of 2007 posted at John's Place Online

Health

• 8 Ways To Get Better Sleep posted at A Miracle A Day

• 7 Food Hacks To Stay Alert Without Caffeine posted at Zen Habits

Travel

• Top 5 Dessert Stops In NYC posted at Luxist

• 60 Tips On Traveling With Pets - The Ultimate Guide posted at Travel Hacker

Finances/Business

• 20 Money-Saving Tips For The Grocery Store posted at Frugal Dad

• 9 Things You're Paying For That You Can Get For Free (Legally) posted at Scott H. Young

• 10 Things To Never Say To Your Boss posted at AskMen.com

• 9 Secrets To Building Relationships Outside The Office posted at LifeHack.org

Writing

• 5 Inspirational Hacks For Creative People posted at Zen Habits

• 10 Ways To Get Into The Writing Zone posted at Change Your Thoughts

• 10 Tips On Building A Personal Library posted at Tip Diva

Finally, here is a list that was posted here on this site earlier this week:

• 10 Things I Hate About The Web

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Scenic Break...The 7 Continents

We live in a magnificent and wondrous world with so much beauty that we should all be thankful for.

I'd like to take a moment to reflect upon this beauty and from time to time I'll post up pictures from each of the 7 continents of the world.

Grand Canyon, North America - photo by Barbara L. Slavin

Amazon Rainforest, South America - photo by caitlinread

Sahara Desert, Africa - photo by gbaku

Swiss Alps, Europe - photo by dino_olivieri

Great Wall Of China, Asia - photo by chasingtheflow

Great Barrier Reef, Australia - photo by richard ling

Neko Harbour, Antarctica - photo by Rita Willaert

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