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* Inside This Issue:

• Editor's Note -John Pistorius

• This Week's Jumpstart -Denis Waitley

• "The Rest of the Story" by John Pistorius

• Medicare Part D Consumer Guide

• Your Date with Destiny -Chris Widener

• No Matter How Busy You Are. . . -Jim Rohn

• Release the Shackles of Mediocrity -Lisa Jimenez M.Ed.

• Word Wealth

• Using Your Head -Ending Procrastination by Jim Rohn

• Trivia

• A little Levity

• Nasty Deal To Cut Low-Income Programs Now Facing Final Vote:

• Department of Education Press Release-No Child Left Behind

• Motivational Tip For The Day -Jan Tincher

• Support Group Development Tools -Free help for starting or running peer groups

• Upcoming Support Group Meetings

• Thank You!

• B-NEWS Subscriber Policy

• Subscribe/Unsubscribe Instructions

• ETC.

* Editor's Note

 

Hi Folks,

Usually, I keep my Editor’s message short. But it has been awhile since I’ve written to you. I believe this message is important enough to keep it as it is.

In my various volunteer roles within peer support and advocacy for persons with disabilities, I receive many requests for information. Once in awhile, I meet someone who really doesn’t understand cognitive impairments. If they indicate that they want to understand better, I do my best to enlighten them, but sometimes my efforts are wasted. I’m learning not to throw pearls before the swine. They only trample them in the filth that they wallow in.

 

Harsh words? Perhaps. Yet, I believe they are fitting to describe the types of abuse, ignorance and "don't care" attitude that I experience from people who should know better.

I also meet people who would like to use me and the folks that I represent for their own purposes and profit. Early in my involvement, I fell for the deception these users were selling. In recent years though, I’ve become quite wary of the deceivers and I avoid them. Nevertheless, occasionally, I’ve let my guard down. And that’s when I’ve let them get close enough for me to smell them.

Most recently, I permitted myself to be drawn into one of these negative situations. I was asked to speak about my experiences with TBI. I believed that my participation would benefit others who are traveling the recovery path post TBI. Nevertheless, the oppressive, disrespectful attitude of the person who was running the dog and pony show brought me to my senses. I thanked them for reminding me of why I avoid such things.

 

Even the best dressed wolves in sheep clothes have wolf droppings that are unlike sheep droppings. I’m especially good at spotting their crap. It really stinks!

This person’s behavior and the way they treated me, reminded me of some of the most important points that need to be made to the general public. I told them a secret that might come as a surprise to many people. However, I love adventure and the look of surprise that comes over a person’s face when I share this secret. I really enjoy the shock value. It charges me up!

To read what I said to them, please go to “The Rest of the Story.”

By the way, thanks for hanging in there since the previous newsletter. I appreciate your loyalty.

Till next time-
Be and remain barrier-free!

John Pistorius

 

 

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by Denis Waitley

Be willing to say to yourself, "I'm on the right road. I'm doing OK. I'm succeeding." We too frequently become adept at pointing out our flaws and identifying failures. Become equally adept at citing your achievements. Identify things you are doing now that you weren’t doing one month ago… six months ago… a year ago. What habits have changed? Chart your progress.

Doing well once or twice is relatively easy. Continuously moving ahead is tough, in part, because we so easily revert to old habits and former lifestyles. Over the long run, you need to give yourself regular feedback to monitor your performance and reinforce yourself positively. Don't wait for an award ceremony, promotion, friend or mentor to show appreciation for your work. Take pride in your own efforts on a daily basis.

-- Denis Waitley

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* “The Rest of the Story.”

by John Pistorius

 

Last month, against my better judgment, I rearranged my schedule to meet with a person who wanted to learn more about cognitive disabilities. I spent the morning preparing for the meeting. I called in advance to confirm the meeting time. The person that I was to meet with told me that our interview would start at 11:00 A.M. and that it would last about thirty minutes.

 

I spent my time and fuel to drive to the meeting place. I arrived about ten minutes early. Upon arriving, I found the waiting room to be cold. Two other people were waiting. I busied myself with some reading and chit-chat with the two other's in the room. I waited there for an hour before I checked the time.

 

The person who scheduled to meet with me was busy meeting with someone else. I decided to leave. When I returned home, my wife told me that this person had called to ask me to come back. They did not offer an apology. They didn't offer to pay for my fuel. They didn't offer to compensate me for my time. They only wanted to fill their schedule for that day.

 

I laughed.

 

At that point, nothing could encourage me to return. That’s like putting a lit match on my skin and then asking me to voluntarily subject myself to it again. I’m laughing now, as I write this.

 

Here is a news flash:

We are human beings. If you tell someone that you will meet with them at a particular time and that the meeting will last for an approximate time, keep to the schedule. Our lives do not revolve around single appointments.

 

Doctors, nurses, moms, dads, husbands, wives, dentists, grocers, auto mechanics and all others beware.

We are not carrots, cabbage and celery. Nor are we peas, corn and broccoli. We are not objects to be pulled from a shelf to be used at the whim of anyone else. And we are not disposable. We do not lay still for those who want to make salad of us and we never go with the flow of the in-sink-disposal.
 

So, what did I tell them? Are you ready? Please brace yourself.

This is what I told them:

“Contrary to popular myth, persons who have experienced brain injuries and the resulting cognitive impairments do manage to live active, productive lives. (Surprised?)

We eat, we breathe, we have schedules and don't let me forget, we have sex. That’s a real shocker for many people, especially those with paternalistic attitudes!"

 

According to them, we are not supposed to breed. They don’t want us to pass our ‘vegetable’ disease onto our kids, you know? Our kids might eat dirt! Oh, I know, they do not believe we are capable of having lives. But it's true. We are alive!

 

We have risen from the vegetable garden and we live! The ‘vegetable’ mongers portray us as helpless victims, forever doomed to be salad material or sheep-like. But we have risen from the victim role that they shoved us into.

They would have us behave like sheep to their wolf impressions. Unfortunately for them, many of us learn how to overcome the oppressive, undignified and often abusive treatment. Once we get ourselves out of their garden, we help others to dig themselves out too. And the gardeners really hate that. It reminds me of the artificial intelligence in the movie entitled Matrix. The machines really became irate with the folks who figured out how they had been asleep and had been used by the machines.

We have learned the concept of empowerment which was pioneered by our friend and ally, Andrea Williams. Others have stolen her ideas and published them as their own, but Andrea developed these ideas.

 

In return for our liberation actions, they label us noncompliant. (That’s a big word to negatively describe us for not doing everything they want us to do when they want us to do it.)

I like to tell them to go to the light. And I laugh inwardly. I think it's the blank stares that really impress me.

 

Respect and dignity are important to us. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This is a critical part of interacting with persons who experience cognitive impairments.

 

Cognitive Accessibility

That appointment was a clear example of cognitive inaccessibility. The questions this person had compiled for the interrogation and the manner in which they conducted the entire process were blatantly inaccessible for persons with cognitive impairments. If I had not been disrespected and excluded, I might have been able to help them learn how to improve access for folks with cognitive disabilities. But then I might have just been dumping good pearls into the mud under their feet.

This was a vivid reminder of how persons who are ignorant of cognitive impairments disrespect those who experience them. The treatment that I received was undignified and disrespectful. Yet, my response to that treatment was to use my power to stop their abuse. And that was the best thing that I could do under the circumstances.

 

My experience there gave me another bit of information to add to my collection of examples of cognitive inaccessibility. I'll have plenty of examples to share when I expose the truth of how hostile and inaccessible our society is to folks with cognitive impairments.
 

Who really has the power?

I know that many people in positions of false power over us believe that we are supposed to sit around and wait until they get to us. But those of us who know better don’t just sit there. We leave. We pull ourselves up by the root-straps and we leave. What really makes me laugh is how they respond. Some get angry. Others become confused. They have difficulty believing that one of "us" can rebel like this. I'm reminded of Rosa Parks' refusal to give her seat away to one of those oppressors.

My experience that day brought to mind the medical community. They schedule appointments for specific times and then schedule others to arrive at the same time. Works for them, right? Well it does not work for us.

 

As we fight for and receive improvements in the funding of medical services and revisions in the current oppressive system, they will be coming to us like a door-to-door shoe salesman and the guys who sell brushes and sweepers. If they want what we offer to exchange with them for whatever they offer us, then they will need to keep the appointment. If we control the money, and they want to receive it, they need to accommodate us. I can hear medical company employees and administrators gasping at the thought.

Anytime the control of the money is put into the hands of the companies that sell services, they rule over the buyers of those services. This is one of the fundamental problems with our entire healthcare industry in these United States of America. Service has become poor or nonexistent because the buyers are not in control of the payment. However, once we succeed in wrestling the control of the purse strings from those who manipulate them now, we will also proceed to systematically improve the industry.

How will we do this? By moving the money away from poor performers, charlatans and snake oil salesman. And by purchasing our medical goods and services from other suppliers when we receive poor service.

Are they fighting the changes? You bet! But government funding cuts and pressures from insurance companies are making it necessary to reduce costs. This is a powerful force behind the shift from provider control over funding to customer control. (In the business of healthcare, the customer is the end-user of products or services, regardless of who pays for them.)

 

Cure-All?

Will we still have to face poor performers, pirates, charlatans and snake oil salesman? No doubt. First, because the current controllers of healthcare will simply change their costumes. And others will come along too. And some will continue to try to highjack the money by taking control of the waterways where it flows. (They call the source of the money "funding streams.") Nevertheless, in our free economy, when the people control the money, prices go down and service can be improved.

 

Savings and improvements in the services will benefit every taxpaying citizen of this great land.

Wall-Mart is a terrific example of free-market business. When you walk into Wall-Mart, you are not forced to buy things that you don’t want or need at inflated prices. Instead, you choose what you want and you can be reasonably sure that the price you pay is competitive. No one forces you to shop at the super-center. You do so to receive value in exchange for value given.

Sometimes smaller sized businesses can beat the big guys by giving customers personalized service and convenience. Healthcare was like that once upon a time. The Doc made house calls. Now, the healthcare 'super-center' employee schedules you along with ten other people for the same time frame and you sit in the waiting room until they can get to you.

 

I predict that this will begin to change as soon as the customers gain control over where and how they spend their healthcare money. And that will shift the power from seller to buyer, which is where it should be. This might not be a cure-all, but it certainly will move us closer to the way business should be operated.

Here is a tip:

Nothing that they have to offer beats self-empowerment. Nothing.

 

Real Value

Time is the only thing that has any real value in our lives. I’m learning to reserve my time for the people I love and the things that I enjoy. I refuse to waste time doing things that I don’t enjoy. Waiting for inconsiderate people whose egos are out of control is at the top of my list of things not to do. However, if it were not for those people, I’d have less to write about. And I really enjoy writing! So I must thank them for their selfish, egotistical, manipulative ways. It really benefits me!

I love the people that I represent. Therefore, I refuse to subject them to the type of disrespect, abuse and inaccessibility that I’ve experienced and others have told me about regarding the project the inconsiderate person scheduled to meet with me about. Otherwise, I might have included a notice about it in this newsletter.

Clearly, this person and I value my time differently. Therefore, I told them that I’d require financial compensation if they wanted to receive any more value from me. Otherwise, we would have nothing more to discuss. And that suits me fine because I can spend my time writing about these experiences to my subscribers.

 

And that really works for me.

John Pistorius

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Available to Assist People with Disabilities in Navigating Medicare Part D Drug Coverage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Bob Williams: rrw1957@gmail.com
Jeffrey S. Crowley: 202-687-0652 (jsc26@georgetown.edu)

Understanding Changes in Prescription Drug Coverage for People
with Disabilities on Medicare (Prepared by Jeffrey S. Crowley,
Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, with Bob
Williams, Advancing Independence)
www.aapd.com/News/medicaredrugcoverage/downloads/disRxGuide.pdf

Washington, DC - Advancing Independence, a disability-focused
policy organization, released today a new guide, Understanding
Changes in Prescription Drug Coverage for People with
Disabilities on Medicare: A Guide for People with Disabilities,
Benefits Counselors, Disability Organizations and Others On
Transitioning to the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit.
While many organizations are developing helpful materials to
assist Medicare beneficiaries through this transition, this guide
was written specifically to address special concerns of people
with disabilities. The guide was written in a question and answer
format and includes worksheets that individuals can use in
consulting their physicians about current pharmaceutical use and
in comparing and selecting a plan that meets their needs.

Medicare plays a critical role in enhancing the health and
independence of nearly 15 million people with disabilities of all
ages most of whom rely extensively on prescription medications.
It is essential that they be able to make the best use of the new
Medicare prescription drug benefit, said Bob Williams, Principal
of Advancing Independence and a co-author of the report.

Given all of the recent media coverage of fear and confusion on
the part of Medicare beneficiaries trying to make sense of the
complex details of this program and the extraordinary number of
plan choices, we hope that this guide can be a useful tool for
people with disabilities, their family members, and others who
will assist them in enrolling in a Medicare drug plan, added
Jeffrey Crowley, Senior Research Scholar at the Georgetown Health
Policy Institute and a co-author of the report.

The report was a collaborative effort between Advancing
Independence and the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown
University. Free copies of the guide can be obtained in PDF and
HTML formats at http://hpi.georgetown.edu/rxchanges.html.
Financial support for the guide was provided to Advancing
Independence by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America (PhRMA).

# # #

DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information
of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue in
the disability community. Information circulated does not
necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is
non-partisan.

JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available
at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/

Gwen Gillenwater, Moderator, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the
American Association of People with Disabilities.

JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national
coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at
http://www.aapd.com.

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* Your Date with Destiny

Charting Your Course to Success Article

by Chris Widener

Destiny. What a powerful word. And the great thing about it? Everyone has one! You have a destiny! Another great thing about destiny? We have a significant role in shaping our own destiny! In essence, you can choose your date with destiny - powerful!

Your destiny is the dream that lies within you of your desired and preferred future. And the things that we choose each day are what lead us to that destiny: Our actions, our words, our attitudes, and our relationships. They all add up to develop and shape that date on which we will reach our destiny.

Here are some thoughts to think about as you work on shaping your Date with Destiny:

The Mental Question: Do you believe that you can achieve a life of abundance? The frank truth is that many people simply do not believe that they can achieve what lies in their heart. Success is for someone else, a better person, or a smarter person. This is not true and is perhaps the greatest obstacle we face on the journey to our destiny. If we are to achieve the abundance in life we must first believe we can, or face our own continual self-sabotage of what a college professor of mine called "stinkin'-thinkin.'"

Here is the truth:
It doesn't matter what your intelligence is.
It doesn't matter what your current resources are.
It doesn't matter what you currently earn.
It doesn't matter what family you came from.

Nothing in your current circumstances matter in whether or not you can achieve your destiny! Nothing! Now, your current state may make it a longer or harder journey than someone else, but the possibility is always there no matter what your current circumstances are.

And that is the message we need to continually tell ourselves. "I can do it." Not "I can't do it."

Clear vision. Do you have one of your destiny? Here are some questions to determine whether or not your vision is clear.

Can you describe it in intricate detail?
Can you "see" it?
Can you "feel" it?
Can you "hear" it?

Here are a couple of illustrations.

Perhaps you came from a dysfunctional family and your dream is to have great moments with your family. Let's start with a Thanksgiving meal. Can you see each person there? What are they wearing? Are they smiling? What is the conversation? Can you hear the laughter? Can you experience the joy? Can you smell the turkey? Can you see people hugging each other and saying "This was wonderful," as they leave?

Another scenario: Your company. Can you see the large building you are in? Can you see the workers? Can you feel the positive attitude they have as they carry out their work? Can you experience the excitement as you get the quarterly results? Can you see yourself handing out healthy bonuses that bring pleasant surprises to your employees?

This is where it begins. A clear vision of your destiny.

Consider your resources. Are you aware of the resources you will need in order to set your date with destiny? Do you know how you will go about getting them? What are your natural gifts and talents that you have? How can you best utilize them in achieving your destiny?

What are your current level of resources?
Money?
Time?
Emotional health?
Help from others such as friends, family, employees or volunteers?

What will be your needed future level of resources? And have you developed a plan to achieve this level?

The last thing I would encourage you to do is fix a date in the future that you believe you could believe you will be living your destiny by. A real date. What this enables you to do is then begin to work backwards in setting goals to move you along the way, proving you with future points to strive for and evaluation point to reflect upon.

Here are the points again:

Answer the mental question: Do I really believe?

Develop a clear vision.

Consider the resources needed.

Set a date with destiny.

Develop a plan to get there.


Chris Widener


Chris Widener is an internationally recognized speaker, author and radio host. If you are interested in booking him to speak at your next event, please go to http://www.chriswidener.com or send an email to speaker@chriswidener.com or call 877-929-0439 and ask for Hilary

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No matter how busy you are, try to find some time over the next two weeks to reflect, think, give and plan.

The week between Christmas and New Year's is the ideal time for this. Try to slow things down. Spend time with the ones you love and care about. Take some time to talk with your spouse and kids about goals and dreams for the year 2006. Use this as a time to recharge your batteries, not just by watching TV the entire time, but to seriously and with excitement think about a handful of changes or additions you want for your life in 2006.

I believe you will find the act of reflecting, thinking, dreaming and planning (with your family) to be one of the most important exercises you can do that will positively impact the next 12 months.

And remember, do not neglect to commit yourself to set this time aside or you will find that the business of life can and will get in the way.

So let's all take a moment to gather up the past year of victories and defeats, growing as well as those times of stagnation and use it to wipe a clean slate and thoughtfully design the next year the way we truly desire it to be.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
 

*Release the Shackles of Mediocrity!

 by Lisa Jimenez

Imagine a BIG production company came to you with a huge budget and a line-up of the biggest names in Hollywood to make a movie of your life.

Tell me. Would anyone want to go see it?

And, if they did, would it be pegged as a great adventure; filled with outrageous risk and incredible quests? Would it be a famous suspense movie; peppered with dramatic events where you turned victim to victory? Would it be an empowering love story - a heart-warming example of a person who knows how to really love?

In other words.

Are you living a life worth watching?

And If not, why not? What's keeping you from really living?

In all the research I did for my book Conquer Fear! I noticed a common thread weaving within every success story. Every person had some amount of hidden fear they had to deal with in order to breakthrough mediocrity. And they were willing to do it!

We've already spoken extensively about hidden fears being the biggest culprit that hold you back and keep you from really living. (If you need strategies to overcome this, get a copy of "Conquer Fear!") What I want to talk about in this Success Report is something beyond that.

It's about living in mediocrity.

In a recent radio interview I did, several people called in to ask why they can't make their life work. They can't seem to stay motivated and focused long enough to create a breakthrough success. I've had countless people share their lack-luster lives with me and ask, "What is wrong with me?"

Have you ever asked that question before? How many times have you set a goal for yourself that you are excited about, and then, within a very short time you get sidetracked and stop doing the things you know you need to?

Are you lazy? Do you lack discipline?

I don't think it is either of these. I believe it is your beliefs about letting yourself really live - really love - really succeed! Many people think they're just not meant to live an outrageous life. And that belief holds them in bondage of mediocrity!

When I was a little girl, my parents would often visit some special friends. These friends had a daughter named Michelle whom everyone (including my parents) affectionately called, "The Princess." Well, I guess there can only be one princess because I was referred to as, "The Duchesse." I can still remember how much I hated that nickname. Now, mind you, I know a Duchesse is royalty. But, in my five year old little mind the Duchesse did not symbolize royalty. To me it clearly meant "second place". I began to see myself as second place.

Fast forward 5 years. I'm in my first dance competition. What place do you think I came in? - Second place!

Fast forward 10 years. I'm in my first beauty pageant. What place do you think I came in? - Second place!

Then, the next year I'm in the Miss Teen USA contest. I've completed all but one final competition. The reigning queen approaches me during the break and says, "Lisa, you've got this thing. Just go out there and give a great interview and you're going to win!" The interview process was my strongest ability. This was going to be a sure thing. But when I took hold of the microphone, I froze. All I can remember saying is a bunch of unintelligible words and soon the announcement came. Lisa Jimenez - first runner-up - SECOND PLACE!

It was a self-fulfilled prophecy of my beliefs. I just didn't see myself as first place.

What about you? Do you have any silly childhood nicknames or past experiences that are limiting you? What are they? Are you willing to expose them - deal with them - and breakthrough them? Until you break free from these lies they will limit your success and keep you in mediocrity.

When I finally realized I had created a pattern of second place, I began changing that belief. I began seeing myself in first place and that helped me behave like a first place winner - which helped me become first place.

Several months into my breakthrough, I received a little box tied with a satin ribbon from Michelle's mom. Inside this box was a tiny princess carriage made of gold. It came with a note that read, "Lisa, you are always a princess to me." I keep this tiny, golden carriage out in my office. It reminds me that I am created for first place! It gives me the courage to surround myself with people that SEE me (and themselves) as "first place" too.

How do you see yourself? When you look in the mirror at your reflection, what and who do you see? Do you see that childhood nickname, those past failures, painful regrets, second place?

Or do you see a National Sales Director? A multi-millionaire? A loving friend? A powerful entrepreneur? Do you see yourself as "First Place"?

Your personal perception of yourself defines your reality.

It's true that success is the combination of belief and time. The more belief you have, the less time it takes.

Cultivate your internal value! And surround yourself with others who hold you accountable to your greatness - and their own!

I want this success report to be an electric current of energy that will motivate you to throw yourself out into the world to make a difference - a big difference. It's about tuning in and turning on. And you begin this process by believing you are meant to achieve great things. Only you can release the shackles of mediocrity.

What bold, outrageous difference will you make this last month of the year that will greatly contribute to yourself and to others? What steps do you need to take today to begin?

Make it a great month and leave 2005 with a bang!

Richest blessings,

LISA!
Lisa Jimenez M.Ed.


Conquer your hidden fears of prospecting and create an unstoppable mindset!

Lisa Jimenez has helped thousands of top salespeople shatter their self-limiting beliefs and finally get the breakthrough success they want. When it comes to personal productivity and creating unstoppable momentum - there is no one better for you than Lisa. Lisa penetrates the hearts of your audience when she reveals her own experience of how she broke through self-limiting beliefs and turned them into the driving force behind her success. Then used these new beliefs to sign a six-figure consulting contract just 9 months later. To order Lisa's best-selling 'Conquer Fear! Ending Procrastination and Self Sabotage to Achieve What You Really Want' package go to http://jr2.jimrohn.com or call 800-929-0434.
 

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The three most dangerous words on earth is most probably "I Know That". Simply because it instantly shuts your mind off, and you stop listening and learning immediately.

You only know something if you live it. Otherwise you heard it, or read it somewhere. You will only know it, if you live it.
-Harv Eker

* Using Your Head

 

Here is a profound little story from:
You2 by Price Pritchett.

 

(As told by Theo Pistorius)

"I’m sitting in a quiet room at the Millcroft Inn, a peaceful little place hidden back among the pine trees about an hour out of Toronto. It’s just past noon, late July, and I’m listening to the desperate sounds of a life-or-death struggle going on a few feet away.

There is a small fly burning out the last of its short life’s energies in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the windowpane. The whining wings tell the poignant story of the fly’s strategy - try harder.

But it’s not working.

The frenzied effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically, the struggle is part of the trap. It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking through the glass. Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination.

This fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill.

Across the room, ten steps away, the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it seeks. With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could be free of this self-imposed trap. The breakthrough possibility is there. It would be so easy."

**********

Theo's comments:
The lesson here is one of frantic action staring oneself blind at and fighting the problem with all your might. When the answer is often right there. If only you could step back from the problem and look at the big picture. Then will you see the answer in plain sight.

You have struggled enough. Calm down, relax and step back from your problems. calm down I said, don't get frantic. Now carefully look at the bigger picture. What do you see?

What I'm beginning to realize now is that the other side of the glass is not the whole story. The fly was not trying to break through the glass just to get outside. It needed to get out in order to live.

Positive thoughts can sometimes take you to the other side of the glass but they have not given you a whole life. Sometimes the self-defeating habits and familiar thoughts and behaviors returns and your positive thoughts do not transform your life. That's another challenge! All you lack is just the action steps.

The secret of getting through this door is not only spotting that it is there. You also need to have the desire to take the action and to go through it.

Theo Pistorius

PS Ponder a little....
"Your Life……. Is someone else’s DREAM".

If you like what you read, (or hate it, but it entertains you) please share with your friends and family and ask them join our Bwise Mastermind. (Gratis)
Talk to me! my lines are open.

© 2005, Theo Pistorius.
You are welcome (and thank you for the compliment) to copy and publish my articles as long as you leave it intact and please send your readers to http://www.devox.co.za or http://www.talkradio.co.za

 

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* A little Levity

• A man rushed into the doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!!"
  
  The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down.  You'll just have to be a little patient."

• After bumping my head, I became quite forgetful. To compensate, for my problem of trying to remember my wife's birthday and our anniversary, I opened an account with a florist. I provided the florist with the dates and instructions to send flowers to my wife on these dates along with an appropriate note signed, "Your loving husband."
  
  My wife was thrilled by this new display of attention and all went well until one day when I came home and saw a bouquet on the table. After kissing my wife, I offhandedly said, "Nice flowers, honey. Where'd you get them?"
   

• There are TWO rules for ultimate success in poker:
                 1. Never tell everything you know.  2. (It's a secret)

• Airport Mistletoe
  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  
  It was the beginning of December. The trip had gone reasonably
  well, and he was ready to go back. The airport on the other hand
  had turned a tacky red and green with loudspeakers blared
  annoying elevator renditions of cherished Christmas carols.
  
  Being someone who took Christmas very seriously, and being
  slightly tired, he was not in a particularly good mood.
  
  Going to check in his luggage, he saw hanging mistletoe. Not
  real mistletoe, but very cheap plastic with red paint on some of
  the rounder parts and green paint on some of the flatter and
  "pointier" parts, that could be taken for mistletoe only in a
  very Picasso sort of way.
  
  With a considerable degree of irritation and nowhere else to
  vent it, he said to the lady attendant, "Even if I were not
  married, I would not want to kiss you under such a ghastly
  mockery of mistletoe."
  
  "Sir, look more closely at where the mistletoe is."
  
  (pause)
  
  "Ok, I see that it's above the luggage scale, which is the place
  you'd have to step forward for a kiss."
  
  "That's not why it's there."
  
  (pause)
  
  "Ok, I give up. Why is it there?"
  
  "It's there so you can kiss your luggage goodbye."
   

CALL YOUR SENATORS NOW!!

House and Senate leaders in Congress have agreed upon nearly
$40 billion in cuts over 5 years. Although early reports
suggested that the agreement left out most cuts hurting low-
income people initially proposed by the House, that is NOT the
case. Many harmful cuts in Medicaid, child support, foster care,
SSI, TANF, and student loans remain in the agreement.

~~~~ The agreement now stands or falls on the final vote in the
Senate. ~~~

The House voted to approve these cuts (212-206) after an all-
night session and virtually no time for members to look at the
774 page bill. Here's how your member voted:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll670.xml These provisions are
substantially worse than the bill the Senate initially approved.
The Senate is expected to take up the agreement sometime MONDAY
or TUESDAY. Your calls to your Senators are urgently needed.

While calls to all Senators are very important, it is urgently
important that these Senators hear from their constituents:
Chafee (RI), Coleman (MN), Collins (ME), DeWine (OH), Landrieu
(LA), Nelson (NE), Smith (OR), Snowe (ME), Specter (PA)

Please use the toll-free number: 800-426-8073. Ask to be
connected to your Senators, and tell them:

   Please vote NO on the budget reconciliation conference
   report (S. 1932). It hurts low-income children, families,
   the elderly and disabled. Do not allow these one-sided
   sacrifices to be inflicted on low-income Americans while
   Congress is preparing to give still more tax breaks to the
   rich. Here are some of the cuts in this nasty deal:

* Medicaid: Low-income families will have to pay more than they
  can afford for medical care under Medicaid and face shrinking
  benefits.

* SSI: People with disabilities will have to wait as long as a
  year to receive the back SSI benefits they are owed, because
  the government has taken so long to approve their application.

* Child Support: Children will be deprived of $2.9 billion over
  5 years/$8.4 billion over 10 years in child support not
  collected because of cuts in enforcement.

* Foster Care: Grandparents or other relatives in certain states
  will lose foster care assistance.

* Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The agreement assumes
  that work requirements will be made harsher and expects states
  to fail  and so estimates that states will pay penalties to
  the federal government. The Congressional Budget Office
  expects that states will in turn create harsher penalties for
  poor families, causing more to lose benefits.

* Child Care: CBO estimates that it will cost $12.5 billion in
  new funding to pay for the harsher work requirements and to
  keep up with the costs of providing existing child care. The
  budget deal only provides $1 billion  a gap of $11.5 billion.
  That means 255,000 fewer children will receive child care in
  2010 compared to this year.

* Student Loans: Cut $12.7 billion over 5 years.

For more information about the conference agreement, see this
paper by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
http://www.cbpp.org/12-18-05bud3.htm

Although the deal is somewhat better than the bill originally
passed in the House, the agreement is much closer to the $50
billion House version that made substantial cuts to low-income
services than the $35 billion Senate version. Unlike the bill
passed by the House November 18, the final deal does not make
cuts to food stamps.

Thanks so much to the American Friends Service Committee for
donating the toll-free number. AFSC welcomes groups to circulate
and use the toll-free number in support of the non-partisan
budget goals towards which CHN always works and without linking
the alert to a website soliciting donations or actions which may
be used to support partisan lobbying or work.

# # #

DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information
of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue
in the disability community. Information circulated does not
necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is
non-partisan.
 
JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are
available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/
 
Gwen Gillenwater, Moderator, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of
the American Association of People with Disabilities.
 
JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national
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* Department of Education Press Release

No Child Left Behind

http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/12/12142005a.html

 

To learn more about the ADA visit: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/publicat.htm

 

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It recently occurred to me that Love is action that improves another person's life. Not just words, but action. Doing something, anything, that positively impacts other people's lives and leaves them even just a little bit better off physically, emotionally, psychologically or spiritually, that's love. -John Pistorius

Do something to leave someone a little better off today.

The Beauty of Love:

The question is asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands
and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?"
And the answer is given. "Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path.  Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love." -Unknown Author