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Manifestation is what we do naturally and it shows up in all facets of our lives if we realize it or not.

When you are inspired or not inspired, you created it. If you could look back at a record of all the things that you thought or felt on a subject you could probably identify what thoughts and feelings created the results that you are experiencing right now.

It is possible to start to do this more consciously and link these results to what you were thinking and feeling.

Start small and look at things that are in your life and think for a moment what thoughts and feelings you have had in that area. Interesting!

In the beginning it can seem a little vague as you start to put together the puzzle and remember thoughts and feelings that would make sense to have created that result, but you are unsure. As you practise this skill you become clearer and clearer as to the connections.

Often it is unconscious thoughts that control the creation of things but if you watch your thoughts and feelings you will normally notice their presence and content.

They may be following your positive thoughts or they may just be recurring limiting thoughts created a long time ago, either way just give them no notice for now and continue to think the thoughts and feelings of what you want.

When you think about the things that you want, do your best to feel good about those things, this lifts your vibration closer to achieving those things.

If you feel negative thoughts or feelings just realize what they are and bring your focus back to feeling good about what you want. Negative feelings have little power if you do not dwell on them or give energy to them

As your positive focus on what you want continues, power starts to build in that direction and energy starts to flow to create those things. This is a natural process.

So focus on what you want and feel good about it. This raises the vibration of your energy towards beautiful things.

If you start to feel bad just realize that your focus has shifted to some old pattern or thought and gently bring it back to what you would like to think about and feel.

Allow the energy to build until what you want is delivered. Be open for things that excite you as they may be the beginning steps of the delivery.

Be gentle with yourself in the beginning as it can take some time to build new habits and your thoughts may drift without noticing. Consistent self loving effort will bring great results and change your life

Enjoy your manifestations!

Mark Slattery

If you would like some more free information on Manifesting go to

http://www.manifestingmasters.com

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“No men can act with effect who do not act in concert; no men can act in concert who do not act with confidence; no men can act with confidence who are not bound together with common opinions, common affections, and common interests.” Edmund Burke, 18th-Century British Statesman

During the 1980s, when I was co-founder and leader of The Achieve Group, we worked with California-based Zenger Miller and Tom Peters to implement a culture-change process based on Peters’ and Bob Waterman’s book, In Search of Excellence. Adding to, and building upon, the work of their McKinsey & Company colleagues, Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy, Peters and Waterman showed that the cultures of excellent companies are grounded in core values.

The idea of clarifying core values was new for many management teams at the time. We helped hundreds of teams in centering their change-and improvement-effects around their vision, as well as a set of three to five core values that best defined the culture they were trying to reinforce, change, or improve.

Today it’s a rare organization that doesn’t have a set (most often a laundry list) of values. In fact, values have become one more item added to the requisite organization checklist (Organization chart? Check. Strategic plan? Check. Budget? Check. Vision statement? Check. Values? Check). Frequently when we ask about the organization’s values, a dusty old piece of paper is produced. Quite often is followed by a debate about whether or not this is the right version of the organization’s values.

Many organizations can point to a list of values. The real question is how the values are lived. Have we just done our “values thing” during a planning session or are they actively used in our daily operations? Do they have a high “snicker factor” to be greeted with rolled eyes when they are occasionally brought forward? As a manager have I “Dilbertized” my workplace by going through the motions of periodically referring to vision, values, and purpose when the leadership spotlight is turned on us or when it is annual planning time again?

A key test of whether core values are alive and real in an organization is to ask team members at random to recite those values. If they can’t do it without referring to a piece of paper, there are either too many values (ideally they should be no more than three or four words or short phrases - five if you really stretch it) or they aren’t being used in daily operations.

Here are some examples of how highly effective leaders keep core values alive:

• Make “values fit” a key criterion in hiring. Most effective leaders know that you can improve a person’s skills and experience with training and development, but it’s much harder to train for attitude and almost impossible to change a person’s core values.

• Replace rules and policies with values and trust. Effective leaders treat team members as responsible adults who want to do the right thing for the team or organization. They know that with good support, training, and examples to follow, most people will exercise good judgment. The exceptions can be dealt with on an as-needed basis. This principle can also extend to customers. For example, we know of one courier company that automatically sends customers up to $300 for any damage claims. Experience has shown that customers are dishonest less than 1% of the time.

• Promote only those people who are role models for the organization’s values. Promotions are the clearest indication of whether values are lived or simply espoused. All too often, a manager will declare the values of teamwork, customer service, and trust, but then promote someone who is the meanest SOB in the place, manages by email, rarely sees customers or team members, and “snoopervises” rules like the Gestapo - simply because he or she gets the job done. In such cases, it becomes evident just how important (or unimportant) lived values really are.

Excerpted from Jim’s bestseller, The Leader’s Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success. View the book’s unique format and content, Introduction and Chapter One, and feedback at http://www.theleadersdigest.com. This book is a companion book to Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success. Jim Clemmer is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. His web site is http://www.clemmer.net/articles.

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Financial planning often gets a bad rap. Part of the problem is self-inflicted, since some industry participants would rather sell you a product than address your financial concerns. The process of planning is important, though, whether done with a professional or on your own. After all, you wouldn’t leave on a long trip without looking at a map - a poor analogy for some of us men, but you get the idea.

So where should you start? That really depends on you and your situation. Since everyone has different goals, needs, risk tolerances, and concerns, everyone needs a unique plan. But in general, planning needs to take into account at least three major areas - insurance, investments, and estate planning. While you can fill a library with all the necessary information to properly address these issues, below are a few single-specific tips to help you get started.

Insurance

Insurance is confusing. It comes in all shapes and sizes and covers everything from your car to your health. You can even buy insurance that covers you against alien abductions. And like many areas of planning, insurance can be especially complicated for singles, depending on your situation.

Life Insurance. For some singles, this may not seem like a pressing issue. But for singles with dependents, it’s crucial. Stick with a term-life policy - more expensive whole-life and universal-life policies are rarely worth the extra cost. You should generally buy enough insurance to equal eight to ten times your annual salary, though you may need more if you have several dependents or unique expenses, such as for a special needs child. And since you may not have a second income to rely on if you can’t work, disability insurance is also a good idea.

Health Insurance. Most of us count health insurance as one of our primary employee benefits. For married employees, the benefit is even greater, since this insurance is usually also available to the employee’s spouse. For unmarried couples, though, it’s a whole different story. While some companies provide medical and dental benefits to domestic partners, it’s far from the norm. And even when these benefits are provided, they are usually taxed as income at their fair market value. While an exception exists, it requires the partner to qualify as the employee’s dependent and have an annual income of less than $3,100 - which makes it useless for many partners.

Investments

Successful investing is a difficult and time-consuming process. I’ll touch on specifics in later issues, but if you’re trying to put together an investment plan on your own, keep these issues in mind.

Be patient. There aren’t any magic systems that will help you consistently beat the markets. And if there were, could you really buy them for $299 on the Internet? Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it’s a long-term process that takes patience, discipline and experience.

Diversify, but in moderation. Most people own several hundred stocks and bonds, either directly or through mutual funds. There just aren’t hundreds of great investments out there. You’re much better off keeping your portfolio at a manageable level of a two dozen high-quality stocks and a few exchange traded funds or mutual funds with strong track records and low expenses.

Selling matters. Most people focus on buying stocks. That’s important, but even more critical is when you sell stocks. Manage your risk by selling losing stocks when they fall 10% below your purchase price. Also, if you have a winning investment, take some profits along the way - there are more than a few people who wish they’d done so back in March 2000.

Mutual funds aren’t always the answer. Many people rely on mutual funds as the cornerstone of their investment portfolio. This can be a problem, since the vast majority of mutual funds consistently underperform the markets. Not only that, mutual funds are extremely expensive and include hidden fees that don’t show up in their disclosed expense ratios. These hidden fees can cost you thousands of dollars and take a huge bite out of your returns. Mixing in individual stocks and exchange-traded funds can help improve your returns and keep your costs in check.

Develop your own approach. For example, my investing style is probably best described as opportunistic - I wait patiently in conservative investments until compelling opportunities arise and then deploy capital accordingly. While it fits my personality and has worked well for my clients, it isn’t right for everyone. Some people want more risk, some want less, and others just don’t have the time to spend researching and monitoring their investments. Find a strategy that fits your unique risk tolerances, goals, and preferences, and then stick with it.

Estate Planning

Retirement planning for singles can be tricky. For example, most qualified retirement plans, such as employer-run 401(k) plans, are geared toward married couples and often don’t provide for lifetime distributions to unmarried beneficiaries. This can cause major tax headaches for the beneficiary. Here are some other issues to consider

Make sure you have a will. This may seem obvious, but an amazing number of people simply ignore this basic planning step. Probate laws are complicated, time-consuming, and don’t always end up transferring your assets where you’d like. And if you’re a single parent, make sure the will names a guardian for your children.

Designate beneficiaries for your IRA accounts. Because IRA’s don’t pass through your will, you need to execute a separate beneficiary designation to make sure your IRA passes to your intended beneficiary.

Execute a durable power of attorney. This power of attorney should not only cover your business affairs, but also your health care decisions. You hope you’ll never need these documents, but if you do, you’ll be glad you thought ahead and made the necessary arrangements.

David A. Twibell, J.D., is Executive Vice President of Colorado Capital Bank in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he directs the bank’s portfolio management and wealth advisory practice. He can be reached at (719) 482-7015 or dtwibell@coloradocapitalbank.com.

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