I read a post titled: What do we feel we have to contribute and what do we want from it? by Joel Samuel on a writing forum called Gather It really got me thinking about why I am driven to read and write in community forums.

While pondering what drives me I uncovered allot. I believe the significance of our existence is more that whether or not we are successful writers, if we make it big or if we are really popular.

Everyone we meet/ converse with can impact us in a large or small way and vise versa. Everywhere we go we leave footprints and memories, we shape the beliefs and attitudes of those around us. I can vividly remember several people who had a life changing positive impact on me simply by being there. They may have known they were shaping and teaching me, maybe they didn’t. The point is we are very influenced by those around us. Our parents, friends, lovers, teachers.. Everyone has some impact on us in one way or another. We seem small in the big picture but not insignificant!

The most important thing for me is to connect with others, share experiences, give advice, give something back and to make a difference. Maybe it is ego driven, maybe I feel I owe it, maybe I do it because I want to help- Who knows, this is just what I believe and this is why I write!

Every minute of life we are learning some important lesson. We can choose to learn from the experience or we can ignore it. If we choose to ignore the lesson we can bet we will be experiencing the same thing again and again until we learn what we need to.

I am learning about money right now. My other half and I are now doing the bills and finances together. The good news is we make enough to pay our regular bills and we could begin paying off some of our debts. The bad news is we are seriously behind on several bills and that is killing us this month.

Accepting the fact that the money you make is just going to pay bills and that generally speaking there won’t be any money left for “luxuries” is a hard thing to do. Many people become overwhelmed and frustrated by this and they choose to ignore particular bills if they can. That is how we get ourselves into trouble. Denial is part of the problem with finances. People just don’t want to “deal with” that type of thing, so they ignore it.

Yes, paying bills is stressful and often times near impossible. Sometimes you can’t pay everything that needs to be paid and sometimes things like car repairs or hospital bills can really wipe you out.

You simply cannot keep allowing yourself to “fly blind”. Ignoring the problem only makes things more difficult in the end. Knowing exactly how much you pay on bills and how much is left over will surely wake you up and yes it will be scary… but it will take you steps closer to living within your means and it will help you get caught up!

I want to encourage everyone reading this to sit down tonight and add up all your monthly expenses. Subtract those monthly expenses from your monthly income. How much money will be left over when you pay all those regular bills every month??

I know that the answers to these two questions can be depressing for some people but knowing about your bills and income will help you.  If you know how much money you have after bills then you are less likely to overspend and you will begin to limit the frivolous spending. If you are not able to live comfortably after paying the regular bills maybe it is time to sit down and try to eliminate some nonessential things.

Last night after getting my own financial reality check I made up a spread sheet for myself in Microsoft excel that adds and subtracts all my numbers for me. All I have to do is punch in my bill amounts and my income. The spreadsheet is helping me sort through everything and slowly but surely we are going to get things straightened out financially and hopefully get out of debt!

I am learning a lesson about my finances right now; living within your means is the ticket to financial freedom. Ignoring the problem is just a copout and it only makes things harder to clean up in the end.

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” -Jim Rohn

If you are interested in leadership and would like one on one leadership coaching, advice and a great knowledge base for all leadership information you should check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/leadershipcoaching/

This is an interactive resource for anyone interested in bettering themselves. In this group we do various writing activates that are designed to help you reflect on yourself and various situations. We also discuss our quote of the day and other member questions.

If you are interested please join us by visiting: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/leadershipcoaching/
Make it a great day!

The over simplified explanation of Links and Exchanges:

Take are trip with me back in time- We are going back to when the internet first came about. I am talking before search engines were all the rage. People wanted to get others to visit their sites. Sometimes they would have friends post links (directions) to their site. This is how incoming links began. An incoming link brings visitors from another site to your site.

Posting links is a lot like posting signs for a yard sale. Think about it, the more places you post directions (or links) the more chance you have to bring people to your yard sale (or website). Okay so picture this: Your friend Bob is having a yard sale the same weekend you are. You want to post a sign at his yard sale (an incoming link) for your own yard sale that way when people are done with his sale they can swing by yours. He says he will let you post your sign at his sale if he can post his sign at yours. You get to advertise if he gets to. This is the idea of exchanges.

Links, Exchanges and Ethics-

Now that we understand the concept of links and exchanges we must determine what we think is ethical as far as link exchanges go. Imagine visiting a site that has nothing but blinking advertisements and links for other sites on it. What could that site possibly be good for other than advertising?? This is where link exchanges begin to do more harm than good. Too much of a good thing can be bad, sort of like eating 2 gallons of yummy ice cream in an hour.

* Sites that do nothing but link to other sites are not useful to the visitor.

* When a visitor feels as site is not useful they do not return.

If in doubt always try to see things from a visitors perspective. If you are going to link to other sites or participate in link exchanges make sure the sites you are referring others to are useful sites that would be of interest to your visitors.

Okay now you are ready to start exchanging some links!! Here are some places to visit:

- Webring.com where you can find and join rings (groups) that relate to your site.
- Yahoo groups where you can also search and join groups that relate to your site.
- QFLEA where you can sell or shop for items at the largest virtual flea market in the world.

** Special Note **
Most automated link programs are not as beneficial as the old-fashioned, doing it by hand method and they make you look like a link farm. Quality links are from content loaded, target audience relevant sites so stay away from those automated link programs!! This is taught in the SEO (search engine optimization) classes I take. If you are interested in getting your site optimized for the search engines you can get more info visit SEO Techniques.

It is raining here in Flagstaff, AZ and it is so wonderful! Being a native Arizonan I tend to get really excited when we get rain. I feel like it is a sign of renewal and fresh beginnings. Also, here in town everyone has the most beautiful spring bulbs blooming! I am mildly jealous but I still enjoy the beauty of the plants. Nature and the weather have improved my mood today.

I spent the morning stretching, working out and doing some yoga type stuff with my high school colorguard students. Physical activities have also contributed to my positive mood today.

I am so focused on my positive mood because I felt like poop this weekend. I have a feeling sloth had something to do with it. Essentially I sat at my computer and worked my little fingers off for two days straight. I am sure anxiety had lots to do with my overworking and obsessing about my business. I just feel like I am not achieving the things I want to right now. So what do I do I crank up the pressure and start riding myself to do more, improve things, make changes, work harder etc. I am my own worst critic, I know this.

Thankfully I am feeling more relaxed and less anxious today. Sometimes we all just really need to take it easy on ourselves. Maybe we don’t get to where we think we should be, maybe we don’t turn a profit, reach our goal, etc. The important thing is what we learned and experienced as a result of trying to attain our goals. Life is not about winning, loosing or achieving it is about the journey!

So, with that said I am having a cup of coffee writing my thoughts down with the doors/ windows open. The birds are singing, the air smells clean and crisp from the recent rain fall. I am still in my PJ’s and I am just savoring the moment.

Wow, did you know that nail polish remover and tea bags will get rid of a cold sore?? I read that today on BestHomeRemedies.com! A number of helpful home remedies are listed on this blog. If you are ever looking for info on home remedies check this site out for loads of info!!

Gurustu.com- If you are looking for some piece of mind and a positive thought I think you should visit Gurustu.com where you can write to Gurustu, read what others have written about, enjoy a little humor and much more!!

I stopped by today and read the post about pitstops. “You are a pitstop on someone else’s journey.” We get so caught up in our own life that we forget we play a huge role in the lives of others!! It is a great post!

Okay so you know how potatoes that sit in a cupboard to long begin to sprout?? Well, I was bored and sort of curious about growing potatoes so I grabbed the one with the most sprouts and planted it in a pot! It seems to be doing great with all its sprouts and leaves! I have to admit I really don’t know what to expect next though.. If anyone has ever done this and knows please post me a comment and let me know about your experience!!

Okay so here is an idea I was exposed to while shopping for books the other day: Your body stores the secrets of your life. It is a believable statement right? So then I read more about the book. It discusses how we subconsciously suppress traumatic memories or events and that our body holds on to these things and reminds us in various ways. “The body has a unique memory system, in which early trauma and deeply buried feelings become woven into the fabric of our physical being.” (Quote taken from the 2nd paragraph of the book jacket, Secrets, Lies, Betrayals. The body/ mind connection. By Maggie Scarf).

What an amazingly obvious concept! Our body holds on to things that we choose not to recognize or address…

I am just starting to read this book but I have a feeling it will have a profound impact on me. If you are looking for a self improvement book or if you want to learn more about yourself I recommend you get this book!