Summary:

Faith is a wonderful thing - and very necessary. There are, however, approaches that may look like faith but lead us in risky directions.

Keywords:

positive thinking, action, faith, success, affirmations, affirm

Article Body:

A subscriber recently wrote to me:

A friend of mine is on a fixed income and has maxed out his credit cards (nearing $10,000). He has started a new business, but currently has no customers or prospects.

He is affirming that he is already successful and debt-free. What is the best way for him? Should he write checks to pay his bills as they arrive, even though the money may not be in his account at the moment? Wouldn't these concrete actions demonstrate his faith?My Answer:
Faith is a wonderful thing - and very necessary. There are, however, approaches that may look like faith but lead us in risky directions.

Please tell your friend that he needs to pay close attention to "real" actions and concentrate on learning to provide a service to other people that they want. (Note the emphasis is on what "they" want.)

Paying bills with rubber checks isn't an act of faith. It's desperate gambling. I know from hard experience that it's nearly impossible to get the right mindset for real faith or confidence when you're circling the drain.

Your friend needs to get his feet firmly under himself with real money -- even if he has to go tend bar or wash dishes for the extra income for a bit. Honest, it's no disgrace (unless he stays there).

Remember that all faith needs feet. If you're in an airplane on its way down in a power dive, you put on your parachute first. And THEN you do affirmations.

The old biblical phrase "faith without works is dead" means just that - belief needs to be connected organically with action. Productive action. If it's not, then it's not true belief, it's only an attempt to con yourself and the gods.

Too many people hope that they can do affirmations or pray or ASSERT, and this will save them from having to make a decision and take action. But that's not the way it works. Action and affirmations must be bonded together as a single unit and support each other like two legs. Neither faith nor action can stand alone.

So you might want to tell your friend that positive thinking is good (and absolutely necessary), but positive action is also an essential ingredient.

Simply put, he'll never pray himself up a hill.

When he's willing to take action, with all the stops out, his faith will bring the lucky breaks, the synchronicities, and the chance meetings with just the right people at the right times to help move him forward. But it's the action that anchors all that potentiality into reality. ACTION.

Otherwise, it's all vapor.

"Willing to take action with all the stops out" ... some folks call that enthusiasm, others call it commitment. But it sure boosts the octane.

It's often hard to get people to see that taking a detour on the way to their goals is not a "wrong turn." It's just another way of getting where they're going. Whatever it takes.

Just remember that you don't have to give up on your dreams and goals when some little thing comes along (or not so little). The goal is what's important, not every little step it takes to get there (as long as we remember to TAKE the steps).

I'd guess that the old gremlin of impatience has killed more dreams than any other single influence. It's so common to think, "If I'm not getting there RIGHT NOW, then that's it; I'll never make it."

It might help to think of your vision of your future as a very penetrating stare. It penetrates anything that may seem to block your path. As long as you keep seeing what's in your future, you won't become stalled by the stuff that crops up in front of you today.

This may all sound trite, but it's true, every bit of it. And I learned it all the absolutely hardest way. I lived through it over and over and over and...

But eventually, even a super-dense guy like me can learn, proving that anybody on earth can do it.

Summary:

Recipient of two Emmy nominations and varying critical acclaim, Oz is considered by many to be one of the greatest prison dramas ever devised. Created by former St. Elsewhere writer Tom Fontana, the show was one of a number of highly touted and commercially successful HBO original series created in the 1990s. Initially aired in the summer of 1997, Oz built a strong following of viewers addicted to its vivid depiction of American prison life and hypnotic voyeuristic window int...

Keywords:

oz season 2 dvd review

Article Body:

Recipient of two Emmy nominations and varying critical acclaim, Oz is considered by many to be one of the greatest prison dramas ever devised. Created by former St. Elsewhere writer Tom Fontana, the show was one of a number of highly touted and commercially successful HBO original series created in the 1990s. Initially aired in the summer of 1997, Oz built a strong following of viewers addicted to its vivid depiction of American prison life and hypnotic voyeuristic window into the bad side of American life. Along with The Sopranos and Sex And The City, it rose to prominence as one of the top series on HBO...

The Oz (Season 2) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere "The Tip" in which Oz takes a rest following a deadly riot that left two officers and six prisoners dead. Governor James Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek) demands an answer to the riot's cause, and he enlists Alvah Case (Charles S. Dutton) to investigate, promising him his support for state Attorney General. After a thorough investigation, he decides to look the other way in regard to Whittlesey and Ross's cigarette operation and Ross's subsequent murder, and he deems the riot a "no-fault" occurrence, incurring the wrath of Governor Devlin… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include "Great Men" in which Kareem Said sees the opportunity to have his conviction overturned when the judge from his trial is admonished for accepting bribes, and "Escape from Oz" in which two prisoners are killed when an escape tunnel collapses, while Said turns down a pardon from the Governor, making him all the more popular in Oz…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Oz (Season 2) DVD:

Episode 9 (The Tip) Air Date: 07-11-1998

Episode 10 (Ancient Tribes) Air Date: 07-20-1998

Episode 11 (Great Men) Air Date: 07-27-1998

Episode 12 (Losing Your Appeal) Air Date: 08-03-1998

Episode 13 (Family Bizness) Air Date: 08-10-1998

Episode 14 (Strange Bedfellows) Air Date: 08-17-1998

Episode 15 (Animal Farm) Air Date: 08-24-1998

Episode 16 (Escape from Oz) Air Date: 08-31-1998

If you live near Universal Studios, or in the Los

Angeles area, you should consider purchasing

annual passes for Universal Studios Tours. Annual

passes are reasonably priced, and will most likely

save you money on admission throughout the year.

Several different levels of annual passes are available.

A regular annual pass for Universal Studios costs

$65. With this pass, you will be granted twelve full

months of admission to the park, 15% savings on

general admission for up to six of your guests, 10%

off of all merchandise, and 10% off the price of all

food and beverages purchased inside the park.

You will also be given exclusive offers and invitations

to special events that are held throughout the year.

Some black-out dates do apply to regular annual

pass holders. You can upgrade to a deluxe annual

pass for $75. This pass will entitle you to all of the

things that a regular pass does, with one exception.

No black-out dates will apply to you.

The best value is the premium annual pass, which

costs $99. This pass will entitle you to twelve months

of admission to the park, invitations to special events

held throughout the year, exclusive offers, and 15%

savings on general admission prices for six of your

guests, 10% off the price of merchandise, 10% off

the price of food and beverages purchased inside

the park, and no black-out dates. Additionally,

you will be entitled to free parking during box office

hours, and front of the line access at Studio Tour.

If you plan to visit Universal Studios twice in one

year, an annual pass is the most logical choice.

General admission for Universal Studios Tours for

just one day costs $55. If you visit twice in one

year that is a total of $110! You can get a premium

annual pass for just $99! What this essentially

means is that if you purchase an annual pass, you

are really only paying for two days at the park, and

any additional days are the park are actually free!

As an annual pass ticket holder, you may not be

entitled to other admission discounts that are

available. However, you may be entitled to special

discounts on the annual pass in certain situations.

For instance, if you are a member of the Military,

you may be eligible for special prices on annual

passes. Contact Universal Studios Tours for more

information about any special prices or discounts

that you may be eligible for.

When you are finally done with your high school education, there is no doubt that you'll be enrolling into a college. Many times when a child reaches the age of 20, they are no longer covered by their parents' insurance and this can lead to a troubling situation if they are not working and just strictly going to college. However, many colleges offer health insurance plans. Whether one of these insurance plans are right for you or not takes a lot of deliberation.

College health insurance benefits are going to vary from campus to campus. Although many people think that they are free, this is not true. While there is usually no charge for an office visit and routine checkups, the student will have to pay for lab work and other specialist type of visits. Benefits will usually pay completely for only types of covered services at the campus health center. In the event that you have to see an outside doctor then the student's coverage can drop up to 70% and run the risk of being required to pay a high deductible.

If you have a pre-existing condition, then you may have a problem with getting treatment at the college health center. Having a pre-existing illness or disability does not mean that you will be disqualified for obtaining a college health insurance plan, but you may not be able to get treatment for that pre-existing illness. This can lead to a number of problems if a new problem arises and is a product of a pre-existing illness.

All plans are different, so be sure you find out everything you can about your college's plan. Be sure to check if you or your child will be covered during summer break when students are not taking classes. This is important because you don't want to have an accident and find out that the insurance becomes inactive when they are not in class. Many colleges have coverage during summer break, but some do not.

Make sure you understand the plan. Is it an HMO, or can the member use any provider they want? This is just as important because you want to know where you can go in the event of an emergency, and there is nothing worse than finding out after the fact that you will be stuck with paying the full amount for a medical bill.

There really is no definitive answer as to whether you should or shouldn't commit to getting college health insurance. Be sure that you understand your plan fully so that no problems can arise in the event of an emergency. While it is not free insurance, it surely will save you money in the event of an accident or illness.