Much of Luck is About Timing

Have you ever watched an interview with someone famous or a successful business person and they claim the secret to their success was just being lucky? And you think, well, if that's their secret then I am SOL. Then, the same person goes on to say, I was just in the right place at the right time.

Timing: Well, yes, timing luck comes to those who walk down the hall and peak into those open doors as the ajar themselves. You see, if you are not walking down the hall in incremental steps, you won't know the doors are even open. Of course, it's often said that luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. And that indeed, makes a whole lot of sense. Think for a second about the successes in your life or the lucky events that brought you to where you are today?

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When Being Good Does Not Equal Happiness

Won't it be wonderful if there were a single formula for happiness? There is no such thing, and anyone who claims to have invented or found such a formula or equation is simply kidding, pretending, or trying to fool the rest of us. But it would be near-to-impossible to disprove the person's claim to gladness, because you'd have to live in the same house with that "happy person" for 30 days before you'd find out the fact that he or she only claimed to be happy all the time but was really just like the rest of us: unhappy in an unhappy world

Perhaps the closest any human being can come to cracking the happiness code is in being a good person, someone who is committed to doing what is morally right, as defined and understood by the dominant culture where that person lives. Religious people are said to be among the rare souls who have uncovered the mystery to happiness. They tend to link happiness or joy to being or doing what is good, godly and righteous.

The only trouble is that it is not that clear cut, or most humans would have followed the religious formula, and the world's billions of people would be mostly happy, glad, joyful. The reality is that being good and doing good may not result in happiness, at least not all the time. The only way godliness would produce permanent happiness in this life would be if only good things were to happen to good people, and only bad things were to happen to bad people. In a world where bad things happen to good people and vice versa, it is absurd to think or believe that lifelong happiness can become anyone's reality this side of the grave. The reality of a crippled world renders flawed every formula of happiness.

Concerning the morally good life, one writer penned these words on what he called "the straight life":

The straight life for a homemaker is washing dishes three hours a day; it is cleaning sinks and scouring toilets and waxing floors; it is chasing toddlers and mediating fights between preschool siblings. (One mother said she had raised three "tricycle motors," and they had worn her out.) The straight life is driving your station wagon to school and back twenty-three times per week; it is grocery shopping and baking cupcakes for the class Halloween party. The straight life eventually means becoming the parent of an ungrateful teenager, which I assure you is no job for sissies. (It's difficult to let your adolescent find himself - especially when you know he isn't even looking!) Certainly, the straight life for the homemaker can be an exhausting experience, at times.

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You Wanna Make New Friends?

Use shyness to your advantage

Force yourself to go up and say hello to strangers at parties, meetings and gatherings. If you're very shy, think of yourself as a 'successfully shy' person, because you can still make new friends. Making the first move takes the pressure off other people, and most of the time they will be relieved that someone else has set the ball rolling.

The remote control is not your friend

Chances are, you won't meet too many new people sitting home alone watching TV and moping. You really have to get out more, but fortunately you don't have to be out until late every night. Why not test the water by joining a group of some kind that meets once a week?

What makes you tick?

Friendships are often formed between people who have a common interest. Just be yourself, and find some like-minded others. If you're sports mad, join a local team for training or competitions. If you want to help others, why not try volunteering? Look on the internet for organizations (Better not Dating Agencies) that cater for singles meeting at events rather than under the pressure of "Blind Dating" You will probably enjoy the event anyway, even if you don't meet anyone you want to team up with

There are evening and weekend classes on just about any subject you can imagine, and even if you don't hit it off with anybody there, you'll still be picking up new skills, and will have something interesting to talk about. University students are generally spoiled for choice, and can join all sorts of clubs and societies at college.

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Lucky Bamboo Care

Quick Tips: Lucky Bamboo Care

As millions of "lucky" consumers around the world have discovered, Lucky Bamboo makes the perfect house or office plant, needing little care but an inch of water and little direct sunlight to keep it happy and thriving...

What is Lucky Bamboo?

Known for centuries as Lucky Bamboo, the plant is not a bamboo at all (botanical name: Dracaena) but a resilient member of the lily family that grows in the dark, tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Africa.

How Much Care Does Lucky Bamboo Need?

Keep water fresh by changing it every week, and always keep water levels at approximately an inch from the base of the canes. Lucky Bamboo prefers plenty of indirect sunlight and room temperatures at 65-70°. Although opinions differ on feeding, your Lucky Bamboo is a living organism, so it makes sense to occasionally add a mild solution to the water such as African Violet fertilizer. Since growth can be controlled by feeding, small amounts of fertilizer will keep the plant at a manageable size.

Why Are the Leaves Turning Yellow?

Two of the most common factors are 1.) too much direct sunlight; and 2.) too salty or heavily-fluoridated tap water. To give your new Lucky Bamboo a thriving start be sure to keep it away from direct sunlight, and water only with filtered or natural spring water.

Why Is It Called "Lucky" Bamboo?

Along with its ease of growth, Lucky Bamboo has long been associated with the Eastern practice of Feng Shui - or the bringing of natural elements of water, fire, earth, wood and metal into balance within the environment. Lucky Bamboo is believed to be an ideal example of the thriving wood and water element, with the addition of a red ribbon sometimes tied around the stalks - which is believed to "fire" the positive flow of energy or chi in the room. The number of stalks also has meaning : three stalks for happiness; five stalks for wealth; six stalks for health. Four stalks, however, are always avoided - since the word "four" in Chinese sounds too similar to the Chinese word for "death"!

Can I Take Cuttings from Lucky Bamboo?

Yes. New stalks can be propagated from the original plant by using a sharp knife to cut through a stalk - just below the joint. Place the cutting in fresh, clean water. A fine mist spray to stalks is sometimes suggested to stimulate new bud growth.

How Do I Repot Bamboo?

Like any other houseplant, Lucky Bamboo can be transferred to a vase or pot 2 inches larger than the original, or planted permanently into a loose sand or soil mixture that provides lots of bottom drainage. To avoid root rot, be careful to let the top of the soil dry out between waterings.

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How to Make a Man Fall in Love With Me - 5 Tips For Women

If you're anything like me you've been involved with a man and you couldn't gauge how he felt about you. Even if you're crazy about him, and you're ready to move the relationship forward to something more serious, it might be almost impossible to tell what he's thinking. Unless a guy utters those three delightful little words, we don't always have a clue to exactly what his heart or head is feeling. I was in that position and started to wonder how I could make a man fall in love with me. I was head over heels crazy for my boyfriend but I was pretty sure he was still in like mode and hadn't fallen in love with me yet.

One of the very first things I realized when I wanted to make a man fall in love with me is that attitude is everything. Men are attracted to happy women. If you're the type of woman who likes to find fault in little things, you'll struggle more when it comes to being adored by a man. Smiling, laughing and just genuinely having fun will draw him closer to you.

Being physically attractive is obviously important but not everything when it comes to getting the attention of a special man. Men enjoy women who make an effort to look good. This doesn't mean you have to be skinny with perfect hair. You do need to take some time to choose clothes that flatter your body and put on a little make up. Men love the natural look on the women in their lives so don't go overboard by wearing too much or things that are too tight or revealing.

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The Reality About Destiny And Fate

The common perception about destiny and fate in our society is that they are set in stone. They are some place that we are meant to go to or something we are meant to have or be or do. The other perception is that some things are destiny or fate and other things are not. Usually the things that come across as coming to us out of luck are usually labeled destiny or fate and the things that are bad or we don't want in our lives are just bad things that happen to good people. What I urge you to understand is that there is no blue print in the sky that states what we should or should not have, do, or be. There is no higher power who says that you will get this while I don't or I get that while you get nothing. We attract everything that is in our lives to ourselves, and we create everything we get with our thoughts.

Take a look around your life. Go ahead, I won't watch. Take note of everything that has happened to you and everything that is happening to you and everything you have and have had. All of that, every last bit of it is there or has been there because you attracted it to you with your decisions. Your decisions include the things you have thought about and currently think about. Your decisions include the emotional states you allow yourself to be in. Everything in your life has been created and attracted to you because of those decisions. They were not brought to you by some higher power. Both the good and the bad are there because of what you choose to focus on and feel on a regular basis.

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Advice in a Love Relationship - Can You Make Someone Fall in Love With You?

This question might seem to have a simple yes or no answer. But in fact, it is a pretty deep question. We'll just scratch the surface of it here. The short answer is -- both yes and no.

How is it "no"? Well, everyone will tell you that you can't make someone love you -- it comes from inside. And that's true most of the time. There are a few hypnosis experts who can convince someone to feel as if they're in love, but I don't call that real love.

But what about the "yes" answer? Ah, this is where it gets interesting! You can do things that make it far more likely for someone to fall in love with you. I'm not talking about the stuff you can read in some ebooks for sale -- about saying certain words and acting all puffed up or else playing hard to get, all to manipulate someone to get in bed with you. I hope you'll agree that's not real love either.

What I'm talking about is being your best self. If you could remove your self-consciousness, nervousness, etc., and if you could start living life confidently and go for your dreams, how would you appear to someone else? Think of people you have seen living like that -- how do they come across to you? Like someone you'd like to be around, right? We all like to be around that type of person, don't we?

That is exactly the point. The best way to attract the lover of your dreams is to be the kind of person they would naturally be attracted to! And I don't mean putting on an act, trying to be whoever they want you to be. Not at all! To attract the friends and lovers of your dreams, all you need to do -- and it's absolutely honest -- is to become the "yourself" of your dreams! Become the person you always wished you were. You can do it little by little or all at once -- that doesn't matter. Well, okay, slower might take longer. So go faster if you're in a hurry.

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