Christmas Shopping Need Not Be A Nightmare If You Shop Online


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How much do you enjoy Christmas shopping in the busy shopping malls and stores swarmed with shoppers along the messy sales aisles or dealing with overzealous and overworked sales people? Never detest the difficulty in locating an empty car park and the chaotic disarray of the hustle of Christmas shopping; some people are of opinion that all of these represent the important element of Christmas, without which would not be complete. Many people, however, find the whole process of shopping during the festive season a painful and stressful experience and are slowly moving to look for better and excellent alternative to complete their Christmas shopping. With greater number of shoppers turning to online e-stores and e-marts, online shopping is increasingly appeal to shoppers who are eager to finish part or full of their shopping online.

An useful tips for doing online Christmas shopping would be to plan and start your shopping early. Make it a point to complete the online shopping early enough so that the gifts and goods would be shipped to your intended recipients right on time before the Christmas. Rushed orders can also be filled but it comes at the expense of having to incur extra charges for rushing the shipment to meet the deadline. The delay of online shopping may also result in the gifts arrive late after Christmas even if you opt for the express shipment which cannot accommodate further rush orders. Standard shipping rates apply to normal delivery, therefore, with adequate time allowed for early shipment, not only do you incur reasonable shipping cost but you do not need to pay extra for shipping which can be very costly. Do not start your shopping too early in case the gifts arrived too soon and they may get opened earlier or they were put aside and forgotten by the recipient.

One problem which can occur when you do your Christmas shopping online is that the item you purchase may look better online than it does in reality. To avoid this problem it is best to only purchase items online if you are absolutely sure what the item actually looks like. For example you may have seen a particular model of a coffee maker in stores. When purchasing the item online you should compare the model number to ensure you are purchasing the item you really want. If you do this you, and the recipient of the gift, will likely be pleased with the purchase. If you have never seen the item in person it is important to view the item carefully. You should study all of the given information including the measurements to ensure the item you are envisioning as you view the online advertisement is the item you friend or family member will receive in the mail.

Finally, another useful tips for dealing online would be to deal with a reputable suppliers or retailers who have an established reputation or are committed to excellent product quality and customer service for their clientele. It is useful to check out the websites of your online shopping for a review of the privacy policy, customer services information, online support and other security authentication such as Hacker safe, Trust guard, eTrust, Komodo seal and so forth because these are elements that suggest reliability and contribute to the reputation, proper practices of the online retailers and suppliers.

Thomas Bronson is the owner and manager of Gift Baskets Affair.com, a premium website that offers
the largest range of gift baskets ideas with the highest quality products available. All gifts are prepared with care and passion as that is how Thomas likes it.

4 Steps to Master Search Engine Optimization


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Learning how to optimize a site can be difficult if one started his/her learning journey on the wrong track. Many Webmasters do not realize how significant is the impact by utilizing black hat techniques on their sites by blindly following advices from some search engine companies or optimizers. This article illustrates four main points on how to begin earning and eventually, mastering Search Engine Optimization.

The first step is to understand what is advised by the search engines. It is highly recommended to read the Google Webmaster Guidelines for a set of basic requirements on how Webmasters should go about designing and optimizing their websites. This set of guidelines also include techniques that should be avoided by the Webmasters such as keyword stuffing or doorway pages.

It is not necessary to go through all the documentation from the search engines. Reading the guidelines from Google is enough as it is the current search engine that brings in most of the traffic. In addition, optimizing for Google is equivalent to doing the same thing for Yahoo and MSN.

The next important step is to read and learn more from expert Search Engine Optimizers. This can be achieved by reading articles or books written by them. Peter Kent, Dave Taylor and Aaron Wall are the experts in this domain and reading their books will certainly help to understand how to employ useful techniques in optimizing a site.

Gaining knowledge from reading books is slower than what is happening on the ground today. Therefore, the next major step is to participate in the online forums and interact with other Webmasters regarding Search Engine Optimization. One popular Webmaster forum is DigitalPoint, this forum always has a huge amount of Search Engine Optimizers online helping each other and sharing valuable latest information. Another benefit for joining such forums is that people can also learn from the mistakes made by others and thus, making the learning more efficient.

The last important step is to experience the whole optimization process ourselves. Search Engine often changes and updates their algorithm so as to pull out the most relevant results to the users. Thus, Webmasters have to keep monitoring their rankings and build incoming links. As incoming links are very important in search engine optimization, the Webmasters have to keep attracting links to their websites so as to achieve a high Search Engine Result Position (SERP).

To conclude, the above four steps are equally important to start off Search Engine Optimization. However, Webmasters should focus on creating interesting and useful content for the visitors and the links will come in no time.

KC TAN is a SEO consultant with several years of related experiences. His advice has helped several Webmasters to increase their SERP. KC owns the Free SEO eBooks site and the popular Text Link Investment site, LinkVestor.

Want Not - Compare Not

Have you ever dissected your overwhelm? Not just the what of it, or even the why (too much to do all the time!), but the “how come?” The “how come” shows us what we are thinking. How come we expect certain reactions? How come we let our minds bend that way? For example, I just realized while talking with one of my coaches that a main reason I get so overwhelmed is because I have created these outrageous expectations for myself. A lot of my overwhelmed feelings are because I compare myself (subconsciously) to the gurus, the masters, the “big boys” (and girls) in the areas I’m pursuing. I don’t mean to, it’s just that they have given me such tangible targets that I can’t seem to resist thinking about shooting at them. I don’t actually shoot at them. These targets are currently far out of my sphere, I fear I would need some long range heat seeking missile to even get in the atmosphere. But nonetheless I think, about it, all the time. I compare myself mercilessly, in my still forming state to their well-established prospering realities. There is nothing wrong with having big goals, but some of us can keep connecting the goal-dots until we have a map of the universe! It never ends.

So how can we reign in the crazy comparisons while still keeping concrete goals and inspiration from these amazingly successful (there I said it) people?

1.-Keep focusing on what you REALLY want. This is something we come back to again and again in coaching. For example: Do I really want to be “rich” or do I want the freedom associated with it? How “successful” do I want to be and by what definition of success am I making this decision? My brain doesn’t stop and I constantly need my coaches to reel me in and ask “Is this what you REALLY want?”

2.-Keep your weekly objectives visible. Projecting into the future (and I must say that my personality type - Print 7, Enneagiam 7, ENFP - is the MASTER of living in future thinking), looking at what needs to be done over say the next year, can put anyone wanting to stay under the covers. Too much forecasting creates instant overwhelm in most people. So what do you want to focus on just this week? List the three most important items and follow through. Use a VISUAL MAP, a white board and markers, pictures on the mirror, something as a visual reminder for that week.

3.-Remind yourself of your best qualities - who you are - and why you want to be that way. Keeping the real you in sight will help counter against the false you being projected in your comparisons. Do you really want to be a high-powered business person, working insane hours, or would you rather have time to create your art and boogie board? Just an example. Make this idea fit who you are. If you don’t know who you really are you might want to do some personal foundation work with your coach! If you are interested in learning more about what makes up your “best self”, there is a great assessment called PRINT only used by certified coaches. Go to www.Bravegirlcoaching.com/print for more info.

Instead of drowning in overwhelm, wallowing in your future projection overwhelm and shrinking at your self-comparisons to others, try a new strategy. You just might find out you like your life after all!

Michelle Hess, MA is a life and business coach working with creative women entrepreneurs needing to defeat overwhelm, finish projects on time and excel in living life. Please visit her website (http://www.tlgcntr.org) for more information.

Cigars Versus Cigarettes - A Tobacco Showdown


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When it comes to tobacco, smokers - sans the snowman and the Sherlock Holmes’ of the world - typically choose cigarettes or cigars. This results in a tobacco war between the two choices: in a scene straight out of West Side Story, one group claims cigarettes are better and one group counters declaring the cigar’s superiority. Ashes fly, cigars cry on one another’s shoulders, cigarettes filter out, and items get burned.

To the cigar lover, the items that get burned are cigarettes: cigars lovers believe that their cigars are just better. True cigar lovers typically look at cigarettes with a sense of disdain. To them, a lover of tobacco who smokes a cigarette is like a lover of fine food eating things made in an Easy Bake Oven.

Some cigarette lovers may disagree, believing that cigarettes are the best choice of smoke. But other cigarette lovers may simply be intimidated by cigars: scared of a Henry Clay or a La Aurora, they find comfort in a Benson and, of course, a Hedges.

It’s hard to blame these people. Cigars can appear scary, like a stick of tobacco lurking in a bedroom closet, waiting for night to fall. Yet, like so many things, the fear of cigars is unwarranted: people can crush cigars in an ash tray, on a sidewalk, on a garbage can. For this reason, cigars should be more afraid of people than people are of them.

Once cigars are welcomed into the hearts of tobacco lovers, they will usually find that they are not intimidating, they are just the opposite. Besides providing luxury, cigars offer a handful of other satisfying avenues, avenues that cigarettes get lost going down. It is because of this that we will now list the top five reasons cigars are better than cigarettes.

1. The Length: Yes, size matters, at least when it comes to tobacco. But size, for the purpose of this argument, isn’t about the physical length of tobacco, it’s about how long it lasts. Cigarettes are short lived, people often smoke then in ten or fifteen minutes. Cigars, however, last much longer. Smoking is pleasurable and that pleasure is greatly extended when a cigar is ignited.

2. The Sophistication: Sure, cigarettes sometimes look sophisticated, particularly when people smoke them with a cigarette holder ala Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But, most of the time, cigars are much more synonymous with sophistication than cigarettes, at least in America. Simply smoking a cigar garners a sense of sophistication while smoking a cigarette usually requires a prop: a cigarette holder, a top hat, or a monocle.

3. The Variety: I am certain that cigarettes have some sort of variety - if they didn’t, there would be no sense in the several different cigarette brands that exist. But, the variety usually consists of certain cigarettes being lighter than others or some having less nicotine that their competing brand. Cigars, on the other hand, instill much more variety. Cigars not only look different, but they smell and taste different, really different. Different cigarette brands taste different too, but not to the extent of a cigar. While cigarettes typically don’t travel down the flavor road, cigars do. Different cigars offer extremely different flavors: one cigar may have hints of leather and earth while another one may taste like coffee and chocolate.

4. The Bars: Ah, the cigar bar. Is there any place more welcoming for the seasoned smoker? Cigar Bars are a Mecca for the lover of tobacco, a place they can go for a sense of true luxury. Some Cigar Bars let cigarettes in, welcoming their tobacco bearing cousins, but true Cigar Bars maintain signs of No (Cigarette) Smoking Allowed. Cigarettes, on the other hand, have no Cigarette Bars to call their own. Well, not unless you count bowling alleys.

5. The Drinks: A lot of cigarette smokers like to couple a smoke with a cup of coffee or an alcoholic drink. But, does coupling a cigarette with these types of drink really enhance the experience? If the cigarette has no complementing flavors, probably not. Cigars, on the other hand, go well with drinks. With a variety of flavors, it’s easy to find a cigar that goes well with everything from an espresso to a coniac, from a bottle of scotch to a bottle of wine.

From cigarette smokers to cigar smokers, smokers are on the same side: they all love tobacco. Even so, cigars are a little ahead of their kin: they can’t help themselves; they’re the favorite cousin.

Jennifer Jordan is an editor and staff writer for http://www.whatsknottolove.com At home in a design firm in Denver, Colorado, she writes articles specific to the finer things in life.

Unblock Your Learning


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Today I was listening, for the 3rd time, to a teleclass about “moving into action” and I was reminded that it always comes back to the same old thing when thinking about what is keeping me stuck, not moving forward. It’s an emotion, sure there can be learning blocks (AKA “conditioning”) in your way, but we usually are more comfortable dealing with those because we can intellectualize them, analyze them and dismiss them (i.e.: when I was 8, this happened and now I react . . . ).

Ok, if we aren’t aware of what is blocking our learning then this is a huge area to deal with. You may also discover that it is difficult to sift out the emotion from what is blocking you from new learning, which equals new experience = action. There are some really good ways to unblock your learning that I know about. You can use your body in the process, as a guide, inviting change on the energetic cellular level. My first time experiencing a deep change using one of these processes was when I was training for my BrainGym™ license. As an optimist and positive focus person, I hadn’t realized that it was safe to stay with unpleasant feelings because they would go away. I used distraction to avoid the feelings, or else I became lost in them, drowning is circular reasoning and catastrophic rationalizations, because this type of thinking only deepened the “bad” feelings. So, I was at this training and had the amazing experience of sitting with the pain - not analyzing it. I simply named what I felt as it came up, until it dissipated. It was amazing for me. My coach facilitated the process. While I sat in hook-ups she held my positive points. It was simple, elegant, easy and profound. Through that experience I learned that I didn’t have to be afraid of negative emotions because I could release their power by acknowledging them and letting them go.

After learning that via BrainGym™ I discovered the second method, which I have used for diffusing anxiety and avoidance, although I find it most helpful when my body is in motion in some repetitive task like and exercise machine. I also learned about Heartmath™ and used their methods with students to overcome anxiety. Heatmath’s™ computer technology is helpful in learning to recognize what your body is telling you about your heart/brain coherence levels, which directly impact your health and stress levels. Heartmath™ is also helpful for people that need to “see” the results in real time (on the computer screen) versus just feeling the changes. Some people aren’t able to “feel” the body sensations as easily at first and the software program FreezeFrame helps with that. In coaching I’ve found that a person can experience the same “neutralizing” of negative emotions with facilitation over the phone. In some ways it’s easier, because you don’t feel as self-conscious with your coach not physically present. Standing or sitting behind the person can serve the same purpose when doing a process in person.

You can see that I am a perfect example of a person who knows what to do but doesn’t always do it. That is why I need my own coach(s). My knowledge does not save me in anyway. It helps other people immensely, but I need help to actually USE these processes and not get stuck myself!

So what emotion mainly holds me back from action? Underneath it all is irrational fear and anxiety. When I feel those emotions I pull back and sink into the fear - which really bothers me so then I look for relief through distraction. Meanwhile, my “to-do” list grows to cartoonish proportions so the anxiety grows underneath the surface. It’s a sick cycle. Can you relate at all?

Michelle Hess, MA is a life and business coach working with creative women entrepreneurs needing to defeat overwhelm, finish projects on time and excel in living life. Please visit her website (http://www.tlgcntr.org) for more information.

Prepare your Mind for Action

Prepare your mind for action. How exactly does one do that? One archaic translation of the Bible uses the expression “Gird up the loins of your mind.” This image is definitely stronger than the vague “action” idea. When did people “gird us their loins?” Men did so in preparation for battle. They wanted to be ready to fight, while protecting their delicate parts! What are the delicate parts of your mind that need girding? What areas need more diligent protection so that you can act? Is there a part of your mind that is caught up in destructive thoughts? Are you trapped in a visual or auditory playback loop of gross images or actions? Does the descent into darkness done by you or to you never stay too long behind its locked door? Then clear it out all together. It’s a bit difficult to be ready for action when your mind is trapped. Where else do you need girding? Are you prone to mental habits that hold you back from participating in life like anxiety or depression? Are you bound by fear? Or doubt?

Why do you think that we need to prepare our minds for action and what does this mean? Right after the statement the author says “be sober” (Ah, dang! So much for self-medication . . .) another way this is translated is “be disciplined.” To be ready for action connotes the idea of preparation to me. It could take discipline to achieve that state of readiness. But it isn’t just about your thinking. Your emotions affect your thinking and vice-versa. Your mind is also representative of your identity, your soul, who you are at your essence. I get the sense of a gathering up of all that you are, bringing all your resources to the forefront. Internal with the image of armor for girding one’s loins, there is a sense of a standard, a basic requirement of covering or protection. I’m sure that individual size and needs come into play, but there are fundamentals in the idea. So what make up the basics for preparing your minds (yourself) for action?

The details are worked out on individual basis, but the foundation is clear.

–General Preparation:

o-Emotional health
o-Mental sharpness
o-Clarity of vision
o-Discipline (habits)

Michelle Hess, MA is a life and business coach working with creative women entrepreneurs needing to defeat overwhelm, finish projects on time and excel in living life. Please visit her website (http://www.tlgcntr.org) for more information.

Free Printable Wedding Invitations - How To Save Money On Wedding Invitations


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If you have wedding bells ringing in the air, then you are among the many who will be tying the knot soon. Planning a wedding can be challenging to say the least. But rest assured, there are many things you can do to make the whole event run more smoothly.

One of the first things you have to decide on is the wedding invitations. This could be one of the easiest decisions that you will have to make and you can do it inexpensively, saving a great deal of money by choosing free printable wedding invitations.

There are many different websites that offer free templates to choose from to create your own wedding invitations. This allows you the freedom to do whatever you want with the invitations, making them truly your own. For something as important as the invitations, you want them to be special and something that expresses your love for each other, letting your friends know you wish for them to join you in your wondrous celebration.

The first thing you will need to do when choosing your free printable wedding invitations is to choose the paper that you will print them on. There are many office supply stores as well as craft stores that offer a wide range of papers and card stock to choose from. If you want some other options of what styles to choose from, then the internet has an almost unlimited amount of designs and styles to choose from. Most often the websites that offer the free templates for the invitations will have a good selection of paper and cards stock to choose from, all geared toward weddings.

Next, you will want to choose the template that you are going to go with or perhaps you have a computer at home and you want to create something of your own. Maybe with a picture of the happy couple and a special poem that symbolizes your love for each other. You may even want to combine two different templates to make something truly unique.

If you are trying to do a great wedding on a budget, then you can start by saving money with your wedding invitations. Free printable wedding invitations will save you a great deal of money and give you the personal touch and quality that you want. You will be sure to have great invitations that have that extra special touch, making them perfect for your special occasion. Free printable wedding invitations are a great way to go when planning your wedding. You can choose every detail from the quality, to the design, to the card stock. You can make the planning of your special day as simple and cost effective as possible.

If you want to discover how to save money on your wedding invitations then try visiting http://www.plan-the-perfect-wedding.info , a website that specializes in wedding ideas, wedding planning, favors and wedding ring information.

Outsmarting Overwhelm


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We’ve all felt it: That feeling that pulls at you to stay in bed all day, hiding out from tall task on your to-do list; The desire to escape the unending spiral of attending to one urgent crisis after another; The sense that you can’t handle “just one more thing.” Sound familiar?

Life hasn’t gotten easier or less complicated as we’ve entered the information age. Instead we are bombarded with messages clamoring for our immediate attention 24/7. Add to this mix a creative artistic personality and you have potential for a complete disaster-Mind Meltdown.

As a creative person, I love choices and variety, but sometimes I feel like all these fabulous choices are suffocating me. So how can we change this situation so that our QUALITY of life is not suffering anymore?

Q: How do you combat overwhelm to stop the downward spiral?

First we have to get militant in regards to our own self-preservation. But we can’t stop there. We don’t want to simply survive in the midst of our hyperactive culture; we want to thrive.

What does thriving mean to you? For me, I think of freedom to choose how I live my life. Freedom to be my true best self. Freedom to say “no” to good choices that could lead me into overwhelm. What does thriving mean in your life?

We may be aiming to make fundamental life-style changes that will prove to be counter-cultural. Until we are able to achieve these changes we need to control our reactions to the overwhelm that leaps at us. We need to be smarter and prepared so that we can side-step the overwhelm attack. Just like in those martial arts movies where the master tells the young hot-head to attack him. What happens? The master stays calm and centered in the face of the advancing fury. With very little expended energy the master is able to literally side-step the punch or kick with only slight expenditure of energy and movement. Somehow we need to learn how to remain calm in the midst of the craziness so that we can quickly avoid the whirlwind of urgent, undone responsibilities.

According to Dee Behrson, we generally have 1 to 4 responses to overwhelm:

–Paralysis
–Procrastination
–Auto-pilot
–Confusion

Generally, I would call these re-actions because we aren’t always fully conscious of what we are doing. This is most obviously true in the auto-pilot mode (by mere definition!). How can we use this information to our advantage? We can start noticing our reactions. Think back to when you’ve slid into overwhelm. What was going on right before? What signs are there that tell you “Warning! Approaching overload limit! Take immediate evasive action?” Once you recognize your signs you can step in to effect change.

Common signs include:

–You keep losing things-keys, wallet, your glasses, that paper you had in your hand a minute ago…
–You’re snapping all the time at your kids or spouse
–You find yourself over-reacting to little things (Is it really a capitol crime to leave dirty dishes out? Or to forget to replace the toilet paper?)
–Your productivity is slowing down and more haphazard
–You feel foggy sometimes in your thinking processes (this could be medical/biological also, so check that out!)

When you actually can take a second to NOTICE yourself, you take control back. After you NOTICE your “Red Alert” behaviors, you can change your stuck emotional response (Right brain mode-home of negative emotions). After noticing move on to:

1.-STOP FOOLING YOURSELF-We are elaborate rationalizers, this is a distinctive trait of our species, but we can’t move forward until we admit we need to.

2.-TAKE IMMEDIATE EVASIVE ACTION-Give yourself a time-out. Take some deep breaths (if your abdomen isn’t moving you aren’t breathing deeply). Excuse yourself and go outside to change your perspective.

3.-ENGAGE IN RATIONAL POSITIVE SELF-TALK-When possible, I recommend doing this step out loud. (Example: “Ok, Michelle, you’re obviously over-reacting. What is going on? What do you need right now? How can you get it? You can get out of this. What can be cancelled so that you can avoid the downward spin cycle?”). Start brainstorming solutions, activating your analytical left brain, home of positive emotions. Use your perspective taking strategies (If you don’t have any strategies, email me about our free Perspective e-course)

4.-CREATE A NEW PLAN-Now that you have calmed down and gotten some distance from whatever was pushing your alert buttons, work on how you can change things to meet your needs better. (To figure out your true needs click here for a free tool). [the Need Less Program]

Michelle Hess, MA is a life and business coach working with creative women entrepreneurs needing to defeat overwhelm, finish projects on time and excel in living life. Please visit her website (http://www.tlgcntr.org) for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mortgage Refinance


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Should I Refinance My Home?

There are many reasons to refinance your home. It’s always wise to keep an eye on interest rates and compare them with the rate you’re currently paying. If you can save money, you might want to take a look at a refinance loan. Or perhaps you have a variable-rate loan that you’ve decided to change to one of a fixed rate. Also, if you need some additional cash on hand for a large home project or if you need money for some other reason, you might want to get some cash for your home equity.

Should I Refinance If I’ll See Only A Small Rate Change?

Yes. A lower interest rate will always save you money, and refinancing can be done with minimal costs to you. When considered over the life of your loan, even a small rate change can make a big difference. Plus, even if you will only see a small rate decrease, perhaps you have other debt that you’d like to roll into the equity of your home to get a lower interest rate. A mortgage refinance can save you money in multiple ways.

How Much Will Refinancing Cost?

It’s really up to you. There are many ways you may be able to refinance your mortgage at little or no cost to you. Many programs are available to those who don’t have any up-front money to refinance. Or, you may choose to pay for closing costs, and often you’ll enjoy even larger savings in your monthly mortgage payments!

Recommended Refinance Lenders Online - We maintain a list of recommended mortgage companies online and update the list regularly.

List of Suggested Refinance Lenders for Borrowers with Poor Credit- See our list of poor credit mortgage refinance lenders online.

How We Can Teach Our Kids Learned Helplessness

How we can teach our kids learned helplessness:

Sarcastically Well Said!

1. Talk it up - if your child is struggling with a particular task or school subject, tell her it is ok if she doesn’t get it. For example, if math is a struggle, yell at her “That’s ok honey, I was never good at math either.” This tactic is two-fold. You can keep this country’s math phobia going strong, and you inform your daughter that she doesn’t have to learn because she’s genetically predisposed to fail. The constant parental reinforcement will work like a charm!

2. Hire Help! This is a brilliant idea. Instead of getting our educational professional to teach your son concepts that he needs further strengthening on, you hire someone just in it for the money. Now you need to pay well for this because it is really boring for a teacher not to teach. I suggest that you allow your child to be a bit nasty to this person, so he is discouraged from engaging your child in the actual learning process. Make sure that this tutor will do school work for your child to copy down. This will help reinforce your child’s dependency and give the learned helplessness a real strong boost in the desired direction. If your tutor can’t stand it, suggest they read a good book while waiting for your child to need some work done for him. The best way to use your tutor in this type of situation is to have him complete a whole project for your child. That will take some time and effort!

3. Model this trait so your sweet son or daughter gets plenty of live reinforcement. In fact, if you can perform (or avoid as the case may be) a desired learned helplessness task in front of your child for 21 days in a row (don’t cheat and skip any!) then you will have effectively modeled how to add a desired habit for your child.

An example is say you want to not have to _______. First you need to model the “choose ignorance” option. You must absolutely refuse to learn whatever someone is trying to teach you. Don’t open the manual, or listen to instructions. Just walk away and say “NO!” After this phase is past, and the chosen ignorance is entrenched, you can refuse to do this task but say, “I don’t know how to do that!” (Which is technically true since you used your “choose ignorance” option so well.) After a good 21 days of this the habit will be solid and you are good to go. Chances of being asked to do that particular job ever again are very slim.

There you have it! You can have your child sailing along in the learned helplessness mode before you know it!

Added bonus of this programming is that your child will quickly transfer this technique to most areas of life (unless she really wants to do something, then she’ll probably regress to pro-active behavior, but don’t fear it probable won’t last long!) You’ll have the joy of hiring people for ever area of life. Just think of the fantastic opportunities before you!

–You could teach your child to make messes and have others clean them up.
–You can show your child to have their every whim fulfilled - even have someone else cut up their meat on their plate (after age 4 - before won’t help create the habit you want because he doesn’t have the motor control yet - oh, but continuing this beyond age 4 will insure that his motor coordination will be lagging and then he’ll need MORE help - perfect!)
–If your child breaks something make sure to get him a brand new and improved one (after someone else cleans the mess up for him!)

You get the picture. I look forward to seeing what creative solutions you can come up with in training your child in this fabulous technique!

Michelle Hess, MA is a life and business coach working with creative women entrepreneurs needing to defeat overwhelm, finish projects on time and excel in living life. Please visit her website (http://www.tlgcntr.org) for more information.