Elephant Ride in India

Our family of six visits a temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu India and takes a short ride on the resident elephant which is elaborately painted.

5 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Nauvoo, IL

Make sure to visit my official website(www.discovershareinspire.com) and post 5 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Nauvoo, IL

Experiencing history first hand is one of the best reasons for traveling with kids. Rather than simply reading about it in a book, traveling to historic sites allows your children to see and feel what happened long before they were born.

Nauvoo, Illinois is one of those places where kids can experience hands-on what life was like for early settlers of America.

Steeped with history, charm and beauty, historic Nauvoo offers sites of interest for children and adults alike. With more than 40 restored homes, stores and public buildings, as well as entertainment, carriage and wagon rides and handcart treks, there is sure to be something to delight every member of your family. (And all rides, sites, tours and shows at Nauvoo are FREE! You can’t beat that

Here are five examples of the fun to be found in old Nauvoo.

1. Print Shop

Curious to how books and newspapers were printed in the past? The Nauvoo Print Shop gives you a first hand look into the time consuming and tedious process involved in producing the printed word (150 hours for 600 copies of a newspaper).

The Print Shop gives your children the chance to see how type was set by hand (each individual letter), and backwards. They can have the chance to ‘press’ a copy on the printing press (one copy was done at a time), and learn a new definition for terms like ‘furniture’ and ‘dingbats’.

Read the rest of this post at 5 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Nauvoo, IL

5 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Atlanta

Read my original post here- 5 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Atlanta at www.discovershareinspire.com

Atlanta is a city steeped in history, culture, the arts and music. While being a very sophisticated metropolis, it also offers a lot in options for families.

1. Explore the Georgia Aquarium

Traveling through underwater tunnels, touching baby sharks and stingrays, watching penguins as they feed and dive, being awed by the unique beauty and gracefulness of jellyfish, standing at a wall of 6.5 million gallons of water like Moses as he crossed the Red Sea, the Georgia Aquarium is a place of wonder and adventure for both children and adults alike.

Located in downtown Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium touts itself as the world’s largest with over 8 million gallons of water and a panoply of 120,000 animals from 500 species. They’re the only aquarium outside of Asia to have whale sharks (two of them!)

Our family enjoyed recording our attempt at whale songs, ‘petting’ sea anemones, star fish, sting rays and baby sharks, and watching the grace and beauty of giant manta rays as they swam in 6.5 million gallons of water.

Tickets start at $19.50 for children and $26 for adults, but well worth the price. Be sure to go early so you can spend the day exploring the world of wonder under the sea.

Read the rest of the post with photos at 5 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Atlanta at www.discovershareinspire.com

Rising Star Carnival

The children of Rising Star Outreach in Tamil Nadu, India enjoy a fun carnival organized by some of our wonderful volunteers. These children come from families affected by leprosy. They board and attend school at the Rising Star Campus.

Re-Building a Life

You can make a difference in the life of another. Greg tells his story of being homeless, the help others gave to him, and the life he now lives.

New Blog- More Recent Posts

I’ve seen that I’m getting traffic on this blog, but I haven’t been using it or posting on it much. I wanted to let you know of the website and blog that I am using, so you can see what our adventurous family is up to!

www.discovershareinspire.com

http://discovershareinspire.wordpress.com

From a Favorite Author

Greg and I are huge fans of Brian Tracy. I wanted to share this letter I received from him, to help inspire us for the New Year.

I’ve read Goals!, Eat that Frog, Flight Plan, Change Your Thinking Change Your Life, The Way to Wealth and many others by Brian Tracy. He is an inspirational and motivational teacher who can help you to achieve whatever goals you may have for the coming year

Planning Your Year
By Brian Tracy

There has never been a better time in all of human history to be alive than today. There are more opportunities for you to accomplish more things, in more different fields, engaging in more different activities, than have ever existed before.

Resolve today to make the coming year the very best year of your life. Resolve today to draw a line under your past and to focus very clearly on your future. Resolve today that you are going to set goals, make plans, take actions and achieve more in the coming year than perhaps you have ever accomplished in any one single year before.

One of the great rules for success is this: “It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from; all that really matters is where you’re going!”

No matter what you have done or accomplished in the past, “that was then and this is now.”

The very best days, weeks, months and years of your life lie ahead. The most exciting accomplishments and the greatest achievements are still to come. As Shakespeare said, “The past is merely a prelude.”

As it happens, everyone has goals. But some people seem to accomplish their goals far more systematically and with greater assurance than others. Why is this? The answer is simple. People who accomplish goals at a higher rate than the average are people who use a systematic, proven method of goal setting and goal attainment.

Perhaps the two most important qualities of success are focus and concentration. Focus means knowing exactly what it is you want and concentration means having the discipline to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing, the most important thing, until it is complete.

If you have these qualities, and both of these qualities are learned through practice, you can accomplish virtually anything. There are no limits on your future if you can focus and concentrate every hour of every single day.

The starting point of setting goals for the coming year is for you to project forward and think back. Practice what we call “Back from the Future” thinking. Project forward to the end of the next twelve months and ask yourself, “If everything happens perfectly, what will it look like?”

The one quality of men and women who become leaders in their own lives and societies, throughout all of history is the quality of vision. They have the ability to visualize. They can see the future well in advance of it becoming a reality. They can then see the steps that they will need to take to get from where they are to where they want to go.

So if your next twelve months were ideal, in every respect, what would happen or, what would have happened, at the end of that twelve month period?
You need to set goals that are multi-dimensional. You need to set goals for every part of your life so that you function like a well-oiled machine, like a balanced wheel that goes around smoothly in every respect. You need goals for your health, for your career, for your finances, for your relationships, for your personal and professional development, for your community and for your spiritual growth. Nothing happens by accident. Everything happens for a reason. And you are the “primary creative force” in your own life. You are the reason. Things are happening in your life because you make them happen, not because you sit around and wait for them to happen.

Here is the basic seven-step model of goal setting. You can use this like breathing in and breathing out on a regular basis to accelerate your attainment of any goal you can imagine for yourself.

Step number one is for you to decide exactly what you want. This immediately moves you into a separate category of people because most people have no idea of what they really want. Clarity is the most important single quality of goal-setting and perhaps the most important single quality of success. Decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Instead of fuzzy goals like more money, better health and happiness, be specific about exactly how much more money you want to earn in a specific period of time and combine that with exactly what level of health and fitness you desire.

Most people are unconsciously preoccupied with the fear of failure. It is the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. And the fear of failure can work on you unconsciously by blocking you from setting clear specific goals. Why? Well, if you don’t set clear, specific goals, then you can’t fail to achieve them. So your subconscious mind is actually protecting you by helping you to avoid failure.

You must resist and overcome this tendency by having the courage to be bold and specific about exactly what you want. This is step number one.

Step number two is for you to write it down. Only three percent of living Americans, or adults anywhere for that matter, have written goals. Everyone else that thinks about a written goal and plans to write them down, someday. But they never get around to it. Most people spend more time making a list of groceries before they go shopping or planning a vacation than they do in planning their lives. But again, this is not for you. Success begins with a pad of paper, a pen and a few minutes of your time. One of the most important keys to success is to “think on paper.”

All successful people “think on paper.” And here are two important points. If you cannot write it down clearly and specifically on a piece of paper, then it means that you are not really clear about it yourself. Perhaps you don’t even want it. What is worse, it may be that you are afraid that you may not attain it. Nonetheless, a goal that is written down is merely a fantasy or a wish. A goal that is clearly written and described on a piece of paper takes on a power of its own, it is now something concrete that you can touch and feel and work with.

The second principle of writing goals down is that something miraculous happens between the head and the hand. When you actually write a goal down, it is as if you are programming it into your subconscious mind and activating a whole series of mental powers that will enable you to accomplish more than you ever dreamed of. By writing it down you intensify your desire for the goal and you increase your belief that the goal is possible. You begin to expect to achieve the goal and you start to attract people and circumstances into your life that are consistent with the attainment of the goal. Writing your goal down is one of the most amazing of all goal-setting skills and it is a key to your success.

The third step is for you to set a deadline. If it is a large goal, set a series of sub-deadlines. A deadline acts as a “forcing system” on your subconscious mind and begins to move you toward your goal rapidly while it moves your goal toward you.

Sometimes people ask me, “What if I set a goal and I don’t achieve it by the deadline?” The answer is simple. Set another deadline. Remember, a deadline is a guess-timate of when you will achieve it. Sometimes you will achieve your goal well in advance of your deadline. Sometimes goals will take much longer than you expect. But you must have a target time before you set off.

It is like making a reservation at a restaurant. You may be five minutes early or five minutes late, but you always have a specific time for which your dinner is reserved.

The fourth step is for you to make a list of everything you could possibly think of that you will have to do to achieve your goal. The more comprehensive your list, the more motivated you will become, the more intense will be your desire and the more you will believe it possible.

One of the things that hold people back is even if they get to the point of a written goal; they do not take the time to lay out a list of all the little things they will have to do to get there. And with additional experience, you will add new items to your list until it finally becomes complete.

The fifth step of goal setting is for you to take your list and organize it into a plan. A plan is really quite simple. It is a list organized by priority and importance. You decide what you will do first and what you will do later. You decide what is more important and what is less important. And most of all, you decide upon the one thing that is more important than anything else that you can do immediately to begin moving more rapidly towards your goal.

Step number six is for you to “take action!” This is the big killer for most people. They are procrastinators. They have great ideas combined with great hopes and dreams. They may even get to the point of writing down their goals. But when it comes to taking action, they always have a reason or excuse to procrastinate to put it off until a later time. However, as the Bible says, “Faith without deeds is dead.”

It is when you launch toward your goal that you begin to feel the desire and power that goes along with goal setting. And once you have launched toward your goal, it is much easier for you to continue moving in that direction.

Step number seven is for you to do something every day to move you toward your major goal. Never let a day go by without you engaging in some action that helps you move another step in the direction of what you really, really want in life.

Remember, you can’t hit a target that you can’t see. And if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. The simple seven step act of deciding exactly what you want, writing it down, setting a deadline, making a list, organizing the list into a plan, taking action on the most important item on your list and then doing something every day towards your goal will change your life and your future in ways that you cannot even dream of today.

Do anything you want just by setting a goal! Achieve your dreams! Learn how with Goals! by Brian Tracy.

*20% discount with code: NEWYEAR

*FREE shipping on orders over $25: FREESHIP08

EXPIRES 1/05/09 — excludes items already discounted 35% or more and only one coupon can be used at a time.

Everyone has goals, and now is the BEST time to help your customers get organized to reach them.

Rachel

http://racheldenning.wordpress.com

The Art of Giving (and Receiving)

You must be fit to give before you can be fit to receive.
James Stephens

There seems to be something extra special this time of year. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, a feeling really, that is distinct from the rest of the year.. This is the first year that I’ve been cognizant of it, observing it and analyzing it. Christmas songs seem to do something special to me, they make my heart feel open and warm.

A lot of memories of my father resurface in my mind at Christmas time. He was one who knew how to ‘keep Christmas well’. We always had to have a real Christmas tree, we went as a family to pick it out, then after letting it ‘settle’ overnight, dad would put on the lights while the rest of us hung the decorations. Christmas music was always playing, and we would sing along to Bing Crosby, Amy Grant, and Elvis. (Dad especially liked Elvis and would really get into it, “Ah Ah’ll have-uh bluuuuuue Christmas without you…”)

Then there were the sugar cookies. One night out of the season, the entire family would be confined to the kitchen to make and decorate cookies for the neighbors. Dad would roll them out and bake them, while we would decorate…and decorate…and decorate. Dozens and dozens of cookies. Hours and hours of decorating (at least it seemed like it). The only way we could get out of it was if we took the cookies to the neighbors house and doorbell ditched them. (I was always happy to volunteer).

One of my most memorable Christmases as a child was when we knitted mittens, scarves, hats, and put together hygiene kits, then took them to the homeless people living under the underpass. I remember watching my father from the car window as he walked over to a homeless man who was sitting next to a cardboard box, and handed him his gift. I was so amazed that people lived in those conditions, and an impression was burned into my mind forever- “lift up the hands that hang down and strengthen the feeble knees.” I learned from my father the art of giving.

One other Christmas remains in my memory. I’m now a young adult. My father, always the energetic giver, wanted to give the perfect gift. Once all the gifts were open, he told the girls to wait (me, my mother, and two sisters), for he had one more surprise for us. In to the garage he went, and came out with four matching dresses, each in a different shade of pastel. We were less than excited. They were too old fashioned, too frumpy. How could we wear them?

We agreed to try them on, and take a photo in them, for his sake. We were kind, but inflexible. We didn’t want them. He magnanimously returned them to the store. He knew how to give, and so he was able to receive graciously (our rejection). I had yet to learn the art of receiving.

When I give, I give myself.
Walt Whitman

There is a time to give, and a time to receive. The process of exchanging gifts involves more than just the moment it occurs, and the gift which is given. It involves thoughts about the loved one, pondering, planning, preparation, and presentation. The gift given, no matter what it may be, wanted or unwanted, contains a portion of the giver. In their gift is contained their thoughts, their prayers, and their love.

I have given many gifts in my life, and I have received many. It is this year that I begin to appreciate the gift behind the gift. I am grateful for the friendship, concern and caring that is represented in a gift thoughtfully given. The attention to individual needs and wants, the desire to “lift up the hands, strengthen the knees,” and “gladden the heart.” All this requires the thoughts of the giver directed towards the receiver in a way that brings more to the gift than the the object itself.

May you be blessed during this season to grow in the art of giving, and the art of receiving. May your thoughts and prayers bless those you love, and may your friends and loved ones ever increase.

Merry Christmas!

Rachel

Why Technical Analysis? (Building a Foundation for Profitable Trading)

Many years ago, technical analysis was considered ‘hocus pocus’, and serious investors and traders based their decisions off fundamental analysis only.

In today’s market, fundamental analysis is still widely used among very successful investors, and is an excellent strategy to use in the right market conditions, but technical analysis has made it’s entrance and created a presence not to be trifled with.

What is Technical Analysis?

First of all, what exactly is technical analysis, and what is behind it?

Technical analysis refers to the study and use of information related to stocks and the market in general. Technical analysis (TA) is a combination of charts, bars or candles, graphs, indicators and other symbols which represent to the person reading it the price, volume, momentum, trendlines, averages and other useful information related to a stock which can be used in making trading decisions.

But behind all of that data lies the true source of technical analysis- people. The market is simply a collection of individuals who are buying and selling. Fluctuation in price which is represented on a stock chart is nothing more than a reflection of the nature and mass sentiment of the individuals who are buying and selling. It is a reflection of human nature.

By learning the art of TA, we can discover repeating patters in human behavior that occur over and over again, and acquire the skill to profit from fluctuation in price.

Start the Basic Technical Analysis Course today. Not a member? Sign up for 14 days free.

Short vs. Long Term Investing

Technical analysis is geared more toward the short term, while Fundamental analysis tends to be more long term. But using TA can help you in deciding what market conditions are like and if the are favorable for ‘buy and hold’ or ‘holding for the long term.’

For example, many people made a lot of money buying and holding stocks, until about a year ago when the market began to turn. At that point they began to lose money on the stocks that they were holding, and those losses have continued to increase to date.

With a simple understanding of Technical analysis, many of those losses could have been prevented, or at least significantly reduced. One client had a 401(k) through his employer. He had already lost significants amount of money before signing up with our education.

By learning a little bit about TA, and how to read moving averages and other indicators, he gained the confidence to make an educated decision about his retirement account. He decided that he would exit his current stock and mutual fund positions, keeping his 401(k) in cash (in his account, so he received no penalties, but not invested in any securities).

Over the ensuing weeks he saved over $72,000 that he would have otherwise lost had he remained invested. Needless to say he was a happy camper. He is now using the knowledge he is learning to make money in the current market conditions, allowing him to not only stop losing money, but to begin making it as well, placing him light years ahead of his co-workiers in his investment portfolio.

High Probability Trading

Technical analysis allows traders and investors to read the markets (the sentiment of individuals), and only put their money to work in the market when the chances for success are increased.

When analyzing charts, a trader is looking for the highest number of factors suggesting that a significant move in one direction is possible (higher odds), enough to lead to an acceptable risk/reward ratio.

Everything to do with TA is designed to increase the odds of success in trading. It’s a tool to determine that the reward for investing outweighs the possible risk.

It’s Not About Prediction

Despite what many people believe, TA is not about predicting the future. In reality, it has to do with probability, not prediction. TA helps us to find a many factors as possible that indicate a probable up, down or sideways move in the market.

Even a basic understanding of TA can help even the most steadfast of Fundamental Traders. There are traders who trade only on technicals, but there are not many traders any more that, fundamentalist or not, that do not use some technicals as a part of their trading strategy.

Start the Basic Technical Analysis Course today. Not a member? Sign up for 14 days free.

Kingsley’s Crossing

Kingsley’s Crossing by Olivier Jobard
In Kingsley’s Crossing, a 23-year-old lifeguard from the impoverished town of Limbe, Cameroon, dreams of a better life in Europe. He embarks on a harrowing journey that takes him halfway across Africa. Photojournalist Olivier Jobard documents the passage. See the project at http://mediastorm.org/0010.htm

How grateful I am for the freedoms we enjoy, as well as the abundance and opportunities available to us. Watch this great video about