How To Become More Psychic

Are you psychic? I once heard a psychic tell me, "We are all psychics. The only question is how open we are to that internal nature."

Perhaps. If spirit is this conscious energy that runs through all things, then we truly all ought to be psychic. So, if that is the case, in order to become more psychic and activate our 3rd eye, we must then remove the blocks and learn how to "attune" ourselves to this energy force available to us.

How To Know Your 3rd Eye Isn't Activated?

There are several ways to know your third eye (3rd eye or 6th chakra) is not yet full activated. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do fears and anxieties consume you, or can you release negative thoughts easily?

2. Do you get stuck in fantasy land? Or can you balance fantasy with reality?

3. Are you scared of "Deja Vu" moments? Or can you trust your intuition and insights?

4. Has your ego run amok? Are you overly timid? Or are you able to give yourself credit, and balance pride and ego fairly easily?

5. Do you often feel lonely? Or depressed? Or do you feel empowered and easily overcome adversity?

If you get stuck answering more the front part of each question, you're not really fully engaged with your third eye. If you find yourself gravitating towards saying yes to the latter questions in 1-5 (above), you're pretty much hitting on cylinders of the chakra.

This chart helps understand the colors and conditions for each chakra: http://www.chakraenergy.com/chart.html.

If you look at the 6th chakra, or indigo (3rd eye), you'll notice words around intuition, psychic, enlightenment, and so forth. For conditions, you'll notice nightmares, headaches, migraines, blurred vision, anxiety, paranoia, and things like that. What this means is that if you're suffering from these conditions, it may be a symptom of "dis-ease" with your third eye.

By developing more comfort with your natural third-eye rythym, you're more apt to reduce these symptoms.

Activating the third eye:

In order to activate the third eye, you first must know WHY you want to activate it and WHAT you want to do with that. My suggestion, if you don't know, is to suggest WHY: to become an enlightened, complete, spiritually whole, completely loving being. That, to me, is the most noble and spiritually aware meaning of focusing on 6th chakra or 3rd eye meditation and psychic awareness. Please do not misuse for ill-conceived intent. Remember, karma matters! As for WHAT? I'd suggest focusing on ways to bring more love into the world, through your life. That will be the most powerful way to utilize this energy frequency. Beyond that, WISDOM. When you ask for wisdom, you will be given it. It comes slowly, over time...

What is the chakra? A Chakra is the natural energy that flows throughout your spiritual being, as it connects you within this physical world. It functions not as much in linear fashion, as often depicted in yoga charts, but in a more circular wheel in a general area, as described here: http://www.chakra-colors.com/.

Now, in order to understand how the third eye activates, you must understand the system of the chakras in your natural physical energy. Some good explanations for this may be found at:

http://www.spiritofangels.com/chakrainfo.html

The chakra chart of color:

This is actually a really incredible poster that you can purchase (no affiliate, just my sharing because I truly love it!): http://www.yogalifestyle.com/POBSSacredCentres.htm

The chakra chart of sound:

Being a musician, I'm also interested

in ways to activate the third eye through tonal and atonal qualities. You can go between the crown energy and third eye by vacillating between notes, such as playing between A-B. If you wish to open this area, you must play A and B scales (popular for guitar players). A is probably the most popular key for guitar players, perhaps for this reason, or the fact that guitars are usually strung where A is easy to play. Or, sometimes, Bb (a terrific saxophone key, as the saxophone is closed on the Bb scale for tenor sax this is the key of C, as the horn is a Bb instrument), is interesting, because then you're in the space between the crown and 6th chakra. I love experimenting with sounds. But, the true 3rd eye tone is, in fact, the pure note "A" and will be reflecting that energy.

A really cool site to play with the way sounds work and see them VISUALLY as they are played, is here: http://www.soundessence.net/chakras.php. I also love the way this site describes chakra energy:

"A chakra is a center of activity that receives, assimilates and expresses life force energy. The word Chakra is sanskrit for wheel or disc and signifies one of the seven energy centers of the body. We record every thought and feeling in one of our seven chakras and they become lodged there until they are released. As we evolve and live our lives it is important for us to give up old ideas to move forward and grow. Each of the seven musical notes and seven colors corresponding to the chakras have emotional and physical issues attached to them. It is the quest of Sound Essence to give the information and the tools needed to allow the song of your soul to be heard."

More and more, people are discovering that sound can be used to open parts of our chakra and even heal our physical body: http://www.soundhealingcenter.com/therapyctr.html

Now, if you get really geeked up on this, get a crystal tones, frosted bowl. I LOVE my frosted bowl, and play it to create energy often... friends come over and play it - they are drawn to the sound from it. Kids love it, too!

The third eye is also known as the 6th chakra. Considering this, you have three ways to drive at this part of your spirit, from the meditation practices I've learned:

1. Channel from the root up. Start with your 1st chakra, and work your way up your body. A good meditation for this is to think each color of the chakra spectrum. Another way to do this is to play sounds up the scale of a piano or instrument. I enjoy doing this with my saxophone, as it also involves breathing. If you can imagine the color while you play each note, this is even more powerful. One you play the 6th note, you picture indigo.

2. Channel from the top down. If you start with bright which light, blending into purple, gold, and pink all around you, you will drill down from above your 6th chakra until you settle into the 3rd eye, which is the color indigo. Once you are there you will feel certain vibrations. As I just focused upon indigo my whole body shook with a powerful chill. That is your chakra energy clearing and activating.

3. Channel from the world around you in. Focus on various objects. Close your eyes. Pay attention to the fast flashes hitting your eyes. Slow them down. Breath with open throat deeply for 10 seconds in, 16 seconds out. You may also breathe out shorter while saying "Aum" which will connect you with your spiritual self. Once your eyes are quiet, picture yourself going on a journey. See that journey. Then picture yourself shielded. Ask your guardian to protect you with white and golden light. Then ask for what you want to see. Sometimes you will gain access to your third eye this way. Then focus on indigo.

Meditating:

There are thousands of possible meditations to achieve various states of being. One that is focused on the third eye, or 6th chakra, is this one:

Practice of Purusa Dhyan Meditation

Sit upright in a chair, or in a comfortable cross-legged posture on a sofa or on a cushion on the floor. Close your eyes, and focus your attention at the point between your eyebrows.

Place your attention on the following points for three to five minutes each, monitor your experience at each level, then shift your focus of attention to the next level:

• Sense of sitting in the present time
• Awareness of sensations arising from the environment in the present time
• Awareness of sensations arising in the body in the present time
• Awareness of emotions arising in the present time
• Awareness of thoughts arising in the present time
• Awareness of I AM statements arising in the present time, with associated thoughts, feelings, and memories
• Awareness of memories and impressions bubbling up from the Subconscious
• Awareness of the present time being recorded in memory

Focus your attention in turn on each chakra of the Subconscious mind in the spinal tube base of spine behind the navel behind the solar plexus behind the heart, at the place where the neck meets the shoulders at the base of the skull at the point where the nose meets the forehead

Move behind the point between the eyebrows towards the top of your head. You will encounter a presence behind this center that silently observes. Focus more intently on this presence. You will begin to see light emanating from this presence.

Affirm quietly, "the self, the size of a thumb, is seated behind the two eyes. It is self-effulgent light. It is consciousness itself. I am this consciousness."

This is the attentional principle. This is your third eye, which allows you to see within when your two eyes are closed. Remain in this state for as long as you wish. Then, when you are ready to return, retrace your steps through each focal point until you are fully grounded in your normal waking awareness.

Practice this meditation until you can go at will to each focal point and unite with the attentional principle easily.

There's a really good set of meditations at OSHO, too.

Issues to Review:

Your third eye is your Indigo Brow chakra power. The Indigo chakra is your intelligence center for your true intuition. It is the wisdom center. It is the center that taps into the universal consciousness that flows through everything. Your psychic potential may be best developed through accessing the third eye.

Ways to maximize this access include:

• Star gazing.
• Eye rolls.
• Meditation
• Developing one's intuition and psychic abilities.
• Eat indigo foods and consume indigo drinks.
• Use aromatherapy oils such as Patchouli, Frankincense, Myrrh.
• Music such as Mozart or Bach. Chanting (OM or AUM).
• Wear or carry an indigo gemstone or silver jewelry.
• Indigo stones are Amethyst, Tourmaline, Tanzanite.
• Bathe in the indigo color in your clothing, decor, art, etc.

Mantras:

I found that stating out loud "I am divine love" while breathing, then while breathing out then saying it again, seems to increase your aura around you by 10 feet. A great way to integrate love and compassion with new power.

Another mantra I've been playing with lately is saying "I am divine wisdom" after focusing on the chakra chart colors and working my way down, then back up the chakra spine. Once I am in the indigo circle, I whisper, "I am divine wisdom" and breathing in and out, say it louder each time. Then I focus on what visions come to me. This is also powerful before a brain-storming session for work. I used it today, and the person who received my ideas wrote me back: "I love your ideas... I'll need time to figure out how to implement them!" Clearly, it helps to get focused before you brainstorm!

I like the song by "The Who" called "I can see for miles and miles" this song typifies the mantra of the third eye. I can see for miles, and miles is a very empowering mantra to say after activating your third eye.

Try utilizing your sixth chakra and opening your third eye - especially if you wish to overcome challenges illuminated in the questions above. And, please, comment on what works well for you!
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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Note: this article provided for entertainment purposes. If you're suffering from medical conditions, we suggest you seek professional medical care from a licensed physician.

To read more articles like this, subscribe to the A-Blog.

How To Get More Love

By Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow

How Can I Get More Love?

Where can I find my soul mate? How can I find true love? Is my knight in shining armor for real? How can I meet the woman of my dreams? Are these questions you've asked recently? Singles frequently talk about finding "true love" -- especially when they are in an unsatisfying relationship.


A recent study showed that most people would be willing to give up over 6 months salary to find their "true love". In some cases, this could be quite a bit of money

How many people know where to meet someone, though? In many bookstores you can find dozens of books about finding love or dating for success. John Gray has made boatloads of money with his "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" books. Why? Because we all want to find a partner with whom we can experience deep, lasting love. Fact is, just about everyone wants to know where to go to find our true love and have better relationships. The elephant in the room seems to be the question: How do we meet this mystical person? Recently,

I came across some interesting statistics that shed light on this situation. According to University of Chicago researcher Dr. Edward Lauman, here is how we meet our significant other:

23% meet at school
15% meet at work
10% meet at a private party
8% meet at a bar
8% meet at a church or synagogue
4% meet at the gym
<1% meet through personal ads


These stats may have changed slightly with the recent popularity of AOL, chat rooms and Internet dating. I know of several people who've met on-line. However, the interesting stat, to me, is that almost 30% of the remaining people met OTHER ways! In other words, they met doing something they LOVE. Whether that's swing dancing, listening to music at a concert, volunteering for a charity or meeting at the grocery store - people meet many ways. Upon seeing this I decided that if you were to replace the environment you have at school, you will have the highest likelihood of meeting someone you like. So, perhaps taking a class or lessons or studying a new subject where other people around your age and socio-economic background are likely to hang out and the odds will be higher.

So how do we meet someone? I look at it as catching a wild animal (call it a cat, if that helps).

There are at least two ways you could go about catching a wild cat. One method is to chase after the cat and try to catch it by pouncing on it -- likely to scare the cat away and make it a little more jittery the next time it sees you. This method is unlikely to create success and more likely to leave you feeling frustrated and alone.

The other method is to go where the wild cats are, offer the cat some fish or catnip and wait quietly, enjoying where you are without worrying about whether or not you catch the cat. It may seem like it is taking longer - but this is deceiving, as you are relaxing and enjoying where you are. After a while, when you are relaxed, quiet, and comfortable, the cat may start to check you out. As the cat learns you are safe and have treats for them, they'll be eating out of your hand. Once the word travels, you may even have your choice of several "cats".


Another method is to confidently approach the cat you want and offer it the milk you offer. A friend of mine claims that if you do not seize the world you're just a lamb and waiting for your slaughter. It works for him, as in general a man is still expected to be the person who approaches a woman (with confidence).

The most masterful trait, though, to finding love anywhere, is to simply send love out, without expectation, wherever we go. Sending out unconditional love, as a regular practice, is sure to come back to us tenfold. The trick to making money is often spending some. When you buy a new suit you can land that job sometimes just by looking the part. Well, with love it is the same way. When we are able to be confident and loving, the love we seek may come to us.


Do you have a question relating to finding the love you seek? Check out the AspireNow Advisor - solutions for only $29.95!

What are ways to create more love, or find more love, by sending more love out?


1. Take a friend to lunch or coffee. During the conversation, tell them three things you really like about them (with sincerity).

2. Buy a little gift for a friend, something that you think might uniquely appeal to them, based upon who you know them as. (No gag gifts - they might backfire!) It doesn't have to cost a lot to mean a lot.


3. Call a friend up on the telephone and let them know you really don't have a reason for calling except to say "hi" and you were thinking about them. Is there anything they need that you can help them with? Or, is there a way you can reconnect?

4. Drop by a friends house with a gift, or show up with some food, and offer to share it with them. Let me know one or two things you appreciate about their friendship.


5. Host a potluck party. You can make it interesting and make it a common interest party. For example, my brother goes to a monthly "writer's" party. The group is mostly English Teachers, who wanted to maintain their own craft. Everyone brings their own beverages and food, and the host prepares a main dish. Each person writes something before dinner. They take about 30 - 45 minutes to write their poem or story. After dinner, they sit around and share what they wrote. I cannot express how much more you get to know people from doing a shared interest party versus just showing up to a regular type of party.

6. Offer to do small favors for people. This could be as simple as holding someone's books or handing them the hard to reach item in a grocery store. Random acts of kindness build opportunities for new friendship. Don't expect return favors, just do it.


7. Compliment people who stand out to you. Be sincere, concise, and smile, when you compliment. The more you practice complimenting others the more you will see how people light up at your kindness.

8. Smile when you have no reason to smile. People like happy people. More than one person in my past attracted me because they smiled and laughed a lot. Happiness is contagious!

9. Find an event you want to attend, and invite someone you are interested in to go with you. This could be a play, a movie, a concert, or even a book reading. You choose.


10. Find an event you are interested in, and invite nobody, but go with the expectation to meet at least three new people in a sincere way. Make the meeting about them: ask them questions, show genuine interest in who they are, what they do, how they have fun.

Remember, most people love to share about their vocation, travel, what makes them passionate, how they have fun, their hobbies, and children. These are all pretty safe topics for most folks, and will build good will and better rapport than talking about politics, religion, sex, or other topics that are considered highly sensitive.


Please note: This article is intended for entertainment purpose only. The author of this article may not be certified as a licensed psychotherapist -- please consult professional assistance as your situation dictates.

Learn more at AspireNow's Blog: Seriously Fun Self-Help!


Listen to the AspireNow Radio Show - often featuring special guests!

Visit AspireNow - a leading self-help site on the Net, for more articles like this, at:

http://www.AspireNow.com.

Related books on attracting love:
POWER FLIRTING by GINIE SAYLES - Amazon Price: $49.00 List Price: $49.00
Attracting Genuine Love - Amazon Price: $6.50 List Price: $19.95
The Surrendered Single: A Practical Guide to Attracting and Marrying the Man Who's Right for You Amazon Price: $2.98 List Price: $14.00
His Rules: God's Practical Road Map for Becoming and Attracting Mr. or Mrs. Right Amazon Price: $2.85 List Price: $16.99
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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. To read more articles like this, subscribe to the A-Blog.

How To Break Up

When You Know It's Over

First, how do you end it?

If you were once in love, and if you were once good friends, wouldn't it be wise to end it like you started, to the extent possible? There are a few good rules to abide by in breaking off a relationship.

How to Break Up:

1. Be nice. Let them know you enjoyed their company, had some good times, and wish them well in the future.

Maybe you're thinking, "Scott, you're nuts. There's no way I'm going to give her flowers while I'm dumping her." Or, "Scott, are you outta sight or what? I'm not giving him a massage and showing up with garter belts under my dress when I'm telling him to get lost!"
I know, it's hard. BUT, all I can say is that through any difficult situation, as well as any FUN situation, the same basic rule of life still applies: LOVE is the ANSWER!

PLEASE keep in mind that I'm NOT saying "go back and do it again, baby" because I know that cyclic relationships are usually unhealthy relationships. And unhealthy relationships ought not be continued for the better of all parties involved. I'm just saying be kind, be respectful, be good, be polite, be decent. Is it that hard?

2. When you break up, offer encouragement, if possible. Example: "I hope you find the love you seek."

3. During a break-up is not the time to tell them everything that is wrong with them. This is not the time to tell them all the things they messed up on during the relationship. If you intend to do this, do it with a counselor, not to your partner. If they ask, "why are you breaking up with me," tell them one or two key things that are unchangeable about the situation or that you see as not working for you or the both of you. In your description, be very simple (don't say more than you need to), be specific, and be positive by framing each negative around two positives (PNP approach). Don't lie or tell them it's you not them. Just make it about CIRCUMSTANCES rather than personality. That's the nice thing to do.

4. Initially, do not continue to write them, call them, contact them, or ask for anything back besides the first time you ask for it (Occasionally, people do weird things to "get back" at their ex-lover, such as keeping their stuff. If this happens and your things are very valuable or quite important to you, and they refuse to return them within two weeks, let them know you'll be alerting authorities unless they return the items within a week. If they do not return them within this time, follow through and you'll likely get your things back.) Otherwise, consider it the same as if a thief had stolen from you at random. You'll get over it, regardless of what they keep. But minimize all contact during the break up.

5. If you work or go to school with your ex, be cordial but let it go at that. If they decide to be friends with you later, it should be the person who was dumped to reach out and make that happen. If you were the dumper, rather than dumpee, then you should reach out when you are comfortable that you've moved on from the relationship and let them know you intend to be friends, but I do not suggest doing this during the initial breakup period. I once knew a woman who continued working her old job where her ex also worked. She talked about how she was broken up "but not really out of it" for MONTHS after the break-up. Years, in fact. If working together makes the situation particularly difficult, I suggest finding a new place of employment.
It will be better in the long run for both of you.

6. Remember to smile. Remember to pray. Remember that you will get through your break-up and try to keep yourself happy. When you get down, look up - it raises the spirits. If you get bummed out, work out. If you get stressed, play music, learn to paint, learn something new. whatever, just don't sit there and stew in bad feelings.

7. When you break up, it is good if you can end up friends. If you can't figure that out within one year, let it go. When you are comfortable, try to reach out in a positive way, and at least let them know that you wish them well. This is a positive way to reset closure in case the initial breakup ended with resentments. It can also be helpful to forgive each other, and to accept each other's offer of forgiveness. Forgiveness is important to release anger, resentment, and negative bonding cords so that you may love again in the future. Remember, show mercy. As you show mercy to others, so it will be that mercy will be shown to you.

8. When you break up, don't surprise anybody. If you're thinking about ending it, you ought to have had some discussion about how the relationship isn't working for you. Don't just one day, out of the blue, say "I'm done," and leave. That's not cool. Is that how you'd want to be treated? If things aren't working, you ought to have been communicating what hasn't worked for a period of MONTHS, or certainly at least days. The break-up shouldn't come as a surprise.

9. Unlike in the movie, The Break-Up, starring Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn, don't tell your guy you want to break up, if in fact you really are just trying to get him to notice and show appreciation for you. Breaking up is a terminator. He likely will act as a guy who has been dumped rather than more appreciative (as in the movie) and it will backfire on you, big-time.

I'd recommend you make an effort to break up in a loving way. You never know, you just might get back together and wouldn't want to regret what you said. Also, what would you want someone to say to you? The golden rule is a wise rule to follow when you break up.

Learn more about how to deal with a break-up at AspireNow:

The AspireNow Break Up Guide
How To Get Over A Painful Breakup
Digging In The Dirt

Rebuilding: When Your Relationship Ends, 3rd Edition (Rebuilding Books; For Divorce and Beyond) Amazon Price: $10.34 List Price: $16.95

The Journey from Abandonment to Healing: Turn the End of a Relationship into the Beginning of a New Life Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $15.00
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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

You may republish this article only AS A COMPLETE WHOLE with ENTIRE LINKS and copyright messages attached. All rights reserved. To read more articles like this, subscribe to the A-Blog.

Is Love Like Diamonds or Chocolate?

I recently watched a movie that compared relationships and dating to diamonds and chocolate.

A comment in the movie went something like this:

"If a woman wants a one night stand, she wants chocolate. If she wants a long-term relationship, she wants diamonds."

So, the question for men and women is, do you break out the chocolate, or the diamonds?

I'm curious what women would think of this. After all, aren't diamonds a girl's best friend? Then again, chocolate is also known as an aphrodisiac to love. Men, on the other hand, are often blamed for wanting chocolate. Yet, there are men who crave a diamond relationship.

Now, to dig deeper, let's look at what chocolate really means.

Chocolate is fast. It's easy. It doesn't cost a lot. Sure, it's a nice gift. I've given a candy bar before. Even Hershey's kisses. It's cute. But, I'm not sure chocolate says "I want you forever." It seems to me that chocolate says more "I want you right now." In other words, chocolate equates to a gift of lust. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Many love relationships start with lust. It's a symbol of the heart. How many chocolate hearts are given out on Valentine's Day?

Chocolate, roses, and things like that are nice, but they don't say the same thing as jewelry.

If you're someone who tends to go s-l-o-w - so much so that you tend to lose the man/woman you really want, maybe you ought to try chocolate. It might be a refreshing change of pace for you. Sometimes, the person who plods along needs a kick in the pants.

Now, on the other hand, if you're the impetuous sort of person who jumps into things, you might consider treating your relationship like a diamond.

Why? Well, because if you've been quick, fast, and easy, you've been giving a signal that you're not in it for the long-term. And, as a result, you'll get what you seek. It's the law of attraction, as applied to relationships. Are you tired of playing the field and want to settle down? Shift your perspective. Rather than the quick pick-up or giving it up early, stretch it out, take your time. In other words, think diamonds. See how things shift for you.

So, if it's love, she wants diamonds. If it's lust, chocolate.

Which one are you giving? Which do you attract?

Learn more at www.AspireNow.com:

• What_Men_Want
• What_Women_Want
• 5_Keys_to_Better_Relationships

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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. To read more articles like this, subscribe to the A-Blog.

A Childhood Hero: Daredevil Evel Knievel Dies

According to a family member, the legendary daredevil, Evel Knievel, died at the age of 69 today.

Sad news. As a kid, I was inspired by the daring feats Evel Knievel would try to accomplish.

The biggest dare I recall Evel going after was jumping the Snake River on his motorcycle. At the time, this was a big deal. I remember the crazy stunts Evel would do, and also remember that in many of these stunts, he failed. I recall seeing him with broken legs in casts. It wasn't pretty.

Yes, there he was, in all his glory, dressing like an American flag, ready to jump the next Guiness record into history.

At the time of his death, this article reports that he had 40 broken bones in his body. What sacrifice to live his purpose!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7122258.stm

If you think about your own life, what have you sacrificed to live your dreams? Do you have ANY broken bones over it? I don't. I may have experienced other aches and pains, but not those.

Imagine if, every time you were going to go for your next big challenge, you know you could end up in the hospital -- or even worse, dead! That was the fear that Evel Knievel had to overcome. And that was why he was an American hero.

Who were your childhood heroes? What did they sacrifice? I love hearing stories of people who've faced their fears and recovered. Evel Knievel was a hero who showed us all how it could be done.
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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

You may republish this article only AS A COMPLETE WHOLE with ENTIRE LINKS and copyright messages attached. All rights reserved. More fun than breaking a leg: subscribe to the A-Blog.

How Important Is Global Warming?

In a speech to the London Business School on March 28, 2006, entitled "The Opportunity for Private Citizens to Effect Positive Change in an Increasingly Interdependent World," Bill Clinton discussed Global Warming. In that address, the former President of the United States asserted: "[Global Warming] is the only existential threat that, those of you who are students here, your generation faces. It could literally undermine your ability to raise your children and grandchildren." He went on to say "And yet it is a phenomenal opportunity."

Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warmingrming.

The problem with energy and the global warming trend is caused by several factors, but primarily these three:

We're burning too much coal, using too much oil, and deforesting too much of our planet. Of these three, though, over 65% of the damage is caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas. In other words, the way we're powering our world is impacting our very future existence upon it.

However, the odds are rather low that anything is going to change dramatically until the Earth burps on the Human inhabitants pumping out all of the precious black gold from its Geothermal inner layers. Upon what fact can I base this opinion?

Fact: over 50% of the world's richest companies are OIL & GAS companies.
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It's true. Look at this list from Forbes, published in March '07:

Rank Company Country Industry Sales Profit

#1 ExxonMobil United States Oil & Gas $335.09 $39.50
#2 Royal Dutch Shell Netherlands Oil & Gas $318.85 $25.44
#3 BP United Kingdom Oil & Gas $265.91 $22.29
#4 Citigroup United States Banking $146.56 $21.54
#5 Bank of America United States Banking $116.57 $21.13
#6 General Electric United States Conglom. $163.39 $20.83
#7 Pfizer United States Drug/Bio. $ 48.37 $19.34
#8 Chevron United States Oil & Gas $195.34 $17.14
#9 HSBC Holdings United Kingdom Banking $121.51 $16.63
#10 PetroChina China Oil & Gas $ 68.43 $16.53
#11 ConocoPhillips United States Oil & Gas $167.58 $15.55
#12 Total France Oil & Gas $175.05 $15.53

(Numbers are in billions of dollars)

If you think the numbers change when you sort on Total Sales, oil and gas still rank 6 out of 12, or 50% of the list. That's a lot of revenue and a ton of profit for those six companies.

Source: Forbes list of 2,000 richest companies, top (03/07)
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What's my point? Of the wealthiest companies in the world, black gold (oil & gas) is producing more wealth than almost all of the other companies combined. They are that rich.

Chart at left source: Forbes list of 2,000 richest companies, top (03/07)

And that's the problem with global warming. See, we COULD produce a car that runs on solar and air, IF we put our research dollars behind these technologies. Forget bio diesel, ethanol, which drive up the cost of corn and thus food cost. Forget hydrogen, even, which I've been saying is the answer for over 10 years. We need cars that run on compressed AIR - our greatest resource next to water.

And, we need these vehicles now. Upon looking at the rate of pollution and warming, Al Gore did a pretty good job of explaining the problem in "An Inconvenient Truth" with the following chart compiled by the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research of the UK Meteorological Office:



The clean air acts like the Kyoto Treaty and other government agency efforts to reduce pollution to 1990 standards is not enough to reduce the impact upon the environment. As you can see here, 1990 is still too high, and may still lead to a global warming or ice age. The world is filled with many, many people. All of these people driving cars might get the oil companies excited, but at some point the amount of global warming just might cause the skin of our earth to shift. The thin crust we all live upon is not that thick compared to the Earth's core. Polar caps HAVE melted before in the Earth's past and shifted the landscape.

Why aren't the oil companies worried? Actually, they seem quite concerned. In visiting each of the energy company websites, I found that most of them are mentioning sustainable energy, renewable energy, and Global Warming. Chevron has an action plan to address Global Warming that includes (1) reducing emission of greenhouse gases and energy efficiency, (2) investing in R & D and technology, (3) pursuing business opportunities in driving alternative energy revenue, and (4) supporting flexible and economically sound policies and mechanisms that protect the environment. It all sounds good on the surface, such as agreeing to lowering levels to 1990; however, I think we need to be MORE dramatic than 1990. We need 1890 emission levels if we are to start reversing the damage! Many of their initiatives, underneath the surface, didn't seem to me to be aggressively addressing the problem. Reading about carbon sequestration didn't convince me that we could lower greenhouse levels substantively through that program.

Considering these companies ARE investing in new technology in record amounts (BP claims to have invested in alternative energy more than any other company in their current commercials that airing on CNBC), clearly they know alternatives exist, except that these companies often buy alternative energy companies to shut down threats to their own existence. But what can they do to stop their pursuit of wealth? At this point, the markets are driven by REVENUES, PROFITS, and HITTING ESTIMATED NUMBERS. As a CEO of a corporation, if you miss your numbers, your stock gets hammered. As CEO, when your stock drops, your job is on the line. So, the very system is working to fuel the oil thirst that haunts our fragile planet's future existence.

Considering that momentum, what can we do?

First, start speaking up. That's why I wrote this post. I care about green companies. But, more than that, I want to see a car fueled by AIR hit the market in a serious way. Pictured, at right, is an air car by MDI. So, it IS possible. Air, as a fuel, souldn't cost much of anything and combining the solar cell technology with an air engine could enable the world to support Chinese and Indian automobiles, which are only rising in demand in our global future.

If you're developing technology around air, solar, or hydrogen, and wish to include me in your initiatives, please share what you're developing. Perhaps we can start a group at Plaxo to facilitate this discussion further. You may also contact http://www.arriive.com/ for further help on the matter.

Second, start investigating what is happening with air and solar. I keep thinking of the lyrics to the song that go "All I need is the air that I breathe yes to love you" and believe air and sunshine is the answer. Call me a tree-hugger if it makes you happy, but it just makes the most sense to me. We have the technological know-how to develop these technologies to be produced en-masse and develop a more sustainable planet. We're just NOT getting these developments fast enough because of the financial factors driving the greed of the world's wealthiest companies. We need to push our government, these companies, and other influences to act now and get the infrastructure developed to support a shift in how we power our planet.

Last, make an effort to reduce your own oil dependency. Drive less. Lower your commute. Get rid of the gas guzzler and buy a vehicle more economical - or better yet - a hybrid. We've got to start moving more in the direction of sustainable living. A pdf file by the EPA helps describe these steps in further detail.

I'm involved with an organization called Global Footprint. The focus of the group is how humans can grow sensibly and sustain healthy living within the footprint of the Earth.

Again, in looking at what's happening around the world, start to think about AIR and SOLAR vehicles. Ultimately, we need to arrive at a solution allowing sustainable economic and human population growth within our global footprint. The opportunity is here now. We must not delay.
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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

You may republish this article only AS A COMPLETE WHOLE with ENTIRE LINKS and copyright messages attached. All rights reserved. More valuable than a tank of gas: To read more articles like this, subscribe to the A-Blog.

Fake It Til You Make It

How many times have you heard this expression?

"Fake it until you make it."

I heard it again tonight. It can be useful to people trying to get to an acceptable level of success. I've used it myself in my past. Heck, sometimes, with some new products or services, I feel like I'm faking it a little, now. But, actually, what I've realized is that when we think we're faking it, we're often not faking it at all.

That's right. I don't think it's fake to stick your hand up in the air and say "I can do that!" and then have to figure out how to do it. Because, frankly, many of the world's biggest companies do this when they are trying to secure a big account.

I remember when I told Tandem I could sign over $1,000,000 in revenue volume in equipment for computer service and support and start supporting it with just five days' advanced notice. That's not a lot of time to implement a major deal of that size. At the time, all of the rules in my company were stacked against me. The company had a hard and fast rule that we couldn't add equipment without serial numbers. We also were supposed to input our own orders (I'd have been there a month just doing that!) Yet, this was a lot of money. I needed the deal. So, I stood up and said to the client "We can do it." In other words, I was faking it until I made it. But, I knew I could do it, if I just got my management team to buy into the deal.

So, my biggest sales pitch was actually not to the customer, but to my own company. I profiled the account, profiled the equipment base, and approached my Director of service operations. He listened to me, then dialed the Senior Vice President of Operations at D1, Marty McHale. I liked Marty. I'd met him before and let him know what I was working on just three months earlier. So, it wasn't a new discussion. Like my Mom used to tell me "don't go to the grocery store when you're hungry" I'd bought my groceries in advance, so to speak. After Marty heard my profile, and listened to the Director's position, he suggested implementing with an asset management program to get the serial numbers. I suggested assigning an implementation manager to the account so that I could still be free to sell to other accounts. Marty assigned J.D. to the account, who masterfully smoothed over all of the initial customer issues on our first service calls.

So, that was a situation where speaking up and saying, "yes, we can do this," when I wasn't 100% sure of HOW we'd do it, made me a lot of money.

There are probably people who will read this and say "If I say I can do something, and I can't, aren't I setting myself up for failure?"

The answer is "Yes, if you don't have the experience or know how you will do what you raise your hand for, indeed you DO have an opportunity to fail." I know. I failed miserably doing this. I once agreed to speak at a group of managers, with a time slot right after lunch, and with the meeting place right by the beach (good for them, not good for me). To make matters more challenging, it was my first talk in over a year, and I was speaking on a new topic. The group I was speaking to was, in many ways, more senior to me, with more experience. And, last, I was totally sick with a bad flu when I accepted the speaking engagement, figuring I could get well in the week before I spoke.

Bad idea. You can't fool mother nature and this was before the discovery of Airborne. I was NOT well the day before the talk, but felt it was too late to cancel. The next day, I was still messing around with slides trying to get it just right. I practiced my talk on the drive to Santa Cruz. When I arrived half an hour early, I found out that they didn't have the proper overhead set-up for me. Even the extra time didn't help me correct the problem. So, I had to put my slides on a chair, which looked tacky. I was nervous, sick, and under pressure. The group had people in the back of the room being intentional trouble-makers. Well, it was a rough day. If I had to grade my talk, I think I'd have given it a 6 out of 10 that day. I was that bad. And, for me, that was a dismal failure. I'm used to getting 9's and 10's on my talks! I learned so much about speaking from that talk! I'll never forget one of the managers who looked in my eyes, held my hand, and said, "Scott, you have a gift. Make sure you use it." Her comment is still part of what drives me to speak to this day.

Now, when I go into a group, I speak about topics I've spoken about before. In addition, I take certain steps to control what is happening in the room. I often include facilitators in the back who I can refer to as I speak. This gives me a complete command of the room, because people in the back won't goof off if they know you have a plant back there watching them. More than that, I do active Q & A whenever possible, because, like Bill Clinton, I'm good at the townhall style of speaking off the stump. Slides are cool, but they can restrict what you're doing if you're not careful.

I always have my notes together before my talk now, and always practice it. Then I throw my notes away and try it again. It's amazing how much you learn when you can't cheat!

You probably get the point: you CAN take a chance. You MIGHT fail. But, even the failures will end up making you stronger. So, my theory is, GO FOR IT. Have you faked it and had it work out for you? Flopped? What would you recommend to your peers and people starting out with living their purpose?

I say "Fake it until you make it." And, you just might surprise yourself. If not, you'll learn so much to help you be even better in the future, the lesson will be worth the cost.
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This article is written by Scott Andrews, Founder of AspireNow. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

You may republish this article only AS A COMPLETE WHOLE with ENTIRE LINKS and copyright messages attached. All rights reserved. To read more articles like this, subscribe to the A-Blog.