World's Luckiest Woman Reveals Her Winning Mind Tricks

No, this is not a scene from Leave it to Beaver, or The Brady Bunch. This is the family of Helene Hadsell, enjoying their new home in 1969. The 4300 sq ft home was built in Irving, Texas at an estimated cost of $50,000, which back then was a lot of house. What makes this family and their new home so interesting, is they won it.

In the New York World's Fair of 1964, the Formica Corporation sponsored a nationwide contest, with the grand prize being a copy of the World's Fair Home, plus the lot, built anywhere in the US the winner chooses. Of course, out of 1.5 Million entries, Helene and Pat Hadsell won.

"For God's sake, act surprised!"

What makes this story rather unusual -- besides the fact they won -- is that she KNEW she was going to win. Without a doubt. In fact, she had her husband take the day off work, because 'she knew' the Formica People were coming over that day to tell them they had won. She told her husband, "For God's sake, act surprised!"

The phone did ring later that day, the Vice President for the company was waiting for Mr. Hadsell to get home from work, because he had some 'interesting news' for them. Imagine his surprise when Helene told him that her husband was already home. "Oh yes, he's here, he took the day off. " Soon after the representatives arrived, and informed the lucky couple they had indeed won the home, they were even more surprised when the Hadsells presented them with the plans for their new home. "Uh...you have plans?" the VP asked.   "Oh yes" said Helene, "We been planning a new home". She just left out the part where they were expecting Formica to pay for it.

You might say that Helene was very lucky to win that home. But -- you would be mistaken -- in that 'luck' had nothing to do with it. Like I said, Helene KNEW she was going to win. She always wins. Every contest she has entered - she has won.

She has won cars, furniture, stereos, musical instruments, clothing, groceries, trips to Europe... Whenever Helene sees something that she wants, she finds a contest that is giving that particular something away, and she wins it. She told her husband that she wanted to be sitting in a sidewalk cafe, in Paris, sipping a glass of wine on her 40th birthday. Several months before her birthday she entered a contest sponsored by a cola company, "Where in the World do you Want to Go, and Why?" Helene won...... 3rd prize, a Hammond Organ. Nice, but not what she wanted. 

Not giving up, she entered another contest sponsored by a Men's Sportsware Company giving away trips to Europe. This time she entered twice, her entry was for Paris, and her husband's entry was for Venice. While she waited, her and her husband went out and got their shots and passports. Talk about belief! One month before her birthday, she won the trip to Venice, with a stopover in Paris.

"You can have anything you want, provided you know what you want."

Helene's lucky streak began in 1958 while she was reading "The Power of Positive Thinking", by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. She became excited when she read, "You can have anything you want, provided you know what you want". 

Her husband was reading a popular fishing magazine and she excitedly told him, "We can have whatever we want!" He replied while pointing to the magazine, "Fine, I'd like this outboard motor..." She entered a contest and won it. 

Today, Helene is 84yrs old and is still as feisty as ever. Her list of personal friends include the late Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, the late Dr. Joseph Murphy (The Power of Your Subconscious Mind), the late Jose Silva (Silva Mind Control), and even Joe Vitale from the blockbuster movie, The Secret.

How to Win Contests Like a Pro

According to Helene, the key is a well know, although mysterious concept in Positive Thinking: Picture the thing you desire as having already happened or taken place.

"They practically hit you over the head with it in all the motivational and inspirational books", Helene says, "and still not that many people actually do it. See clearly in your mind how the Rose Bowl Parade is going to look on that new color TV. Savor the sizzle of that Roast as you take it out of that shiny new microwave oven."

Her formula is simple, and catchy.

• Select It (know what you want)
• Project It (see it as already happened)
• Expect It (believe it is already yours)
• Collect It.

It seems to have worked for Helene, who is now the author of several books, "Contesting: The Name it and Claim It Game", and "Confessions of an 83yr Old Sage".

Check out the story @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_4jJrVvGQ 

Story Time - Management Special!!

Story time - Management Special

Story - I

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.

A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.”

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
All of a sudden a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Usually the shop-floor staff of the company plays football. The middle-level managers are more interested in tennis. The top management usually has a preference for golf.
FINDING: As you go up the corporate ladder, the balls reduce in size.

 Story - II

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.”

Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.”
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave it enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

MORAL OF THE STORY:


Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

Story - III

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field.

While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there miserably in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

MORALS OF THE STORY:

1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3) And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

Story - IV

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower & the doorbell rings. After a few seconds of arguing over who should go and answer the doorbell, the wife gives up, quickly wraps herself up in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $ 800 just to drop that towel that you have on”. After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. Bob has a close look at her for a few seconds, hands over $800 and quietly leaves.

Confused, but excited about her good fortune, the woman wraps back up in the towel and goes upstairs. When she gets back to the bathroom, her husband asks from the shower “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbour,” she replies

“Great,” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $! 800 he owes me?”

MORAL OF THE STORY:


Share critical credit information with your stakeholders to prevent avoidable exposure.




JOKE OF THE DAY!

A Senior citizen drove his brand new BMW Z4 convertible out of the car salesroom. Taking off down the motorway, he floored it to 100 mph; enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.

‘Amazing!’ he thought as he flew down the M1, enjoying pushing the pedal to the metal even more. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a police car behind him, blue lights flashing and siren blaring.

‘I can get away from him - no problem!’ thought the elderly nutcase as he floored it to 110mph, then 120, then 140mph. Suddenly, he thought, ‘What on earth am I doing? I’m too old for this nonsense!’ So he pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the police car to catch up with him.

Pulling in behind him, the police officer walked up to the driver’s side of the BMW, looked at his watch and said, ‘Sir, my shift ends in 10 minutes. Today is Friday and I’m taking off for the weekend. If you can give me a reason why you were speeding that I’ve never heard before, I’ll let you go.’

The man, looked very seriously at the policeman, and replied, ‘Years ago, my wife ran off with a policeman. I thought you were bringing her back.’

2012: The End of World or Our Enlightened New World

You may have already sensed that a New World is coming into each of our personal lives. If you stop and truly pay attention, you can feel it. 

As everything continues moving faster and faster we cannot help but wake up and realize our divine infinite potentiality. We are each being pulled, cajoled, and summoned to spiritually awaken by the people and global events around us. 

Our planet's economic, political and environmental shifts are our "wake up calls", forcing us to individually turn inwards, and create a more sensitive, loving, and conscious approach to life.

This deeper sensitivity has in turn awakened a new kind of human being inside all of us. A being who is attuned to their natural divine state within, guided by their intuition, and enlightened by their own individual consciousness.

"The roses bloom so beautifully because they are not trying to become lotuses. All effort is futile. You have to be just yourself." ~Osho

As the world continues to wake us up, the number of enlightened beings will naturally multiply and collectively in time create a New World. This global enlightenment will create a foundation of peace for this planet for the first time in many millennia. Our planet is about to give birth to billions of heart centered open minded people, and nobody is going to miss this massive enlightening ride!!

The experience of world peace is only created by a massive movement of individual inner peace. This global feeling of peace occurs when the "hundredth monkey" wakes up to recognize that inside is something exquisite, unlimited in potential, and truly Divine. 

The massive spiritual awakening is also based on a scientific evidence of a true energetic shift in our physical environment. Astronomers have calculated that by Solstice on December 21st 2012, there will be a cosmic perfect alignment of our planet Earth, our Sun, and the very center of our Milky Way galaxy. This is the exact date that the ancient 26,000 year Mayan calendar predicted that the New World will "officially" begin. Many of you are already awake, and are here to simply assist the rest of the planet by being a guiding light for their spiritual awakening.

This outer alignment of our stars or celestial bodies creates an inner alignment within our physical flesh bones and mental/emotional bodies. This divine configuration allows you to become "synchronized" with your world.

As we move closer to this grand alignment, you will automatically be pulled towards this inner alignment of your mind, body, and soul, and rediscover a deeper spiritual alignment with your Divine Source. This bio-energetic centering causes all energy centers (chakras) in your body to open and allow you to simply trust life completely. When peace is found within you, it is seen and experienced all around you. The outer peace you project will allow everyone to relax more deeply and consciously explore every aspect of their being.

"Being content with what you have is priceless. Sun moon and the truth can not be hidden. Happiness is the greatest wealth. Health is the greatest gain. Trustworthy is the best relative. Nirvana is the ultimate bliss." ~Buddha

Our world is already filled with millions of highly intelligent, sensitive, loving and super-psychic beings. Many are radiating love with such a boundless, welcoming soft warm energy that you will be pulled in vibrationally and shift into this higher loving way of naturally operating daily. By 2012 you will "have to" open up to the highest form of love just to survive this intense outer/inner alignment. 

The conscious energy on the planet will continue to grow exponentially each year. By the time we approach the end of 2012, there will be over 8000 enlightened beings on this planet which is the tipping point number and enough to create the 100th monkey wave of awakening. Perhaps the most interesting news I've heard is that there already are many highly evolved beings from other planets in our galaxy who will be coming here to watch this grand finale show!

The ideas about a New Enlightened World is very contagious and will grow exponentially. The more we think about it, the more energy is invested into manifesting it. However, the momentum is already there and this world is about to have a massive spiritual awakening that cannot be stopped. 

Yet, you can jump on the boat sooner rather than later. To realize what is still asleep, resistant, or righteous in you is the first step to awakening out of the old dream. Waking up first begins with realizing that you are the co-creator of your reality, and that your imagination is the only limit you have. So be aware of the thoughts you are having in each moment, and cultivate a presence that is the witness of these thoughts.

The thoughts you have are like clouds passing through the sky. Let them float on by. Know that you are the vast, spacious, and infinite boundless sky! Be that throughout your day and you will truly recognize this vast freedom that always dwells inside of you.

"Look within, see the Self. Then there will be an end of the world and its miseries." ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

I have found that one of the greatest ways to prepare yourself today for this New World is to find peace within yourself and within every relationship you have. The more intimate you can become, the more juicy the awakening is. 

When you start recognizing the divine within yourself and in everyone, then everyone you meet becomes a divine teacher showing you exactly what you need to learn next on your life journey. The people that you struggle with are in your life to give you the opportunity to deepen in compassion and awareness for they are the slower ones getting on the ride. It may be your job to assist them in becoming more open, awake, and loving. When you vibrationally step up to the plate, you will help them create this shift and at the same time open up even more to your highest Self. 

Every person you struggle with will only be forcing you to dig deeper into your inner wellspring of lightness, love, and inner peace. The gems you find inside yourself will breed an even higher awareness, allowing others to respond from a more empowered loving space. This will enable you to FEEL connected with the millions of highly intelligent, sensitive, loving, and super-enlightening beings that are already on the planet today.

"Love is not a quantity, it is a quality, and a quality of a certain category that grows by giving, and dies if you hold it. If you are miserly about it, it dies. So really be a spendthrift! Don't bother with whom." ~Osho

A very important step to prepare for this new world spiritual awakening is to learn how to quiet the mind. You can do this easiest by sitting with a conscious "enlightened" master, teacher, or someone who radiates pure love, lightness of being, and absolute acceptance of who you are.  Let your body feel the difference and let it decide which one truly resonates with who you want to become next year. And as they say, when the student is ready the teacher will magically appear.

Another step to awakening is to be conscious of each choice that you make. Every being in the New World will understand that there are no "accidents." Every experience is synchronistic and divine. You are waking up to the fact that you are The Creator of your every experience. Take responsibility now for what is in your life today and be thankful for it before you focus on what you want to be, do, and have tomorrow. By approaching today with gratitude, you open your heart and mind in each situation and relationship you have.

"Since everyone is one's own Self, whoever does whatever to whomever is doing it only to himself." ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

As far as the physical state of the New World, the best choice is to be at-one with your environment. Embody the most natural state of compassion and understanding by being ONE with the earth, air, plants, oceans, animals, sea creatures, and fellow human beings. In the future we will be forced to recycle everything to survive. We will have to use other sustainable resources of energy to create electricity. There will be new advanced technology available for us to create a pollution-free world where we are using free-energy and water-fueled cars will become the norm.

Every man and woman of this New World will know how to live in harmony with others, not because it is the "right" thing to do, but because they will know that any harm done to the other on any level is merely doing harm to their own selves. This global brother/sisterhood will create a more conscious, healthy, and harmonious world for all to enjoy. As each human being becomes more conscious of their thoughts, actions, and how they want to impact their environment the outer world will reap those benefits.

"See the perfection in the seeming imperfection that seems to be." ~ Lester Levinson

The interesting thing is that the more conscious, awake, and open-hearted you become now, the more you will see, feel, and experience that this New World is already here now and happening today. Of course our news and media cannot dictate this perception since they can only relay a small pigeonhole of information about what is actually happening on the planet in each moment. 

Yet, the bigger truth is that there is a momentum of deeper spiritual awareness that is blossoming everywhere. The more realistic picture of our future is that our consciousness is like a flower whose petals are blossoming naturally on its own accord. If you take a big whiff you can already smell the fragrance. This world is waking up and your job is to relax and remain open and receptive to what is happening here now.

In the New World everyone comes equipped with the Universal understanding that we are each conscious manifestors of our individual realities. As this understanding deepens and becomes a common household way of being on the planet, the awesome miraculous synchronicities we experience will multiply. Sure we can take them personally and say WE are individually manifesting our outer experiences, or we can take them impersonally and see that we are merely a drop in the Universal ocean that is blossoming this new existence. Either way, there will be a much deeper more personal freedom found in everyone that will truly satisfy our souls!

"We are more free than any thought conceived of what defines freedom. Who we are is far more vast than any thing the mind thinks we are." ~Angela Walker

In order to jump on this global train ride to enlightenment sooner (than later), it is imperative to know yourself intimately. Start with learning how to quiet the mind and find absolute stillness inside. Then, you can be conscious and know the true power behind each choice that you make. Every being in the New World will understand that there are no "accidents." That each person, each interaction, every situation is absolutely synchronistic and divine. You are waking up to the fact that we are all powerful conscious co-creators of our world.

Take responsibility now for what is in your life today and focus on what you want instead of what you do not want. You’ll consciously create the reality you want and be able to approach all beings with an open heart under any circumstances. When you can rest in that stillness for 3 minutes each day, you will truly understand the vast unlimited potentiality you have inside to offer the world.

'Missing Link' Between Madness and Genius

The Telegraph

Genius cannot exist without mental disorder, according to a study that names George Orwell, LS Lowry and Lewis Carroll among 21 artists who suffered a form of autism.

The psychiatric portrait of some of the most imaginative minds in history claims to prove the link between madness and greatness.
Beethoven, Mozart, Hans Christian Andersen and Immanuel Kant are among the musicians, writers, painters and philosophers who have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

Prof Michael Fitzgerald, a psychiatrist and expert in the syndrome that affects social relationships but not intellect, claims that people with Asperger's can have exceptional artistic creativity, as well as mathematical genius.

Einstein and other engineering geniuses have already been suggested as sufferers. Prof Fitzgerald claims that some of the same genes that cause Asperger's are a source of creative brilliance.
One of the characteristics of Asperger's is thought to be an inability to engage in creative play. But Prof Fitzgerald says the syndrome almost certainly drove Orwell, Lowry and Carroll to writing and painting as a form of "self-help".

"Asperger's and creativity are two sides of the same coin - you can't get one without the other," he said.

His claims are set out in The Genesis of Artistic Creativity, which is to be published later this month, and have already won support from The National Autistic Society.

Dr Judith Gould, the director of the diagnostic unit at the National Autistic Society, said yesterday: "The theory makes sense, because one of the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's is a 'patchy' ability, where some skills are better than others.

"That is greatly emphasised in geniuses."
However, Prof John Geake, a researcher into cognitive creativity attached to Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University, was not convinced.
He said: "The truth is that most highly intelligent people are very competent at life."

Prof Fitzgerald, a psychiatrist at Trinity College, Dublin, has diagnosed more than 900 people with the syndrome since he began practising in 1974. For the study, he assessed the personalities of 21 geniuses against the criteria for Asperger's, using biographies and first-person recollections. He believes that Orwell displayed the social impairment, narrow focus, repetitive behaviour and clumsiness typical of the syndrome. And Beethoven, who was "clumsy", "emotionally immature" and "had an unusually large head" also fit the criteria for Asperger's. An expert on Beethoven, Dr Barry Cooper, said last night that he barely recognised the description of the composer.

"He was unkempt because his mind was on higher things," he said. "And I have never heard him described as emotionally immature."

Love is a Painkiller, say brain researchers

Love hurts, at least according to many a romantic songwriter, but it may also help ease pain, US scientists suggest.

Brain scans suggest many of the areas normally involved in pain response are also activated by amorous thoughts.

Stanford University researchers gave 15 students mild doses of pain, while checking if they were distracted by gazing at photos of their beloved.

The study focused on people early in a romance, journal PLoS One reported, so the "drug of love" may wear off.

The scientists who carried out the experiment used "functional magnetic resonance imaging" (fMRI) to measure activity in real-time in different parts of the brain.

It has been known for some time that strong feelings of love are linked to intense activity in several different brain regions.

These include areas linked to the brain chemical dopamine, which produces the brain's feel-good state following certain stimulants - from eating sweets to taking cocaine.

"Light up"
The Stanford University researchers had noticed that when we feel pain, some of the same areas "light up" on the scans - and wondered whether one might affect the other.

They recruited a dozen students who were all in the first nine months of a relationship, defined as "the first phase of intense love".

Each was asked to bring in a picture of the object of their affection and photos of what they deemed an equally attractive acquaintance.

While their brains were scanned, they were shown these pictures, while a computer controlled heat pad placed in the palm of their hand was set up to cause them mild pain.

They found that viewing the picture of their beloved reduced perceptions of pain much more than looking at the image of the acquaintance.

Dr Jarred Younger, one of the researchers involved, said that the "love-induced analgesia" appeared to involve more primitive functions of the brain, working in a similar way to opioid painkillers.

"One of the key sites is the nucleus accumbens, a key reward addiction centre for opioids, cocaine and other drugs of abuse.

"The region tells the brain that you really need to keep doing this."

Professor Paul Gilbert, a neuropsychologist from the University of Derby, said that the relationship between emotional states and the perception of pain was clear.

He said: "One example is a footballer who has suffered quite a painful injury, but who is able to continue playing because of his emotionally charged state."

He added that while the effect noticed by the Stanford researchers might only be short-lived in the early stages of a love affair, it may well be replaced by something similar later in a relationship, with a sense of comfort and wellbeing generating the release of endorphins.

"It's important to recognise that people who feel alone and depressed may have very low pain thresholds, whereas the reverse can be true for people who feel secure and cared for.

"This may well be an issue for the health service, as patients are sometimes rushed through the system, and perhaps there isn't this focus on caring that might have existed once."

Flexing Muscles Instantly Increases Willpower

Here's good news that's just in time to help you avoid the temptation of sugary goodies served up at holiday parties. If you feel your willpower weakening as you pass the desserts piled high, just tighten up your muscles -- flex any of them, including your finger or calf muscles.

Sound crazy? Not according to new research. Scientists have found that firming muscles literally shores up self-control.

Researchers Iris W. Hung of the National University of Singapore and Aparna A. Labroo of the University of Chicago collaborated on a study that put volunteers through a range of self-control dilemmas revolving around accepting immediate pain for long-term gain.

For example, in one study participants held their hands in an ice bucket to demonstrate pain resistance and, in another, the research subjects had to drink a healthy but awful-tasting vinegar drink.

In yet another experiment, study participants decided whether they could look at disturbing information about injured children devastated by the earthquake in Haiti and donate money to help. And in a final study, the volunteers were observed while making food choices for lunch at a local cafeteria to see if tightening muscles helped them overcome picking tempting but not-good-for-them foods.

"Participants who were instructed to tighten their muscles, regardless of which muscles they tightened -- hand, finger, calf, or biceps -- while trying to exert self-control demonstrated greater ability to withstand the pain, consume the unpleasant medicine, attend to the immediately disturbing but essential information, or overcome tempting foods," the authors concluded in their paper, which was just published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

The researchers found that the muscle tightening specifically helped when the choice aligned with the participants' goals. For example, if a person didn't want to eat healthy foods, tightening their muscles wouldn't keep them from chowing down on sugary junk.

Hung and Labroo also found that the tightening of muscles only helped at the moment people faced the self-control dilemma. In other words, tightening your muscles before faced with a plate of sugar cookies doesn't work but tightening your muscles when the cookies are in front of you seems to.

Bottom line: the research is a new example of the connection between the body and the mind. "We draw on theories of embodied cognition to explain our results, and we add to that literature by showing for the first time that one's body can help firm willpower and facilitate the self-regulation essential for the attainment of long-term goals...The mind and the body are so closely tied together, merely clenching muscles can also activate willpower," the authors stated in their paper. "Thus simply engaging in these bodily actions, which often result from an exertion of willpower, can serve as a non-conscious source to recruit willpower, facilitate self-control, and improve consumer will."