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What Is a Blessing in Disguise — A Reflection on a Chinese Fable

A recent conversation with my girlfriend about things in the past sparked our interest in the subject of blessings in disguise. We discussed our previous misfortunes in love and relationships, in financial losses and missed opportunities. In times of sorrow, our pain and suffering blinded us from recognizing the silver lining of the seemingly unfortunate

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What Is The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three Jews About — Praying and Singing Even in the Threat of Death

There once was a cranky king who got angry with three men, and he tried to have them burned alive. That cranky king was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and the three men were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were Jews. Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the kingdom of Judah and brought many captives from there back with him

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What Is AWAI About – A Writing Exercise from the Accelerated Copywriting Program

What is AWAI about? AWAI stands for American Writers and Artists Inc., which is a company that trains people to make a living as a writer. You can work remotely. You can design your life and have the freedom that you’ve suspected could be possible for you. At least that’s the idea. There is, as with

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What Is Proverbs About – Learn and Apply Wisdom with The 5-Year Proverbs Challenge

What is Proverbs about? The Book of Proverbs is a well-known example of wisdom literature, a literary genre from which we can learn wisdom. What is wisdom about? Wisdom can include the following: • Discernment / Understanding / Insight; • Knowledge; • Good judgment; and • Correct application of knowledge. When you and I learn

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The Lion King (1994) Movie Review — What Is The Lion King About: Simba’s Rise from Cub to King

The Lion King (1994) was first released in movie theaters when I was nine, which was the perfect age to experience this story. It’s already been twenty-six years since that summer. I watched the movie many times on video. I played the video game on Super Nintendo. I saw the sequel as well as the

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Quotes to Draw Out the Confidence in You and in Me

“Self-confidence is a superpower. Once you start to believe in yourself, magic starts happening.” – Unknown I can look back and see what my accomplishments have been. I’ve had fun. I’ve laughed. I’ve cried. I’ve connected. I’ve loved and been loved. I’ve expressed myself in wonderfully poetic ways. I’ve been the life of the party.

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Miracles Happen Every Day. Here Are Some of Mine

I struggle with identifying miracles that have happened to me. I also struggle with doing personal development exercises, including this one from a Mike Dooley webinar. “What’s your miraculous story? When have you experienced a transformation that completely took you by surprise or wildly exceeded your expectations – a miracle … sparked by a situation or event

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How to Apply Learned Optimism: A Sample Disputation Record

In a previous post, I reviewed the “Learned Optimism” book by Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology. I explained what learned optimism is, and I recommend you go to the review to familiarize yourself with the concept and what’s involved in applying it. ==> Click here to read my review of the “Learned Optimism” book. <==

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Learned Optimism Book Review: Martin Seligman’s ABCs of Flexible Optimism

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. “Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life” by Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D. explores the differences between optimists and pessimists, how those differences affect each of them, and how to be

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The Strangest Secret Review: Earl Nightingale’s Success Manual

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. In 1956, Earl Nightingale recorded an audio called “The Strangest Secret.” The small group of salesmen Earl recorded the audio for enjoyed it so much that they requested copies to share with their

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The Magic of Believing Book Review: Claude Bristol’s Guide to Powerful Thinking

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. I’ve known about “The Magic of Believing” by Claude Bristol for many years, and I finally read it. I knew I would enjoy the book and get value from it, and I did.

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One Race. Human Race. The Differences Are Only Skin Deep

Perhaps you’ve seen this phrase before: “One Race. Human Race. One Blood. Red Blood.” Or this phrase that shortens it further: “One Race. One Blood.” These phrases are excellent reminders that humans aren’t so different after all. Divided we fall. United we stand. We’re stronger together. One race with many, many ethnicities. One race with

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What Is an Overdose About – My History of Non-Fatal Overdoses

What is an overdose about? Over a period of 19 years, I overdosed multiple times on multiple substances. Each time, I thought I could handle larger amounts and not suffer any consequences. The possibility of overdosing didn’t enter my mind. Using and abusing substances is similar to gambling. They can both be addictive behaviors, and with

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The Five Minute Journal Review: Intelligent Change’s Thorough Gratitude Journal

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. When you are grateful, you align yourself with the universe’s creative force. And you admit you are a creative force. In those moments of gratitude, you’ve stopped playing small. You’ve stopped pretending to

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The Confidence Solution Book Review: Keith Johnson’s Practical Guide for Growth

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. Dear Confident Leader, I saw Keith Johnson give a speech in 2016 at the Get Motivated Business Seminar. I enjoyed his speech so much that I knew I had to read one of his books.

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Why Being a Grandparent Can Be More Fun Than Being a Parent

Grandparents get the opportunity to help raise children a second time around. Except the pressure is off. This time, it’s their children’s children. Now grandparents get to have fun in ways that they didn’t get to while they raised their children. Maybe having grandchildren is how grandparents can relive their childhoods, better than with their

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Want to Live Longer? Then Say Goodbye to Getting Sick

Heart disease. Cancer. Depression. Anxiety. Diabetes. Obesity. These various forms of sickness are some of the major killers worldwide. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I submit the idea that humanity is stronger than any sickness. And if we can conquer sickness, that opens up a whole world of possibilities, including living longer.

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What Is Happiness About? The Elusive Search for Something Real

Does anyone remember the Peanuts book “Happiness Is a Warm Puppy” by Charles M. Schulz? It contains a series of “Happiness is …” statements accompanied by Charles M. Schulz’s illustrations. Here are some statements from the book: “Happiness is an umbrella and a new raincoat.” “Happiness is a pile of leaves.” “Happiness is sleeping in

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Addicted to Travel? Enjoy These Quotes for Traveling Through Life

Dear Traveler, The wind was blowing in the backyard. The wind itself was invisible, but I could see its effect as it moved branches and leaves. Similarly, your thoughts and actions might seem invisible, but they affect you and others. I’m currently staying in a Portuguese village in the countryside. I’ve lived in various Canadian

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Wealthy Affiliate Membership Review: Is Premium for You?

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. Back before August 2019, www.GiantsWithin.com didn’t exist. And I’m not sure it would’ve been in existence at all without Wealthy Affiliate. Why is that? The short version is I didn’t find anywhere else that offers

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Subliminal360 Program Review: Make Your Own Subliminals

This post contains affiliate link(s). An affiliate link means I may earn advertising or referral fees if you purchase through my link. Chances are you’ve heard about subliminal messages before, especially with them being used to influence people to buy products and think a certain way. There’s the decades-old example of subliminal messages / subliminals

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Why These Types of Freedom Are Unhealthy… and What You Can Do About It

Isn’t freedom a good thing? How could freedom possibly be unhealthy? Isn’t freedom something that we need more of, not less? I will address each of those questions. I’m here to challenge thoughts that have held us back, including me. Certain types of freedom are unhealthy. I’ll explain why that is and what you can

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