Online Social Networks are Dangerous to Freedom - Play at Your Own Risk

By Lance Winslow

Whether an online social network is designed for business networking or fun socializing there are some things you need to be aware of. These networks reward an individual for compliance of behavior acceptable to the mob. Small clicks form, which soon turn into groups of pecking order and each group moves to force their will onto the larger group. Then there are disruptors, natural leaders, influencers and followers, indeed also a few unreasonable men. There are victims and villains, referees and attackers; and your experience can take you from emotional highs to thoughts questioning your strength of character.

All of this can occur for the participant in an online social network, a fake world of one's and zero's augmenting your reality in the here and now. As you experiment with these online social networks, you will see representations of both the best and worst of humanity, under the creative auspice of a so-called: "community" of other participants just like you, most real, but a few digital apparitions.

Either way you are there by choice and you can leave by choice. However, if you leave you miss a newly created part of you. Is it an addiction, or is it an innate need that is being satisfied by the digital online social networking platform? Humans have social needs; they are social creatures, after all. Yet the other side humanity is also ever present in online social networks, as much or even more so than within a troop of chimpanzees acting out in Primate Politics. And for all this, you are still so proud of yourself for your online social networking, and that my friends is the kicker.

You give up self, to participate in a fake world, where the political correctness of the mob eventually controls your every move, always waiting for a scrap of praise, or a reward signifying that you have complied in pleasing others. These others, who in turn give you false praise or condemnation in order to propel them selves up the social hierarchy ladder; all the while somehow forgetting that none of it is real. Whether you stay or you go, you are giving up self in the social "politically correct training" that these social networks are part. This digitized virtual reality pollutes your mind, steals your freedom and turns you into nothing more than a follower of the mindless mob - To this you aspire?

Have a wonderful Blogging Day, get yourself a drink, as there is no need to thank me for making you think.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/ Lance Winslow's Bio

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Earn Financial Freedom

By Jerrie Jackson

I'm not an expert on anything really, but I do know the aggravation of working for someone other than yourself.

In the past 17 years I have worked for someone else and frankly, I'm sick of asking for days off and being denied, criticizing the job I'm doing and asking for permission to use the restroom.w
Although, there are benefits to working for an employer. They have to worry about quarterly taxes, unemployment, 401k, time sheets, payroll, insurance and social security. However, I'd take on those worries over being at anothers beck and call 5 days a week. I'd take it over the guilt trip you're given when your child is sick and you call into work. I'd take it over being berated in front of a customer or a co-worker. I'll gladly take it over the option to work for someone else for the next 30 plus years.

Working from home allows you freedom, flexibility, less stress and comfort. I like to lounge in jammies all day, so working for myself is great fun and very comfortable. I like being able to work ten hours or two. People are always looking for something better than what they have. They are looking to give their children more than they had growing up. CEO's are looking to walk away from a life of stress and ulcers. Real Estate agents are looking to work for more than 'ify' commissions. Everyone has a dream and we should be allowed to find it.

We've covered pros and cons and I'm sure there are more reasons that are personal to you. But the important thing in this life is to be happy and to have time to do things you enjoy. Take your family on vacation when you want, where you ant. No more asking permission, not having the money to pay for it and knowing that after all the fun is had you'll go back to the cubicle for pennies on the hour. Take charge of your future, help yourself while helping others. That's the most beneficial thing you'll ever do...help others better their life. I believe that financial freedom leads to healthier people and not just monetarily, but physically. I feel the worst some days when there is just nothing to look forward to other than trudging off to work at a job I sorta like, working for people I tolerate. Decide which life you want.

I'm ready to make the money I need to earn financial freedom, become an independent person and most importantly, help others reach those same goals. We all deserve to live a life we want instead of a life you have to.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jerrie Jacksonhttp://www.thewealthofsuccess.com/?t=article021308

Learn more about me at: http://www.geocities.com/jerrie.jackson/index.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerrie_Jackson

Achieve Financial Freedom - Buy One More House

By Alexandra Taylor, M.d.

If you were able to achieve financial freedom now, wouldn't that ensure a more comfortable lifestyle in your future years? I submit that the key to your future wealth may be to buy one more house now.

It is said that there are more millionaires because of real estate than any other investment. After many years of home ownership, people often discover that their house has greatly appreciated in value, and is worth many times what they originally paid. Although real estate markets are cyclical and there will always be ups and downs, the general trend in the long run is generally up. Imagine how much better off many of our elderly would be today, if they had made the effort to buy one more house?

Right now, in most areas of the country, real estate prices are dropping and may continue to do so for some time. After years of record-breaking appreciation, resulting in some of the hottest markets in history, we are now experiencing a normal market correction. In addition, a large number of sub prime lenders have recently gone out of business because they took too much risk, and now people are not as easily able to get zero-down loans as before. Thus, there are fewer qualified buyers who have a down payment who can qualify for a mortgage. These changes have resulted in more houses for sale, and fewer buyers who want them. It follows then, that sellers who would like to sell, but who have not had many offers are probably getting impatient, especially if their homes have been on the market for many months. The good news for buyers is this: the longer a property is on the market, the more likely it can be bought at a lower price using creative strategies.

Now is the ideal time to invest in real estate because buyers have never been more motivated! More "For Sale" signs have switched to "For Rent" signs than ever before. Desperate sellers are settling for rental income rather than paying for a vacant home with no buyer in sight. Now, many sellers are willing to consider alternatives to the typical sales transaction.

Today, both buyers and sellers are seeking real WIN-WIN property solutions that will benefit all parties involved. Here are some examples:

Taking a property Subject To
its existing financing. In this case the seller deeds the home to the buyer who simply takes over the mortgage payments without assuming the loan. Taking this one step further, a property taken "subject to" can then be rented out to a tenant, and the rent collected will pay the monthly mortgage payment that the seller took over.

Lease Option allows the seller to have immediate rental income now, and the tenant-buyer has the option to buy it later. For an investor who is leasing in this way, he can sub-lease the house to another tenant-buyer for a higher rent than he is paying, and make a positive monthly cash flow now, and profit from the sale later as well.

Seller Financing allows the buyer to pay the seller his money in monthly installments instead of paying the bank. This allows the buyer to avoid having to qualify for a loan.

These strategies, and others, can allow buyers to purchase properties without necessarily using their own money or credit. In today's market, an investor can buy one more house at a good price from a motivated seller, and achieve financial freedom via real WIN-WIN property solutions.

Talking to someone who does what I do could help you acquire a second, income-producing, appreciating property, and ensure that in the future you will have a more comfortable lifestyle!

Alexandra Taylor, M.D. is a real estate investor who was an OB/GYN doctor for nearly 20 years. Having transitioned from health-related problems to property problems, it is her passion to provide real WIN-WIN property solutions that benefit all parties. She assists new investors to achieve financial freedom and have a more comfortable lifestyle buy showing them how to buy one more house and more! For those who wish to sell or those who wish to buy, Dr. Taylor offers free confidential telephone consultations.

www.BraveHeartWomenAds.com/doctoralex

Power Of Freedom - Working For Yourself

By Tina Su

Have you ever watched closely, the animals and the birds at the zoo? When I was a little kid, taken to the zoo by my parents, I could see the sadness in their eyes. The chimpanzees, the lions, the elephants... All of them getting the best of attention. The best of perks. They and their families are thoughtfully looked after. No need to forage, it is served on the dot by dedicated HR department (oops, zoo-keeper) professionals. No need to moan and groan when sick - the best doctors take care of them, and the bill is footed by the company (oops, the government). So much fun and frolic on the weekends, with so many kids coming with their parents to gawk at them.

Why then the sadness? Why aren't they happy?
At the end of the day, it is a caged existence. A golden cage, but a cage nevertheless. That is not how nature had designed the animal and bird kingdom to be. They were born to be free. To survive and thrive by the rule of the jungle.

That is the case with us human beings too. To be free as the bird and to soar in the sky to the limits that one's wings can take one to. Without the restrictions and the cap of organizational (read: somebody else's) priorities, which dictate and decide what one should and should not be doing any given moment. And the moment after that. And the coming months and years.

The HR department and management of companies around the globe spend trillions of dollars to build nice facades and images of how people grow in a team, and how good it is for an individual to join and slog (sorry, work) for their company. Simply scratch the surface, and you see it is the same slavery and drudgery. At the end of the day, one still has to wag one's tail (sorry, appear for performance reviews) before the seniors who in their supreme wisdom decide the additional quantum of bones (oops, increments, promotions) that one should be given.

And then there is the politics and the watching of other people's faces. The comments and the remarks of fellow human beings who have to spend much time currying favors, juggling for this assignment or that project, all the time on the lookout for that next opening in some other zoo ... some other cage ... some other set of people with their own code of "supreme wisdom"... People who one gives the power to decide how one's life should be lived...

We are all here for a limited amount of time. If we're not careful, our life will flash by all the while living under someone else's intentions, someone else's dreams, without ever explore our own wishes and true desires. Make your life count. If you have dreams and passions, go after them. Use the freedom given to you as your birthright. You are never as stuck as you think.

Time is your most valuable resource, one where you will never get back once passed. Ask yourself, "Is what I am doing right now worthy to be trading my most valuable resources for?" Steve Jobs wakes up every morning and asks himself this insightful question: "If I have 1 month left to live. Is this what I would be doing, today?" to gage how his time is spent. Now, that's powerful stuff!

It's possible that your work for an employer is a worthy one, one where freedom, joy and fulfillment are found. But more cases than not, we are seeing typical individuals who are unable to wrench themselves out of their torment existence, accepting their situations as fact, refusing to see any alternatives, and 'forever' flowing in unconsciousness.

If you are working for someone else and if their goals do not align with your own, pause, think, and go back over this piece once again.

Tina is passionate about Personal Development and Spiritual Growth. She runs multiple businesses and has learned how to do so without any Stress. Visit her website at Think Simple. Be Decisive for her secrets to Productivity, Motivation and Happiness.

Law of Attraction & Personal Freedom - Where Independence Truly Lies

By Jeannette Maw

The 4th of July annual celebration reminds us not to take our freedom for granted. We’re prompted to consciously acknowledge and appreciate the independence won years ago, and to support our government’s continuing efforts to maintain our citizen rights.

However, with a sector of Americans at odds with our leaders, feeling misrepresented, unheard and deceived, some feel anything but gratitude for our unperceived freedoms. Frustration and disempowerment are often more typical feelings for those who oppose the leadership of our government.

But true freedom isn’t dependent on outside conditions; it doesn’t require particular circumstances be in place for us to feel peace. In fact, if we require certain situations to exist before we acknowledge freedom, we are anything but free.

True freedom lies within. Until we tap into that truth we’re at the mercy of the world around us for our peace of mind, joy and any other emotions we attach to liberty.

What is Freedom?The word “freedom” itself invites the idea of being able to do as we please. The dictionary definition includes “being exempt from external control or interference,” “at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint,” and “the state of political or national independence.”

When we consider the nature of independence and liberty in our daily lives, many Americans – arguably the most privileged citizens to walk the planet - don’t feel strongly connected to these facets. We speak as if we’re slaves to a job or life responsibilities or even time. We believe that without an abundance of time, money or health, we aren’t free to live the lives we really want.
And with those thoughts we would be right; we are enslaved. Not by our job or position in life, but by our thoughts of such.

Our true freedom lies in our ability to deliberately choose our thoughts and feelings. When we practice choice of thought we no longer require things “out there” to be a certain way to feel peace “in here.” Our “feel good” comes from within. And it’s there waiting for us whenever we choose to entertain it.

Which means developing the discipline to choose how we think and feel is where we meet true freedom. When we realize we don’t have to have a certain amount of money in the bank, particular brand of government in office, health status, or whatever else we might condition our “feel good” on, we embrace authentic personal liberty.

How to Be FreeSince the foundation of freedom lies in our power to choose thoughts and feelings, we can embrace that power by developing a discipline of conscious choice. To resist the knee-jerk reactive thoughts that don’t feel good. And to find our way, one better-feeling thought after another, to more pleasant feelings.

As we practice conscious choice of thought, we no longer need the boss to acknowledge our contribution to feel good about our job. We don’t have to get an anniversary present to appreciate our spouse. We don’t require six months of living expenses saved up in order to sleep well.

The additional beauty of this practice is that once we regularly spend time with more pleasant thoughts, we attract a more pleasant life. One where bosses offer generous acknowledgements, spouses treat us like gold and money flows in abundance. Which just turns out to be icing on the cake, since we didn’t need any of that to enjoy life beforehand.

So next time you find yourself in a stressful conversation about the importance of patriotism, evils of terrorism, or whatever topic might inspire your negative feelings, remember your true freedom lies in your ability to choose your thoughts and how you feel. Instead of being stuck in anger or resentment, exercise your liberty to find your way to a better-feeling thought. Be picky about the thoughts you entertain.

Similarly, when you recognize you’re resisting a situation or circumstance in life, use it as an opportunity to come back to your personal freedom. Remember you are free to choose how you perceive it and how you feel. As you do so, you’ll find your sense of freedom increasing dramatically without anything else around you needing to change.

Our thoughts create our world. Until we consciously choose our thoughts, we are slaves to reality and are abandoning the freedom that is our human birthright. This holiday, celebrate your internal liberty to find your way to thoughts that create the world you want. Namaste.

Jeannette Maw is an Attraction Coach and founder of Good Vibe Coaching in Salt Lake City, Utah who helps clients get what they want using the Law of Attraction. She is co-author of "101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Vol. 3" and "Inspired Attraction," and speaks regularly on the topic of deliberate creation.

Free tips and strategies to use the Law of Attraction to make your wish list come true are yours by signing up for her fluff-free "Get What You Want" bi-monthly ezine at http://www.goodvibecoach.com

Law of Attraction in the Real World is the topic of her blog at http://www.loaplayground.blogspot.com