Truth About Homeless Statistics

Writen by Lance Winslow

Many people decry the homeless situation in the United States, yet fail to realize that the homeless rate in the United States per capita is one of the lowest if not the lowest in the World. Our homeless rate in the US is less than three tenths of one-percentile. Recently a French Canadian had an issue with this claiming that Capitalism causes homelessness. He cited the number of Homeless in America.

Unfortunately the uninformed chap had estimated the number a ten-times the actual in the United States. His estimates were more in line with the number of Homeless in Quebec. In fact many of the homeless in Canada migrate to the United States to stay warm, often hitching a ride to the United States on over the road trucks or trains. Some of the homeless we have in America are actually forgotten Canadian citizens.

Since I happen to be up on the actuality and reality of Homeless in America let me tell you what I have learned. I have noticed that about 30% of the people who are homeless wish to be homeless. 45% have insane addiction issues and mentally affected. 10% want to get off the street. 15% will get off the street on their own and find a way. Perhaps need a little help. In the US the homeless rates are about 1/3 of 1 percent. So, for the homeless it is really bad, but as a percentage it is one of the lowest in the World in the US. This is one reason we are being infiltrated by illegal aliens from China, Mexico and other places.

Now I ask my Canadians friends be honest with yourselves; What are your statistics there? I suppose if the Canadians will tell the truth about their statistics for the homeless we will find that the issues are worse. Capitalism pushes people up and socialism pushes people down and that is the truth. Canadians need to stop sticking their French pointed noses up in the air and take whiff of their own reality. The United States is the greatest nation in the history of mankind and that is the truth. Our statistics of the lack of homeless in our nation are simply one more proof positive of that fact. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Remarkable Russian Individuals

Writen by Richard Monk

Russia is an amazing country with a long and complex history. A number remarkable individuals have come from the country and here are some highlights.

Russia has been famous (and infamous) throughout the centuries for many different reasons. As a home to the bitter cold exile of Siberia, the numerous different imperial reigns of the czars and czarinas, and a cultural cross between Asia and Europe, Russia is a place of mystery. Known in recent times as the home of communism and our foe in the Cold War, Russia has also had many famous residents. Here are some of the many ones that have impacted the world.

One of the world’s most famous composers was born and raised in Russia. Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was the composer of many different operas, and his haunting melodies and prolific amount of work have made his name be as common as those of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. With such impressive works as “The Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Eugene Onegin”, Tchaikovsky brought his delicate balance of storytelling and memorable songs to the entire world. He performed with his orchestra throughout the world, and died of cholera at the age of 53.

Another of the many famous Russian people was Alexander Pushkin, the illustrious writer and poet. Pushkin (1799-1837) was a lyrical poet who came from an impoverished family. He fought through the poverty, and was able to attend the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum, which was aimed at educating the elite of Russia. His first poem was published when he was just 15 (in 1814), and he wrote his large play, “Eugene Onegin” starting at the age of 24. He died during a duel with a French loyalist, Dantes, in 1837.

A final look at the famous Russian people in history brings us to another writer, the playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). Chekhov’s many plays, such as “The Cherry Orchard” and “Three Sisters” are staged in every region of Russia to this day. Using his life experiences, Chekhov was able to craft dramatic works that influence writers to this day. In his works, he was able to show personal conflict, through direct dialogue and intense imagery. His plays, while well loved by his country and the rest of the world alike, were not even Chekhov’s chosen vocation - he never professed to be a playwright. He died of a heart attack at age 44.

The many different Russians who have helped to shape the literary and music worlds are still incredibly important today. Without their valuable contributions, our artistic universe would be missing some of its brightest stars.

House Arrest for Fun and Profit

Writen by Angie Brennan

Several of my friends have recently hosted kitchen product parties (”The Pampered Chef”

UFO: I Practice Levitation

Writen by John T Jones, Ph.D.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching Washington play the Eagles. It was near the end of the game and I saw that Washington could win by scoring two late-game touchdowns. In fact, I knew they would win! Then last night I watched Dallas play the Eagles. Again, Dallas could score two late-game touchdowns and win the game. In fact again, I knew they would!

As I was watching TV last night, I needed the small notebook from my desk so that I could record my grandiose ideas for new ezine articles. The notebook was about five feet away and I didn’t want to disturb the candy bowl on my lap. My wife said, “Use levitation!”

I said, “Use Levitation! Brilliant!”

I placed my hands in levitation position, but as far as I could see, the notebook did not move. I told my wife, “I’ll have to practice.”

“Yes,” she said. “You need to practice your levitation. Now get off your rump roast and get your notebook before you forget your grandiose ideas.”

This morning I had my first practice session. I decided to start with lighter objects than the notebook. I started with a piece of paper that was here on my desk where I’m writing. From my sleep chair, I was able to raise it into the air and bring it to my lap!”

“Brilliant!”

That is what I said. I went right for my calculator and moved that to my lap too! At that point, I decided not to run into my wife’s craft room and yell, “I can levitate!” I wanted to make sure it was not just a fluke.

I used all of my powers to raise my new Radio Shack 2.4 GHz cordless telephone.

Nothing happened.

I tried again and it took off out of its cradle but fell to the floor before it reach safe haven on my lap.

I tried again. It would not move from the floor. I picked it up and put it into its cradle.

I decided that I had just tired myself out with all the levitation activity.

I rested a few minutes and VIOLA! I was able to raise the telephone from the cradle on my desk and move it to my lap five feet away!

I jumped up and headed strait (like in the Bible) to my wife’s den of craftery.

I got stopped in the hallway. It was Xrytspet!

I said, “Scram, Xrytspet! I’ve got to tell my wife”

She laughed and rolled around on the carpet. Her sides were busting!

I said, “Darn you, Xrytspet! Quit messing with my levitation experiments! Go back to”

But she was gone.

The End

copyright©John T. Jones, Ph.D. 2005

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com)is a retired R&D engineer and VP of a Fortune 500 company. He is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering), poetry, etc. Former editor of international trade magazine. Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. More info: http://www.tjbooks.com Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)

Mexican Living: Daily Schedule of an Expatriate

Writen by Douglas Bower

I was wondering if you might be interested in what I do with my time as an expatriate and if I have any sort of real life. I guarantee you that I do. Here is an example of my life:

Monday

Get up at 7:45 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Go back to bed.

Get up at 2:00 and eat lunch.

Write a 650-word column.

Eat more food.

Watch Simpson’s.

Tuesday

Get up at 7:46 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Go back to bed.

Get up at 2:15 and eat lunch.

Walk downtown to shop. Eat ice cream.

Come home at 5:03 and write column.

Eat more food.

Watch Simpson’s.

Wednesday

Get up at 7:30 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Go back to bed.

Get up at 2:10 and eat lunch.

Write a 650-word column.

Eat more food.

Watch Simpson’s.

Thursday

Get up at 7:55 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Go back to bed.

Get up at 2:05 and eat lunch.

Walk downtown to shop. Eat ice cream.

Come home at 5:05 and write 650-word column.

Eat more food.

Watch Simpson’s.

Friday

Get up at 7:00 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Take shower early because maid comes on Fridays.

Leave house walking downtown like zombies (no nap).

Eat Mexican food in nice restaurant.

Try to not to fart too loudly from consumed Mexican food.

Get home by 3:30.

Take Maalox. (Ate too much Mexican food.)

Write 650-word column.

Watch Simpson’s.

Ah, the weekend! This is when we really wig out and do so much stuff that we are exhausted.

Saturday

Get up at 8:30 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Go back to bed.

Get up at 4:00 and eat lunch.

Write a 650-word column.

Eat more food.

Watch same movie they played last Saturday.

Write a feature article

Too exhaustedturn in by mid-night.

Sunday

Get up at 8:34 and feed birds.

Sit on couch in coma while wife fixes breakfast.

Eat breakfast.

Go back to bed.

Get up at 4:08 and eat lunch.

Write a 650-word column.

Eat more food.

Watch 40th rerun of The Lost World.

Write a feature article

Too exhaustedturn in by mid-night.

This is not as boring as it may superficially seem. If you will examine the schedule carefully, you will see that though it appears I do pretty much the same thing everyday the truth is I don’t. There is variation in times when I get up in the mornings, get up from the naps, and when we come home from afternoon outings. This is an exciting schedule with much variety. It is an interesting life I lead.

What I no longer do as I did when I lived in the United States:

Worry about terrorists blowing up a major U.S. city near us.

Worry about my wife being killed by a drunken drive on Interstate 35.

Worry about ice storms rendering us without power for weeks on end!

Worry about keeping a hectic, insane, death-inducing schedule of mindless and meaningless events.

Worry about all the worries in the Unites States that makes life itself worrisome.

Worry

There you have it! The exciting life of an American Expatriate!

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.

His new book, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241

Humor - The Benefits

Writen by Michael Russell

Did you know that the sound of someone laughing is more contagious than a cough? Research has shown us that there are many benefits of laughing. Laughing triggers the chemistry of the will to live and it will increase your capacity to fight disease. Having a good laugh will relax your body and reduce issues associated with high blood pressure. It will also help with problems associated with arthritis, ulcers and strokes. There even has been research showing that it may also reduce the risk of heart disease.

It makes sense because emotions that are distressful, such as anger, depression, stress and anxiety, are related to heart disease. You can’t be angry or anxious if you are having a really good laugh. The University Of Maryland Medical Center did a study that showed that having a good sense of humor during a stressful situation could help the damaging physical effects of distressing emotions. Here are a few things that having a good mirthful laugh will do for you: it will reduce your stress; boost your mood and your immune system. It will lower your blood pressure, improve your brain function, help you become relaxed and make you feel good and protect your heart.

People who laugh on a regular basis have lower blood pressure than the average person. When you laugh your blood pressure will initially go up then become lower than the normal level, your breathing will then be deeper and that sends oxygenated blood throughout our body. Laughing will decrease your stress hormone and will increase antibodies to fight infections.

Having a sense of humor may help protect you against a heart attack. Research shows that laughing may help prevent heart disease and also found that people that already had heart disease were about 40% less likely to laugh compared to other people about the same age that did not have heart disease.

Ever laugh so hard your stomach hurt? That’s because we get a really good workout when we laugh. It will workout your diaphragm, abdominal muscles, respiratory, leg and back muscles. Laughing hard will tone your intestinal functioning and will make the muscles that hold the abdominal organs in place stronger. You can burn about the same amount of calories laughing than on an exercise bike.

Doctors have pointed out that having a sense of humor can teach perspective by helping people see the reality of the situations rather than distort it to support their distress. Humor can shift the way we think and distress can alter the way we think. It really isn’t the situation that causes stress; it is the meaning we put behind the situation. Humor can adjust the meaning of the situation so that it is not so overwhelming.

Try these few ideas to help improve your mood and have a sense of humor on life. Try to laugh at events rather than be distressed by them. It will improve your disposition. Try laughing to help release any pent up anger or frustration by visualizing a humorous event to replace the anxiety-producing situation.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Humor

The Two-Headed Monster

Writen by Jerry Aragon

It was Halloween night (1995), and my wife and I took our boys, ages 10 and 12 to a Halloween party at the local elementary school, which both boys attended. This was the first time I had attended a Halloween party like this, so I didn’t know what to expect.

We arrived at the school, and all of us headed for the school cafeteria, where the festivities were to take place. All along the way, I noticed dozens of kids dressed up in scary and creative costumes…lots of color everywhere! And, there would be lots of goodies for everyone later on. Our boys were dressed up as well, and they would compete for prizes at the party, too. There would be a Grand Prize awarded for the best costume at the end of the night.

When we arrived at the cafeteria, my wife and the boys headed off someplace to see friends they knew, and I found a chair at an empty table and sat alone. I noticed two boys about ten years old, who were working on their costume. They had a pair of large men’s coveralls, and they were down on the floor, spreading the coveralls out. They were meticulously enlarging the pant holes and straightening out the costume. At this point, I could not imagine what they were doing.

What they were doing, was positioning the coveralls on the floor, with the pant holes just right. Then, they both stepped into the pant holes…one boy in front and the other boy behind the first boy. The boy in the back would put his arms around the waist of the boy in front. Gently and carefully, they pulled the coveralls up to cover both of them, and the coveralls were buttoned up in the front. Now, both of the boys were in a single pair of coveralls. The boy in the back, would look over the shoulder of the boy in the front! (Did you get that?)

The extra large coveralls, were big enough to house both boys, and now they were ready for the next step. I didn’t know what was going on with these two kids, but I was already to laugh! On the table next to them, were two hideous looking rubber masks the boys would wear. The masks were filled with pimples, fake blood, runny-looking stuff, protruding teeth and the masks were simply GROSS! I still had no idea what the boys were supposed to be, so I asked.

“We’re the Two-Headed Monster,” came the reply from behind one of the masks. I should have known…I fell back in my chair with laughter again! I was coming unglued!

It was amazing to me, that these two boys came up with such a clever idea such as this. I was impressed right from the beginning with them. They were obviously going to have a little coordination with this outfit, as they were both in the same costume. I thought surely that they were going to take a spill, but they never did. They must have done some rehearsing.

After a few minutes of last minute preparation, they were off! Hup…123…hup…123 and they lumbered off across the cafeteria. I followed along, and the first thing I noticed about the boys, was the fussing and fighting they did with each other, from the beginning to the end… such as “slow down”…”you’re going too fast”…”tell me when you’re going to stop”…”I don’t want to go here, or I don’t want to go there” and so forth! It was the fussing and fighting behind those masks that made it more funny!

I stayed with them the whole night, listening to them argue with each other. The laughing got worse on my part, as I followed them down the hallways of the school, listening to them and watching their every move. It was hilarious! For more than 40 minutes, I followed these boys around the school…everywhere they went, I was not far behind. I thought for sure they would fall over…they would stray to the right…and, then stray to the left and almost go over, but somehow they stayed on their feet. They made people laugh all along the way, and everyone was enjoying them!

Finally, as the night wore on, it was time for the judging for the best costumes, in general, and then for the Grand Prize winner! There was a lot of excitement in the cafeteria! What an anxious moment, as a man, probably a school teacher, stood at the podium and called out various winners in different categories. The winners went up to the stage and claimed their prizes, etc.

As things got tense…now, it was time for the Grand Prize to be awarded! The man at the podium was handed a piece of paper with a name on it of the winner! There was silence…as he said…”The Grand Prize winner for the best costume goes to…more silence…The Two-Headed Monster! Cheers, screams, and applause rang out across the cafeteria!

And, then it happened! The two boys had not yet gotten out of the coveralls, and in their haste in winning the Grand Prize, they took a spill, as they tried to get to the podium! A couple of adults quickly helped them get out of the coveralls, as they struggled to get out! When they finally got untangled, they were giving high-fives to each other, and to kids along the way to the podium!

I was certainly pulling for them! They gave everyone at school such joy and laughter. There was screaming and shouting all over the cafeteria when they won. I will never forget this night as I had so much fun, and I will never forget the Two-Headed Monster! They got high marks for their creativity, and they entertained us all night long!

http://humordoctormd.homestead.com

How Many Men Does It Take . . . Top 12 Men’s Jokes

Writen by Don Doman

I get a kick out of men’s jokes. I think there is possibly a kernel of truth to each one, even though I know they don’t apply to me . . . well, not everyone, anyway.

Here are my top 12 Men’s Jokes:

How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper? Who knows? - Does it ever happen?

How can you tell soap operas are fictional? In real life, men aren’t affectionate out of bed.

How was Colonel Sanders a typical male? All he cared about were legs, breasts, and thighs.

How is being at a singles bar different from going to the circus? At the circus the clowns don’t talk.

Why are husbands like lawn mowers? They’re hard to get started, emit foul odors, and don’t work half of the time.

What’s the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
A. A dog is always happy to see you
B. A dog only takes a couple of months to train

What is the thinnest book in the world? What men know about women.

How can you tell if a man is aroused? He’s breathing.

What’s the difference between men and government bonds? Bonds mature.

How do you save a man from drowning? Take your foot off his head.

What is a man’s idea of doing housework? Lifting his feet so you can vacuum underneath.

Why do black widow spiders kill their males after mating? To stop the snoring before it starts.

Babe Lehrer in her book, Men, They Just Don’t Get It!, which has some marvelous short stories from women, has a few men quotations that I really like, also. They are not really jokes. They are more like observations.

Here are five quotations from Men, They Just Don’t Get It!

The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him!

Women don’t make fools of men - most of them are the do-it-yourself types.

On birthdays, the wise husband forgets the past - but never the present.

What do you do when you boyfriend walks out? Close the door.

No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

Finally, I have one observation from my wife. I’ve been known to express myself vociferously after consuming caffeine. Peg stopped me cold one morning by saying, “You know, one more cup of coffee and I can legally kill you.”

Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle “free preview” for business training videos. He also works with clients like Babe Lehrer (http://www.babesbooks.com) whose popular book Men, They Just Don’t Get It! points out communication and relationship differences between the sexes.

Tracing the Origin of Ancient Sumerians

Writen by Ashok Malhotra

It is of considerable interest to trace where the ancient Sumerians emerged from because of their primary contribution to human civilization. It was suggested that Sumerians appeared in Southern Mesopotamia around five and half thousand years ago carrying with them the seeds of civilization. It was also suggested that they migrated from the west coast of India. The fact that they were not a local people is suggested by the fact that their language belongs to a completely different and isolated group. There are two further lines of investigation one may adopt to confirm this hypothesis. The first is to explore for other groups in India with a similar language and the second is to carry out a physical examination of the Sumerian skeletons as available at the present time to detect racial similarities.

In western India there are a number of tribal groups that have existed from ancient times. Today many live on the fringes of mainstream communities as exist in India today. The mainstream communities belong to either the Indo-Aryan or Dravidian linguistic groups. Sumerian does not belong to either. As regards the tribal, it is now fruitless to look for any similarities between Sumerian and present tribal languages in India because over thousands of years their original languages have disappeared because of the overwhelming influence of other languages. The western tribal communities of India now speak modified versions or mixtures of the mainstream languages. However, all is not lost because although the tribal in India such as kols and Bheels have been overly influenced, it is not so with some of their branches that migrated further east towards Australia in ancient times, and form a branch of the same human groups. One may then look for similarities between Sumerian and Austric languages. This study has in fact been already done and the consensus is a resounding, yes. The austric languages are indeed similar to ancient Sumerian. The similarities are so numerous and clear that they are beyond doubt or a result of any chance coincidence. (The Austric Origin of the Sumerian Language, Language Form, vol. 22, no.1-2, Jan.-Dec. 1996.)

Therefore now it may be said with confidence that ancient Sumerian is not a linguistic isolate. It belongs to the australoid/ austric group of languages. They belong to this group because the ancient tribal people of Indian west coast also belonged to the same group of people, and it is from here that they must have migrated to Mesopotamia. Both the Australoid and Austric type are found in India. There are clear reasons to rule out any other location for the Sumerian migration: Western India is geographically close to Southern Mesopotamia as compared to south East Asia and Australia and there are no know instances of civilization east of the Indus valley around five thousand years ago. Such evidence has been found in the Indus valley.

The second study concerns physical examination of Sumerian skulls. Buxton and Rice have found that of 26 Sumerian crania they examined 22 were Australoid or Austrics. Further According to Penniman who studied skulls from other Sumerian sites, the Australoid Eurafrican, Austric and Armenoid were the “racial” types associated with the Sumerians. Here is Penniman’s description of the Austric type found at Sumer:

“These people are of medium stature, with complexion and hair like those of the Eurafrican, to which race they are allied with dark eyes, and oval faces, broad noses, rather feeble jaws, and slight sinewy bodies.”

This description also closely describes the regal person seen on a famous clay tablet from the Indus Valley. This same tribe in an evolved version undoubtedly established the Indus civilization as well as the Sumerian one after the submergence of their coastal cities. In North-western India they would have encountered Neolithic people of Indo-European origin with which manpower they established the Indus cities. An analysis of skeletal remains from Indus valley confirms this mixture. Both the IndoSumerian-austric language must then have persisted side by side as in Mesopotamia with the official language of the rulers being IndoSumerian-austric. Just as in Mesopotamia, ancient Sumerian was replaced by the language of the majority(Akkadians) in the Indus valley it would have been replaced eventually by an Indo-Aryan language. At what precise moment in history this occurred is not certain but most probably the Sumerian language disappeared from India by 2000 BC. In this latter case there was no question of preserving it for ritual purposes either. This is because the IndoSumerian-Austric language never developed as a fully written language in India to inscribe full texts. In any case, a better Indo-Aryan language with its own full-fledged script soom emerged probably because of Hittite influences in the Indian sub-continent around that time.

Contribution of Armenians to ancient civilization

In the Indus valley from which the Sumerians emerged there were other tribes that lived in close proximity of the Austric Sumerians. These were prehistoric indo-Aryan tribes of an Armenian origin - followers of the God Ara. The indo Aryans were fair skinned and light haired. Hence the reason for the indo-Sumerians to label themselves as dark headed in comparison to the Ara people who were shining. Sumerians also began using the word Ara for fair and bright and eventually they labeled all indo-Aryan people as Ara or Arya. The word Armenian has its origin in AR-MA, i.e. the children of Ara and Ma the fertility Goddess.

Later indo-Aryan migrations of around 1500BC into the Indus regions were apparently of Hittite origin. Apparently, some intermarriage also took place between these indo-Sumerians and Armenians probably leading to a more vigorous community then would have been possible otherwise. A physical marriage also resulted in a marriage of the religious traditions of the Sumerian and Armenian tribes as well as the Sumerian language being influenced by Armenian. Such influences can be found by comparisons between the Armenian (or even Hungarian that emerged from ancient Armenian) and Sumerian language. Are was the Sun God and the roots of sun worship in the world appear to have an Aryan origin rather than a Sumerian one. Archaeologists refer to Transcaucasus region, including modern Armenia, as the earliest known prehistoric culture in the area, carbon-dated to roughly 6000 - 4000 BC. A recently discovered tomb has been dated to 9000 BC. Another early culture in the Armenian Highland and surrounding areas, the Kura-Araxes culture, is assigned the period of ca. 4000 - 2200 BC. Armenians are one of the oldest Indo-European subgroups. Therefore, it is not surprising that from amongst the Aryans it was the Armenians who spread around the ancient world of Mesopatomia and Indus valley first. The Hittite Aryans that became more powerful than the Armenians by 1500 BC were close neighbors and racial cousins of the Armenians, at times clashing with them and at times co-existing, yet probably gaining form the interaction at all times.

Buxton and Rice have found that of 26 Sumerian crania they examined 22 were Australoid or Austrics and four armennoid. Further According to Penniman who studied skulls from other Sumerian sites, the Australoid Eurafrican, Austric and Armenoid were the “racial” types associated with the Sumerians. Certainly it cannot be confirmed without further investigation if the Sumerian-Armenian alliance took place on Sumerian or Indian soil. It is also not certain if it was a forced or voluntary one. The fair skinned Armenian ladies are likely to have regarded the dark broad nosed Sumerians as ugly. Nevertheless, it may be deduced that the earliest Sumerians who introduced civilization in our world were around 85% Austric and 15% Armenian Aryans.

It is surprising that one of the most significant contributions to mankind should come from the Austric/australoid races. Elsewhere their contribution has not been remarkable. However, apparently a small genetic change is all that is necessary for this achievement. Similar races have illustrated that this can happen elsewhere as well. An example of that is Angkor Vat of Cambodia that illustrates technical mastery on an unprecedented scale, noted for its architectural and artistic perfection, not to mention its sheer size, Angkor Vat is the most famous and no doubt the most remarkable of all of ancient temples with extraordinary architectural and artistic innovations, one of the grandest achievements of mankind.

Experts Use Ten Simple Concepts: #5; Have a Conversion Experience

Writen by Drew Kittinger

An expert is useless unless he or she is credible. Credibility comes through any number of ways, none of which actually have to be based on reality. Once again, perception is King. I said that before, didn’t I?

You know, I once was an artist. Not just any kind of artist, but a real one. I was the kind of guy who labored 25 hours a day for three years to create something magnificent that I couldn’t sell for a frikkin’ penny. My parents kicked me out of the house and into the streets because they couldn’t stand to look at the damn thing. The art piece was based on a mirror.

But, like I said, I wasn’t a cheap substitute. I picked myself up and began the process again, this time with another art form. I was an artist, after all, and really, neither the medium nor the money ever mattered as much as the fact that I was a “Principled Artist” and carried that sensibility into everything I did.

This went on for years and years. I received my sustenance through my ideals and values. I also learned the best mixtures of dry and wet cat foods to produce a flavor somewhat like chunky chili.

And then, I woke up.

I realized this whole aura of goodness and integrity and aesthetics and sacrifice that surrounds the artist was a total crock! I began to leave behind the haze of illusion surrounding the romance of the artistic life and got down to brass tacks.

“Life is money. Money is life. Screw satisfaction of Spirit. I want a Condo in Ibiza!” I called out on the first morning I was sober in perhaps six months. It was actually my third morning in jail but I guess it takes your body a little while to get purified.

Anyhow, in that moment I realized I could leap away from my old impoverished life into a new one filled with immense riches. It’s the experts that make all the money, and here I had discovered one of the most powerful steps to becoming successful as an expert, which, in my mind IS all about money: Have a conversion experience to share.

A “conversion experience?” you may ask. Well, since your question lives only in my head, I may as well answer it quickly so I can make room for the next voice.

Simply pick the area of your life in which you have the most experience. Now figure out what is the exact opposite of that way of life, or business, or being. There you have it. That is now a viable area of expertise for you.

Do you follow? Okay, I’ll explain. That’s my job, you know.

The conversion experience is about that moment when you realized your life was so vile that you vowed to devote the rest of your breathing days righting that wrong. As an expert, that is the most valuable commodity you have to sell because that passion makes you instantly believable. The inner voice of your target sounds something like this: “Who better to follow than someone who has lived the other side?”

We don’t have to go very far for one of the most potent examples of how this works. You may have heard of Paul of Tarsus. Saint Paul. He’s the guy who was the expert on Jesus. Without Paul, we’d all have stale Matzoh in our cupboards.

Everybody believed him — and not only during the time he was around, but for about a couple thousand — that’s a couple thousand years! - after — considerably longer than even a K-Mart sale.

Before Paul had his calling he was riding through the countryside extracting monetary tributes in the most violent ways by literally terrorizing the followers of Christ. And then, one day he got struck from his horse by a bolt of light. He must have hit his head or something because from that day forward, every moment of his life was spent in opposition to the life he once had.

Do I have to say more?

Well, yes, actually because I’m the expert and that’s my job, too. Why am I getting through to you? Because I, who once was the artist espousing the value of poverty am now the expert urging you on to riches. I am the Anti-Paul. I’ve been there, done that, just like you, and now embody how you, too, can leave your past miserable Spirit-driven life and join me as an expert.

As long as you don’t be the expert on becoming the expert.

At this point you might be wondering why the fifth concept wasn’t Concept #1. After all, doesn’t it make sense to choose your area of expertise first?

To be perfectly honest, it probably does. But remember, I promised Ten Concepts. I didn’t say anything about them being in a straight line. I would hope you’d have more faith in yourself in being able to piece this all together.

Up until a little while ago, Drew thought he was just a hack. But then he tuned into http://mauihealingartist.com and learned that his only job is to be the fullest Drew that he can possibly be. There, he learned, there are things that can come through him that cannot be matched by anyone. This is true with you, too. Is that a stretch for you high-powered executive types? Maybe not…check it out. And even if that doesn’t excite you, he’s sure you’ll get turned on by the art that’s there. If that doesn’t work, you still may get inspired to drop the whole corporate shebang and run away to an island somewheres. Trust Drew. He’s the Expert!