We’ve all heard the cliché: “no pain – no gain”, implying that “nothing comes from nothing”. A good work ethic has taught us that we need to apply ourselves in order to bring anything of value about; that if we really want something, that there is usually a price attached to our achieving it, right? That there is no prize without paying the price.

Whether you are already successful in your endeavours or you are brooding on a great idea that will catapult you to your anticipated success, getting started on a new and significant initiative is always a big first step, isn’t it? The dream or the thought of the successful outcome – the prize – is usually most exhilarating; quite motivating. Then we start to think about what it’s going to take to accomplish – the price – and this is where we separate the wheat from the chaff. Depending on whether we allow it or not, this is where any doubts begin to creep in.

As Goethe so famously said centuries ago: “until one is committed, there is hesitance, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness”. But then he added: “Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no person could have dreamed would come their way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can begin it now. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”. Sage advice indeed.

Often “paying the price” involves us getting out of our comfort zone: attempting something we may be unfamiliar with or having some risk of failure attached to it, right? Perhaps this is where the “no pain – no gain” cliché comes from? The pain of change…. And so we measure up the price (the pain) we need to spend in order to gain the prize (the gain) and inwardly assess whether the one is worth the other.

Which reminds me of a lovely story of the traveling salesman sitting on the veranda with a farmer over a cuppa, shooting the breeze before he gets into his sales pitch: he notices the huge dog lying on the floor next to them raise its head from time to time, howl mournfully in pain and then flop down again to continue its nap. It keeps doing this and eventually the salesman asks: “so what’s with the dog?” “Oh never mind him”, says the farmer: “he’s lying on a nail, and it’s uncomfortable – hence the protest howls – but it’s not uncomfortable enough for him to get up and lie elsewhere”.

Change can often be very uncomfortable. Sometimes the prize just doesn’t seem to be worth the price, and we give up trying and just tolerate the nail. This is also often an area we land in when in the coaching conversation. It is one of those incisive questions coaches are renowned for asking: “when is the pain of staying the same going to become bigger than the pain (or fear) of making the change”? 11th commandment time.

I believe setting a goal is part of Goethe’s “the moment one commits oneself” in that the “writing it down” forms part of the commitment, doesn’t it? A further step towards defining the prize.

So, why don’t you pick something this week that you have always wanted to achieve, and commit it to yourself in writing: define the prize. In your planning for its achievement define the price its fulfillment is going to take. Commit to doing what it will take to pay the price. Then all you have to do is pay the price. Coupling it with a firm belief that you deserve it, allow Goethe’s “truth” to manifest.

There is one more thing I’d like to share with you. Once you have achieved the prize, please don’t forget to reward yourself for paying the price. Your unconscious mind will remember that and in future contribute to your motivation to “have a go”. Conversely, if you forget, it could well respond in future with a “why bother?” and aid your procrastination.

Zeit.de Zeitungsaufsatz

“Dabei springt kein Friedensnobelpreis heraus”, soll Vorgänger George W. Bush gleich zu Anfang seiner ersten Amtszeit gespottet haben, um das heikle Thema dann für mehrere Jahre auf die Seite zu legen. Sein Nachfolger hat den Friedensnobelpreis schon in der Tasche, bevor er überhaupt in die dornigen Details der Unruheregion eingestiegen ist. Und egal, was sich das Nobelkomitee in Oslo mit seiner Entscheidung erträumt hat, der Spielraum der westlichen Supermacht ist vor Ort bisweilen frappierend gering – so das übereinstimmende Fazit mehrerer langjähriger Nahostberater des Weißen Hauses. Trotzdem krönen sie alle ihre politisch-analytischen Rückblicke auf die letzten beiden Jahrzehnte mit Ratschlägen an die neue Administration (…)

(…) Dennoch plädieren alle Autoren am Ende ihrer Bücher dafür, dass der neue Chef im Weißen Haus den Nahostkonflikt wieder ganz oben auf seine außenpolitische Agenda setzt. Allerdings sollten die USA künftig ausgewogener agieren, israelischem Fehlverhalten genauso entschieden entgegentreten wie palästinensischem. Auch die übrigen arabischen Staaten müssten stärker in die Friedenssuche eingebunden werden – eine Strategie, die sich mit Obamas Rede in Kairo und seiner Forderung eines israelischen Siedlungsstopps bereits in ersten Zügen abzeichnet. Am Ende sollte der amerikanische Präsident der Weltöffentlichkeit dann zentrale Prinzipien für einen tragfähigen Friedensvertrag vorlegen, welche den Friedenswilligen auf beiden Seiten eine Perspektive bieten und den Palästinensern einen glaubwürdigen Weg zu einem eigenen Staat. Vielleicht könnten die Vereinigten Staaten dann doch noch die Lösung schaffen, schreibt Miller, “zusammen mit mutigen und entschlossenen Arabern und Israelis – und mit einer Riesenportion Glück”.”

Muhammed ElBaradei’s perspective (in English) Audio and Text

from Willy Brandt Lecture 2009 (Humboldt Universität)

Thanks Cahi1 for making the guide for the maze and new sleds

When you get 5 people together one in the bug costume go by the rock. the rock should shine revealing a door like this.

I got right onto this case and heres what the secret is.

This is the passage to the treasure.

Heres the map

Heres where you when you finish the maze!

Точно 7 дни след като получих първия си пакет от Lockerz, намерих 10 минути да драсна този пост.

Какво? Как? Защо? (Накратко)- След като станах Z-Lister в горепосочения сайт, получих пакет, който съдържаше нещата на снимката.

Ама как го спечели това?- Нищо не съм печелил, при получаване на Z-List статус в сайта, от Lockerz Ви изпращат тениската. (Означава, че е подарък, не награда)

Колко струва?- Нищичко. От Хамериката до тук една стотинка не ми е поискал никой.

Пакета съдържаше- Тениска (Семпла и качествено направена. Като цяло ми харесва, направена е от Next Level Apparel), т.нар. Сноуборд стикер (нещото в средата), който и в момента си стои така, все още не съм решил къде да го лепна, а може и да не го пипам въобще. И другото е просто картонче от Lockerz.

Ами общо взето това е, наскоро поръчах някои нещица (неможах да докопам някои по- големи, поради големия интерес км сайта), които около Коледа трябва да пристигнат, така че ще пиша пак.

П.П. Сайтът все още е в ‘бета’ версия, затова единия начин да се регистрирате е като получите покана от вече регистрирал се потребител. Ако имате желание, нямам нищо против да пратя някоя и друга покана.

Hello all. This being Thankgiving day, it feels like a great time to announce a special surprise I’ve been planning for my readers. A scavenger hunt! The rules for playing are explained below.

This is a Read, Play, and (hopefully) Win game. The prize is a $25.00 giftcard to Barnes & Noble.

Step #1. If you haven’t already, you’ll need to read all the way through my book Brought to Life. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you? I’m a sneaky, sneaky lady.) Brought to Life is a paranormal romance/time travel ebook that can be found here.

Step #2. Email me at: dara [at] daraenglandauthor [dot] com with the answers to these two questions (these answers can only be found in the book). *1. What is the name of the heroine’s roommate? *2. What famous author does the heroine meet at the end of the book?

Step #3. Wait. I’ll randomly select a winner out of those who answered correctly and will notify them via email on 1/1/10. If there are any questions, please post them below.

Happy hunting and happy holidays!

~Dara England

Me and Stitch have been discussing this till the early hours of morning, but we both agreed.
Since there was only two entries for the comp. I wish I could give a prize to both of you.
Sadly I only bought one, cause Disney ain’t cheap:P

Both entries were good.
Nina posted a childhood photo and Astrid Katrine a series of photos from when she grew up.
Our decision is mainly based on the fact that one person made a little bit more effort!
Our winner is:

Click on the image to see her blog Wasn’t she adorable?

Sooooo, Astrid Katrine, if you wouldn’t mind emailing me your adress, I will send you your prize within a few days:)
idamhov@hotmail.com

I’m not back yet sadly, I just felt like I had to announce the winner,so she could get the prize before christmas.

Va prezentam un alt site al SC SF STORE EXIM SRL, Saibe . ro (www.saibe.ro).
Nu uitati ca la Store gasiti o gama larga de organe de asamblare (piulite, saibe, suruburi etc) si intotdeauna veti avea de unde alege!
Va asteptam pe http://www.storeinc.ro – siteul principal.

Va prezentam un alt site al SC SF STORE EXIM SRL, Piulita . ro (www.piulita.ro).
Nu uitati ca la Store gasiti o gama larga de organe de asamblare (piulite, saibe, suruburi etc) si intotdeauna veti avea de unde alege!
Va asteptam pe http://www.storeinc.ro – siteul principal.

Ever since I joined Club Penguin and saw the 3-D glasses, I’ve always wanted them. NOW I CAN GET THEM(in Pandanda)! Probably the best Zing prize yet, the 3-D glasses are awesomely cool. I have GOT TO GET THEM. Get your golden tickets now!

After the long waiting, finally the dateline met its limit. I managed to maintain another blog to  take a part on a blog writing competition held by Pusat Bahasa, but organized by balaibahasabandung.web.id. The blog must focus on language or literature, and it has to be written in Indonesian. I named the blog bahasamania.blogspot.com. I keep maintain and updated the postings quite regulary, and there are more than 10o postings in it. I wrote some of them, noted/copied from other source, included quote of the day.

At the end of October, the announcement came up. My blog announced as the promising 1 winner from 383 participants. Alhamdulilah. From 6 of the winner, I am the only woman. Does it represents of the amount of blogger women in the cyber world? Maybe not. It might be just a number, anyway.

I got the prize, certain amount of money (in Indonesian currency, surely) plus a trophy. It is my first trophy ever. Really. I won some competitions before, but never get any trophy before. Medal, maybe. Certificate, surely. Prizes too. But this is my first trophy. I hope it will lead to other winnings, prizes, and trophies as well.

What a great night! Ok, I only made the latter part of it because I had to work until 9pm, but everybody looked to be having a fabby time. I got there just in time to see the raffle draw, and missed out on the High School Musical advent calendar – darnit!

Huge congratulations to all our prize winners, and we hope you like your rosettes! Doreen tells us that’s it for the pom-poms now, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I missed the food, but rumour has it, it was very nice. Great to see so many people dancing, and the glow sticks (and party hats!) went down a treat – you only have to look at the photos which you can find on Facebook!

Next year we might do a fancy dress theme - any suggestions?

Once again a huge congratulations to our champions, and we look forward to seeing you fight for your titles (not literally of course) next year.

….but i won a runner up prize in the Sefton Writing Competition 2009 I have no idea how this happened, as the entry that was mistakenly sent off was a first draft. I was so excited when I received a letter saying I had been short listed, and then the following week that I had won a prize, I am very pleased about this, I have posetd some bits from it below….it’s about travelling through a town on your way to a holiday destination..

… this town, whose name you don’t know, is home to thousands of people, whose varying lives have no relevance to yours, apart from your close proximity to them for a few minutes every year passing by characters, as their lives pass by them.

You pass the small boy waiting to cross the road as you whir past. He is dawdling, knowingly avoiding heading to his home of horror and the treats he will be served this evening.

You overtake the man on his bike, cycling for the second time today to his dying brothers house where he will bath him and change his clothes. He guiltily wonders as he has done every day for the last three months how much longer this will go on for, he misses his wife.

You pass the mother pushing her pram along the pavement, contemplating this morning’s action. In a desperate attempt for security she made a rip to create a life, a life she knows will bring her security, forced but desperately needed love. He can’t leave her if she has his child, and potential future partners would steer clear of the baggage. This will bring her the what she craves.

You pass the post office next to the chip shop, the one held up in an armed raid the previous evening. The perpetrator, a young man dealt little moral luck is currently sat stock still, a marble motionless statue in his colourless bedsit two streets away. He used fear to get the dirty money required to score, to stop to noise in his mind and the violent scratching under his skin, to prevent him from going mad and to forget.

You pass the entrance to the town gardens, where a girl sits on a bench, with head phones in listening to music tapes on her walkman. She does this everyday to help her not feel so alone. No one wants to sit and talk to her, no one has an interest in her ordinary irrelevant life, no one cares if she is here or not

To find out what your prize is, watch bugs until he finishes his carrot…

1 Corinthians 9:24:27

Say to Archippus, “Take  heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Colossians 4:17

When I was in college, I ran on the cross-country team. In the final even of the season, the state’s small colleges competed against each other, with about 75 runners in the event. We ran the 5K course in the rain and mud on a cold November day.

As I neared the finish line, I spied a runner from one of the other schools just a short distance ahead of me. He became my goal. I ran as hard as I could and passed him just as I crossed the finish line. That last dash meant I finished 42nd, which seemed a lot better than 43rd! It meant our team finished one position higher in the final standings than the team represented by the runner I beat. The point? I didn’t give up — I ran all the way through the finish line.

This is probably what Paul  had in mind as he wrote to Archippus, one of his young ministry proteges: “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it” (Colossians 4:17). When we feel discouraged and want to quit, it’s good to remember that the Lord who entrusted us with the privilege of spiritual service will give us the grace and strength to carry out that service. Let us “run with endurance” (Hebrews 12:1) so that we will receive the “imperishable crown” (1 Corinthians 9:25). —bill crowder

Run the straight race through God’s good grace, lift up thine eyes and seek His face; life with its way before us lies, Christ is the path and Christ the prize. —monsell

Running with patience is perseverance in the “long run.”

Alright Green Grapes Blog (GGB) readers—it’s time to up the health ante! We talk about leading a more healthifying lifestyle here at GGB, but as your momma told you, actions speak louder than words. Hence, it’s time to join the GGB Nutrition Challenge!

What’s the GGB Nutrition Challenge?

Each month, GGB invites you to send healthy recipes based on the month’s challenge, complete with a list of ingredients and step-by-step preparation directions. Each recipe must be accompanied by a single photograph of the fully prepared item (check out an example from the Food Network and use the form on the “Challenge” page as a guide). If you know your recipe’s nutrition information, please send that as well.

You can submit as many times as you want until the last day of each month, when three finalists will be chosen based on their recipe’s healthfulness, tastiness, and relevance to the month’s challenge. If you become a finalist, your recipe will be posted on the “Finalists” page, where GGB readers will have one week to vote for the winning recipe.

If you win a challenge, you will be notified via e-mail and have your recipe permanently featured on the “Stars” page (along with your blog or website name, if you’ve got one). Each winner will also receive a prize.

Did You Say Prize!?!?

Yes—I did. Prizes will vary each month but will always be something healthifying!!!

One More Thing

Lastly, I must say, this is the blog of a gal who mainly cooks with a skillet and only a skillet–so don’t feel as if your recipe must be Top Chef style–it can be, but doesn’t have to be–just make sure it’s GGB healthifying style!

Check out the GGB Nutrition Challenge page to learn more and read the official rules!

Happy Healthifying!

Can’t wait to see your recipes!

This week my volleyball team is going to the biggest volleyball tournament in the whole province. We were seeded ninth in the province and we are in a pool with the third, eighth and thirteenth placed teams. The only team we have played before is the third place team and we should have beaten them. We have a very good chance at winning our pool and if that happens we play one of two teams that we have already beaten. This means that as long as we play well we have a serious shot at getting a medal. Before the tournament starts all of the players from 16 teams have to go to a banquet and play trivia. There is supposed to be enough prizes for each team to get three decent ones. I am pretty excited for this and I also cant wait for the tournament itself. The craziness all starts this Thursday.

Card Jitsu Fire has come a little early folks and boy let me tell you, it sure if fun. Of course you can challenge Sensei for a prize but, instead of earning your belts, you earn a fire suit. Piece by piece you will earn items that will lead to a full fire suit. You can play from 2 to 4 players. Unfortunalty this is a member’s game only. Also, you can meet Sensei if you catch him roaming around CP. I met him out of luck and i recieved a Sensei background like the ones Rockhopper and Candice gave. That’s all for this Monday. Check out Card Jitsu Fire! ENJOY!!!

The Game:

Meeting Sensei:

The Great Snow Maze starts this friday (11/27). That’s all for today.

~Qez

Remember my post about how the Vita Mix blender was pretty much the best thing on earth? Well that’s good news, because not only is the blender still the star of my mom’s kitchen, but they are having a contest called “Pitch Me” (Which I am totally going to enter, by the way.)

All you have to do is submit a video of yourself showing off your Vita-Mix blender and demonstrating how you’d be the next greatest demo star and you could win $10 grand in cash! Yay! Overall, they’re giving away $20,000 in prizes. Hey, even if you don’t win, you could walk away with a Vita-Mix, and that’s a great prize just by itself!

Here are some more details:

“Participants must showcase their skills with a Vita-Mix blender and are judged on their video’s creativity, popularity and overall quality. As the competition progresses, Vita-Mix will air highly-rated submissions on national commercials, to drum up support for the leading videos and further publicize the contest. Vita-Mix is offering over $20,000 in total prizes including the single Grand Prize of $10,000 cash.”

GOOD LUCK!

Lady Gaga performs at the American Music Awards 2009

Whitney Houston performs at the American Music Awards 2009

Jay – Z feat Alicia Keys perform at the American Music Awards 2009

Janet Jackson performs at the American Music Awards 2009

Shakira performs at the American Music Awards 2009

Rihanna Performs at the American Music Awards 2009