I never really paid attention to the literal meaning of the question “So, what’s your story?” I often found it to be sarcasm or merely a spin on asking “What’s up?”

However, over the last five years, since being handed a pink slip of freedom from Corporate America, and journeying out into my own entrepreneurship adventure, everything I now do to position myself and my company, is tell my story. It’s what every customer, prospect, vendor or partner, even relationship suitor wants: to know, like and trust – my story; YOUR story.

But for a long time, about forty years to be exact, I had no idea of what my story was. And as much as I would love to say I found it along the way, it was more like it was forced on me. If I wanted to put food on the table and a roof over my head, I needed to define, know and believe my story. Once I did, it soon became apparent, that every one of us, in both corporate and small business, whether you receive a paycheck or you have to earn it yourself, has to have their story.

A story that gets people to like, know and trust you. A story that is real and truthful, while provocative, unique or valuable. But first, before anyone else will want to invest in your story, personally or professionally, you have to like, know and trust yourself. Once you do, you will be a magnet and others will want to hire you, do business with you, promote you, follow you, and even, if available, date, marry, and love you.

As a corporate executive for years myself, I never understood this concept of having a story. It confused me even more when prospective clients or peers would ask me, “What is your personal brand?” Gasping in complete confusion, I would respond “What are you talking about?”

Simple, it is your values, beliefs, experiences, mindset and skillset, and so much more, that makes up your ‘story’. It is the story that allows someone to know you on a level of like, knowledge and trust, which in turn provokes them to want to engage, collaborate and involve themselves with you.

And if your story, your personal brand, is not one that you like right now or don’t know just yet, this is the perfect time for you to shed, change and create the story you want your life to be. How exciting is that?

Here are tips for changing, shedding or creating your story that will reap you riches in business and life:

• Become aware of your current story – on a piece of paper, answer the following question – Who am I (as a woman/man, sibling, spouse/partner/lover, professional/business owner, friend, daughter/son, aunt/uncle, teammate/manager, as a money manager, house organizer, etc)… ?

o Consider all areas of your life that make up who you are right now and how the people, places and things in your life define you

• Review and decide for yourself if your current story is what you want or not.
• If you decide that you want to change, shed parts of, or create a different story then – on a piece of paper, write out the response to – Who do I want to be (what, where, when, how, and with whom)?

o Now, Circle key words that stand out for you in your story which could be key traits, characteristics, power words, goals, aspirations, that will now become part of your story to be used in marketing yourself, your business and your life.

• Once that is written out, answer the question – Why do I want this story versus my own?

o You are doing this separately because your response to Why will provide you the priority or urgency to make the changes necessary to create, shed or change your story

• Decide for yourself if your WHY is big enough for you to move on to the next step. If so:
• Write down 3 things you could be doing today to create, shed, or change your story to the story you want.
• Lastly, now go and act on them. Focus each day on creating the story that you want, so your story can lead you to the riches in business and life you want.

And the next time someone asks you, “What’s your story?” you will have a perfect answer. You!

In my book, I talk about my ability to have sex “like a man” and how this one…trait? skill?…actually made men trust me and like me more. In fact, I would go so far as to say my capacity to have sex with a man-like attitude shockingly made some men fall in love with me.

How weird is that? I know what you’re thinking: R-i-g-h-t, girlfriend.

But it happened.

So what does it mean to have sex “like a man”? Simply, it means not bonding with your sexual partner beyond the intimacy of being naked together and enjoying physical pleasure together. For a woman, this means not allowing that sneaky hormone oxytocin to cloud your judgment of the man you just had sex with, i.e. make him better than he really is. (Refresher point: Oxytocin is the bonding hormone, which is most abundant in women’s bodies during childbirth and sex.)

So the reason women want to bond when they have sex is because of the increased oxytocin pump. Men? Not so much. Although they have oxytocin, their levels are naturally much lower. The difference in the levels between men and women is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. Stop now and make a mental note of that because it’s why it takes most men so long to bond.

By the time I got to the sex “like a man” phase of my life, I understood that if I had a post-coital oxytocin rush, I pretty much ignored it. I definitely didn’t let it make a fool of me. I knew from experience that it would fade. It’s like smoking pot. You can be on a peace and love high for hours, but eventually you’ll come down and your life will be the same as it was before. So I learned not to put a ton of importance on how I felt about a man immediately after sex. What was more accurate and reliable was how I felt two days or a week later.

Okay. A little self-disclosure: I need to let you know that I am a woman who doesn’t have a huge amount of natural oxytocin. Although I do bond deeply, I don’t bond easily. I’m not a big hugger. In fact, I’m not touchy-feely at all. When my first child was born it bothered me that I didn’t have the immediate bonding sensations I had read about other new mothers experiencing. At first I was afraid that meant I would be a bad mother. Then I realized that motherhood, like marriage and friendships, could be done in many different ways. So I forgot about it and lived my life and became a good mother who raised happy kids despite my oxytocin disadvantage.

It wasn’t until I divorced and started dating again that the whole bonding issue resurfaced. I started having sex with virtual strangers – meaning three or four dates does not a relationship make. And of course there were the usual insecurities of dating after being married for years and also negotiating the sometimes confusing protocol for the social scene I now inhabited. Does he like my body? Does he like my sex? Am I too loud? Too aggressive? Not aggressive enough? You know the drill.

And I admit that sometimes, possibly due to those early insecurities, I wanted to bond with a new lover just so I could feel less alone in the world. After all, I was used to being a twosome. I wanted the affirmation and the comfort of bonding, even if I didn’t want the man.

So dating again tapped into my small but pent up oxytocin stores. It was like the oxytocin hose was clogged and being single again blew out the pipes, and there I was bonding all over the place like a love-crazed addict.

But I soon learned that this was a mistake. Big mistake, in fact, if I wanted to be successful with men. I soon learned that allowing yourself to bond too quickly makes guys uncomfortable and skittish, even if they really like you. This is especially true if they have already done the marriage thing. Most men – who, no matter what they tell you, are looking for stability and companionship – will run from a woman who wants to make that process go too fast. Why? Because if you’re in that much of a hurry to close the deal, they don’t trust you. They figure it can’t end well. They see women as always trying to catch a man. Catching is a game. So how do men win this game? They avoid getting caught.

So I quickly learned to play the game differently from most women. And for starters, I began having sex like a man.

After doing the deed for the first time with a guy, especially if I thought he was all that and a bag of chips, while he was cringingly expecting me to now act like the two of us were an item, I simply didn’t. I didn’t start texting sweet messages. I didn’t start making plans for us. I didn’t start calling him. I didn’t even let him think I expected another date – even if I did. And I kept it up until he cried uncle. In other words, I made the boy my bitch by switching it up on him, doing what he didn’t expect. Hey, we all know men love surprises. And get this: Because my behavior was so shockingly like his own, he admired me for it, my stock immediately went up, and he saw me as more desirable. End result? I win, bitches.

So how do you have sex like a man? You enjoy the sexual intimacy and the pleasure, but your heart is not up for grabs. If your insistent hormones are screaming at you to cave, you tell them to go to hell. You dismiss the oxytocin rush as a drug-based high that, like all drug-based highs, doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. Or serve you well in the beginning of a relationship.

Then you kick him out of bed and go about your important day. You’ve got better things to do than rev up all of your romantic fantasies around this guy. Trust me, he’ll love you for it. And guess what? You’ll love yourself.

According to a survey 92 percent of cheating men said that they cheat because of emotional disconnection. People would think that men cheat because of the sex but what they do not realize is that sex, being a medium of emotional transmission into a physical expression, is just as important to men as affection is important to women.

Men are also emotional beings. The problem is that society has painted them in a way that doesn’t make them look like that. Society plays a heavy role in defining men. Think about it, the media places a big misconception on men that they become “macho” when they have more than just one woman. Almost to the point where it connotes that the more women a man can have, the more powerful he becomes- or that men have the biological right to cheat mainly because he has the penis.

They do not have to worry about being pregnant or checking in with their monthly OB-GYN visits. The media portrays them as the alpha dogs and that women are merely dispensable sexual objects. We are mislead into believing that men are these lustful, animalistic gods who have no sense of self control, remorse and conscience to decipher what’s right from wrong when it comes to sex.

This misconception is confusing and can basically mislead us from the truth. Men are just as emotional as women, but they simply displace their emotions in different, socially-acceptable ways.

1. Appreciation– Most men who cheat feel under-appreciated by their partners. With daily worries like bills, children and chores, couples drift away from appreciating one another. The other woman often makes the man feel better- making them feel different, appreciated and admired. Men look strong, powerful and capable. But on the inside, they’re insecure like everybody else. They’re looking for somebody to build them up to make them feel valued.

Men have a winning mentality. Just think about how men watch their favorite sports teams on television. They love to win. As long as they’re in the game, even to the very end, they’ll watch. Once it’s a blowout and they know their team can’t win, the television goes off. Now they might not have been great guys to live with but if you want to preserve your relationship make them feel like they’re winning with the things that they do for you. It doesn’t matter how small it is, appreciation will save your man from looking at an affair.

2. Appearance vs Attention– 88 percent of men surveyed in a study said that the other women were no better looking than their own wives or girlfriends. This only proves that there are other things aside from physical looks that can drive a man to cheat. Attention is one of them. Most men cheat because their wives or girlfriends stop paying attention to them. They put a very strong hold on this and if they can’t find it in your home or apartment, they come looking for it someplace else.

The other woman makes them feel secure. They feel like they can be themselves. They can talk more, express more and the listening ear is always available when they need to share their stories. It surprises them how someone else can be so interested in their work, their childhood, their plans and their dreams. And men put a high price on this!

Anybody, no matter how you look, can be admiring, open and give you that extra little pump and hang on to every one of your words. So instead of spending too much extra time in the office, why not spend some quality time listening to your partner.

3. Power. A common mistake of working power women is when they make the men feel emasculated by rubbing to their faces that they have higher incomes. This can make the guy feel criticized and again, under-appreciated. Making them lose their sense of power in a relationship.

According to Sherry Argov, in the book “Why Men Marry Bitches”, “Power is just as intoxicating to men as romance is intoxicating for women”. Once they feel vulnerable the men will try to regain the lost power by cheating with a woman, who, as you guess it, usually works as a waitress in TGI Fridays!

So be extra careful in how you appear to your partner when you have a high powered career. Although men may look supportive and proud, they do have a certain form of insecurity when it comes to providing food on the table or paying for dinners. It is not to say that the woman should feel sorry for being more successful than he is, or that she should just quit her job or ask to be demoted just to caress his ego.

It’s more on how you handle yourself tactfully and sensitively when you talk about your job, your paycheck, your FICO score, your investments or your purchases. Modesty is the important thing here. Don’t criticize his job or his income either. Make sure that you let him know that you’re rooting for him, not competing against him.

4. Passion. Most couples stop going out on dates when the honeymoon stage is over. 4 years into marriage and it’s all about microwavable TV dinners and talking about bills. The spice has been replaced by monotony. Therefore, once in a while you should go out to your favorite restaurant, go to the movies (not rent a DVD) and watch a flick you both enjoy.

Activities, outside of the routine living at home, are the things that get the juice flowing in a relationship. Many couples stop dating after marriage or after a long period of time, then the woman wonders why the man has ran away with another woman.

This is because men, in general, like fun and outgoing women. They like a woman who laughs more and knows how to have a good time. Men are like children and if you’re not going to be a fun playmate, they will find the next girl in the neighborhood to play with. If you’re such a drag chances are he’ll resent you for it. A man needs to be constantly stimulated to maintain his attention. Otherwise, he will take it out on himself and feel unappreciated and taken for granted. He wants to know that you can still be entertained by his company, that he can still make you laugh and be interested in his character.

Don’t stop the humor because you’re already busy with important priorities. Include recreation in your budget and schedule. Make sex more interesting by buying a new pair of sexy lingerie. Experiment in bed. The key here is that you need to cover all the aspects of your life together keep him hooked and interested in only you.

This is not to say that you should be a doormat and become his own private entertainer, like a court jester juggling tricks for the king all day long. The mere purpose of this is to keep the fire burning, the engines running and the steam flowing. Remember, men are just as passionate as women.

Do you have a friend who has a slim, sleek body? Do you hate her? Are you thick in the middle, or just plan over weight? Do you want to lose weight? Well, change your choices, change your life. In “Skinny Bitch“, Rory and Kim give you a, no nonsense, kick in the pants approach to helping you to lose weight. If you can get by the frequent use of expletive deleted phrases, it is a very good book.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The insanity of diets is that a person gives up food, starves, and loses weight. When they finally reach their goal, they go back to the old eating habits and are very surprised when the weight returns. Sometimes people need to be shocked into new behavior. If you are too comfortable in your current food habits, but you are unhappy abut your weight, this is the book for you.

The truth is that the human body needs carbohydrates. It is fuel. You want whole grain foods, not enriched or fortified. Whole foods like potatoes, yams, barley, corn, brown rice, beans, hummus, lentils, quinoa, and millet have all the macro and micro nutrients you body needs and recognizes. They fill you up with good nutrition and fiber. Oh, eat lots of fruit. Fruit may be the perfect food. It digests easily, providing carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Fruits aid in detoxifying the body and in regular elimination.

The authors spend a chapter on sugar. Refined sugar is devoid of any nutritional value. All the enzymes, fiber, vitamins and minerals are destroyed during the refining process. Refined sugar has been linked to low blood sugar, Candida, hyperactivity, depression, cavities and it makes you fat. But there are sweets you can use in your food. Some of the approved sweet suggestions include stevia, brown rice syrup, real maple syrup, and molasses.

Main stream meat is very toxic. Cattle, poultry, pigs are raised to get the most meat, fast. They are given hormones and antibiotics. Corn and grain feed is laced with pesticides and herbicides. When you eat food that contains hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides, it affects your body? Children are reaching physical puberty at much earlier ages, most likely do to hormones in meat, milk, cheese and eggs. The wide use of antibiotics has resulted in new strains of super bacteria that are drug resistant. Pesticides and herbicides are poisons. They are stored in the fat cells.

Did you ever wonder how the body digests meat? According to the authors, our bodies are not made to digest meat. The intestinal track of carnivores is very short. They eat their kill and the digested meat passes through them very quickly. In contrast, the intestinal track of humans is very long. The process of human digestion requires a longer the transit time. Meat putrefies, or rots, in the gut because digestion takes so long. That is food for thought.

The authors also include problems with dairy foods, and fish. Dairy products (milk, cheese) produce mucus in the body. It clogs up the cells. Many fish are loaded with toxins do to polluted water. The body stores these poisons in the fat cells. You will stay fat until you rid your body of the toxins.

Government agencies where formed to protect our health and the food we consume. Freedman and Barmouin site examples where these agencies have failed in that endeavor. They raise serious questions that the reader should consider.

After one hundred and forty pages of eating boot camp, Freedman and Barmouin devote thirty seven pages to foods they recommend, including good snacks and sweet desserts. They also have four weeks of menus.

Kim Barnouin is a former model and Rory Freedman is a former agent for Ford Models. They are both “Skinny Bitches.” They have found a healthy way to eat and be thin for life. If you want to look like them, the invitation is to eat like them.

Caring for an Akita bitch during pregnancy is basically commonsense. She should be watched carefully and made as comfortable and happy as possible. You should ensure that she has a dry bed, ample clean drinking water and regular feeds of good quality. For the first five weeks she will probably behave quite normally. She may have her “off” days. She may be extra hungry. She may display a slight change in temperament and be more careful how she carries herself, but so long as she is obviously healthy and happy, that is all that matters.

As soon as you suspect that she is pregnant, it is a good idea to contact your vet so he can enter the date of the expected birth in his diary and monitor the bitch’s progress. Akitas do not carry much water with their puppies, nevertheless a considerable amount of weight will have to be carried as the weeks progress. It is generally not advisable to give lots of extra food in the early weeks. Experience has taught us that overloading a bitch with food will put weight on her puppies, and she will also put on extra weight. This causes two problems. Firstly, she will not exercise so well, and so she will not be keeping her muscles toned up. Secondly, the puppies will be fat, which means they will be larger and will experience a more difficult passage down the birth canal. And when they are born, they will be fat and lazy.

It is far better to have an active mother and lean, vigorous puppies, who will fight to get to the teats to fill themselves with that all-important mother’s first milk. We have found the best policy is to feed a balanced diet with an increase in food after about five weeks. Naturally the future mum will be hungrier, but rest assured that whatever food you give to her she will pass on to her unborn babies before she takes it herself. She is a natural in parental care. Additives in the form of calcium and perhaps iron are a good idea, again after the five-week deadline. These days most foods are carefully balanced and numerous additives should not be needed. Indeed, the general view is that they can do more harm than good. But if the bitch suggests that she may have a deficiency, you should take her to the vet so that proper tests and analysis can be undertaken.

Akita bitches “hide” their puppies very well until at least five weeks, more often six. They may show no signs at all that they are pregnant, and this can be extremely annoying to the owners, who obviously want to know if they are to expect a litter so they can make the necessary preparations. Probably the best indication is a swelling of the bitch’s teats. From as early as three weeks these can “pop”, or enlarge slightly and become pinker in appearance. In our experience this is the only “sure” sign. Ultra-sound scanning can also give a definite diagnosis, but this is costly and sometimes the hair on the bitch’s side or underside has to be removed.

Your bitch may show signs of thickening in the rib or loin earlier, but it is most unlikely. Akita Inu bitches do not generally carry their babies across their loin like most breeds. They hide them under their ribs and then later “drop” them and carry them in the belly, rather like a cow carries its calf. Whether you observe positive signs or not, it is wise to contact your vet and book the expected date of birth into his diary so he will be available if necessary.

Seven weeks into the pregnancy, introduce the bitch to her whelping place. A suitably sized box should be prepared and the absolute minimum measurements for this would be about 4ft 6ins by 3ft. This will allow the bitch to lie fully stretched on her side. The box can certainly be larger, but not so big as to allow the puppies to crawl away from their mother and so get lost. Make sure the bitch is happy with the box and its position. After a few days she will welcome the peace, quiet and solitude of this area and so will accept it as the natural place when the time comes to give birth. If she is at all unhappy you must give in to her and make other arrangements. She probably has a good reason for not wanting things the way you do. So listen to her and adjust. She may accept the box, and then on the day of whelping, she changes her mind and wants to go somewhere else. Again, you must give in to her request. She may return to the box after she has had her first puppy, but let her decide. It is worth all the upheaval to have a happy, contented bitch who comes through her pregnancy successfully and delivers her puppies safely, without causing you – – or herself – – any undue anxiety.

There is something about a dog. It has this unique ability to bond with human beings in such a way that it makes the person think they are special in that they, and only they, are everything the dog has always wanted. From then on its affection is poured out without complaint or measure and this all for the reciprocal occasional caress or passing pat.

Dogs are mammals who belong to the group Carnivora or ‘flesh eaters’ and present-day breeds all belong to a single species, Canis Familiaris.

Dogs have been domesticated for more than 12,000 years. Apart from being just a pet, during this time, they have been used for sporting activities like the Retriever or raced like the Greyhound or used for herding animals like the Old English Sheepdog while others herd and guard goats and cattle. In more recent years of course they have been trained to sniff out illegal drugs in the world of drug trafficking.

The group of dogs which fall into the category ‘working dogs’ all have similar characteristics. These are that they are strong, alert, intelligent and loyal. In this group is found the Portuguese Water Dog – Cao de Agua, a most interesting animal. They came to prominence during the days when fishing was a primary activity. Fishermen all along the coast of Portugal used them on their fishing trawlers as they worked the Atlantic waters of Portugal up into the icy fishing waters off the coast of Iceland, in their hunt for cod.

The dogs were trained to keep the fish in the nets and recover broken tackle or lost nets. This meant they had to learn to swim underwater. Their webbed toes helped them with this task. Because of their prowess they were taken along on the Spanish Armada’s attack on the British fleet and were used as couriers between the Armada’s ships, and even from ship to shore, depending on the distance. It is thought that some of them, finding themselves in the water after the destruction of the Armada managed to swim to Ireland. Interbreeding there brought about the Irish Water Spaniels.

Apart from their webbed toes and being able to swim underwater, they have another unusual characteristic. They do not shed their coat; it grows like human hair does. It is also thick, springy and waterproof, which would have had the effect of insulating them against the cold of the Icelandic waters. A point worth noting is that this lack of coat shedding means that their presence is more tolerable to dog allergy sufferers.

They bond well with human owners and have the ability to alert their owner if an event occurs which requires attention. They bark loudly, then they go to find their master to indicate the cause of their commotion. This quirk makes them of useful assistance to a person who has a hearing difficulty. Bonding well with people and being able to communicate information means that the dog has been used in therapy sessions in hospitals and nursing homes.

As pets, their coat needs to be well brushed at least every two weeks. They also need to be exercised daily. They are even-tempered and the true breed have eyes which are consistently black. Male dogs stand between 20″ and 23″ high, the bitches being slightly smaller. They weigh in between 42lbs – 60lbs, and again, the bitches are slightly lighter. In recent years the breed has begun to make a comeback.

In the USA and Europe, dogs are generally regarded as pets to be cared for and whose company is enjoyed. This is not so worldwide however. In some other parts of the world, dogs are eaten for food.

This is one dog that does not need a Life Jacket, a Life Vest or a PFD (Personal Flotation Device)! However such a precaution would be sensible for other breeds of dogs especially if they are family pets out on a boat with you. Have a look at the following PFD’s for dogs:

— Extrasport Deluxe PFD
— NRS Canine PFD
— Ruff wear K9 Float Coat PFD
— Big Eddy Float Coat

Worming Your Dog

Your dog should be treated for the prevention of worms at least twice a year — more often if your dog is a scavenger. There are two main groups of worms which affect dogs — roundworms and tapeworms. Worm infestation can cause abnormal hunger, diarrhea, poor growth, itching around the bottom and general loss of condition.

Untreated dogs can pass worms on to other dogs, via the eggs which are deposited in the feces when the dog goes to the toilet. The eggs are then moved around by the wind and on the soles of people’s shoes, or by sticking to the feet of passing dogs. That dog then licks himself and ingests the eggs, causing the dog to becoming infested.

An un-wormed dog could also cause a disease in humans called Visceral Larva Migrans, which is caused by ingesting the egg of the roundworm Toxocara Canis. Children are particularly at risk, as they tend to put their hands near or into their mouths, especially if they should do so after touching a piece of ground infected with the worm eggs, or if they are petting a dog that has worms. The egg can enter via contact from hand to mouth, and, in very severe cases, can cause blindness or mental retardation. Although these cases are rare, simple precautions such as always washing your hands after handling a dog, particularly a strange dog, and ensuring that your dog is regularly treated for worms, will prevent this from happening.

It is worth noting that un-wormed cats carry a similar worm — Toxocara Cati which can also cause the same disease in humans as Toxocara Canis.

You must treat your dog for worms, even if you never see any actual evidence — the eggs which pass from the dog via the faces are minute. If you should see what appear to be small grains of rice in the faces and around the anal area, that is very clear evidence that your dog has a severe infestation of tapeworms. If you see what look like strands of spaghetti in the faces or vomit, you can be sure that your dog has a roundworm infestation.

There is also a strain of tapeworm, which, if ingested during its development stage, can affect humans, causing a disease called Hydatidosis, which affects the liver and lungs. The good news is that cases of this disease are extremely rare.

All this unpleasantness can be avoided if all dog owners abide by the following simple rules:

1. All puppies should be wormed before leaving the breeder, at three weeks and five weeks of age. They should be wormed again twice more by the time they reach 13 weeks. Thereafter they should be regularly wormed every six months throughout their lives.

Get the worm prevention treatment from your veterinary surgeon — tablets and powders from the pet shop are not as effective.

2. Bitches who are about to be bred from should be wormed prior to mating and again after the puppies are weaned.

3. All faces should be removed daily from the garden and burned or hygienically disposed of. Always remove any faeces your dog leaves behind when out on exercise.

4. Always wash your hands after handling your dog, before consuming food.

By following these simple procedures, you can be assured that you have taken all possible steps to prevent your dog passing the infection to other dogs or humans.

The United States of Walmart is an in-depth analysis on the behemoth Walmart, one of the Big-box retail chain that has been ruling United States for the past thirty years daintily operating its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The author John Dicker – an investigative journalist probes the success of one of the world's biggest corporation also being hailed as the largest retailer, grocer, jeweler, private employer, general merchandiser and a country unto itself which makes $ 288 billion in annual sales.

While it has been tagged as the "template company" whose size and scope sets the tone for business world at large, it also throws light on how this maxim of "Low price always" was fostered, leaving so many backlashes behind, the evidences that prove that Walmart has been built on the graveyard of smaller competitors. The first part of the book deals with the victorious retail store that has outnumbered it direct rivals like Kmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy to name a few. Walmart became Americas number one toy seller in 1998 outsmarting 'Toys R us' – one of the original category killers till then. Even while it evolved, it had smoothly pushed Ben Franklins five-and-dime aside.

Walmart has envisioned a place where people could buy at their lowest bid. And this was the dream of any discount store that emerged. This was one causative factor for small businesses to radically differentiate themselves or perish. Walmart spread its wings across a wide category, as mentioned from being a largest retailer, largest grocery store, largest corporation dealing from Sega Genesis to Huggies, DVDs to Happy Meal, precious jeweler, leaving no stone unturned.

With this it also popularized in private label promotions, where again it overrun a merchandising firm, Ocean Spray on sale of cranberry juice (private labels allowed retailers to cut prices 25% below competition). Walmart stands obstinate since it had launched its three stage division, with Sam's Club wholesale discount store and Neighborhood Market in 1993 & 98 respectively.

The success story behind the founder Sam Walton, who started his retail career as proprietor of Ben Franklins Five-and-dime in Newport, he was a lot innovative and creative to spread the fame of this franchise chain across many places after which, the thought to chance a shop for himself, funded by his wife and father-in-law, he opened his first Walmart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas. He had believed in his eyes more than market surveys and demographic data.

Despite the remarkable triumph behind Walmart, it proved an apotheosis to so many social ills. It was many a times caught in light of media, under charges on gender discrimination of its women employees who were paid lesser wages, poverty wages, lesser facility like the private health insurance, undue advantage of suppliers, where when the specified cost is not met out, outsourced sweatshops, its policy of non-union laborers – who are at liberty to address their grievances directly to the officer, and it promoted antiunion videos that claimed people who can speak for themselves are independent thinkers.

While all this shows the bad side of Walmart, part two talks in details of the lawsuits that were filed against the company for gender discrimination and how Lee Scott, clarifies each and every complaint with the usual Walmart's Rollback Smiley. He rightly promises that, low quality jobs would never attract employees while people out there are fighting to get themselves employed in Walmart. Again it is held liable for the subsidies that are got from the government, because it has not properly fed its employees.

Then it talks about the censorship issue that rose up with magazines like Maxim, Stuff portraying lewd and less than legal pictures on its cover page, which rightly hampers it name as a 'family store', its spiky failure to expand to New York against the people, its apparent support to George W. Bush and so for republicans and many more. But the irony remains that, whatever charges have been raised against this big box retail chain aka Walmart, the truth is that, people shop, shop and shop, because it offers the lowest prices as it claims, because its only national retailer targeting small rural towns, topping it all, the fact that its effect on a local business community could be traced empirically.

The book keeps the reader engrossed in the combination of verity of less than attractive facts with accomplishment of this corporation. The facts are as gargantuan as the 460-terabyte database station located in Bentonville, Arkansas. The writer has hand-picked examples that are sharply defied by the CEO of the firm, Lee Scott, which makes it interesting. Less than any other success stories, it revolves mainly on the content which proves its strength. Finally, the book might be an eye -opener for people willing to know about Walmart, but ultimately it might have less than the required impact to stop people from shopping at this giant outlet, after all, as the author asserts, we're all "Walmart's Bitches".

In the inauguration you may daydream what higher realization is similar to and then experience when practices in the direction of higher perception do not acquiesce the longed fantasies. To make anguish of unawareness even shoddier, sometimes a person can get psychic experiences. Psychic sounds or sights usually come in the psyche at times when the person is not concentrating on the psychic knowledge. Typically, psychic experiences take place when a person sits with a blank mind. Suddenly a person experience sounds, lights, and even dreams of some bizarre or very outer space beings.

The term psychic initially referred to spiritual or soul but in the modern era meaning changed 1) having a reference with the mind, or psyche; 2) beyond usual or known bodily processes; 3) it seems sensitive to forces past the bodily world,” according to the dictionary of Webster’s.

Based on ordinary usage these days, the term psychic experiences usually refer to mind or psyche and are illustrious perhaps unluckily or unjustly from the pious. Some citizens do have authentic psychic experiences. Or, frequently populaces who do not have the knowledge of advanced levels of consciousness brand all pious experiences as mental, or psychic, and discharge them as dreams.

Psychic awareness is present in between the normal objective/subjective awareness and levels of higher spiritual awareness. On the basis of this sort of usage of the psychic terminology most gurus, teachers and adepts urge their pupils not to treat or support these transitional, often erroneous, mental imitation from the psychic nature. The major reason of burly warnings and cautions related to the psychic experiences are the destructions that have occurred with the students. The pupils who are blessed with the psychic knowledge which is interrupted by the students in order to lead lives.

They found all their significant decision on the experiences most of the time disastrously. As the mental imitation are from time to time correct, pupils become persuaded their impersonation are for eternity accurate so they pay no attention to both realism and the useful directions of the people who extricate the people from emotional slavery.

Such pupils have frequently throughout the past become conceited and, most of the times are ill. Also, these people are often persuaded they are immense leaders, or Messiah, they create a center of attention particularly where serious medicine use involved – and frequently become suspicious in the dread that a defensive earth is get them. And every now and then they do utter injury to their brood, associates and strangers.

On other side of the enormously important concern, there are many people in the society are sensitive to the people. The psychic perception of these people is accurate. These people due to the better understanding of life itself often take delivery of psychic images that are related to the future events so that these people can be happy. The fact is discomfort that the sensitive individuals are tortured or burned in the form of bitches and continue to stay in ignorant conditions in the today’s world.

"What does your family mean to you ?," a child was once asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "Mine was so extremely dysfunctional. My father is always drunk, my mother always beat kids. My brothers and sisters already got out of the house and I do not know what they are already doing and where they are. It (Family) is just something that I wish for that I know I will never have. "

A HAPPY FAMILY. Are you also one of the people who are in a quest for this?

Filipino family ties during the early years are superior examples of in high spirit, nurtured families. Other countries would envy how we do things all together – dine, go to church, watch a movie, shopping, go in an, how the whole family would go together to the airport when a family member arrives, how parents are very much supportive to their children's concerns and a lot more. But now, for many, that was just BEFORE. Before when families are still given much time, attention and care.

Many Filipino families nowadays still carry out the picture of the healthy family like we used to have before. But as of these days also, reality speaks that the country whom many people envied of its close family ties already brought into being a high number of broken homes and unwanted families.

My imagination pictures a scenario where I am walking on the street one day and I meet a child wiping his tears.

"Why are you crying?"

"Nothing."

"Are you lost? Where are you from?"

"No. I live there by the nearby kanto where people would always hear the loud cries of children, where father and mother always let plates, saucers and our things at home fly."

"Huh? Why? Who is your father by the way?"

"I do not know. When father enters our house drank, expect a plate to fly again. My mother use to name him 'Bitch' and I call him the same. I have no idea of ​​his real name rather. And I do not care. Our house is like just a hell of 'bitches' and 'demons' as they call each other there. "

"What about your mother's name? Maybe I know her and I can talk to her."

"Never mind. My father calls her 'Crazy' and I call her the same."

"Ah. So where are you going then?"

"I'll go find my friends. I will invite them to have some cigarette and liquor to somewhat forget this feelings for a while."

As a Filipino, would I feel great? As years outdo, instead of family ties becoming firmer and firmer, relationship between family members came to be weaker and weaker.

Have you tried having a look to some old photos of your parents during their graduation days? They may not graduated with flying honors but can you notice on the pictures the presence of all siblings, parents and some relatives during that special day? Probably, you would. But in our present-day generation, you can even witness an honored student in tears while receiving her medals, ribbons, and certificates with just his great grandmother with him who could hardly walk already.

Currently, youth would enjoy dropping out of school, joining fraternity groups, being engaged in premarital sex and some are now officially called "batang ina" or "batang ama". As a matter of fact, in the Philippines, 1 out of 3 aged 15-24 years old youth have involved themselves in premarital sex and 14 percent of girls aged 15-19 are already a mother. WHAT A WORRISOME NUMBER!

Researchers, with all their bests provided us all the reasons and causes why these things are being enjoyed by youth in order for solutions or preventions to be made. Peer pressure, lack of self-esteem, fear of rejection and many more came out – almost all pointing the blame to each child's FAMILY.

Many would define the word FAMILY as the circle where they started to have Fears; for others, it is a dwelling where Anger reigns; it is also where others experienced being Maltreated; it is the circle where others feel Insecure to be with; for some it is something they never Long to be with anymore because of the experiences they had, and for others it is like hell where they always hear shouts and Yells.

On other family cases, my heart would cry for a friend who tries to live life with the best she can but inside her, she's in a journey of looking for a father she has never seen since birth; for a friend who would embrace me with tears saying, "it would even be easier for me to know he's dead than to see her happily living with that monster."; a friend who dropped out of school after his father took away all their earnings and slept with another woman; and a friend who cries every time she whispers her birthday wish to have their complete family back again.

Is this already the face of the family that God, with great love had given to men? A place where many cannot feel the things that they are supposed to. As the years would go, will children try their bests to define FAMILY in the most negative way they can? This is not God's idea for families!

Youth, we are the hope of our nation. In the years to come we should not let families become worse and worse. We can no more bring those days when our country is being envied of the close family ties. But we can do it again!

God designed the family as the smallest unit in the society. Yes, the smallest yet with the greatest purpose- for parents to mold the children's values ​​and attitudes, to help them start dreaming and to give them very positive outlooks in life. He conceived it as the heart of the society, church and nation. The well-being of a society, success of a church and prosperity of a nation all rest on the family influences. He created family ties to be the closest, most tender and sacred on earth because He wants to bind the life of the nation with love.

Everyone has a family. Even the animals have. Many would say they do not have because they do not let themselves be called a part of the family they belong to since they do not want to be embarrassed. We may not be enjoying the family where we belong right now but we can never do otherwise, we cannot chose.

To those who are very much enjoying the company of a happy family, God is so happy watching over you. But! you will not be allowed forever to be hidden under the wings of your parents. God wants you to have your own family in the right time too.

And for you who, until now are still longing for a successful family which will be the complete opposite of the never-been-happy family they have at present, your dreams are all dependent in your hands.

The desired family we are all aiming for all starts with the most careful, most wise and Godly decisions.

As a young lady, who am I not to dream for my own happy, healthy and nurtured family in the future too? But the family, actually, does not excite me. What excites me most is when I would walk along the isle as a 777 bride between the golden-colored, sweet scented flowers along a very peaceful, solemn church wedding.

Like any other women, I am really much motivated for this great event since I thought it would be where the happy ever after and the happy family would get underway. But unfortunately, I was wrong.

A happy ever after all begins with what you are now – how you make decisions in life today pictures what you are going to have in the future. Do not daydream too much of the wedding. Have a high standard of goal with the family you are going to have. Because with these childish daydreaming for extravagant weddings, I tell you, many were married but are mismatched.

Be cautious! How you handle things today is what you will become tomorrow.

Reality check in today's courtship practices, are they all approved in Christ's standard? Gone are those days when suitors are obliged to meet the parents first. Welcome to the generation where young ladies and gentlemen meet in secrets and do things in secrets without the knowing of their parents.

Ellen G. White strongly reminds us that we should not trust too much to impulse. Remember, love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. On the contrary, it is calm and deep in its nature, it is wise and discriminating, its devotion is real and abiding and is a pure and holy – a high and noble principle.

Great care should be taken in the formation of friendships and in the choice of companions. We should weigh every sentiment and watch every development of character in the one with whom we would like to link our destiny. Let our minds dwell upon spiritual subjects. Give ourselves constant vigilant self-instructions.

Sitting up late, on the other hand at night is customary; but it is not pleasing even if we are both Christians. These untimely hours injure health and have an appearance of evil.

"Satan knows what elements he has to deal with and he displays his internal wisdom in various devices to entrap humans to ruins," Mrs. White wrote.

"A young man," she added, "who enjoys the society and friendship of a young lady unknown to her parents does not act a noble Christian part toward her and toward her parents. Through secret communications and meetings, he may gain an influence over her mind but in doing so, he fails to manifest that nobility and which every child of God will possess.Thou shalt not steal was written by the finger of God on the tables of stone yet how much underhand stealing of affection is being practiced today? "

Be wary !!! We know not how a 16-year-old mother dealt with her early pregnancy plus her parents' reaction with it plus the murmurs around and how she would deal with the family she is going to have that she never liked and dream of. Do we still want to bear the same feelings as she did?

Choosing a life partner stage, when taken unwisely is the most effective means of destroying the youthfulness and the supposed-to-be very bright future of us.

As a woman, before uttering the words "I do" try to consider the characteristics of the man first. Is his life pure? Can you find true peace in his affection? Has he the traits that will make you happy? Is God the foundation of his life?

And as a man, consider some things too about the woman you are deeply in love with. Will she bring happiness to your home? Will she be patient and painstaking? Will she take your parents as her own too? Does she have God in her life?

"No one can effectually ruin a woman's happiness and usefulness and make life a heart sickening burden as her own husband and no one can do one hundredth part as much to chill the hopes and aspirations of a man, to paralyze his energies and ruin his influence and prospects as his own wife, "White explains in her book Growing a Happy Home.

Take heed! A little time spent in sowing wild oats will produce a crop that will embitter a whole life. And an hour of thoughtlessness may turn the whole current of life in the wrong direction.

Excited with your wedding? Have you prayed hard for the BEST partner? Again, with the most careful, most wise and Godly decisions are where a happy family begins.

The next important factor towards building a happy family is knowing the great responsibilities laid on your shoulders as parents. Family was not given by the Lord to become a trial and error for the people who wants to find genuine happiness and the real meaning of their lives. Family is a sacred tie that needs to be well and carefully planned by the parents to whom God has placed the greatest responsibilities in a family.

Therefore, before getting into this, both the lady and the gentleman should know the obligations God wants them to perform not only as a husband and wife but also as a mother and a father.

Firstly, to the future wives and mothers. Your primary role is often seen as providing a home first for your husband. In addition, Colossians 3:18 clearly states that "Wives, submit to your husbands, as it is fitting in the Lord." Submission means a lot of things- to love your husband in words and in deeds, to be willing to be a part of him and to do only good to him. Serve him when he comes home from work, pray for him every time you would pray for yourself, be open to him and be willing to take your in-laws as your own parents too.

Another big charge to a wife is becoming a mother – to provide the safe and secure environment in which your children can grow and flourish, develop their personalities and talents to move out into the world where they proceed to blossom into being their own person.

Mrs. White expressed, "many ladies, accounted and well-educated are shamefully ignorant of the practical duties of life." Therefore, a lady, before getting married should have a thorough knowledge of the household duties as a wife and a mother. Your beauty and talents have nothing to do with your family life that much rather than playing the simple, practical duties daily for your family. Who cares if you can graciously play the piano but cannot cook for the family? We should never forget the very common saying that personally comes out from our mouths – "IDLENESS IS A SIN."

Not only that, a mother's onus also is to protect her children from sickness and while a child is sick, she takes good care until her child's condition gets back to normal. Being a mother is not being just dependent on hospitals when sicknesses arise. Make your own home a natural treating place for those family members who needs it. That is why, you should ensure and offer good nutrition and proper hygiene to your children.

Sometimes, with these simple, little things come troubles in a family. A husband going away because he has given up doing almost all the household chores daily after coming home from work while the wife just taking care of their child spent her whole day if not in the salon, she's in the mall spending all his husband's wages.

Parents are called the "first teachers". From the very childhood of a child, parents, most specially mothers are to ensure the development of sense of morality. Mothers should have the patience, love and hard work to educate their children well before sending them out to schools.

A mother, on the other hand can also help provide for a family but it is not your responsibility. Yours is to grow with your kids. You must be flexible. You must know that in a family, all behavior is a form of communication and you should have a thorough knowledge how to react in them. Everybody communicates through it like for example an infant may cry when she is hungry or wet, just like an adult may yawn when he is bored at work.

A mother should have the motto of "family first before myself" and an attitude of being mindful, productive and motivated to make her family to the best it can be.

Reminder, there are families whose happiness is wrecked by the inefficiency of the mother. Mothers are being distinguished as the "lights" of the home, then mothers should have the Godly characteristics that would lead their children to the right path.

And for the future husband and the fathers, your greatest role as a husband is clearly stated in Ephesians 5:28 saying that you should love your wives as you love yourselves. Love to wife is not only showed but should also be said. Literally, many can only tell their love for their wives during sexual intercourse. Excuse me, do not make your wives as merely as a sex object.1 Peter 3: 7 says you should honor your wives because they have given up their names to take yours.

One more big obligation is that you should be the financer. Marriage is a financial venture and to husbands were given the responsibility to finance, support and provide for his family. The wife can help too but it is not her responsibility. As a husband, your earnings should not be just for your own. No man is excusable for this!

And lastly, it is clearly read in Ephesians 6: 4. "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

Yes! Fathers should be active in the area of ​​the discipline and rearing of children not teaching them how to speak bad words, how to hold a gun, kick a playmate, how to drink liquor and how to hold cigarettes.

Look out! Like we were before, children nowadays are also copy cats. Before preaching, make sure you are not yet caught doing that thing you are talking about. You should see their development by the way you live and the direction in which you lead your family. Fathers were given the crown as the head of the family. Assume leadership at home but not dictatorial. Open criticism can be a big help to a family. But not because you were given the authority, do not make criticism so severe in the family. Do not make rules that are too rigid either, this will just lead to the disregard of all your regulations.

In a family, selfishness is not obligatory. That is why communication plays a big role. As parents, you should be matured enough to be open in communication because this is the key in all successful relationships. Not just in marriage or with children but with parents, siblings, in-laws and extended family.

Instances where family refuses to speak to or acknowledge other family members is ridiculous. Families need to talk, to work things out, to try to make things better. Family members doing hurtful things to one another, deciding not to love someone or be around someone for their decisions is not only rude and hateful, but against everything Christian-like. Talk to your family members. Tell them how you feel or find out what is truly going on. Make an effort to work things out. Make an effort to understand. Don't always assume you know.

Time is another important cog. Once you already have your own family, you should never cry for your mother's daily care and presence anymore. Gone are those days when you can have party with friends and go anywhere you want anytime you want to. Gone are those days already when you are still the child. You are now a playing a very rigid yet enjoyable parent role. Attending parties and gimics are never forbidden to parents anyway as long as you know your limits.

A writer once said: "" it is the cry of many parents that they have no time for their children. Then they should not have taken upon themselves the responsibility of a family yet. By withholding from them the time which is justly theirs, they rob them of the education which children should have at their hands. If they have children, they have a work to do in the formation of their characters. They should never, never neglect their children. They should let nothing interpose between them and the best interests of their children. "

Dinner time can be one of the best family moments together. Research have shown that not only do families develop a stronger family identity, families who eat dinner together regularly can also keep in touch with each others' lives, a regular family dinnertime provides natural opportunities for planning and problem solving and in a variety of conversation topics , learning is encouraged.

These are only some of the basics and the paragon of what God wants the family to be. A place of love, comfort, contentment and happiness. For sure, a question like "how can these be possible?" would rise.

Simple. Your question can be answered by a children's song: "with Jesus in the family, happy, happy home." But then, again, what if we now we still do not have God in our lives?

On our shoulders as youth were laid the responsibilities to make the future brighter. God designed family for joy, satisfaction and security.

We only pass this way but once. We should then make the best out of everything we do. We were put to earth to prepare for the heavenly kingdom that was being prepared for us. And God would like us to make every family a little heaven on earth as a representation of the group we are going to bring in heaven.

Let us enjoy our youthful years but have a keen observation of the things around us. In the future, let us make our family a blessing for everyone in the future- not just a mere result of imprudent decisions; not just a joke and a curse to every child. Remember, the strength of our nation depends on the families we will conceive. Careful preparation Counts!