There has been a lot of hype and media coverage about the Law of Attraction in recent years, especially after the release of the movie, The Secret. There seems to be a lot of emotion around this subject, both for and against. This is no surprise, given that we have changed as a society to have much less patience and a reduced attention span. I will delve deeper into all of this in a future article.

The tools associated with the Law of Attraction do work, and they work well. Most of the misunderstanding about these tools is due to people not really taking the time to give them a whirl.

So here’s the 30-day challenge, should you choose to accept it

Take 30 days to use affirmations and visualization to improve your luck. This will not be likely to make you win the lottery, but should manifest as better luck in the smaller things in life. After 30 days, review how your luck has changed for the better.

When you do this, and it works will for you, keep doing it and start using some of the other tools available to improve your life dramatically.

Affirmations for Good Luck

You can use an affirmation such as “I always have great luck” or something similar that works best for you. Keep it short and easy to remember and repeat. It should be in the present-tense, in the “now.” Repeat this affirmation first thing in the morning, even before you rise out of bed, when you’re having a bath or shower, driving, while you’re falling asleep and any time your mind isn’t focused on a specific task.

Pay attention to what happens around you. Are you starting to make it through green lights, finding better parking spaces? Look for little things such as those. Whenever you notice a good luck event, say something like “Wow! I DO have the greatest luck” to reinforce the event both in your own mind and the universal energy.

Visualization for Good Luck

Visualization is a technique in which you “see” something happening in your mind’s eye. With practice, it becomes easier and the things you visualize become more clear and detailed. It is somewhat akin to daydreaming, but done intentionally and directed by you. To visualize, close your eyes and start imagining yourself experiencing events that have been brought on by good luck (Please do not use this while driving or operating heavy equipment). As with the traffic light example above, you would see yourself easily making it to your destination with light traffic and every single traffic light being green. Another fun one is to see yourself finding a dime or quarter on the ground as you walk along. Be creative in your imagination!

Results?

Do your affirmations and visualization exercises for 30 days and be observant throughout the process. If you wish, take notes and review them at the end of the 30 days. Think about how your luck was before this and the differences you have observed. Good Luck!

Ever had someone give you bad news? How about good news? What’s the difference or is there a difference?

Good news – stuff or information that makes us happy, content, reassured, secure and validated.

Bad news – the opposite.

So, it would appear that there is a difference between good and bad news – read on.

Have you ever gotten bad news but in the end things turned out well or better than you anticipated? Have you ever received good news and over time what you thought was good news ended up being not so good?

From personal experience I can tell you that I have experienced all four –

Good news that was good.

Bad news that was bad.

Good news that I thought was good but ended up being bad.

Bad news that I thought was bad and ended up being good.

Confused yet? Well I know that over time I was often confused about the difference between these two apparent opposite messages. But then I learned that sometimes bad news for one person can be perceived as good news for someone else and that good news to one person over time can be perceived as bad.

Confused? Let me explain.

In the end it’s just news and what makes it bad or good or even neutral is not the news itself but how we perceive it, judge it, evaluate it or react because of it.

How can someone perceive bad news as good you might ask? Or the opposite, how could someone perceive good news as bad?

In brief – each of us has a unique history, experiences, beliefs and values and as a result none of us ever see the same thing or circumstance in the same way.

Someone who is a worrier, negative, pessimistic or impatient might see a delay as bad when another person who understands the concept of there are things we can control and there are things we can’t control so why get all upset about something you can’t control or if you can control it get busy.

In the end everything that happens – just happens and what we do is interpret it all based on our expectations, goals, needs or mindsets and all of these are unique for each of us.

Let me give you a couple of personal examples. And if you will consider the explanation even though you may not have had exactly the same circumstances, if you will think about it I’ll be you can relate.

Prior to staring my speaking and training career I was a national sales manager for an international organization. Long story but the short side is I had an issue with my boss, the president and as a result he fired me. Bad news, right? Well that was all I needed to decide it was time to begin a career that has lasted over 40 years and has allowed me to see the world (25 countries to date) and work with some tremendous clients and audiences. So in the end this bad news was really good news.

Here’s another quick one.

Years ago I proposed to my wife and she said yes. Good news right? (No judgments here please). Well over time after doing my best for more than fifteen years I decided that it was time to end it and why? Well, without the gruesome details, the relationship was gradually eroding my self-esteem, confidence and optimistic mindset and I decided that I didn’t like who I was becoming in that relationship. We parted, amicably – but we parted. Good news as I was able – over time – to regain all I had lost – emotionally and spiritually.

We all have our stories and we all can create lists of good news and bad news we have received but in the end it’s all just news.

During some of my corporate programs I share this simple concept – stop asking your employees for good news or bad news – just ask them for the news and then you decide which it is. Because their definition could be completely different than yours.

And vice versa – as an executive or manager don’t broadcast – I have some good or bad news – just tell your employees you’ve got some news and let each of them interpret it as they see fit based on their personal viewpoints, attitudes, mindsets, experience, expectations and how it might impact them personally.

I want to make it clear here that I’m not talking about denial, surrender, acceptance or apathy – just the willingness to see that there may be another side of the story, one you may be missing because of your history, viewpoints, opinions, judgments etc.

Ever wonder how to instill good values in your child? Experience shows that most parents and teachers choose from one of three different systems to reach that goal. One of those systems produces children who lack good values. The second instills good values in a routine manner. The third system works, and works well when parents consistently follow it. The secret? Your child will love the flags.

Let’s look together at these systems.

(1) MUZZY SYSTEM: This method of instilling values sees the body of moral values as a huge gray area filled with vagaries, i.e., actions or ideas that are erratic and unpredictable. This system tries to instill good values in your child by using actions or ideas that keep jumping from here to there. You can never really pin them down. You can never really say, “This moral value requires this kind of behavior, and these are the positive and negative consequences of that behavior.”

I saw the muzzy system in action a month ago in our community. Being on friendly terms with the executive vice president of the community management team, we had a friendly discussion about lax enforcement of written regulations governing the community. At the close of the discussion, the executive vice president stated, “There’s always this huge gray area.”

Really? Our discussion centered on legally binding community regulations, yet she found it hard to predict what action, if any, she and her team might take with a non-compliant resident. Once residents discovered this wiggle room, violations increased. If we picture the management’s attempts at lease enforcement as a giant TV screen, we see a “snow” storm of muzzy reception. Their lease enforcement remains erratic, unpredictable, and never in focus.

Know how to instill good values in your child with the muzzy system? Toss the system. You can’t instill good values in your child with a vague gray carpet of ambiguous ideas.

(2) MONOCHROMATIC SYSTEM: A parent or teacher who uses this system to instill good values in children views moral values in a monochromatic scheme of sharp blacks and whites. Unlike the muzzy system, this choice presents clear concepts of right and wrong. These concepts never change. Honesty never jumps from complete adherence to truth one time to permissible little white lies another time. Parents do not present moral values as erratic, unpredictable behaviors that require one action today and another action tomorrow.

Try applying this system to the management team above. What of that “huge gray area” would have to change? The team would have to make it clear to all residents that they view regulations in black and white – not gray. They would have to insist on compliance, stating unchangeable consequences of non-compliance. Finally, they would have to act to make compliance happen.

Over many centuries, parents wanting to instill good values in their children used the monochromatic system with great success. Parents taught clear distinctions between black and white when it came to moral values. They helped children structure their lives around moral values written, quite literally, in stone: The Ten Commandments.

This method of instilling good values in children still works for parents who work diligently to conform their own lives to robust character traits. If you qualify as a parent of strong character, use the monochromatic system to instill good values in your child. Teach them a well-defined, clear honesty rather than a vague, unpredictable honesty. Teach them a self-control that never operates on whim – one that keeps self on the right moral track, regardless.

Learn how to instill good values in your child with the monochromatic system, and they will never be at a loss as to what action they should choose.

(3) VIBRANCY SYSTEM: Decades before we reached 2019 (when I’m writing this article), our society became one of vibrancy with vivid color! From Earth’s creation, humans had lived with color. Sky, water, soil, plants, animals, and human bodies all pulsed with a rainbow of color. Then, emerging technologies made vibrant color available in everything from TV and movies to the clothing on our backs. We raced rapidly from muzzy through monochromatic to vibrancy – but seldom used it to instill good values. Why?

Think about how you and adults you know view values. Maybe you see a block of gray. I speak as a career educator when I say that children do not learn best from gray. Hand them a paper picturing a huge gray square and ask them to describe the good values they see. They can’t. They see nothing but a gray box. Schools don’t use gray to teach math, science, etc.

Maybe you see black and white. Children can and do learn from monochromatic black and white. Write the list of 66 character traits in white on a blackboard, ask the children to describe the good values they see, and they can comply. Schools use black and white to teach math, science, etc. – but not exclusively. They use color, and I want to turn your attention to that.

HOW TO INSTILL GOOD VALUES IN YOUR CHILD USING FLAGS

Good values exist in beautiful, rich colors like the vibrant colors of most nations’ flags. Did you know that the colors used in flags most often symbolize specific good values? What more memorable way could you use to instill good values in your child?

Acquire a flag or flag photo, and see the world through the eyes of your child.

Begin with your own nation’s flag. It likely features red, white, and blue. Twenty-nine (29) nations do use these three colors in flags. Those nations often associate a common symbolism with the red, with the white, and with the blue – and a flag can be your first tool to teach these values to your child.

• Red, symbolic of a nation’s struggle, stands for courage.
• White represents purity, peace, and unity.
• Blue stands for bravery, justice, loyalty, and perseverance.

You can instill those eight good values in your child by use of an actual flag or photo of a flag. Teach the colors one at a time. Teach the specific values of a color one at a time. In other words, you will want to spend 8-11 teaching sessions on the values symbolized by red, white, and blue. You want the child to know how each value says to behave – how to act. Give them examples, and set up opportunities within the home for regular practice.

Connect other flag colors to specific moral values to help your child see with “vibrancy” and remember long the character traits you value.

Use light red or pink hearts to instill love as described in both pictures and words at: https://bettilousblog.com/warning-real-love-works/. Explain that love is not just warm feelings. Real love requires action. Real love does work. Help your child understand and engage in specific love actions on a regular basis.

CONCLUSION

We could give more hints on how to instill good values in your child, but this article would exceed space limits. Research it yourself – or create your own color symbolism, letting your child draw and color illustrative flags. Post them in the child’s room as “take-away” reminders. Use them for review, but most importantly of all – practice these values consistently as a model for your child to follow.

Each one of us is a light, a cell in the body of humanity. A little battery pack that has the ability to generate energy or emit a frequency/vibration that affects the whole. Your light/energy and contribution to the ‘field’ or radiance of the whole is important and essential.

Your thoughts and emotions are affecting your energy or vibration and how good you can feel in any moment. You have the opportunity to be conscious of this and navigate how you feel.

Energy is continually available to you and how you use it is up to you.

If you can imagine yourself as a tuning rod or pitch fork, the more ‘in tune’ you are with yourself, conscious of ‘what’ or ‘how’ you are vibrating/toning, the more you can make adjustments so that you can feel better and better.

If you can attune yourself to the source of the sound itself, you can align yourself to feel good all the time and be a ‘light’ rod that contributes to the raising of the good vibes for the whole planet at this time. This is the responsibility now for each one of us if we wish to live in paradise on earth.

How you feel matters, what you emanate affects the whole. And, on a positive note, when you are vibrating high and feeling good, you will likely have a better life experience, things will shift for you in your life for the better too! So, it’s a win-win, are you in?

So how do you make this positive shift to feeling good more and more?

There are many ways but one thing you can do is to make sure you start your day as you mean to go on!

Upon first waking, feed your mind (a good breakfast!) with some positive affirmations such as:-

This is a great day!

Everything is always working out for me.

I am so grateful for… (think of at least 10 things and ‘feel’ into why)

Good things are always happening to me!

I am loved.

Today there is a perfect unfolding for me and I am so grateful.

I am always in the right place at the right time for my Highest Good.

I feel glad to be alive in these transformative times and know that I have something valuable to contribute.

You get the idea?

Meditating first thing in the morning is also a great thing to do. Connect with the vast spaciousness within, simply allowing thoughts to come and go. Rest in the pure awareness of Being, your true self and simply be present. Relax your mind and just Be.

Make it a habit to ‘feel good’. Generally speaking, we are not ‘trained’ in this way and have to do it purposefully, consciously.

Diminish activity that doesn’t feel good to you. Your wellbeing and feeling good is crucial for the planet to awaken. Can you awaken to your true self? Can you awaken to feeling good? Yes you can! Just pay attention to how you feel and take steps to counter balance anytime you feel stress or negative emotion. Breathe, chill out, walk in nature. Make your FEELING GOOD THE HIGHEST PRIORITY. If you don’t it for yourself, no one else will. No one else can make you feel good. This is your responsibility. Will you claim it? Will you claim your right to feeling good now? I hope so! Because when you feel good, you become a permission slip to allow others to do so also.

As each one of us takes responsibility for our own feeling good, we raise the vibration on the planet and positive energy flows for the good of all. Your positive intentions are needed!

So, will you take that step today? Start making your wellbeing, your feeling good your TOP PRIORITY. Do it now. Thank you, I love you.

If it was up to individuals to decide, many people would not take credit for any reason; be it personal or business. While the negative aspects of a debt are mostly felt when the borrower is unable to pay, it is hardly a premeditated scenario. When a financial institution considers a borrower’s credit rating to be good or at least decent, most credit facilities are willing to offer credit facilities. There is so much talk about what is a good credit score, and for most people, strategizing on how to attain it is a daily struggle.

A borrower may feel pressured to repay a credit facility and it may feel like they are denying themselves too much to appear good to the banks but it is all worth it. It might not appear like much of a benefit to oneself, but maintaining a good credit score is good for an individual, at least as far as future financial assistance is concerned. Is it possible to have more just because more effort has been placed to repay a loan, mortgage or credit card debt? The honest answer is YES! A pretty decent credit score is good, but getting a good rating is even better considering the many areas that stand to benefit;

Favorable mortgage rate

Owing to the fact that mortgages are paid over a long period of time, a homeowner gets to spend less money on interest if they pay back to the facility within a shorter duration of time. The interest is paid even lower if the borrower’s credit score is high. According to data made public by MyFico.com, a consumer with an average credit score of 760 or higher would get a mortgage at an interest rate of 3.74%, while another whose score is around 700 got the same facility at 3.96% interest. What is a good credit score? A cheaper mortgage!

Cheaper car loans

A car is a necessity and if there is a way to get it at a lesser value, then getting your credit score is one of them. On average, car loans are given within a vicinity of $26,000 and considering that the average car owner will pay this back within five years, then the interest rates definitely make a difference to the amount of money that is paid back. One can expect to save an average of $598 over the entire period with a good credit score. What is a good credit score if it cannot get you a car at a cheaper cost?

Credit card rewards

Plastic money has been gaining popularity over the last decade and while some people see it as a source of cheap credit, the amount of money spend on the card as interest depends on the average rating of the borrower. The best credit card for good credit offers an annual percentage rate as high as 17% or as low as 13%. The general assumption that lending institutions make is that a borrower with a good rating will clear their debt quickly and the balance at any given time is likely to be low. When marketing their credit card facility as the best credit card for good credit, some lenders will offer 0% interest on credit for the first year to potential customers who have a remarkable rating. This means that people whose credit score is considered poor or average will have to pay an interest rate in the first year of service. Other benefits that the best credit card for good credit owners stands to gain from maintaining good credit scores are free to air miles, loyalty points for using the card and cash back rewards.

Low interest on student loans

Some people are able to finance their own education from savings, sponsorships or even through programs like work-study. These facilities are not always available and the need to get funding from a credit institution may arise when the chance to go back to school presents itself. Loans given to finance education are issued on the basis of credit quality. The higher the credit, the less risky a loan is considered and to factor in this risk, lenders offer corresponding interest rates.

Business financing when needed

Starting a business definitely, costs money and for many entrepreneurs, the only obstacle between them and prosperity is a financial partner who believes in the validity of their business idea. A startup lacks any solid business credit history and lenders find it easier to consider the consumer score in assessing the credit risk. Maintaining a good credit score is therefore not only good for access to financing but qualifying for facilities with low-interest rates.

It's not often that a book review of any kind threatens to be longer than the original work. Any review of Margaret Atwood's Good Bones, however, risks such ignominy. Good Bones, which might also have been successfully entitled Bare Bones, is not just succinct: it is short. Ostensibly, it's a collection of short stories, but cover to cover there is only enough material to keep a determined reader happy for an hour or so, if the object is merely to cover the ground. If the object is to savor the material and follow its concentrated lead, then there might even be a lifetime of involvement within these few pages.

The tales feature characters from fiction, from Classical myth, from folk tales and fairy stories, as well as other, more disparate sources. Margaret Atwood herself seems to figure here and there as well. In every case, we see something familiar from an unusual perspective, points of view that in every case take the reader by surprise.

But there is something much more arresting and surprising than the subject matter, and that is the various forms in which these pieces are presented. They are all different, but none addresses its subject matter via mere prose. And strangely, these are not poems either. They are poetic, and they feel like they ought to be prose. They are like sketches or verbal doodles and, as such, regularly flit from one unexpected turn to another, equally unpredicted.

If these short pieces were pictures, they would remind us of smaller canvases by Paul Klee, with their schematized line drawings, cartoon witticisms and the occasional joke tinged with nightmare. Throughout they they would speak of big ideas that seem to underpin the content, and this is communicated in concentrated form, despite their small scale, emerging via suggestion. And it is surely their biting irony that simultaneously arrests and entertains.

In some ways, these short stories by Margaret Atwood, these prose poems-cum-doodles almost represent a new literary form, perhaps doing for prose what haikus do for poetry. Each one could have become a novel, if Margaret Atwood had been lucky enough to have had the luxury of multiple lives to afford the time to construct them. Read them quickly and the revisit them individually with more time to spare. Their stature is small, but their rewards are great.

There’s of course no absolute answer as to what makes a “good” or “bad” translation. In some sense, a good translation is one that can be done to the available budget whilst fulfilling its purpose.

However, there are occasions when text quality is the prevailing factor: a well written, readily understandable text will save your colleagues time and leave your clients and business partners with a positive impression. Here are some things that I suggest looking out for when evaluating the quality of a text that has been translated into English. They are the types of criteria that a good translator should be considering when translating your text, and highlight some of the problems frequently encountered in mediocre translations. Some of these points will of course apply more generally to translations between various languages:

– Does the translation overuse formal or scientific-sounding vocabulary? The words that in English sound overly scientific may often be direct translations of words in other languages that are plainer sounding. For example, is the word “anomaly” used when “fault” would sound more natural? Does the translation mention a “pulmonary disease” when “lung disease” would sound more natural to a general audience? These are classic symptoms of a translation from a language such as French or Spanish, where the ‘Latinate’ word is a naturally derived, normal-sounding word in these languages, but in English becomes a scientific term suitable only for highly specialist audiences.

– Does the translation use words that are understandable, but not quite ‘le mot juste’? Does the text talk about “social insertion” when “social integration” would sound more natural? Does it talk about “eventual problems” instead of “potential issues”? Or a person’s “administrative situation” when “administrative status” would more usual?

– Are adjectives or descriptive phrases used where English would more naturally use a compound? For example, English allows a phrase such as “remotely-accessible device”, whereas other languages may have to use a phrase that literally means “device that is accessible remotely” or “device that allows remote access”.

– Similarly, are phrases with “of” or “for” over-used where English would use a compound. Over-use of phrases such as “strategy of/for sales” rather than “sales strategy” are classic signs of a translation from various languages.

– Are determiners (“the”, “a”, “your”…) used as they would be in idiomatic English? Phrases such as “saw an increased productivity” rather than simply “saw increased productivity” suggest an overly literal translation. More subtly, a phrase such as “the terms and the conditions”, “the towns and the cities” rather than “the terms and conditions”, “the towns and cities” suggests a translation from a which doesn’t usually allow two nouns to share the same word for “the” (such as French), whereas repeating the word “the” is unnatural in English.

– Does the translation use a narrative style and rhetoric that sounds natural in English? We’ve all seen French museum signs telling us, for example, that “the king will die in 1483”. More subtle signs of a translation include the over-use rhetorical questions (which, for example, appear more common in Spanish than English, where they can make your text sound overly childish). In a translation into English, decisions must also be made about, say, the use of contractions (“don’t”, “can’t” vs “do not”, “cannot”) or preposition stranding (“Who… to?” vs “To who(m)…?”) which may not have been issues in the source language. Does the style adopted convey the impression that you want to give to your audience?

Ultimately, the translated text should ideally sound as though it was the original, written to convey your message with the style and readability you intended.

“Bad publicity is still publicity.” Such statement is one of the most common yet dangerous cliches ever. Isn’t it better to be remembered because of good deeds rather than controversial scandals? The greatest heroes and leaders of histories are immortalized because of their significant contributions. On the other hands, those that have been a scourge to humanity are eternally condemned.

This principle also applies to companies or business organizations. More than anything else, corporate image or reputation is one thing that should be taken good care of. A tainted reputation can cripple even the most well-known establishments. Redeeming one’s image is far by more costly than losing a good deal. Once your reputation is ruined, your business is in high risks of crumbling into pieces. There are several reasons that justify the importance of corporate image or reputation.

A good corporate image or reputation is an efficient marketing and promotional tool – Consumers will always remember an outstanding service. Likewise, they never forgive and forget mediocre works as well. Clients spend their hard-earned money on products and services that they avail. If your company is known for good performances, you have a higher tendency of attracting more customers. The best part of it is that you don’t have to spend a considerable amount of time convincing them. Your previous clients will be your unofficial spokespersons. You don’t have to spend too much on employing the services of advertising agencies. In addition to that, it is a given fact that consumers prefer to patronize service providers which have already established their names in their respective industries.

Credibility and integrity comes with a good name – Don’t forget that your reputation is your identity . It articulates the culture of your organization. It is hard to be credible when nobody believes in you. Relatively, it is also difficult to prove integrity when your clients talk negatively about your company’s services. Instead of recommending and promoting your business, you soon find your customers spreading warnings and bad reviews.

Corporate image or reputation establishes trust, confidence, loyalty and superb client relationships – The most respectable names in the industry did not reach the zenith of success if they did not protect their reputation. It should be noted that achieving untainted corporate image is not just about avoiding scandals and controversies. It is more of meeting the expectations of their clients. In order to build a good image, excellence and perfection must be continuously observed. As for the client’s part, a good image provides a strong sense of security. They are assured that they would get good results once they use the services or products launched and offered by a reputable company.

Company image is instrumental in increasing your business opportunities – Corporate reputation is like a magnet. It does not only attract customers. It also catches the attention of interested investors and business partners. Who would dare to invest in a company known for management conflicts and workforce issues? Establishing a good image generates tons of possibilities for business growth and expansion.

A good image can stand the test of time – In this highly competitive market, consumers will always look for alternatives. However, a well-established reputation lessens the worries of switching to other service providers. Clients would continue to patronize your products even if it is more expensive. It is because they are aware that the company can efficiently deliver their needs and demands.

It has been always said that “first impressions last.” Make a memorable impression. Value your company’s reputation and its name will continue to resonate for the rest of time.

Whether the year is 2011, 2012 or 2020 – here's a good investment strategy to make money investing without a crystal ball. Any good investment plan considers both investment selection and timing. If you can't make money investing with this simple strategy, rest assured that only the few and the lucky will make money.

Before you stress over putting together a good investment strategy for 2011 and going forward, ask yourself the obvious question. Where do most successful people invest (or where have they in the past) to make money investing over the long term? The answer before the financial crisis was bonds, stocks and real estate. The answer today for the average investor is the same and takes the simple form of bond funds, stock funds and equity real estate funds. In the final analysis, if all three of these investment areas tank – we're likely in a depression and only a lucky few folks or smart speculators will make money investing.

Good investment strategy does not rely on speculation or trying to time the markets. No matter what you hear, no one has a proven and consistent record in market timing that beats the markets significantly over the long term. If they did they'd make a ton of money investing, and they'd hide their secrets, not share them. So, why not settle for a good investment strategy that makes only one major assumption: that the USA will grow and prosper over the long term?

Investing money in the three areas above is simple with mutual funds. To lower your risk and add flexibility to your investment strategy, add a fourth fund type called a money market fund. At today's interest rates these might not look like a good investment, but they are safe and earn interest that tracks current rates. Getting more specific, by owning just 4 different funds you can put together a good investment strategy for 2011 and beyond and make money by investing in America's future. In order from high safety to higher risk and greater profit potential: a money market, intermediate-term bond, large-cap equity-income, and equity real estate fund is all you need to own.

A good investment strategy to get your feet wet is to simply invest equal money in all 4 funds. Timing strategy requires no judgment calls or guessing. One year later and once a year after that, you simply move money around to make all 4 funds equal in value again. This automatically forces you to take some money off the table from your better-performing funds – and to move more money into those that did not as well. The net result over time is that you are buying more shares when prices are down, are selling shares that are relatively expensive.

This is also a good way to make money investing over the long term while keeping a lid on risk. Simply buying and holding funds is not a good investment strategy, and has gotten many average investors in trouble in the past. For example, real estate funds were good investments for multiple years until they were nailed by the financial crisis. Had you owned them and just held on, by 2009 you could have had a significant amount of money accumulated and at risk there … resulting in big losses as a result of the financial crisis.

There's more than just simplicity involved in what I am calling a good investment strategy for 2011 and well beyond. This strategy employs two of the only time-tested tools in the investment business: BALANCE & REBALANCE and DOLLAR COST AVERAGING. The first tool keeps you on track while keeping a lid on risk, and the second is the tool that works to lower your average cost of investing by having you buy more shares when prices are lower and fewer when they are high.

You can put a good investment strategy together with only moderate risk by owning just 4 different mutual funds. People make money investing over the long term with bonds, stocks and real estate; and the smart ones keep some money in a safe investment as well for flexibility. In years past, some folks simply got lucky and made money investing without a strategy. With a good investment strategy you won't need to cross your fingers and rely on luck. If America prospers in 2011 and beyond – so should you.

Over the past few years we are constantly asked about the best supplement and diet plan for CrossFit athletes. Upon asking this question, many folks expect an extravagant answer, including the latest muscle exploding powder or fat burning potion.

If you have followed us at all, you know that is not what we are about. We recommend the safest and best ways to make your body the strongest possible and your health the best it can be.

Whether you are building a house or building a body, the rules are the same. Strength and durability start with a proper foundation.

Os of course there is a place for protein powder and amino acids in your CrossFit regimen. But without the foundational building blocks in place, you are cheating yourself and might even be wasting your money.

At CrossFit Diet Tips, we start every athlete, beginner or veteran, on two supplements. These two supplements are not flashy or expensive like the majority of the products out there. That being said, you definitely get what you pay for and there is a difference in quality and potency.

The two supplements we always start with are Fish Oil and a Multivitamin. These supplements provide a strong foundation which will support the additional stacking of other ingredients, while assisting in the recovery and well being of your body.

Remember though, a supplement is just that, a supplement. Their job is to assist a good diet or enhance a good exercise program. You cannot fix a poor diet with supplements.

Why do we recommend a Multivitamin? A multivitamin contains micronutrients which are deficient in almost every athlete. No matter how good a diet may be, it is next to impossible to get enough of the recommended micronutrients. Most people just cannot consume the amount of whole foods needed to supply these nutrients.

A good capsulated multivitamin is the foundation of a CrossFit supplement program.
Multivitamin Capsules
As stated earlier, you get what you pay for. A multivitamin should be high-quality and capsulated, rather than a heated and hard pressed tablet. Your body just does not break down and absorb these types. Your multivitamin should also be gender specific. The micronutrient needs of a woman is different than that of a man.

Fish Oil is the second supplement of our foundation. Fish Oil is often referred to as Omega-3 Fatty Acids. These are important because not only are most individuals deficient in them, they are important providers of a natural anti-inflammatory response in your body. As a CrossFit athlete or even a non-athlete, you can see how important this process can be. You would need to eat a diet of fresh fatty fish 3-5 times per week, every week in order to get the recommended dosage of Omega-3's.

A high quality Fish Oil is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids and is a foundation for a CrossFit supplement program.
Omega-3's
Like a multivitamin, all Omega-3 supplements are definitely not created equal. You can find cheap fish oil supplements at the big box store, but the quality and potency suffers dramatically. A "fresh" fish oil is mandatory and the ratio of EPA and DHA is of the utmost importance. The higher the potency of your Omega-3's, the better the anti-inflammatory response.

In closing, a good Multivitamin and Fish Oil supplement is a perfect foundation for your diet and exercise program. They fill in the gaps by providing the micronutrients and Omega-3's which are necessary but difficult to obtain in even the best diets.

To Your Health,

The CrossFit Diet Team