SPEED INTRO…
MG: Each point builds on the previous point, so it’s very important that people
listen right through until the end to find out how the whole thing comes
together.
PT: So try not to skip through any of the pointers we are going to go through
because if you do miss any one of these that could sabotage your success. So
although you may think that you know it all and you have heard it all before,
please listen to everything and we are sure you will enjoy this.
Success Habit #1
LIFE GOALS
MG: This is where so many people fall down. I ran a mentoring course in 2004; I
took 10 individuals, several of whom actually had quite good marketing
knowledge and some very good technical knowledge so they knew what they
were doing online.
However, what a number of them had not done was to set their Life Goals,
therefore the very first thing I wanted to ask them was for them to put the money
aside for a moment as this is what you are going to make through the process. I
wanted to know WHY they wanted to earn the money, that was the question that
I had.
One person said that they wanted to work protecting animals, so they wanted to
have an animal sanctuary with horses there and so on, so they built up this vision
that it was going to be on a hill with a valley below with space for them to roam
after they have finished racing for them to live out the rest of their lives etc. So
they had this whole vision of this place, at one point I could almost feel that I was
there too. So that was their Life Goal.
Another person I worked with just wanted to retire to a farm, that was their Life
Goal, someone else wanted to have an airstrip in their garden, so as someone
who flies myself it was also something that appealed to me too.
So these are the keys, to have something that you want to do, so that earning the money is not the key.
want time‐freedom, which would enable them to do the things they
wanted.
MG: So the goals there may be more modest like spending time with the family,
someone may be getting up at 7am and getting back home at 7pm when the kids
are already in bed, so maybe they need more time. Maybe they work all
weekend, so their Life Goal maybe to spend more time with the family and to be
with the kids when they are growing up or to spend more time with the
grandchildren or whatever.
So a Life Goal could be anything, but the thing I have really discovered working
with others who are trying to make it online is that they need to have that very
firm objective in mind and of course once they do, working becomes a pleasure
because they are then working for a purpose online and so it needs to be
something greater than just earning money. This is hard to explain to someone
who is currently earning a small amount per month, whatever the figure is
through online marketing and someone is saying that the key is to set the
objectives and not the amount of money, so you set the objective and then work
out how much money you need to make. That is going to sound pretty weird as
people tend to think in monetary terms.
Peter, if you think of all the successful online marketers you know or for that
matter in any sphere, I can’t think of one of them who are really just motivated
by the money. They may that it’s fantastic when they make $1 million from a
project or whatever, but the thrill for them was in just doing it and for a whole
bunch of other reasons, probably none of which were for the money itself and
nothing else.
PT: I know many rich and wealthy people who are very unhappy for whatever
reason, perhaps they haven’t actually dug deep enough into what they really
want. One danger is that if you just set monetary goals when you are unhappy,
then when you reach the financial goal of x thousand per month but are still not
happy, then you are going to fall into that cycle of thinking that you need more
and more money which is not the answer.
MG: There is more to life than money; personally my goals are very long term to
be a politician, a strange goal I am sure! People have written to me before now to
say that after hearing that, if I had been trying to impress them, then my
credibility has just gone down the drain and they will never buy from me again!
They think that I am no better than a used car salesman or probably worse!
The key for me is that in my life and my world it is the most important objective
to me, so everything else that I do revolves around that single objective and it
comes back to the same point that you must have your Life Goal, you must know
where you are trying to get to and until you have that, I wager that you will
never make a success of things online, you must have something greater than just
making money.
PT: Without setting those objectives, you can waste much of your time
throughout the day. Years ago I found that once I had set my objectives I could
then look at events and people and decide which would help me move forward
and which were of no use at all which I avoided. That meant that I was free to
focus on the things, which could help me to move forward.
I think that many people waste time if they don’t have theirs goals set by
pursuing all kinds of stupid activities, which will not help them to progress.
MG: So what you are saying is that this gives you a Framework.
PT: Also for those people who don’t have much money, I know that others say
that money isn’t everything, (and it’s usually rich people who say that), well
that’s fine if you are living a simple life, say in a field when all you need are the
basics like milk and things to eat. What is worse than that if you haven’t got
money is to be in debt, I think that in a couple of years time this could be a big
problem and many will be struggling.
What I would say to anyone who is in debt who may be reading this and
thinking ‘It’s alright for you two to say that’, make it your Life Goal to get out of
debt – even to become solvent again could be your objective.
MG: That’s a very strong objective, because if you are in that position then you
will know of the worry, the heartache, the concern every time the mail turns up if
there’s going to be another bill or demand in there. So that is a really powerful
objective as it is far greater than just saying ‘I want to make a lot of money’ you
want to make money because you want to change your entire quality of life
more to come later for all youths
relationships
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A DETERMINED SOLDIER...
its not who i am,its who he says i am
i am a new creation,i am more that a conqueror,
i'm not ashamed of the gospel.
i'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed,
the dye has been cast,the decision have been made,
i've steped over the line,im not going to look back,
let up,slow down or back away.
my past has been redeemed,my present makes sense ad my fulture is secured.
im finished with low living,small planning,smooth dreams,colourless dreams,one day talking.
i no longer need pre-eminance,man's promotion or popularities.
i dont have to be right first,top,recognised,pricise,regarded or rewarded.
i noe live by faith,lean on his presence,learn on his promise,work with patience,live by prayer,labour with power.
my face is set,my gaze is fast,my goal is heaven,my road is narrow,my way looks rough,my companion are few,my guide is reliable,and my mission is clear.
i cannot be bought,compromised,detoured,turned back,tarn away,dislike or delayed.
i will not fall in the presence of sacrifice,hisitate in the presence of adversity,nagotiate at the table of enemies,flounderat the pool of popularity,meanders at the gate of hypocrites.
i will not give up,let up,shut up, till have stayed up,stored up,prayed up,backled up for the cause of my saviour.
because i am a diciple of my saviour.i will go till he comes,give till drop,preach till im done,work till he stops me and when he comes for his own,he will have no problem recognising me.
Posted by daniel at 6:33 AM 0 comments
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i am a new creation,i am more that a conqueror,
i'm not ashamed of the gospel.
i'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed,
the dye has been cast,the decision have been made,
i've steped over the line,im not going to look back,
let up,slow down or back away.
my past has been redeemed,my present makes sense ad my fulture is secured.
im finished with low living,small planning,smooth dreams,colourless dreams,one day talking.
i no longer need pre-eminance,man's promotion or popularities.
i dont have to be right first,top,recognised,pricise,regarded or rewarded.
i noe live by faith,lean on his presence,learn on his promise,work with patience,live by prayer,labour with power.
my face is set,my gaze is fast,my goal is heaven,my road is narrow,my way looks rough,my companion are few,my guide is reliable,and my mission is clear.
i cannot be bought,compromised,detoured,turned back,tarn away,dislike or delayed.
i will not fall in the presence of sacrifice,hisitate in the presence of adversity,nagotiate at the table of enemies,flounderat the pool of popularity,meanders at the gate of hypocrites.
i will not give up,let up,shut up, till have stayed up,stored up,prayed up,backled up for the cause of my saviour.
because i am a diciple of my saviour.i will go till he comes,give till drop,preach till im done,work till he stops me and when he comes for his own,he will have no problem recognising me.
Posted by daniel at 6:33 AM 0 comments
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great quotes all for youths....
-BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE AND YOU WILL SURELY ACHIEVE
-TO HAVE A GREAT MINDSET DELETE NEGATIVE FILES.
-ALWAYS THINK WHAT TO SAY BEFORE SAYING WHAT YOU THINK.
-PLEASE DON'T BE IN A HURRY TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR WORRIES.
-DON'T WAIT FOR STAGNATION TO STAGNATE YOU BEFORE YOU STAGNATE YOUR STAGNATION
-WHEN THERE IS NO HOPE INVENT HOPE
-IF GOD IS NOT HELPING YOU,YOU CAN BE HELPED BY HELPERS.
-SEEK GOD AND ALL YOUR WANTS WILL SEEK YOU.
YOUR MOVING FORWARD DEPENDS LARGELY ON YOUR ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD
-IF YOU DON'T FOCUS IN LIFE,LIFE WILL TAKES IT FOCUS FROM YOU.
YOU DON'T GROW IN SUCCESS WHEN YOU ARE DIMINISHING IN FAILURE
-BELIEVE THAT YOU WHERE BORN TO ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE YOU WHERE BORN FOR.
-YOU CAN ONLY BE AN ACTOR TO YOUR GOALS ONLY WHEN YOU SHOW YOUR ACTIONS TO YOUR GOALS.
-IF YOU DON'T MAKE QUICK DECISION THE TIME YOU WASTE IS INDECISION
-THE WORLD IS ONLY A BETTER PLACE WHEN BETTER PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKES IT BETTER.
-YOU CAN BE HAPPY WHEN SADNESS HAS OVERTAKEN YOUR HAPPINESS.
-YOU CAN MOVE A BIT,IF YOU DON'T HAVE A REASON TO MOVE.
-PEOPLE OF INSPIRATIONS WHERE ONCE INSPIRED.
-IF YOU ARE NOT MANAGING YOUR LIFE,YOU ARE ALREADY DAMAGING IT.
-YOU DON'T WAIT FOR THINGS TO ADVANCE BEFORE YOUR ADVANCE YOURSELF.
YOUR SUPERIORS GIVE YOU ADVICE THAT WILL ADVANCE YOUR LIFE.
-KNOWLEDGE IS ONLY POWER WHEN UTILIZE WITH THE RIGHT SENSE.
-OPPORTUNITY DON'T ALWAYS COMES THE FRONT DOOR,SO BE ALERT.
-IT IS ONLY WHEN YOU KNOW WHO ARE,YOU WILL STILL REMAIN A STRANGER TO YOURSELF.
-KNOWING YOUR OBSTACLES WITHOUT NO WAY TO OVERCOME IT IS AS KNOWING NOTHING AT ALL.
-DREAMS WITHOUT ACTIONS IS LIKE A FILM WITHOUT ACTIONS.
-IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DREAM,VISION OR GOAL,I WONDER WHETHER YOU ARE LIVING OR EXISTING.
THINK WISE SUCCESS IS NOT FOR MEDIOCRE....
-TO HAVE A GREAT MINDSET DELETE NEGATIVE FILES.
-ALWAYS THINK WHAT TO SAY BEFORE SAYING WHAT YOU THINK.
-PLEASE DON'T BE IN A HURRY TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR WORRIES.
-DON'T WAIT FOR STAGNATION TO STAGNATE YOU BEFORE YOU STAGNATE YOUR STAGNATION
-WHEN THERE IS NO HOPE INVENT HOPE
-IF GOD IS NOT HELPING YOU,YOU CAN BE HELPED BY HELPERS.
-SEEK GOD AND ALL YOUR WANTS WILL SEEK YOU.
YOUR MOVING FORWARD DEPENDS LARGELY ON YOUR ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD
-IF YOU DON'T FOCUS IN LIFE,LIFE WILL TAKES IT FOCUS FROM YOU.
YOU DON'T GROW IN SUCCESS WHEN YOU ARE DIMINISHING IN FAILURE
-BELIEVE THAT YOU WHERE BORN TO ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE YOU WHERE BORN FOR.
-YOU CAN ONLY BE AN ACTOR TO YOUR GOALS ONLY WHEN YOU SHOW YOUR ACTIONS TO YOUR GOALS.
-IF YOU DON'T MAKE QUICK DECISION THE TIME YOU WASTE IS INDECISION
-THE WORLD IS ONLY A BETTER PLACE WHEN BETTER PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKES IT BETTER.
-YOU CAN BE HAPPY WHEN SADNESS HAS OVERTAKEN YOUR HAPPINESS.
-YOU CAN MOVE A BIT,IF YOU DON'T HAVE A REASON TO MOVE.
-PEOPLE OF INSPIRATIONS WHERE ONCE INSPIRED.
-IF YOU ARE NOT MANAGING YOUR LIFE,YOU ARE ALREADY DAMAGING IT.
-YOU DON'T WAIT FOR THINGS TO ADVANCE BEFORE YOUR ADVANCE YOURSELF.
YOUR SUPERIORS GIVE YOU ADVICE THAT WILL ADVANCE YOUR LIFE.
-KNOWLEDGE IS ONLY POWER WHEN UTILIZE WITH THE RIGHT SENSE.
-OPPORTUNITY DON'T ALWAYS COMES THE FRONT DOOR,SO BE ALERT.
-IT IS ONLY WHEN YOU KNOW WHO ARE,YOU WILL STILL REMAIN A STRANGER TO YOURSELF.
-KNOWING YOUR OBSTACLES WITHOUT NO WAY TO OVERCOME IT IS AS KNOWING NOTHING AT ALL.
-DREAMS WITHOUT ACTIONS IS LIKE A FILM WITHOUT ACTIONS.
-IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DREAM,VISION OR GOAL,I WONDER WHETHER YOU ARE LIVING OR EXISTING.
THINK WISE SUCCESS IS NOT FOR MEDIOCRE....
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Youths with dreams create a peaceful world
Dreams of a peaceful and harmonious world end when the dreamer wakes. He had dreamt of a world full of happiness where people are strong and healthy, where there are no wars, threats of war nor rumors of war, a world where love reigns. He rises to face a world on the precipice, hears news of killings and natural disasters, of poverty and disease, and goes out to experience differences and manifest hatred. He returns on from a world unlike the ones of his dreams, lies on his bed and dreams again. Just like before.
Dreams do not always come true. However, the dreams of peace are not a wild goose chase. Human beings can live in peace with one another. Even history has evidenced thus – the Northern American Continent with over 300 million people from different part of the world has had no wars between any of its people for over a century. This is in fact a continent where about two thousand battles were fought in its first century. Dream of peace can come alive and become an everyday reality if they reflect our beliefs and values, and everyone work towards ensuring peace and tranquility in the world.
We as the young people of the world are in a great position to make the dreams of peace come to reality. A United Nations report states that youths make up one quarter of the world’s population. This number represents a sizeable percentage of people who suffer the brunt of brutal wars, terrorism and disregarded religious and ethnic conflict all over the world. The number however, also shows a formidable group of people more than enough to take the world beyond the realm of dreams into a place of peace. The vigor and resourcefulness of youths can provide the necessary complement to the strings of various international organizations such as the UN and UNESCO, and various national governments to build a peaceful world.
Dreams do not always come true. However, the dreams of peace are not a wild goose chase. Human beings can live in peace with one another. Even history has evidenced thus – the Northern American Continent with over 300 million people from different part of the world has had no wars between any of its people for over a century. This is in fact a continent where about two thousand battles were fought in its first century. Dream of peace can come alive and become an everyday reality if they reflect our beliefs and values, and everyone work towards ensuring peace and tranquility in the world.
We as the young people of the world are in a great position to make the dreams of peace come to reality. A United Nations report states that youths make up one quarter of the world’s population. This number represents a sizeable percentage of people who suffer the brunt of brutal wars, terrorism and disregarded religious and ethnic conflict all over the world. The number however, also shows a formidable group of people more than enough to take the world beyond the realm of dreams into a place of peace. The vigor and resourcefulness of youths can provide the necessary complement to the strings of various international organizations such as the UN and UNESCO, and various national governments to build a peaceful world.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
HAVING PROBLEMS ON HOW TO SAVE AS A YOUTH...?
Steps
1. 1
Set savings goals. For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy a website find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a home determine how much of a down payment you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop working), and you’ll also need to figure out how investments will help you achieve your goals.
Ads by Google
o Kill your debt first. Simply calculating how much you spend each month on your debts will illustrate that eliminating debt is the fastest way to free up money. Once the money is freed from debt payment, it can easily be re-purposed to savings.
2. 2
Establish a time-frame. For example: "I want to be able to buy a home three years from today." Set a particular date for accomplishing shorter-term goals, and make sure the goal is attainable within that time period. If it’s not attainable, you’ll just get discouraged.
3. 3
Figure out how much you’ll have to save per week, per month, or per paycheck to attain each of your savings goals. Take each thing you want to save for and figure out how much you need to start saving now. For most savings goals, it’s best to save the same amount each period. For example, if you want to put a $20,000 down payment on a home in 36 months (three years), you’ll need to save about $550 per month every month. But if your paychecks amount to $1000, it might not be a realistic goal, so adjust your time-frame until you come up with an approachable amount.
4. 4
Keep a safe record of your expenses. What you save falls between two activities and their difference: how much your income and how much you spend. Since you have more control over how much you spend, it's wise to take a critical look at your expenses. Write down everything you spend your money on for a couple weeks or a month. Be as detailed as possible, and try not to leave out small purchases. Assign each purchase or expenditure a category such as: Rent, Car insurance, Car payments, Phone Bill, Cable Bill, Utilities, Gas, Food, Entertainment, etc.
o Keep a small notebook with you at all times. Get in the habit of recording every expense and saving the receipts.
o Sit down once a week with your small notebook and receipts. Record your expenses in a larger notebook or a spreadsheet program.
5. 5
Trim your expenses. Take a good, hard look at your spending records after a month or two have passed. You’ll probably be surprised when you look back at your record of expenses: $300 on ice cream, $100 on parking tickets? You’ll likely see some obvious cuts you can make. Depending on how much you need to save, however, you may need to make some difficult decisions. Think about your priorities, and make cuts you can live with. Calculate how much those cuts will save you per year, and you'll be much more motivated to pinch pennies.
o Can you move to a less expensive apartment or house? Can you refinance your mortgage?
o Can you consolidate your debts so that you're not paying as much interest?
o Can you save money on gas, or give up a car altogether? If your family has multiple cars, can you bring it down to one?
o Can you get a better price on insurance? Call around and make sure you are getting the best price you can. Consider taking a higher deductible, too.
o Ditch your expensive coffee house latte for a home brewed cup. Avoiding that $4 per day whatever-cino can save you $1000 a year.
o Skip the salon and do your own nails for a fraction of the price.
o Shop the discount racks at clothing stores. Items on clearance are marked down considerably and could save you 50% of the price.
o Can you drop a land line and either only use your cell phone or save money by calling over the internet for free with services such as Skype?
o Can you live without cable or satellite TV?
o Can you cut down on your utility bills?
o Can you restrict eating out? Buy food in bulk? Start using coupons? Cook more at home? You might be able to save a lot of money on food.
6. 6
Reassess your savings goals. Subtract your expenses (the ones you can't live without) from your take-home income (i.e. after taxes have been taken out). What is the difference? And does it match up with your savings goals? Let's say you've decided you can definitely get by on $1500 per month, and your paychecks amount to $2300 per month. That leaves you with $800 to save. If there’s absolutely no way you can fit all your savings goals into your budget, take a look at what you’re saving for and cut the less important things or adjust the time-frame. Maybe you need to put off buying a new car for another year, or maybe you don’t really need a big-screen TV that badly.
7. 7
Make a budget. Once you’ve managed to balance your earnings with your savings goals and spending, write down a budget so you’ll know each month or each paycheck how much you can spend on any given thing or category of things. This is especially important for expenses which tend to fluctuate, or which you know you're going to have a particularly hard time restricting. (E.g. "I will only spend $30 a month on movies/chocolate/coffee/etc.")
8. 8
Stop using credit cards. Pay for everything with cash or money orders. Don't even use checks. It's easier to overspend when you're pulling from a bank or credit account because you don't know exactly how much is in there. If you have cash, you can see your supply running low. You can even bundle up the predetermined amount of cash allocated for each expense with a label or keep separate jars for each expense (e.g. a bundle/jar for coffee, another for gas, another for miscellaneous). As you pull money from a jar for that particular expense, you'll see how much remains and you'll also be reminded of your limit.
o
If you need to have credit cards but you don't want the temptation of having them available to use day-to-day, restrict that section of your wallet with a note or picture reminding you of your savings goals.
o Credit cards are not inherently evil; it's all about your self control. If you use them responsibly (i.e. completely pay them off every month), you can benefit from them. But the reason most credit card companies make money, however, is because people end up spending money that they don't have. Unless you are one of the people who can religiously pay off the balance in full every month, you're better off foregoing the promotions that credit card companies use to lure you in (cash back, introductory APR, airline miles, and so on).
9. 9
Open an interest-bearing savings account. It’s a lot easier to keep track of your savings if you have them separate from your spending money. You can also usually get better interest on savings accounts than on checking accounts (if you get interest on your checking account at all). Consider higher-interest options such as CDs or money-market accounts for longer savings goals.
10. 10
Know where your money is. And how much of it, too. If you accidentally overdraw your bank account, you will incur hefty bank fees; worse yet, the place you paid with that check may slap a bounced check fee on top of that, and send the check in again, resulting in a second overdraft fee from the bank! So just a few cents missing to cover that check could result in over $100 in fees. To avoid that, you should always know how much money you've got in your account(s), so you never cut a check for more than what you have.
o Look into checking and savings accounts that pay interest. Also, consider CDs (certificates of deposit) for longer-term savings with low risk.
11. 11
Pay yourself first. Savings should be your priority, so don’t just say that you’ll save whatever is left over at the end of the month. Deposit savings into an account (or your piggy-bank) as soon as you get paid. An easy, effective way to start saving is to simply deposit 10% of every check in a savings account. If you get a check or sum of cash, say 710.68, move the decimal point one place to the left and deposit that amount: 71.07. This works well and requires little thought; over several years, you've a tidy sum in savings. Over decades, you'll be a millionaire.
o You can set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account.
o Many employers allow you to deduct savings from your paycheck. The money is directly deposited in your savings account so you never even see it on your paycheck.
o You can also have investments for retirement taken directly out of your pay, and the taxes may be deferred with this option.
1. 1
Set savings goals. For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy a website find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a home determine how much of a down payment you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop working), and you’ll also need to figure out how investments will help you achieve your goals.
Ads by Google
o Kill your debt first. Simply calculating how much you spend each month on your debts will illustrate that eliminating debt is the fastest way to free up money. Once the money is freed from debt payment, it can easily be re-purposed to savings.
2. 2
Establish a time-frame. For example: "I want to be able to buy a home three years from today." Set a particular date for accomplishing shorter-term goals, and make sure the goal is attainable within that time period. If it’s not attainable, you’ll just get discouraged.
3. 3
Figure out how much you’ll have to save per week, per month, or per paycheck to attain each of your savings goals. Take each thing you want to save for and figure out how much you need to start saving now. For most savings goals, it’s best to save the same amount each period. For example, if you want to put a $20,000 down payment on a home in 36 months (three years), you’ll need to save about $550 per month every month. But if your paychecks amount to $1000, it might not be a realistic goal, so adjust your time-frame until you come up with an approachable amount.
4. 4
Keep a safe record of your expenses. What you save falls between two activities and their difference: how much your income and how much you spend. Since you have more control over how much you spend, it's wise to take a critical look at your expenses. Write down everything you spend your money on for a couple weeks or a month. Be as detailed as possible, and try not to leave out small purchases. Assign each purchase or expenditure a category such as: Rent, Car insurance, Car payments, Phone Bill, Cable Bill, Utilities, Gas, Food, Entertainment, etc.
o Keep a small notebook with you at all times. Get in the habit of recording every expense and saving the receipts.
o Sit down once a week with your small notebook and receipts. Record your expenses in a larger notebook or a spreadsheet program.
5. 5
Trim your expenses. Take a good, hard look at your spending records after a month or two have passed. You’ll probably be surprised when you look back at your record of expenses: $300 on ice cream, $100 on parking tickets? You’ll likely see some obvious cuts you can make. Depending on how much you need to save, however, you may need to make some difficult decisions. Think about your priorities, and make cuts you can live with. Calculate how much those cuts will save you per year, and you'll be much more motivated to pinch pennies.
o Can you move to a less expensive apartment or house? Can you refinance your mortgage?
o Can you consolidate your debts so that you're not paying as much interest?
o Can you save money on gas, or give up a car altogether? If your family has multiple cars, can you bring it down to one?
o Can you get a better price on insurance? Call around and make sure you are getting the best price you can. Consider taking a higher deductible, too.
o Ditch your expensive coffee house latte for a home brewed cup. Avoiding that $4 per day whatever-cino can save you $1000 a year.
o Skip the salon and do your own nails for a fraction of the price.
o Shop the discount racks at clothing stores. Items on clearance are marked down considerably and could save you 50% of the price.
o Can you drop a land line and either only use your cell phone or save money by calling over the internet for free with services such as Skype?
o Can you live without cable or satellite TV?
o Can you cut down on your utility bills?
o Can you restrict eating out? Buy food in bulk? Start using coupons? Cook more at home? You might be able to save a lot of money on food.
6. 6
Reassess your savings goals. Subtract your expenses (the ones you can't live without) from your take-home income (i.e. after taxes have been taken out). What is the difference? And does it match up with your savings goals? Let's say you've decided you can definitely get by on $1500 per month, and your paychecks amount to $2300 per month. That leaves you with $800 to save. If there’s absolutely no way you can fit all your savings goals into your budget, take a look at what you’re saving for and cut the less important things or adjust the time-frame. Maybe you need to put off buying a new car for another year, or maybe you don’t really need a big-screen TV that badly.
7. 7
Make a budget. Once you’ve managed to balance your earnings with your savings goals and spending, write down a budget so you’ll know each month or each paycheck how much you can spend on any given thing or category of things. This is especially important for expenses which tend to fluctuate, or which you know you're going to have a particularly hard time restricting. (E.g. "I will only spend $30 a month on movies/chocolate/coffee/etc.")
8. 8
Stop using credit cards. Pay for everything with cash or money orders. Don't even use checks. It's easier to overspend when you're pulling from a bank or credit account because you don't know exactly how much is in there. If you have cash, you can see your supply running low. You can even bundle up the predetermined amount of cash allocated for each expense with a label or keep separate jars for each expense (e.g. a bundle/jar for coffee, another for gas, another for miscellaneous). As you pull money from a jar for that particular expense, you'll see how much remains and you'll also be reminded of your limit.
o
If you need to have credit cards but you don't want the temptation of having them available to use day-to-day, restrict that section of your wallet with a note or picture reminding you of your savings goals.
o Credit cards are not inherently evil; it's all about your self control. If you use them responsibly (i.e. completely pay them off every month), you can benefit from them. But the reason most credit card companies make money, however, is because people end up spending money that they don't have. Unless you are one of the people who can religiously pay off the balance in full every month, you're better off foregoing the promotions that credit card companies use to lure you in (cash back, introductory APR, airline miles, and so on).
9. 9
Open an interest-bearing savings account. It’s a lot easier to keep track of your savings if you have them separate from your spending money. You can also usually get better interest on savings accounts than on checking accounts (if you get interest on your checking account at all). Consider higher-interest options such as CDs or money-market accounts for longer savings goals.
10. 10
Know where your money is. And how much of it, too. If you accidentally overdraw your bank account, you will incur hefty bank fees; worse yet, the place you paid with that check may slap a bounced check fee on top of that, and send the check in again, resulting in a second overdraft fee from the bank! So just a few cents missing to cover that check could result in over $100 in fees. To avoid that, you should always know how much money you've got in your account(s), so you never cut a check for more than what you have.
o Look into checking and savings accounts that pay interest. Also, consider CDs (certificates of deposit) for longer-term savings with low risk.
11. 11
Pay yourself first. Savings should be your priority, so don’t just say that you’ll save whatever is left over at the end of the month. Deposit savings into an account (or your piggy-bank) as soon as you get paid. An easy, effective way to start saving is to simply deposit 10% of every check in a savings account. If you get a check or sum of cash, say 710.68, move the decimal point one place to the left and deposit that amount: 71.07. This works well and requires little thought; over several years, you've a tidy sum in savings. Over decades, you'll be a millionaire.
o You can set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account.
o Many employers allow you to deduct savings from your paycheck. The money is directly deposited in your savings account so you never even see it on your paycheck.
o You can also have investments for retirement taken directly out of your pay, and the taxes may be deferred with this option.
HOW TO AVOID THAT PEERS
1.Find out what really you believe •2. Stand up for what you believe in. When you witness, not everybody will listen, and sometimes they might even laugh. That's okay because at least you are trying and God sees that. Don't let anyone or anything change your mind, and don't let them make you doubt your beliefs. However, do not force your religion upon others. Doing so will only attract enemies.
• 3
Read your Bible and pray always. Reading scripture is a good way to become closer to God because it offers wisdom and is like the "How To" of being a Christian. Some people recommend a Teen Study Bible, which includes tips, advice, and practical interpretations of some verses. Others recommend a normal Bible, and to read the aforementioned Bible from cover to cover. Prayer and Bible study will bring you closer to God.
• 4
Be strong in your faith in Christ. You can do all things through Christ; he will strengthen you.
• 5
When praying or you are asking for help from the Lord, don't just do pray. The Bible says we must, "Cry unto the Lord with all our might." If you don't want it that badly, stay on your knees until you do or meditate on it and think of whether you even truly want it.
James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraids not and it shall be given him." Use your name---"If I (your name) lack wisdom let me (your name) ask of God who gives to all men liberally, and does not reprove those who ask [yes, I paraphrased "upbraided not", you can keep it if you wish], and it will be given to me." It's called claiming scripture in prayer, and when you say to God "You promised this, and I've done what You said I needed to to get it..." He gives-God never, ever, goes back on His promises. He said, "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and he will answer, seek him and you will find him."
• 6
Always have a special prayer in your heart. This means to pray inside your head to God. This will be a very hard thing to do at the beginning, but when you get going it will be a HUGE blessing in your life. You will gain a MUCH closer relationship with God and will feel his love much more.
• 7
Doing what everyone else does might look fun sometimes, but if you know it’s wrong to do, try to have the strength to reject it. God gave his only begotten son to die for us! When you do what's right, God will know because he knows the intent of your heart.
• 8
Be friends with other Christian brothers or sisters. If you are surrounded by others trying to do the right thing it will become much easier. There is strength in numbers. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there shall I be." (Matthew 18:20) Luckily, the majority of the Western world is Christian, of various denominations.
• 9
Don't come in contact with people who swear all the time, drink/do drugs, have dirty minds, etc. It is literally next to impossible to resist the constant temptations of people who constantly sin if you're constantly hanging out with them.
• 10
Stay away from situations that may cause you to give into peer pressure. For example, if someone asks you to smoke/drink think about what it will do to your body and think about whether God would approve of this. Think of your body as the temple of God. Say NO. Ask the Lord to continue to bless you with strength to resist temptations.
• 3
Read your Bible and pray always. Reading scripture is a good way to become closer to God because it offers wisdom and is like the "How To" of being a Christian. Some people recommend a Teen Study Bible, which includes tips, advice, and practical interpretations of some verses. Others recommend a normal Bible, and to read the aforementioned Bible from cover to cover. Prayer and Bible study will bring you closer to God.
• 4
Be strong in your faith in Christ. You can do all things through Christ; he will strengthen you.
• 5
When praying or you are asking for help from the Lord, don't just do pray. The Bible says we must, "Cry unto the Lord with all our might." If you don't want it that badly, stay on your knees until you do or meditate on it and think of whether you even truly want it.
James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraids not and it shall be given him." Use your name---"If I (your name) lack wisdom let me (your name) ask of God who gives to all men liberally, and does not reprove those who ask [yes, I paraphrased "upbraided not", you can keep it if you wish], and it will be given to me." It's called claiming scripture in prayer, and when you say to God "You promised this, and I've done what You said I needed to to get it..." He gives-God never, ever, goes back on His promises. He said, "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and he will answer, seek him and you will find him."
• 6
Always have a special prayer in your heart. This means to pray inside your head to God. This will be a very hard thing to do at the beginning, but when you get going it will be a HUGE blessing in your life. You will gain a MUCH closer relationship with God and will feel his love much more.
• 7
Doing what everyone else does might look fun sometimes, but if you know it’s wrong to do, try to have the strength to reject it. God gave his only begotten son to die for us! When you do what's right, God will know because he knows the intent of your heart.
• 8
Be friends with other Christian brothers or sisters. If you are surrounded by others trying to do the right thing it will become much easier. There is strength in numbers. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there shall I be." (Matthew 18:20) Luckily, the majority of the Western world is Christian, of various denominations.
• 9
Don't come in contact with people who swear all the time, drink/do drugs, have dirty minds, etc. It is literally next to impossible to resist the constant temptations of people who constantly sin if you're constantly hanging out with them.
• 10
Stay away from situations that may cause you to give into peer pressure. For example, if someone asks you to smoke/drink think about what it will do to your body and think about whether God would approve of this. Think of your body as the temple of God. Say NO. Ask the Lord to continue to bless you with strength to resist temptations.
A Message to Youth: Live to Your Full Capacity and Save the Planet
I want to talk with you as youth, as a group of youth who care about our universe. One thing is for sure: You will posses the world. It will not be either the strong or the meek who will inherit the Earth; for better or for worse, it will be the youth. You will inherit what we, the former generation, leave to you, and you will hopefully do better and greater than we have done in preserving this beautiful planet and the diversity of its life forms. You will hopefully do better in achieving and maintaining peace on our planet. You will also have the eventual responsibility, as each generation does, to pass the world on in tact to the next generation.
New generations of youth keep coming, like waves against the shore. Now it is your turn to reach the shore. As animals once left the sea for the land, you now come of age to take responsibility in the world. And you come of age at a time of great challenge. The generations of your parents and grandparents have left you a world that is fraught with dangers and inequities. The test of your generation will be in the way you create a more just and decent world. But you will have another challenge as well. You will have to navigate the dangers of nuclear weapons – weapons capable of ending civilization and destroying most life on Earth.
The human future is not guaranteed. That is the most profound meaning of the Nuclear Age. It is an era in which we have created weapons that are capable of omnicide, the destruction of all. Omnicide is an extension of suicide and genocide to the entire world. We live in a time when it is possible to destroy everything. We have proven our cleverness in creating tools of destruction. Now it is up to us, and to you as youth in particular, to find the means to assure that these tools are not used and are abolished.
How will you do this? To start with, you must recognize the nature of the problem. This is no ordinary problem that can be left to work itself out. It requires a plan. Who will create and implement such a plan? Who will take the lead in assuring that we are progressing toward zero nuclear weapons? The problem could become much worse than it is today. Instead of nine nuclear weapon states, imagine a world in which there are 20 or 50 or 100. What kind of world would that be?
We have a Non-Proliferation Treaty that seeks to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons. That treaty has a provision for nuclear disarmament, so that there will not be permanent classes of nuclear “haves” and “have-nots.” Everyone recognizes that such a world would not be fair, so Article VI of the treaty requires that the nuclear weapon states engage in good faith negotiations for nuclear disarmament. The International Court of Justice interpreted this clause in its 1996 Advisory Opinion on the illegality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. They said, “There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.”
I would like to share with you some additional reasons to abolish nuclear weapons:
1. They are long-distance killing machines incapable of discriminating between soldiers and civilians, the aged and the newly born, or between men, women and children. As such, they are instruments of dehumanization as well as annihilation.
2. They threaten the destruction of cities, countries and civilization; of all that is sacred, of all that is human, of all that exists. Nuclear war could cause deadly climate change, putting human existence at risk. Here is what one researcher, Steven Starr, concluded from reviewing the recent literature on nuclear weapons and climate change: “The detonation of a tiny fraction of the operational nuclear arsenals within cities would generate enough smoke to cause catastrophic disruptions of the global climate and massive destruction of the protective stratospheric ozone layer. Environmental devastation caused by a war fought with many thousands of strategic nuclear weapons would quickly leave the Earth uninhabitable.”
3. They threaten to foreclose the future, negating our common responsibility to future generations.
4. They make cowards of their possessors, and in their use there can be no decency or honor. This was recognized by most of the leading US generals and admirals of World War II, including Dwight Eisenhower, Hap Arnold, Omar Bradley, and William Leahy. Admiral Leahy, chief of staff to President Truman, said: "The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."
5. They divide the world’s nations into nuclear “haves” and “have-nots,” bestowing false and unwarranted prestige and privilege on those that possess them.
6. They are a distortion of science and technology, siphoning off our scientific and technological resources and twisting our knowledge of nature to destructive purposes. On the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a senior Manhattan Project scientist, Hans Bethe, called upon “…all scientists in all countries to cease and desist from work creating, developing, improving and manufacturing further nuclear weapons – and, for that matter, other weapons of potential mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons.”
7. They mock international law, displacing it with an allegiance to raw power. The International Court of Justice has ruled that the threat of use of nuclear weapons is generally illegal and any use that violated international humanitarian law would be illegal. It is virtually impossible to imagine a threat or use of nuclear weapons that would not violate international humanitarian law by failing to discriminate between soldiers and civilians, causing unnecessary suffering or being disproportionate to a preceding attack.
8. They waste our resources on the development of instruments of annihilation. The United States alone has spent over $7.5 trillion on nuclear weapons and their delivery systems since the onset of the Nuclear Age.
9. They concentrate power in the hands of a small group of individuals and, in doing so, undermine democracy. They give over to a few individuals, usually men, greater power of annihilation than at any previous time in history.
10. They are morally abhorrent, as recognized by virtually every religious organization, and their mere existence corrupts our humanity. If we are willing to tolerate these weapons and their indiscriminate power of annihilation, then who are we? What do these weapons say about our humanity, our human decency?
I think it should be clear that one primary goal for youth should be to act and to lead in abolishing nuclear weapons.
Later this year, in May, there will be an eighth Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. This is the only treaty that has provisions requiring the nuclear weapon states to pursue the goal of nuclear disarmament. It will be an important meeting after the failure of the last NPT Review Conference in 2005. To give you an idea of how much there is to accomplish, I want to share with you the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s priority recommendations for the conference:
1. Each signatory nuclear weapon state should provide an accurate public accounting of its nuclear arsenal, conduct a public environmental and human assessment of its potential use, and devise and make public a roadmap for going to zero nuclear weapons.
2. All signatory nuclear weapon states should reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their security policies by taking all nuclear forces off high-alert status, pledging No First Use of nuclear weapons against other nuclear weapon states and No Use against non-nuclear weapon states.
3. All enriched uranium and reprocessed plutonium – military and civilian – and their production facilities (including all uranium enrichment and plutonium separation technology) should be placed under strict and effective international safeguards.
4. All signatory states should review Article IV of the NPT, promoting the “inalienable right” to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, in light of the nuclear proliferation problems posed by nuclear electricity generation.
5. Each nuclear weapon state should comply with Article VI of the NPT, reinforced and clarified by the 1996 World Court Advisory Opinion, by commencing negotiations in good faith on a Nuclear Weapons Convention for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons, and complete these negotiations by the year 2015.
The problems may seem complex, but the bottom line is this: Nuclear weapons threaten the human future, and they must be abolished. This is a human issue that is every bit as consequential as was the movement to abolish slavery in the 19th century. There are some acts that cannot be tolerated, and slavery and the threat of nuclear omnicide are among them.
You can be a voice for abolition by learning more, supporting the hibakusha, and speaking out for a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. Don’t be satisfied with anything less than a clear commitment to a world with zero nuclear weapons, and demand more from political leaders who say that the goal is too difficult or cannot be achieved within their lifetime.
In addition to working for the abolition of nuclear weapons, your generation faces many other challenges as well. There is no major international problem in our world that does not require international cooperation to solve. Thus, we need to work together. With modern communications and transportation, your generation is well equipped to cooperate across all borders. Really, borders exist primarily in our minds. They are not drawn upon the Earth, only on maps. And all borders are permeable to ideas and trade, as well as to pollution and disease. The bottom line is that we live in a single unitary world. We all share one Earth, and we can make of it a paradise or a nightmare. We choose – by our actions or inaction.
We live in a world of some 200 nation states. Most of these spend far too much on their military forces, so that in total the world spends some $1.5 trillion a year on its militaries. We know that for a relatively small proportion of this amount – five or ten percent – it would be possible to make enormous progress on the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals include ending poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. The achievement of these goals would reflect real advances in human security, and with relatively small reductions in global military expenditures we could make them happen.
As you go through life, you will have many challenges. Each of you will have to find your own way in the world. I want to share with you 12 ideas on how to meet these challenges. These involve using all your miraculous gifts to live to your full capacity as human beings.
1. Learn from others, but think for yourself. (Use your mind and judgment.)
2. Decide for yourself what is right or wrong. (Use your conscience.)
3. Speak out for what you believe in. (Use your voice.)
4. Stand up for what is right. (Use your power as an individual.)
5. Set goals and be persistent in working for them. (Use your vision and determination.)
6. Live by the Golden Rule. That is, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Use your feelings as a point of reference.)
7. Recognize the miracle that you are. You are unique in the universe. (Be spiritually aware.)
8. Never harm another miracle. Choose to solve conflicts without resort to violence. (Be nonviolent.)
9. Believe in yourself. (Be trustworthy, even to yourself.)
10. Help others. (Be giving.)
11. Be a citizen of the world. (Be inclusive and embrace all life.)
12. Be a force for peace and justice. (Be courageous and committed.)
I hope you will find joy in life and also contribute to creating a more just and decent world. If you care about life and recognize its preciousness, you are needed to create a better future. Albert Camus, the great French writer and philosopher, said: “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”
Camus responded to the first atomic bombing in this way: “Our technical civilization has just reached its greatest level of savagery. We will have to choose, in the more or less near future, between collective suicide and the intelligent use of our scientific conquests. Before the terrifying prospects now available to humanity, we see even more clearly that peace is the only battle worth waging. This is no longer a prayer but a demand to be made by all peoples to their governments – a demand to choose definitively between hell and reason.” I stand with Albert Camus in choosing to wage peace. I hope you will as well.
As you may know, I engaged in a dialogue with SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. We espoused the principle of choosing hope, rather than succumbing to ignorance, apathy or despair. Hope gives rise to action, and action, in turn, gives rise to hope. Our shared hope includes the goal of building a more peaceful world, free of nuclear weapons – a daunting but essential goal. I stand with Daisaku Ikeda in choosing hope. I’m sure that you stand with him as well.
You are the future. May each of you choose hope, wage peace, and live your lives fully and with a full measure of joy. I wish you all much success.
Let me conclude with a poem that I wrote for a Soka High School graduation some years ago. I think its message remains valid today.
ADVICE TO GRADUATES
Always remember this:
You are a miracle
Made up of dancing atoms
That can talk and sing,
Listen and remember, and laugh,
At times even at yourself.
You are a miracle
Whose atoms existed before time.
Born of the Big Bang, you are connected
To everything – to mountains and oceans,
To the winds and wilderness, to the creatures
Of the sea and air and land.
You are a member of the human family.
You are a miracle, entirely unique.
There has never been another
With your combination of talents, dreams,
Desires and hopes. You can create.
You are capable of love and compassion.
You are a miracle.
You are a gift of creation to itself.
You are here for a purpose, which you must find.
Your presence here is sacred – and you will
Change the world.
This speech was delivered to the youth of Soka Gakkai International in Japan on February 8, 2010.
New generations of youth keep coming, like waves against the shore. Now it is your turn to reach the shore. As animals once left the sea for the land, you now come of age to take responsibility in the world. And you come of age at a time of great challenge. The generations of your parents and grandparents have left you a world that is fraught with dangers and inequities. The test of your generation will be in the way you create a more just and decent world. But you will have another challenge as well. You will have to navigate the dangers of nuclear weapons – weapons capable of ending civilization and destroying most life on Earth.
The human future is not guaranteed. That is the most profound meaning of the Nuclear Age. It is an era in which we have created weapons that are capable of omnicide, the destruction of all. Omnicide is an extension of suicide and genocide to the entire world. We live in a time when it is possible to destroy everything. We have proven our cleverness in creating tools of destruction. Now it is up to us, and to you as youth in particular, to find the means to assure that these tools are not used and are abolished.
How will you do this? To start with, you must recognize the nature of the problem. This is no ordinary problem that can be left to work itself out. It requires a plan. Who will create and implement such a plan? Who will take the lead in assuring that we are progressing toward zero nuclear weapons? The problem could become much worse than it is today. Instead of nine nuclear weapon states, imagine a world in which there are 20 or 50 or 100. What kind of world would that be?
We have a Non-Proliferation Treaty that seeks to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons. That treaty has a provision for nuclear disarmament, so that there will not be permanent classes of nuclear “haves” and “have-nots.” Everyone recognizes that such a world would not be fair, so Article VI of the treaty requires that the nuclear weapon states engage in good faith negotiations for nuclear disarmament. The International Court of Justice interpreted this clause in its 1996 Advisory Opinion on the illegality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. They said, “There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.”
I would like to share with you some additional reasons to abolish nuclear weapons:
1. They are long-distance killing machines incapable of discriminating between soldiers and civilians, the aged and the newly born, or between men, women and children. As such, they are instruments of dehumanization as well as annihilation.
2. They threaten the destruction of cities, countries and civilization; of all that is sacred, of all that is human, of all that exists. Nuclear war could cause deadly climate change, putting human existence at risk. Here is what one researcher, Steven Starr, concluded from reviewing the recent literature on nuclear weapons and climate change: “The detonation of a tiny fraction of the operational nuclear arsenals within cities would generate enough smoke to cause catastrophic disruptions of the global climate and massive destruction of the protective stratospheric ozone layer. Environmental devastation caused by a war fought with many thousands of strategic nuclear weapons would quickly leave the Earth uninhabitable.”
3. They threaten to foreclose the future, negating our common responsibility to future generations.
4. They make cowards of their possessors, and in their use there can be no decency or honor. This was recognized by most of the leading US generals and admirals of World War II, including Dwight Eisenhower, Hap Arnold, Omar Bradley, and William Leahy. Admiral Leahy, chief of staff to President Truman, said: "The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."
5. They divide the world’s nations into nuclear “haves” and “have-nots,” bestowing false and unwarranted prestige and privilege on those that possess them.
6. They are a distortion of science and technology, siphoning off our scientific and technological resources and twisting our knowledge of nature to destructive purposes. On the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a senior Manhattan Project scientist, Hans Bethe, called upon “…all scientists in all countries to cease and desist from work creating, developing, improving and manufacturing further nuclear weapons – and, for that matter, other weapons of potential mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons.”
7. They mock international law, displacing it with an allegiance to raw power. The International Court of Justice has ruled that the threat of use of nuclear weapons is generally illegal and any use that violated international humanitarian law would be illegal. It is virtually impossible to imagine a threat or use of nuclear weapons that would not violate international humanitarian law by failing to discriminate between soldiers and civilians, causing unnecessary suffering or being disproportionate to a preceding attack.
8. They waste our resources on the development of instruments of annihilation. The United States alone has spent over $7.5 trillion on nuclear weapons and their delivery systems since the onset of the Nuclear Age.
9. They concentrate power in the hands of a small group of individuals and, in doing so, undermine democracy. They give over to a few individuals, usually men, greater power of annihilation than at any previous time in history.
10. They are morally abhorrent, as recognized by virtually every religious organization, and their mere existence corrupts our humanity. If we are willing to tolerate these weapons and their indiscriminate power of annihilation, then who are we? What do these weapons say about our humanity, our human decency?
I think it should be clear that one primary goal for youth should be to act and to lead in abolishing nuclear weapons.
Later this year, in May, there will be an eighth Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. This is the only treaty that has provisions requiring the nuclear weapon states to pursue the goal of nuclear disarmament. It will be an important meeting after the failure of the last NPT Review Conference in 2005. To give you an idea of how much there is to accomplish, I want to share with you the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s priority recommendations for the conference:
1. Each signatory nuclear weapon state should provide an accurate public accounting of its nuclear arsenal, conduct a public environmental and human assessment of its potential use, and devise and make public a roadmap for going to zero nuclear weapons.
2. All signatory nuclear weapon states should reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their security policies by taking all nuclear forces off high-alert status, pledging No First Use of nuclear weapons against other nuclear weapon states and No Use against non-nuclear weapon states.
3. All enriched uranium and reprocessed plutonium – military and civilian – and their production facilities (including all uranium enrichment and plutonium separation technology) should be placed under strict and effective international safeguards.
4. All signatory states should review Article IV of the NPT, promoting the “inalienable right” to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, in light of the nuclear proliferation problems posed by nuclear electricity generation.
5. Each nuclear weapon state should comply with Article VI of the NPT, reinforced and clarified by the 1996 World Court Advisory Opinion, by commencing negotiations in good faith on a Nuclear Weapons Convention for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons, and complete these negotiations by the year 2015.
The problems may seem complex, but the bottom line is this: Nuclear weapons threaten the human future, and they must be abolished. This is a human issue that is every bit as consequential as was the movement to abolish slavery in the 19th century. There are some acts that cannot be tolerated, and slavery and the threat of nuclear omnicide are among them.
You can be a voice for abolition by learning more, supporting the hibakusha, and speaking out for a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. Don’t be satisfied with anything less than a clear commitment to a world with zero nuclear weapons, and demand more from political leaders who say that the goal is too difficult or cannot be achieved within their lifetime.
In addition to working for the abolition of nuclear weapons, your generation faces many other challenges as well. There is no major international problem in our world that does not require international cooperation to solve. Thus, we need to work together. With modern communications and transportation, your generation is well equipped to cooperate across all borders. Really, borders exist primarily in our minds. They are not drawn upon the Earth, only on maps. And all borders are permeable to ideas and trade, as well as to pollution and disease. The bottom line is that we live in a single unitary world. We all share one Earth, and we can make of it a paradise or a nightmare. We choose – by our actions or inaction.
We live in a world of some 200 nation states. Most of these spend far too much on their military forces, so that in total the world spends some $1.5 trillion a year on its militaries. We know that for a relatively small proportion of this amount – five or ten percent – it would be possible to make enormous progress on the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals include ending poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. The achievement of these goals would reflect real advances in human security, and with relatively small reductions in global military expenditures we could make them happen.
As you go through life, you will have many challenges. Each of you will have to find your own way in the world. I want to share with you 12 ideas on how to meet these challenges. These involve using all your miraculous gifts to live to your full capacity as human beings.
1. Learn from others, but think for yourself. (Use your mind and judgment.)
2. Decide for yourself what is right or wrong. (Use your conscience.)
3. Speak out for what you believe in. (Use your voice.)
4. Stand up for what is right. (Use your power as an individual.)
5. Set goals and be persistent in working for them. (Use your vision and determination.)
6. Live by the Golden Rule. That is, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Use your feelings as a point of reference.)
7. Recognize the miracle that you are. You are unique in the universe. (Be spiritually aware.)
8. Never harm another miracle. Choose to solve conflicts without resort to violence. (Be nonviolent.)
9. Believe in yourself. (Be trustworthy, even to yourself.)
10. Help others. (Be giving.)
11. Be a citizen of the world. (Be inclusive and embrace all life.)
12. Be a force for peace and justice. (Be courageous and committed.)
I hope you will find joy in life and also contribute to creating a more just and decent world. If you care about life and recognize its preciousness, you are needed to create a better future. Albert Camus, the great French writer and philosopher, said: “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”
Camus responded to the first atomic bombing in this way: “Our technical civilization has just reached its greatest level of savagery. We will have to choose, in the more or less near future, between collective suicide and the intelligent use of our scientific conquests. Before the terrifying prospects now available to humanity, we see even more clearly that peace is the only battle worth waging. This is no longer a prayer but a demand to be made by all peoples to their governments – a demand to choose definitively between hell and reason.” I stand with Albert Camus in choosing to wage peace. I hope you will as well.
As you may know, I engaged in a dialogue with SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. We espoused the principle of choosing hope, rather than succumbing to ignorance, apathy or despair. Hope gives rise to action, and action, in turn, gives rise to hope. Our shared hope includes the goal of building a more peaceful world, free of nuclear weapons – a daunting but essential goal. I stand with Daisaku Ikeda in choosing hope. I’m sure that you stand with him as well.
You are the future. May each of you choose hope, wage peace, and live your lives fully and with a full measure of joy. I wish you all much success.
Let me conclude with a poem that I wrote for a Soka High School graduation some years ago. I think its message remains valid today.
ADVICE TO GRADUATES
Always remember this:
You are a miracle
Made up of dancing atoms
That can talk and sing,
Listen and remember, and laugh,
At times even at yourself.
You are a miracle
Whose atoms existed before time.
Born of the Big Bang, you are connected
To everything – to mountains and oceans,
To the winds and wilderness, to the creatures
Of the sea and air and land.
You are a member of the human family.
You are a miracle, entirely unique.
There has never been another
With your combination of talents, dreams,
Desires and hopes. You can create.
You are capable of love and compassion.
You are a miracle.
You are a gift of creation to itself.
You are here for a purpose, which you must find.
Your presence here is sacred – and you will
Change the world.
This speech was delivered to the youth of Soka Gakkai International in Japan on February 8, 2010.
Ten great signs that a man really loves you
Ten great signs that a man really loves you
It is said that the love of a man for a woman could be seen very easily, but it is very hard to explain it. However, here are a few tips that can assist you see if the man of your interest is into you:
10 Signs
1. The man makes it an habit to talk to you always
2. You are the only one he is dating.
3. He treats your mother just as his..
4. He starts using words like “we”, “our”, and “us” more during conversations with you, particularly when he is talking about the future.
5. He stores your photos in his album.
6. He starts keeping your favorite food items in his refrigerator.
7. He bestows top priority to you over his work and other relationships.
8. He keeps saying good things about you when he talks to his friends.
9. He does all your errands without the least hesitation.
10. He keeps looking at you in the most admiring way even when other women are around
Additional Notes and Pointers…
When a man loves you, he puts on his top priority list. Open flirting might not always mean that the man loves you but the bestowal of more attention to what you say and what you like is a definite sign of interest and possible love. He would quicken to act all your requests, irrespective of the time of the day. Even if you call him at 2-00 a.m. in the morning, for sample, and tell him that you are having headache but out of stock of the medication, he would rush to a 24-hour drugstore, get the medicine and come to your place with that.
It is very uncommon for a lot of men to show their love in an open manner. Even the most courageous man can become shy when it comes to the woman he loves. His speech would be halting and hesitant. He would start to say something, stop, think it over again and then utter what is in his mind. It is because he is just getting to know you better and still not sure whether you would like what he says. Even though women are usually more guarded in the initial stages, men are equally nervous around the women they love. However, the man who is in love with you will take the extra steps in pleasing you. He would groom his hair and care more about the way he dresses when he is with you. Such acts reveal that he wants to look good for you. Take a mental note of these signs. Also, when he talks to you in a low voice so that others would not be able to hear what he says, this mean that he wants the conversation to be exclusively between him and you and he wants to connect with you on an intimate level.
Last, but not least…
If he is for you, he will compliment you not only to you in person, but also to his friends. He will speak highly of you to others too. He will go the extra mile in showing respect to your family (when he meets them). He will call you several times a day without any special reason, but just to hear your voice. Whenever he is talking about the future, he will tend to use words like “we”, “us”, and “our” rather than “I”, “me”, and “mine”. Use of such words is a sure sign of his planning a future long-term relationship with you.
When you leave and say goodbye after a date or get together, he will keep looking at your until you disappear from his view. When a man is into you, he will arrive early for a meeting and would leave after you, if he is not accompanying you to your place. Even when he drops you at your home, he will wait until you have entered the house and close the door before leaving. All these signs definitely show that the man is into you and desires a long-term relationship with you. Act positively and let not this chance pass you by.
It is said that the love of a man for a woman could be seen very easily, but it is very hard to explain it. However, here are a few tips that can assist you see if the man of your interest is into you:
10 Signs
1. The man makes it an habit to talk to you always
2. You are the only one he is dating.
3. He treats your mother just as his..
4. He starts using words like “we”, “our”, and “us” more during conversations with you, particularly when he is talking about the future.
5. He stores your photos in his album.
6. He starts keeping your favorite food items in his refrigerator.
7. He bestows top priority to you over his work and other relationships.
8. He keeps saying good things about you when he talks to his friends.
9. He does all your errands without the least hesitation.
10. He keeps looking at you in the most admiring way even when other women are around
Additional Notes and Pointers…
When a man loves you, he puts on his top priority list. Open flirting might not always mean that the man loves you but the bestowal of more attention to what you say and what you like is a definite sign of interest and possible love. He would quicken to act all your requests, irrespective of the time of the day. Even if you call him at 2-00 a.m. in the morning, for sample, and tell him that you are having headache but out of stock of the medication, he would rush to a 24-hour drugstore, get the medicine and come to your place with that.
It is very uncommon for a lot of men to show their love in an open manner. Even the most courageous man can become shy when it comes to the woman he loves. His speech would be halting and hesitant. He would start to say something, stop, think it over again and then utter what is in his mind. It is because he is just getting to know you better and still not sure whether you would like what he says. Even though women are usually more guarded in the initial stages, men are equally nervous around the women they love. However, the man who is in love with you will take the extra steps in pleasing you. He would groom his hair and care more about the way he dresses when he is with you. Such acts reveal that he wants to look good for you. Take a mental note of these signs. Also, when he talks to you in a low voice so that others would not be able to hear what he says, this mean that he wants the conversation to be exclusively between him and you and he wants to connect with you on an intimate level.
Last, but not least…
If he is for you, he will compliment you not only to you in person, but also to his friends. He will speak highly of you to others too. He will go the extra mile in showing respect to your family (when he meets them). He will call you several times a day without any special reason, but just to hear your voice. Whenever he is talking about the future, he will tend to use words like “we”, “us”, and “our” rather than “I”, “me”, and “mine”. Use of such words is a sure sign of his planning a future long-term relationship with you.
When you leave and say goodbye after a date or get together, he will keep looking at your until you disappear from his view. When a man is into you, he will arrive early for a meeting and would leave after you, if he is not accompanying you to your place. Even when he drops you at your home, he will wait until you have entered the house and close the door before leaving. All these signs definitely show that the man is into you and desires a long-term relationship with you. Act positively and let not this chance pass you by.
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