Carolyn Ellis asked:


Flying halfway around the world to someplace I’d never been before was quite an adventure. A different culture, a different alphabet, foreign cuisine, unknown sights and sounds awaited me. Having an adventure is so fun, I thought. Why don’t we bring more of that explorer spirit of curiosity with us in our daily life? What would our life be like if we treated all of it as one big adventure, and not just leave that sense of wonder and excitement to the few weeks of the year when we may travel to some new destination? When set off for a travel adventure of some kind, it strikes me that there are some basic strategies that we naturally adopt. We don’t always use these strategies in how we approach our daily life, however.

Set a course and get prepared first: you need to decide where you want to go. Planning a trip or adventure requires you to consciously choose your destination. Once you’ve decided where you want to go, you get prepared. You figure out how to get there, what kind of currency and immunizations you’ll need, what kind of clothing you need to bring.

Create an itinerary once the destination has been selected: most of us will come up with at least a rough game plan or itinerary. What do you want to see and experience? How long will you want to stay there? Even if it’s a rough idea, an itinerary provides the starting point and a rough structure for the adventure.

Pack along our curiosity: an important ingredient of any adventure is a strong sense of curiosity. As you set off for parts unknown, you become an explorer, setting off to find out something new and wondrous. You don’t know what that experience will be like and permit yourself to relish that state of “not knowing.”

It’s not personal when you travel, you just know that unexpected things are bound to happen. The hotel you booked is a dive. The only day you have to visit that world-famous museum is the one day of the year it’s closed. Unexpected glitches are inevitable but you don’t take them personally. You surrender to the unexpected and simply give yourself leeway to make on-the-spot changes in your plans. You go with the flow. It’s easy to simply chalk it up to experience and know that you’ve got another good adventure story yarn to share with your friends back home.

The contrast in our daily life: Yet how we handle our day-to-day lives is often quite different. Many of us don’t have a clear plan or itinerary for where we want to go. True enough, at some points we set goals for ourselves like “get married,” “lose 15 pounds,” “get a promotion.” Yet somehow we lose our thread, not giving our plans the kind of persistent and consistent action needed to realize the results we want. In terms of preparation, we leave ourselves ill-informed or under-resourced to tackle the plans we do have. The driving force in life may be inertia, rather than inspiration.

And what happened to that sense of curiosity? Instead of feeling like an explorer, we at times start to feel jaded or “worn down by life.” Instead of surrendering to what happens, we tend to cling to what we know from our past experience, fearful of what the future might bring. We take things that happen to us very personally — the fact that your child is starting to flunk science must mean that you’re a bad parent; the fact that you and your spouse had yet another fight about your mother-in- law must mean your marriage is on the rocks.

An invitation to adventure: It’s a season of rejuvenation and renewal, so why not make the choice to live with that sense of curiosity and discovery? A standoff with your rebellious teenager could be seen as a new village you haven’t seen before. A failed relationship becomes an opportunity to explore a new part of the jungle you didn’t see on the map you’d been using. As spring has now sprung, I invite all of you to bring some of that adventurous spirit of discovery into your daily life.

Become the explorer of your life: Ready to bring a new sense of adventure into your life? Try out these activities to connect with your fearless explorer!

1. Remember a time when you had a real “adventure” – it could be a vacation somewhere, or an unexpected experience you had. How did it make you feel? Take 5-10 minutes to reflect on that experience and write a very evocative description of it. What were the three strongest feelings you had during and after that adventure?

2. If you want to live with that explorer’s sense of curiosity, create a motto or a mantra for yourself to capture that commitment or find an image that conveys that sense of adventure to you. Your motto could be “I love the adventure of my life” or “I’m a fearless explorer that can tackle any challenge.” Or perhaps there’s a picture of a world-class sailor cresting a massive wave that inspires you. Post your motto or image up so you’ll see it often to remind you that you’re living your life as an adventure!

3. Check your life itinerary – do you have one? Have you got a clear picture of where you want to go with your life? Take some quiet time to yourself to review the major areas of your life – personal health; family; career; relationship; finances; spiritual; community; creative expression. Set one exciting goal for yourself for each area and a deadline for achieving it.

4. Identify what resources you already have to help you with that goal, such as your educational background, your life experience, people you know that could help you. Then identify what resources you might need to find. For example, do you need to find a course, read a book, find a support group or coach? This week, take one concrete step towards achieving your goal in at least two major areas of your life.

Randy Norton asked:


Have you ever wondered why companies hold sweepstakes? What legislation governs sweepstakes? With no real information easily attainable to the average sweepstake hobbiest we thought we would put together a 10-15 week set of articles to help you walk through the “sweepstakes jungle”. Its our hope through this article series that you will be much better armed to enter in sweepstakes of all kinds whether they be strictly online, mail-in or a mixture of both.

With all of that in mind lets go to the first question in our series:

Definition: What is a sweepstake?

Sweepstakes (also called prize promotions or games of chance) are popular tools for businesses, marketers, and agencies to build customer loyalty and collect valuable demographic information about potential consumers.

A Sweepstakes Overview

A sweepstakes is a promotion in which a prize is awarded to a participant on the basis of chance, not skill. That prize can be monetary or non-monetary, such as a free product or trip. The sweepstakes sponsor cannot require people to purchase a product or to invest “considerable” time or effort in order to enter the sweepstakes.

Here are some basic rules that all sweepstake sponsors must comply with:

All sweepstakes must have official rules and those rules CANNOT change once the sweepstakes has begun. Official rules must contain the following kinds of information:

1) A “No purchase is necessary” statement

2) Start and end dates

3) Eligibility requirements (age, residency, and a list of those excluded from participating)

4) Methods by which people can enter the sweepstakes, including a “no purchase” method, such as a 3″ x 5″ postcard

5) Any limitations on the number of entries per person or household

6) The odds of winning

7) A description of the prize(s) and the monetary value

How the winner(s) will be selected and notified

9) Restrictions on receiving the prize(s)

10) The sponsor’s name and address

These are only the most basic considerations. Sweepstakes are also be subject to federal and state laws, which can vary greatly.

If you don’t have time to follow the series go to SweepstakeSecretsRevealed.com and see the full report today.

Best of luck with all your future sweepstake entries,

Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Photography contests are organized by special institutions, colleges, clubs, not to mentions that bigger or smaller competitions can be found even on the Internet; these are the promoters for the constant developing in photography. The invention of the digital camera represented a revolution in the photo industry, it marked the beginning of a new era for all photographers. Theoretically the only pure difference between a classical and a digital camera is the stocking medium. A classical device uses a film while digital alternatives use various memory cards.

Most of the tricks a digital camera offers could be done before by a professional using a classical device. The big advantage brought by technological development is that everybody can now do those tricks, you don’t have to be a photography professor to get sharp and clear images because the camera will do the hard job for you. In photography contests anyone is welcome, from people who have been in the business for ten years as well as amateurs who bring their latest photos.

It’s no doubt that a smart camera can’t substitute a talented artist but it can definitely help a beginner to take decent pictures. Not all digital cameras are fully automatized there are still those who offer almost the same controls as the classical one does. These cameras are used only by those few true artists of photography, it would be like a joke to show up at photography contests with some fancy new device that can make a sharp picture in motion but comes with an optical zoom of 4x.

Another difference between classical and digital cameras is that the modern items need a much larger power supply for their new components like the LCD. Though in photography contests the autonomy of the camera is not discussed it is essential for any photograph to be able to take pictures as long a time as possible. Another detail when speaking about digital cameras is the picture format, as the format is the way the camera stores the photo on a storing card. Formats differ in the amount of space they occupy as well as in quality.

A good advice when trying to win photography contests is to always be natural, don’t try to copy somebody’s techniques. Try developing your own distinctive methods of taking pictures. Another suggestion is to focus on the contest theme, if it is about nature don’t go with a picture of your son just because you are proud of him. If you try to impress the jury with pictures that are not related to the contest idea you won’t have the slightest chance to win.

Francis Hesse asked:


Bodybuilding is an activity that people get into for a number of diverse reasons and among the main reasons wanting to build your body is the want for better health and a fit and trim appearance. However, there are also those that want to excel in bodybuilding and would thus like to enter into bodybuilding contest in order to win a title and become the best in their field of activity.

Developing Self Discipline

Bodybuilding can be used to both live healthy and stay in good shape thus enabling you to live a good life. However, participating in a bodybuilding contest is not a simple task and requires a great deal of self discipline. Contest preparation requires being emotionally as well as physically stable. You must keep a close eye on your diet and remain focused at all times.

Entering into a bodybuilding contest also means practicing hard for it, which in turn demands a great deal of self conviction and being totally in control with regard to what you eat and maintaining control over all of your other activities. It also requires conditioning your mind so that you are well prepared for what lies ahead (both the good and the bad), and thus must be in peak physical and emotional condition at all times.

For those who are nervous before competing in a bodybuilding contest, you must learn to train yourself to stay calm and cool in the face of all probabilities. It is a hard task to learn to control your emotions and you should be careful that other competitors never catch on that you may be nervous about the contest, they will take advantage of you which will ultimately cause you to defeat yourself .

You should also learn to train and condition your mind over your body. It is the mind that will be in command of your actions with the body following through instinct, and since the body is sure to react to what your mind tells it, it is thus imperative to pay close attention to your own thoughts so that they follow a desired path and lead you in the direction of the winners platform.

It is the challenger that remains confident about the body he has worked hard to shape when he is out there on the stage that is going to the lead in the bodybuilding contest. Competitors who show uncertainties and that lack the mental strength required will most certainly falter behind. It is thus up to you to keep a vigorous training regime and keep your mind fit as well.

Dane Fletcher asked:


Bodybuilders train most of the year to build muscle. But for some reason, when they begin dieting for a show, some forget that they are bodybuilders. They stop training to build muscle. Their sole focus is losing body fat, at all costs, which often leads to excessive lost muscle. Muscle is not an entity that one can “pause” – your muscles are always in a state of hypertrophy (growth) or atrophy (shrinking). When bodybuilders neglect additional needs the body faces during a calories deficit time period (like a pre-contest diet), the end result is often unnecessary muscle loss. Manipulation of supplements, fats, and carbohydrates can assist in countering the muscle loss, which often accompanies a pre-contest diet.

Supplements

Creatine should be taken for the entire duration of the pre-contest routine, and removed in the last week as sodium and water levels are manipulated in the drying-out process. EFA’s (essential fatty acids) in the form of Fish Oil should be consumed the entire time, at the dosage of 1 gram, three times per day with meals. Finally, a good thermogenic compound like Tridenosen H should be used for the duration of the pre-contest diet. It will assist in leaning effects with nearly the effectiveness of a clen or a t3, and its protein sparing effect will be of great assistance as protein grams are lowered in accordance with carbohydrate and fat manipulation, keeping the total caloric intake steady.

Carbohydrate manipulation

In the last 5 weeks before the show, manipulating carbohydrate levels, in both type and number, is essential. Alternating two high-carb days with one low-carb day is effective for many, but that can change as show day approaches. Carb type awareness, however, is essential every day.

Carbohydrate consumption should revolve around training time. Half of your daily carbs should be consumed around workout time. One-sixth of your daily carbs should be consumed before training, and 2/3 of your total daily carbs should be consumed after training. Post-training carbs should be of the simple carb variety in order to spike insulin levels during that very small window when glycogen levels are at their lowest. The result is curbed cortisol levels in the bloodstream during the most dangerous time of the day for losing muscle!

Fat manipulation

In the last 3 weeks before the show, bump up healthy fat consumption by 30 grams on low-carb days. Fish, almonds, or olive oil are the best choices.

Additionally, protein levels may need to be manipulated higher or lower, depending upon current intake levels and overall caloric totals. Some bodybuilders find that lowering protein and raising fat levels, while keeping total calories the same, yields terrific results. Above all, keep an observant eye on the mirror, on the scale, and on what your body is telling you. Use this information as a guideline, but always strives to find the precise timing and macronutrient levels that suit you’re dieting needs best.