Science Horizons

Kids learn because of their curiosity. They are all tiny experimenters and everything inside their world is there for them to discover from. For these reasons we should never try to impede a baby or toddler from exploring their environment. On the other hand, we do need to keep them safe and sound.

Child proofing your house is a three stage process. Firstly you need to evaluate where the dangers are, then you need to buy appropriate child safety locks, and lastly you need to correctly fit the locks.

Here are three main areas which I suggest that you focus on while you are considering child proofing your home.

1. Kitchen – The kitchen is full of interesting things for a child. They realize that it is the source of their food. They realize that adults spend time inside the kitchen. They also know that they are not permitted to play there. For these reasons they choose to find out and understand about it. This inquisitiveness, combined with the dangerous implements of the kitchen means that draw and cupboard locks are pretty important.

2. Bathroom – At first the bathroom may not appear like such a unsafe place. But, a infant can drown in just 2 inches of water. A bathroom will in addition frequently contain toxic cleaning chemicals. In the bathroom you need to have all your cleaning products shut away in a secure cupboard. You also ought to have any medicines in a high up cupboard or a locked one.

3. Chemical products – We have already considered the bathroom, but where else do you have chemicals? Do you have de-icer for the car by the door? Do you have shoe cleaners by the shoe rack? Is there hairspray on top of a dressing table? Every one of these require to be found and put away inside a cupboards and draws which can be secured with child safety locks.

Now you have assessed your risks you need to find the solutions. On the whole safety locks are now adhesive, so they do not need screws or drilling and can be removed at a later date. It is best to buy more than you need as it is better to possess spares than to compromise the safety proofing which you have decided on. It is also useful to keep a couple of spares in case you have missed something on first appraisal.

In conclusion you are left with fitting the child safety locks. These are not usually hard, but try to fix them when the children are not around as you need to have them fitted correctly and you really don’t need distractions. You can always ask a friend or relation to come and install the locks for you,you will be astonished how many people will be pleased to help.

When you have child proofed your house you should have a greater peace of mind and be able to focus on constructive play and interaction with your baby or toddler.

Discover about Extra Wide Baby Gate at http://babiesandinfants.com

Miranda Xavier Infants and Toddlers child safety, child safety lock, Children, home improvements, home security, infants, Infants and Toddlers, Parenting, product reviews, Security, Shopping, shopping and pfoduct reviews, toddlers

When your child is ready to go to camp, he or she will want to take along their special belongings, including a customized kids indoor sleeping bag. Summer camp is a great place to camp out away from mom and dad. Feeling safe and secure in their own sleeping bag will help decrease their homesick feeling.

There are many options to choose from when purchasing a kids indoor sleeping bag. They are available in many sizes, fabric choices, upgrade fabrics and personalized options. If your child is under two, you will want to purchase a toddler size sleeping bag. They measure about 36″ x 22″ and sometime include a pillow. If your child is between 3 and 10 years old, you will want to look for a child size sleeping bag. These measure in at 29″ x 56″. They also may have pillow attached or included. For the teens, there is a sleeping bag measuring 31″ x 75″. An adult can fit into the teen bag. They also come with a pillow attached or included. The larger bags, child and teen sizes open up to a comforter for a dual purpose.

Next is to decide on a print that your child will like. This may be from one of his or her hobbys or just picking out a flashy vibrant color that makes them feel happy. Whether you are picking out a kids sleeping bag for a boy or girl, there are hundreds of fabric choices. You are bound to find the perfect theme for your child that they will love.

Now to decide on upgrading the interior fabric on your child sleeping bag. I have two kids that have very different ways of sleeping. My son is always hot and my daughter is always cold. I decided to upgrade the interior of my daughter’s bag and not my sons. The bags come standard with broadcloth. You may upgrade to a flannel or even continue to upgrade to the luxury minky dot micro fiber fabric. The minky dot fabric is very plush and warm.

Last, do you monogram your child’s new sleeping bags? Most children take pride in ownership of their items, especially if their name is on it. You probably do not have to worry about your child getting their bags mixed up with other children because you probably already picked out a one of a kind custom sleeping bag. I can say for special features, personalizing the child’s sleeping bag does add a touch of excitement when the child sees it for the first time. The monogram and personalization is done on the pouch, so the child can see it when they are lying down. Then when they roll the sleeping bag into the pouch the name shows up on the outside of the pouch. Choose from 4 different font and 10 different thread colors for your child’s name or monogram.

My childrens have now made a family tradition of having a camp out almost ever saturday night in our family room, just so they can sleep in their cozy sleeping bags. The first thing your child will pack to go to a sleepover at their friends house will be their customized sleeping bag. Your child will enjoy their new bag for many years.

Learn more about Kids Indoor Sleeping Bags. Stop by Little Peoples Cove where you can find out all about Custom Kids Sleeping Bags.

Stacey Gifford Children child sleeping bags, Children, custom sleeping bags, indoor sleeping bags, kids sleeping bags, personalized sleeping bags

Definitions of English words often change quite rapidly these days. In the not-too-distant past the definition of words was often set in concrete. Today the meaning can change in the blink of an eye. With new and faster ways to exchange ideas and with wider and more culturally, socially and educationally diverse groups connecting together – words are put back on the hard anvil of evolution and transformed into something new and more reflective of current life and living.

There is a growing global movement where consumers are asking businesses to take care of the things that they care about. The request is mainly tacit and despite it being an ironic request it non-the-less signals that we are in a time of change. Consumers these days want their ‘goodies’ but they don’t want the environment to be destroyed in the creation of their ‘goodies’. They want cheap products but they do not want workers to suffer to create those cheap products.

There does not seem to be an answer to this conundrum and yet one does exist. It exists in the recoining or reforging of a single word. This word is a simple one – GET. Today, new movements of people who want to get but give at the same time are reforging it. It is being transformed into the word GIVE.

Every day automated email notices arrive from Google Alerts for two keywords – B1G1 and BOGO. I see all the new places these words are being used on the Internet. I can now see that the new meaning of these words is coming alive ‘poco a poco’ -little by little.

The B1G1 and BOGO acronyms both stand for Buy One GET One free. You buy one and you get given an extra one for free.

If you look on Wikipedia you will find these definitions for BOGO (there isn’t a definition yet for B1G1 – there will be soon when I write one!):

* An acronym in the retail industry that stands for Buy One Get One. For example, you could say “Buy 1 DVD, Get 1 FREE!

* An acronym in slang British that stands for Britons Of Greek Origin or Greek Britons.

* Bogo, Cebu, a city in central Philippines.

* An alternate name for the Bilen ethnic group of Ethiopia or their language, Blin.

* Norway, a village in Norway.

* The mascot of the ITESM CEM.

* Bogosort, an ineffective sorting algorithm

* BogoMips, an unscientific measurement of CPU speed

BOGO Lights – torches that give

There is an organisation in the USA called SunLight Solar founded by a gentleman called Mark Bent. He has created a special torch that not only is an amazing and robust solar-powered light; his company also gives a free torch to a family in need in developing nations for each one purchased. If you look on their website you will learn about their “BOGOlight”.

“The BoGo – our Buy one/Give one – program has successfully provided lights to many, many thousands of people in the developing world, changing lives because of your purchase and participation.” – BOGOlight.com

Mark Bent turned the acronym upside down when he started to use the word as part of his product name. For him now and the thousands who buy his lights, BOGO now means Buy One GIVE One. Each person gets to give a light every time they buy one for themselves. So now with each sale, people who do not have the luxury of electricity can harness the power of the sun to support their lives.

There are many other well known and many less well know businesses doing Buy One Give One giving, or transaction-based giving as its becoming known. Some of the famous companies are OLPC – One-Laptop-Per-Child and TOM’S Shoes. Some of the less well-known ones (in the US at least) are based in Oceania and the UK – Earthstar Publishing, Maple Muesli, Blinds Couture, Figure 8 Body Chains, Sunsplash Homes, Honestly Women magazine and Thavibu Gallery based in Thailand are just a small handful of these special businesses that are leading the Buy One Give One movement.

Many Buy One Give One businesses are uniting under the common banner of Buy1GIVE1 run by a social enterprise based in Singapore. Buy1GIVE1 is the home of transaction-based giving. Any business based anywhere in the world can now start doing Buy One Give One giving with ease. It is becoming like a ‘CSR plug-in’ allowing a business to instantly start giving from each and every product or service sale, starting from just one cent. And it is no longer about giving an equivalent product to someone else; instead it is about contributing to a project that resonates with a company’s activities. So for example a restaurant can feed a child, a TV manufacturer can give a cataract blind person the gift of sight (Get Vision-Give Vision), a magazine publisher can plant a tree for every subscription and a builder can build a low-cost family home for those in need (Buy1BUILD1) – the list is endless.

The stats now add up saying consumers do care. The 2008 Goodpurpose global study of consumer attitudes revealed that nearly a huge 68% of consumers would remain dedicated to a brand during an economic slump if it supported a charity cause. This study also highlighted some other key points as well such as:

* 54% would promote a brand and its products if there was a good cause behind it.

* 52% of consumers globally are more likely to tell others of a brand when it supports a good charity cause over one that doesn’t.

* Consumers are now voicing a clear desire for marketers to associate their brands to social causes. 42% say that if two products or services were of a similar quality and price, commitment to a cause outranks factors like innovation, design and brand loyalty when selecting one brand over another.

Transforming Getting into Giving

In the minds of consumers, Buy One GIVE One is expected to replace Buy One GET One as the new global giving movement led by Buy1GIVE1 spreads. Certainly with the massive sales results and consumer demand shown for companies like BOGOlights, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and TOMS Shoes, this tide will continue to spread and grow.

I did a recent Google search to find the top 25 keywords associated with the keywords BOGO and B1G1. The results were interesting indeed seeing none of them contained the word Give. You can see the results below. It will be interested to repeat this experiment in 12 months time to see what changes. Consumers are now starting to drive significant change and despite them wanting to receive free gifts (as in traditional BOGO/B1G1), they equally want to help others and the environment. This feeling is validated by 2008’s Goodpurpose global study.

Keyword results:

Free, networking, boots, groups, music, dallas, togo themes, wallpapers, buy, applications, skins, values, coupon, African, gift, photography, blogging, discount, sharing, shopping, pics, join, prose

Transactional or transaction based giving

Unlike normal charitable giving Buy One Give One giving is transactional. What is meant by that is: every time you buy something you give something. In the case of SunNight Solar they give a physical light for every light sold. In most cases, businesses that become part of this special form of transaction-based giving, give in a different way. At Buy1GIVE1, giving can start from just USD 1c contribution per sale. At this amount no business in the world can say they cannot give and 100% contributed goes to the cause.

The actual amount given from each and every sale is not the point of focus with Buy1GIVE1 transaction based giving. It is not about saying 10% is contributed or 5c from each sale – instead the focus is on the story and sharing the simple joy of giving. In the end, if you think that 1c is not a lot to contribute and is not likely to make much of a difference think again and consider the following.

From its origins in Ethiopia, where the main coffee production is still from wild coffee tree forests, coffee consumption has spread globally. Brazil is still by far the largest coffee producer in the world producing on average 28% of the world’s total coffee. In 2006 Brazil produced enough coffee to make 216,400,000,000 (216 billion four hundred million) espresso coffees. If we were to calculate across global production then we get a daily global consumption of around 2,117,416,830 cups of coffee – wow. The figures are somewhat hard to track down but let’s guess that 40% of the world’s coffee is sold and consumed in coffee shops then we would get that 846,966,732 cups are sold commercially each day globally – nearly 900 million. This would equate to about’5,485,714 cups in the US on its own seeing they purchase around 21% of the world’s coffee.

Now imagine that for every cup of coffee sold a child was given clean drinking water from its own well. It costs just 1cent per person per day to do this. Any coffee shop could afford to contribute this amount from the sale of a cup of coffee. Instead of clean water a coffee shop could contribute for the education of coffee farmers’ children, costing from 23cents per child per day. The options and stories are unlimited as well as the potential difference that Buy One Give One transactional giving can make to the lives of many.

Transaction based giving is the story of a thousand mile journey starting with the first step. To dig a well costs a few thousand dollars hence many communities in developing nations cannot afford to dig wells. But when you see that it only takes the sale of a single cup of coffee to give clean well water to a single person for a day1, then you can see the magic of transactional based giving. Buy1GIVE1 giving is like the compound interest of giving – a little turns into a lot very quickly.

Of course any company anywhere in the world can apply transaction-based giving to any of their products or services and do it on their own as some are like TESCO in the UK giving school uniforms to kids in Africa from every uniform purchased in the UK. And yet if companies choose to come together under a commonly recognised banner they have a greater effect. The ripple that one company creates adds to that of another and soon the tidal wave of change flows out into the world benefitting all the companies in the movement. This is the power of giving and doing things together.

The final power of Buy One Give One transaction based giving is that everyone wins – the consumer wins – at no extra cost to themselves they have made a difference through their purchasing choices – the business wins in so many ways – and the worthy cause or charity wins because they can now receive small amounts from many sources all aggregated and paid as a lump sum from a single source if done through the Buy1GIVE1 service.

A new start – a new world – new thinking

If you go and check Wikipedia.com today for the word BOGO you should find that a new definition has been added. It’s time for a tide-change – a change from focusing on GETTING to working with GIVING. I added this small addition to Wikipedia’s BOGO definition: “… an acronym in the marketing industry that stands for Buy One GIVE One.”

Simply imagine our world where every time you go and buy something you give something automatically and seamlessly – giving a gift forward to someone in greater need than you. This is the simple joyful magic of transactional giving.

This is the world I choose to be a part of.

Just remember – you don’t ‘get’ giving till you get giving.

References:

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

http://www.goodpurposecommunity.com/

http://www.tesco.com/greenerliving/what_we_are_doing/ethical_clothing.page

http://www.tesco.com/greenerliving/what_we_are_doing/ethical_clothing.page

http://www.scfnw.org.uk/site/article183.html

http://www.goodpurposecommunity.com/

http://www.dep.org.uk/globalexpress/13/page1.htm

Footnotes: 1 Calculated by taking the average cost to dig a well, dividing it by its average expected life without major maintenance divided by the number of people in the community benefiting from the well on a daily basis.

Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.

David Anttony Marketing Business, cause marketing, Children, csr, Education, Marketing, society

Northwoods Wisconsin Summer Camp what a great place for your kid. The .American Camp Association suggest you ask these top 10 questions.

What’s the camp’s Purpose? Is it Sports? Is it Traditional? Os it Science? Are you comfortable with this ? Is it a good fit for your child? Is competition or cooperation emphasized? Do you want religious observances or practices? Try to understand all parts of the program

What does camp do with staff? First aid training? Drug Testing? Do counselors have criminal background checks? What’s the training all about?

What about return rates? How many counselors are returning this year? How many campers are returning? ask the director why? Still looking for that perfect camp Check out this Summer Camps Wisconsin

What’s the ratio of counselors to campers? ACA guidelines for overnight camps call for a 1:6 ratio for ages 7 and 8, 1:8 for ages 9-14; and 1:10 for ages 15-18. Day camp guidelines call for 1:8 for children ages 6-8; 1:10 for children ages 9-14; and 1:12 for ages 15-18.

What’s the Staff Ages ? Eighty percent of the staff be 18 or older and that all staffers be at least 16 and a minimum of two years older than the campers they supervise. Are the staff a paid position or volunteers?

What about Health Care? Overnight camp have a licensed physician or registered nurse on the site daily, Day camps should be have direct phone access. Be sure you are comfortable that the camp will be able to handle your child’s special health care needs.

How does the camp handle conflicts and Discipline? Find out what the camp’s rules are and what breaches would result in a camper being sent home. You should be comfortable that the camp’s practices are in line with your parenting practices.

What does a typical daily schedule look like? This will help you decide if your child will be happy with the level of physical activity or the amount of time devoted to arts and crafts. Ask how much freedom a child has to choose activities.

Does the camp have vans for transportation? How often are camp vehicles inspected? Who will be driving them and what’s the training.

Get References and more References, Get the names of parents with children who have attended the camp. They will tell you what makes camp so special and why they want to return.

Still looking for a resource to help you sort out all the summer camp confusion? Try Summer Camp

About the authors: Swift Nature Camp, a non-competitive, traditional coed Wisconsin Summer Camp. Boys and Girls Ages 6-15 enjoy nature, animals and science along with traditional camping activities. Swift specializes in programs for the first time camper as well as adventures for teens. Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz have been the owners since 1996. Overnight Summer Camps in Wisconsin

Lonnie Lorenz Children camp, Children, families, kids, kids camp, leisure, Outdoors, Overnight Camp, Parenting, summer camp, vacation, wisconsin, Wisconsin Summer Camp, youth summer camp

The secret to get what you want is revealed. Simply by giving. The reasons are explained using the classic philosophical question: “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” The chicken and the egg, which forms the circle of life, serves as a profound analogy to giving and getting what we want: the circle of joy. The concept is explained in the clear and refreshing voice of Masami Sato, the author of ONE Book.

As human beings, most of us have yearnings for different kinds of things. And of course, the fundamental principles of economics tell us that while needs are unlimited, resources are not. This makes us think that the more resources we have, the more yearnings we would be able to satisfy. As such we tend to safeguard our resources. We would then feel that giving away these resources or splitting it between many would lessen the portion that can be used to get what we desire. This is the conventional win-lose strategy that is being played out.

Then, is it true?

What if the answer turns out to be “no”? What if it in fact contradicts the secret of attaining more? What if the secret of attaining more is in itself simple – by giving more?

One can get something just by giving something else. Exactly the way one can have eggs by raising chickens. As simple as that. Normal. Automatic. And it is a completely joyful experience.

First, let us start with a little analogy to explain more.

Chicken and Egg: the Cosmic Circle of Life

Many a philosopher has come out with this question from the beginning of time, “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”

The answer to this riddle is simple. It actually does not matter which came first, as both eggs and chicks are already here. Still, if we want to get better results, we can choose to start somewhere.

Giving and Taking: the Ring of Joy

What if we asked a different question? “Which comes first, giving or receiving?”

Again, if we want a better outcome, we should choose to start somewhere. Giving off things to others is certainly easier than striving to get it first!

What is the outcome, when we try to get it first?

If we hope to have something, surely we would try to acquire it. And once we get it, we would cling on to it. This is surely natural – it makes sense rationally.

But the actual upshot of ’striving to get’ is often not profusion and actual long-term recompense.

For example, wanting to see others being happy is not about getting the joy from them or controlling them to become happy. It is about how much joy we can give them and share with them. Period.

So where do we start to get what we want?

By starting from the other end of the circle- by giving generously!

When we are ready to give away first before we have even got what we hope for – what we are dreaming of – we are sending a strong message to ourselves which says, ‘there is enough, and more will come.’ It lets us feel the joy today – the joy of sharing.

All we need to do is give out the love in ample measures to others. It just returns to us. Giving love is the only way to be fully loved. When we acknowledge the greatness of others’ achievements, and their great qualities, again, that recognition comes back to us. They recognize us, because we are ready to recognize them.

In the same manner, if we want to have plenty in our life materially, financially, and mentally, we have to share in full measure with others, what we want.

Some would give more physically by giving their time. Some would give more financially by giving money away. The people who give more (time, money, kindness, love, ideas) have more of these things because that’s the balance. And balance is the natural law of life.

Remind oneself of the rules of the game.

Rule one: never hope to get anything in return when a thing is given.

When we have the anticipation that giving involves ‘getting’ something back, we become unhappy when we do not see the thing returning to us fast. We may even feel unhappy towards the one who gets the gift. And having a negative feeling for someone is definitely not a right state of affairs! So we can know the real pleasure of giving when we are doing it with the awareness that we are actually doing it for ourselves – we are doing it for our own pleasure!

Losing to win, giving to receive

It may initially feel like we are losing out. Yet at some level we know that getting without giving is not a sustainable life model. And we’ve known that from the very beginning. That’s why tithing has been such a natural part of the lives of many successful people. And they didn’t always do it publicly so it wasn’t done to gain a better reputation. It was just because that was the way it was.

Look around yourself. ‘Lesser’ creatures do it naturally. The bumblebees take the honey of the flowers and in return pollinate the flowers, thereby making them bloom. They do it in accordance with the laws of nature. They do not do it as a part of any law of justice. That is why they create permanence, without even making an attempt to do so.

Giving to another is just a role of who we are, it is the same as having; nothing more, nothing less. No confusion, no strings attached, just letting go easily.

The gist of getting more can be summarised into two steps: Give first, and do not hope to get anything in return.

When we let go and give generously, what we want will be delivered to us. Naturally.

Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. This and other unique content ‘women’ articles are available with free reprint rights.

Masami Sato Children BOGO, Business, cause marketing, cause-related marketing, Children, csr, Education, Marketing, society, women

Part One of Three

This collection of beautiful quotes that will inspire you to awaken your curiosity about the mystery of life is excerpted from “ONE”, a book by Masami Sato, the founder of Buy1GIVE which is a global giving organisation sharing the joy of giving. The quotes in this first edition include topics that are profoundly related to our everyday lives, such as mystery, judgment and connection. This article is the first part of the 3 “ONE Book Life-Changing Quotes Series”.

On transforming judgment

“Judgment often has very little relation to reality.”

“Actions and words don’t always accurately reflect who we are. Every single one of us has had the experience of wanting to undo what we did or said.”

On the mystery of life

“It’s very, very clear that we don’t need to know all of the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of life to keep living on this planet.”

“There are so many things we don’t understand in life. In spite of that lack of understanding though, we often enjoy experiencing those things.”

“Seeing is important but trying to figure out everything isn’t necessary.”

“The scientists are not here to reveal the ‘truth’ because we are here to seek it forever. They are actually here to complicate the game (of life) so that we can have more questions and enjoy the game longer.”

Connection

“Connection is the core of everything. That’s what life is. Connection.”

“Every single thing we do is to satisfy the need for connection.”

“We cannot feel unhappy when we are feeling totally connected. It’s impossible!”

“We are designed to constantly seek ways to connect to each other and to a greater purpose.”

“’solutions’ coming from fear and doubt may not be the most effective ways. We end up feeling more and more disconnected from each other.”

“We can only truly celebrate the victory with others when we win together. Then we feel connected.”

“This is the game called ONE. The aim of the game is to ‘connect’! We keep connecting until we all become ONE.

Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.

Masami Sato Business BOGO, Business, cause marketing, charity giving, Children, Christian giving, giving to charity, Marketing, society, women

Can’t making dreams come true be just as easy? Can’t we free ourselves of our doubts? Is it not possible? How can we do it in a way so that it looks as easy as brushing our teeth? This is an excerpt form the book named ONE by Masami Sato and it shows how it can be done step-by-step, getting one ready to start walking towards one’s dreams today.

We all have dreams. But not all of us have the faith in ourselves, that we can have and live those dreams in our lifetime. Actually, the secret to have such certainty is simple. And the reason why we doubt it so much is also straightforward.

We can now start by asking ourselves the first question..

Why don’t we do everything we always wanted to do?

Often, our thinking stops our actions. Often the more we think about it, the less we usually are committed to achieve what we originally wanted to do. Often the more we think about something, we come up with a greater number of reasons for not doing it.

Then is it possible to be certain that we will definitely accomplish what we want to do in our life?

Sure, absolutely! To start with, let us look at the power of habits

If we have to be present at a meeting tomorrow night, we would not be spending too much of time thinking whether we would be able to get there or not. We would not be worried about the possibility of having a car accident and failing to attend the meeting. In fact, when we go to use the toilet, we are unlikely to worry if it might be out of order.

We have so much more certainty about these types of ‘normal’ actions we take every day. They’re habits.

However, we doubt our dreams

The interesting part is that there are several things that we are not very sure about. These are the things that we really want to do in our lives – our Dreams!

Then, what is the secret for the conviction that we will accomplish our dreams?

First of all: Just make it a daily habit!

We can start being more certain about our actions to meet our desires-the type of desires that really nourishes our life.

So, for example, if your dream is to give and contribute to society and giving is a key desire in your life, there is no reason to doubt that it’s possible for you to contribute to others. It can just become one of your daily habits.

Second: Make it as important (and as easy) as brushing our teeth

Achieving our dreams can be just like brushing our teeth. It wouldn’t feel good if we didn’t brush our teeth for a long time, would it? We wouldn’t spend hours thinking of which toothpaste to use or delay the good feeling of having clean teeth for other ‘priorities’. We feel uncomfortable if our teeth are not clean. So we just clean them!

Looking at our example, if giving is what we desire most, then we should ask ourselves a few questions: What if giving is truly as important as brushing one’s teeth? What if it is giving us a comfortable feeling? What if it aids in remaining healthy?

Irrespective of how much or how little we own right now, we surely can start offering it and sharing it today. As such, no matter how improbable the realisation of dreams might appear, we can start walking towards them today. We can definitely do, if we see it as a crucial issue, a top priority that we should stick to every day! Then we will be uncomfortable if we do not do it. Just like cleaning our teeth.

and Third: Always give first, then we will get

When we give first before we actually fully have what we really want – what we dream of – we send a very powerful message to ourselves that says, “there is enough, and more will come”. It allows us to experience the joy today – the joy of giving.

If you want to be prosperous, be generous. And then you would be blessed with loads of everything. If you are knowledgeable enough to do so, do not be scared of teaching others. And you will learn more. If you want to share things, share freely. Do not expect anything in return. Just let go. And joy will automatically be returned to you. The simple joy o f giving.

Do not be scared of sharing and giving what you have, for it will not thwart your plans of achieving your purpose, whatever it may be. It may only help you to fulfil your dreams faster. And your journey there will be one of total contentment.

But are not habits very small, when compared to our BIG dreams?

Just do it, don’t worry about the ’scale’

Because anything can take place in life. We might get started in a pretty simple way. And these simple things might lead us to another act, and form there to another. Our confidence in our simple actions and executing them one by one constantly takes us forward. But if we feel that it is unfeasible to do something now because it is simply unachievable, it is unlikely to ever happen.

The secret to achieve your dreams has always been here, and will always be here. The people who create miracles, inspirations, and the real sense of joy, already know this. They are always using it.

Dreams and miracles are not accidents. We create them through our choices.

So, would you start walking towards your dreams today?

Contents are excerpted with minor modification from ONE, a book written by Masami Sato. To get a free copy of ONE, visit www.B1G1.com and start sharing the joy of giving. Feel free to use or republish the content of the above article, fully or partially, as long as it is preserved in its original content, with proper attribution to Masami Sato and www.B1G1.com.

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Masami Sato Personal Development caring for others, cause marketing, Children, Family, giving, healing, metaphysics, Personal Development, self development, self-help, spirituality, women, womens interests

Part 3 of 3

This collection of beautiful quotes will simply inspire you to live a life full of miracles. Joy is excerpted from “ONE”, a book by Masami Sato – the founder of Buy1GIVE1. The quotes in this edition include topics that are profoundly related to our everyday lives, such as mastering things, magic, honesty, imagination, problems, and simplicity. This article is the last part of the three “ONE Book Life-Changing Quotes Series”.

On mastering things

“When something more effective and easy comes along, we let go of the harder way very quickly without being ‘taught’.”

“Doing things we’ve never done can often seem very difficult and complicated until the day we actually try them out.”

“(Children) learn by playing and become the masters of the game. And they do it just by having fun.”

“Friends share with us what they think and feel. Teachers teach us what to do and how to do it. Coaches ask us who we want to be. Mentors show us who we can be. Masters show us who we really are.”

On honesty

“When we held back our feelings and said things only to please others, often we ended up upsetting someone later.”

“There is no such thing as an unbreakable promise for the future.”

Imagination

“Because in our imagination, we can do anything.”

Magic of life

“Miracles are not accidents. We create them through our choices.”

What problems?

“There are always reasons for everything to exist in this world. And so-called ‘problems’ and ‘issues’ only exist for us to see something beyond, so that we get to experience the next, positive transformation.”

“There was nothing to ’solve’, just something to share.”

On simplicity

“If we count all the things we love in our life, we may find the way to bring in more simplicity and joy into it”

“Maybe it’s actually all very simple. No worries-tomorrow is just another day!

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Masami Sato Personal Development BOGO, cause marketing, Children, David Anttony, giving, Personal Development, Quotes, women

A millionaire created through giving!

There is a Japanese folk tale about the power of giving and it exemplifies how we can get the most wonderful of gifts when we’re gifting things to others and are positive about what we have already got.

This is the folk tale.

A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit’s end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.

“I have always been honest and hardworking, but all my hard work never produced any reward for me. What am I doing wrong?”

He fell asleep near the altar just after he put the question. When he woke up in the morning, he saw in front of him one of the Gods he had seen in his dream, with a bright golden light around him. The God’s voice reverberated in his mind.

“When you wake up today, treasure the very thing you have in your hand and keep giving it generously to others on your way,” the God whispered.

The farmer was brimming with questions when he woke up but he tried to shake off his sleep and clear his mind of the strange but clear dream he had. However, he saw a bit of a straw in his hand. It must have remained on his clothes while he worked in his fields.

He was about to throw the straw away, but remembered what God had told him. Once again he sat down. Then he looked curiously at the bit of straw.

He sat still for a long time thinking what this meant. He had no clue why a piece of straw can be of any value to him. Then he saw a wasp flying around. It eventually landed on the tip of the straw. He caught the wasp and tied it to the straw with a piece of thread from his clothes. Now with a piece of straw with a flying wasp at the end, off he went on the path.

He had gone a little way when he found a small boy and his mother coming towards him from the other end of the road. The boy was weeping. When he said hello to the boy, the child noticed the straw that the man had with a wasp at one end. He stopped his weeping and wanted to have the straw. The farmer was hesitant to give it but then he remembered that God had asked him to value what we owned and also give it to others profusely. So he gave the straw to the boy. The mother was relieved as the boy stopped crying when he got the straw and the wasp. In return she gave the man three tangerines.

The farmer moved on. As he proceeded, he felt hungry. He was about to eat the tangerines when he again remembered that what was important was giving things to others, not giving it to himself.

The farmer was going over a steep hill and on the way he saw a merchant sitting under a tree. The man had a wooden box near him. The farmer wished the man. He appeared to be very tired. He saw the tangerines the farmer held and asked him if he would give it to him. The merchant told the farmer that he was very thirsty.

The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.

So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.

He continued to walk for a long time but did not see anyone again. So he decided that the silk could be what would bring him luck. He felt he should go to the town nearby and try to sell the silk.

But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.

“It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me.” With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people’s sight.

The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.

The farmer pleaded with them not to do that. He said he was ready to look after the animal. He said they can have the bolt of silk for letting him care for the horse. They agreed to the deal and left the place quickly.

Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he’d just passed.

He immediately went back to the stream, took off his shirt and soaked it in the fresh water so he could give water to horse. He returned to the horse still lying there on the ground. The farmer squeezed the wet cloth over the horse’s mouth. Very soon the horse began to respond and regained its consciousness, so the farmer pulled it up with all his might.

The horse finally stood up on its legs so the farmer could take the horse to the stream. As the horse took more water and ate some fresh green grass around the stream, it soon began to regain strength.

So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.

As the farmer made his way to the gate, all of a sudden the gate opened and an old man was standing there. The man looked drawn and he was hastening out onto the road. The old man took notice of the farmer as well as the animal standing nearby.

The old man asked the farmer what it was that he needed. The farmer said that he wanted a place where he could sleep at night. The old man queried the farmer if he would mind looking after the house till his return as he had to leave for the nearby town on a pressing matter. He also said that it might take some time for him to return.

Since the old man appeared to be in a hurry, the farmer said that he can use the horse. The old man felt glad about the gesture and accepted the offer. He left with the horse but before he left told the farmer something strange.

“If I do not return within three years, this house is yours.”

As you perhaps inferred, the old man did not return.

The farmer lived in the large house for the rest of his life with a land full of crops surrounded by kind neighbors happily ever after. But he never forgot to always give away the things he had.

I am grateful to you for reading this story. And how did you feel about it?

Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our ‘getting game’ into a ‘giving game’, our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.

The following are the interesting principles we can see in the tale:

* When we give the things that others want, they usually value it more than we value it while when we are trying to ’sell’ something (because fundamentally, we want to get something from the deal), they compare the value with our asking price and try to pay less.

* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.

* When we are down and out with the problems of life, instead of worrying about the negativities if we kept focus more on giving others and caring for them, life would surely bring glad tidings later.

* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that “this is the maximum it will bring”, as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.

Giving is intrinsic in the lives of many who have made it to the top. When giving is done first, we are better able to lead a life of grandeur, comfort and glory.

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When kids play kitchens you must be happy for this is an educational environment for them where responsibility and recognition of real life roles are being nurtured. You can turn your children’s rooms into a place where they can really be themselves. Check for the best choices in making your child’s room come alive with bright color, creativity and originality. It does not matter what gender the child has as long as the set up is fun for the little one.

Let them enjoy the environment so they can appreciate the beauty of nature. It will also give them more space to set up tables and chairs and create a make-believe world of having a restaurant and serving a customer. You can do this if the room is not spacious enough for the kids play kitchens. You can turn your idle backyard into an interesting place with these stuffs. It is alright if children get soiled especially the girls for that is part of the learning process.

With the kids play kitchens, children learn how to set the table and you can guide them with the proper table setting. They will also learn how to clean up their utensils and their kitchen apparatus like the stove and the oven. What is important is there is an adult who can guide and supervise them. This is one way of grooming the little ones for being responsible persons as they grow.

The love for work, virtue of patience and obedience must be instilled in their minds. When they are preparing food and setting the table that is already work and that can be really useful in the near future. Serving food on the table for a make-believe diner or customer is inculcating the virtue of patience and this is something they must live up with. You have taught them the importance of obedience when you teach them how to clean up their mess and they wash the utensil, dishes and other things they have used.

Parent-child relationship can be enhanced with these types of games. This may not be boring to the children for they are enjoying what they are doing as they like to do what you do. Children are great imitators and they follow what you do. They learn by examples so you must be ready to give them some good ones. Develop the cognitive skills of your child and his or her awareness of the facts of life through these kids play kitchens.

You may want to purchase kids play kitchens for your kids. This creates a type of bonding between parent and child. This is because they can learn new things especially how adults prepare food in their play kitchens for kids. Kids love to imitate their parents.

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