A Clever Spell

The weakest ink is better than the strongest memory. John Rickenbacker

Do you want to dramatically increase the likelihood of you meeting your goals for the new year? One of the simplest yet most powerful actions you can take is to write down your goals. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of everyday life that it then becomes all too easy to forget about your goals. I think the saying is “when you are up to your rear-end in alligators, it’s easy to forget your original intention was to drain the swamp.”

Put your goals down on paper. Keep them where you will see them everyday. Doing this will prevent you from saying around this time next year, “oh yeah, I remember those………”

Goals are dreams with deadlines - Diana Scharf Hunt

Set “achievement dates” for your goals. Otherwise, we get caught in the trap of “someday.” As in, someday I’ll do that. Check out your calendar. There is Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Notice that there is no someday. So not only does someday never come, it doesn’t even exist.

Make your goals public - Dr. Philip Humbert

Go public with your goals. Share them with family and friends. It increases the likelihood of you reaching your goals in at least two ways:

1) those close to you can hold you accountable

2) those close to you can encourage you and cheer you on.

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. - Thomas Edison, Inventor

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not through strength but by perseverance. H. Jackson Brown - A Father’s Book of Wisdom

In any endeavor worth doing, you will encounter difficulties and slips. Never, never give up and quit. Don’t die of thirst just a few feet from the water. You never know how close you may be to reaching your goal.

Each and every time you fall short, you have just learned something very powerful: you now know at least one more way that does not work. Discard it and keep going.

It really can be as simple, and as difficult, as the following Japanese proverb that says “Fall seven times, get up eight.”

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Debt elimination should be everyone’s goal. But, it is not. Unfortunately, many people live day to day with large debts floating above their heads. Is there any way to get out? The answer is yes. What those who are in debt need to do, though, is to commit to a solution to in effect get them the debt elimination that all should be after.

The priorities of debt elimination should begin with those credit situations that are a higher rate than others. For example, if an individual has two credit cards and one has a substantially higher interest rate than the other, the one that is the highest should be paid down first. This will help the overall payment amount to be much less in the long run.

Debt elimination needs to also be done in the fastest method possible. Many struggle with the decision of whether to have a savings or to pay off debt. This can be a difficult decision to make because you want to have both. In most cases, the best thing to do is to have an emergency fund in savings and then to work on debt elimination. In the long run, you’ll save yourself money.

Debt elimination is necessary for those who plan to retire one day or to do great things with their life. It is necessary to find a way to pull out of debt in order to make the most of your money. Taking the money you earn and not spending more than that allows you to gain more money in the long run because you are not paying those high fees and interest payments. It is important to instill in your children the need to save and spend only what they can afford. This starts with you working on debt elimination.

Ken Austin is the webmaster at http://www.creditreliefonline.com/
and http://www.myfinanceconnection.com/

5. Joey Gathright- Tampa Bay Devil Ray(OF, Minors)

Joey Gathright has been called the fastest player in the league, he’s even been called the fastest man in the world, but he hasn’t yet received big-league playing time. Gathright could be that guy, who gets to the 100 SB mark. He’ll have to wait however with a crowded list of OF’s on Tampa Bay. Joey Gathright is so fast, so athletic that he can jump over a car… the long way. “But I can’t do it anymore,” Gathright said. “It’s in my contract. I’m not allowed to jump over cars anymore. Can’t jump fences, either.” Gathright could get a call to the majors sometime in 2004. Steals projection this season: 45, between Minors and Majors.

4. Rafael Furcal- Atlanta Braves(SS)

If Rafael Furcal got more SB opportunities he could easily steal 50+ bases in a single season, but the Braves don’t send him enough. Furcal stole 25 bases last year, and was caught stealing just twice. With Furcal’s speed, he should get twice as many steals as he did last season. In 2000, Furcal stole 40 bases, so why aren’t they sending him now? SB aside, Furcal showed his speed last season when he scored 130 runs in the Braves leadoff role, good enough to place him 3rd in the majors. With some of the big-name sluggers gone from Atlanta, the Braves need to find a new way to produce runs, and Furcal will be a key part in that. Steals projection this season: 40

3. Carlos Beltran - Kansas City Royals(OF)

Carlos Beltran stole 41 bases last season, and was only thrown out 4 times. That’s a ration of 10 steals per 1 time being thrown out, and thats an amazing ratio. Beltran can not only run the basepaths well, but he hit 25 HR, batted in 100 RBI and batted .307 last season. Carlos Beltran is an all-around fantasy god. He should steal more bases this season, because he missed 20 games last season due to injuries. Carlos Beltran is a 4-10 pick overall, and he won’t disappoint you with his speed. Steals projection this season: 55

2. Juan Pierre - Florida Marlins(OF)

Pierre led the leagues in SB last season, so why isn’t he the top speedster? Well he did get CS 20 times. Pierre is on a Florida team that loves to run, 5 Florida hitters stole double-digit bases last season, and Pierre was their leader. Batting at the top of the order, Pierre would get on base and then he would proceed to try to steal second. Pierre attempted a steal about once every 3-4 times he got on base. Pierre’s fantasy value skyrocketed last season, and he should get around the same amount of steals this season as he did last year. Steals projection this season: 58

1. Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Devil Rays(OF)

So you might be asking, why Crawford over Pierre or Beltran? Carl Crawford stole 55 bases last year, in his first full season, Crawford stole 55 bases and was CS 10 times. That’s 5.5 SB per 1 CS, which is a whole lot better than Juan Pierre’s ratio. Crawford should only improve his speed over the next few seasons, in which his whole team will be improving around him. In his best season Crawford could steal 70+ bases and score 120+ runs. Steals projection this season: 63

About The Author

Kevin Bourassa is a writer for http://www.sportznow.com.

kevin@sportznow.com