--------------------- Welcome to *CATLINES* the MEWsletter! For cat-loving Home Business PURRSons: Home business workers desiring to share what they know. --------------------- NEW! MY KITTY BLOG: http://mycatablog.blogspot.com ~~~~~~~ A Place To Rethink: NEW! http://www.anotherwaytoday.com Corresponding blog: http://www.anotherwaytoday.blogspot.com ~~~~~~~ Brand NEW! SCENTLINES for candle-loving home-business persons! http://www.radiantsoy.com http://www.candlesaglow.biz (soy/veg candles, bath and body products; new, great company!) -------------------- Remember to Help the feline population by adopting or fostering stray, hungry, frightened cats! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ===================== F R E E G I F T F O R Y O U http://www.powerpointerspage.com/185104/freebook.pdf ===================== New entries on our website; come check them out! Something there just for you! http://www.catliness.com (We have animal-theme jewelry, Kitty Toys and dishes there for you!) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ EBAY; we finally made it!  Bid now!  Bid Often! http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/meowheart/. ******* >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< *CATLINES* vol. 3, Issue 11, January 15, 2005 Published monthly (most of the time) by http://www.catliness.com (in nine lives of progress) WINNER OF THE GOLDEN WHISKERS AWARD http://www.meowhoo.com hosted by Katherine Cook at: http://www.katstorm.com ===================== Editor: Lauren Merryfield =======>^..^<===== Treats For January (Note: copy the links into your browser to make them work; music and great verses you don't want to miss!) Happy New Year Celebrate http://www.mamarocks.com/mamas_links53.htm ******* An old English blessing I've always liked. Su God bless thy year, Thy coming in, thy going out, Thy rest, thy traveling about, The rough, the smooth, The bright, the drear, God bless thy year! ******* http://home.att.net/~Poofycatt/newyear.html (Every day is hug your cat day!) ******* ===================== >From my friend, Chris L.  She sells everything! http://tishtreasure.zoovy.com ===================== CATTICAL MEWSIC! It's the cat's meow! as one album owner wrote: "... is bright, fresh and irresistible. It's catnip for the ears." To learn more about the Symphonia Felina album  and Forestdale album, (available online only) and ClydeSight 2.0!, visit the Forestdale Music Album Web Site for playing samples: http://www.clydesight.com/forestdale/samp.html Tim Thompson ClydeSight Productions C.H.U. (Clyde's Human Unit) Clyde Big Paws, Feline Unit 236.8v2 1990-1997 "Clyde Big Paws--Keeping the Memory Alive" Visit ClydeSight2.0! the website of Clyde the Cat at: http://www.clydesight.com and Clyde's mewsical extraveganza, Concert at CLAW http://claw.org/theater/clydeconc/startpg.shtml ===================== _____________________ If you are receiving this newsletter, either you subscribed recently or received a copy from a friend. Thank you for joining and accepting our catly ezine, ads and other notices from catliness.com! _____________________ To do the uncatly thing, send an email to: mailto:info@bizofchoice.com with unsubscribe catlines in the subject. Thanks. And if you do it--you just may have Jaspur Jaws to answer to, lol. _____________________ >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< (4 kitty heads, representing Jaspur, Mikey, Gabrielle and Maryah, suPURRvisors and helPURRs in these adventures into catliness.) ===================== >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< And now! ... 4 cats present... * CATLINES * ===================== Table of contents: 1: Kibble Nibble: mewsings from the food bowl (editorial) 2: Kitten Kabootle's Kubbyhole (catly writings) (in loving memory of Kitten Kabootle, now living at Rainbow Bridge) 3: biz-catskills (home-business, motivational or general biz articles) 4: look what the cats dragged in (jokes, quotes, very brief verse) 5: from Outside the catbox (questions, comments from readers) 6: subscription info and other strays ===================== Weekly Drawing - Win a FREE Gourmet Soy Candle 16 oz and yummy to the bottom of the jar! Enter up to once a day at - http://www.candlesaglow.biz "When all candles be out, all cats be gray." --John Heywood ===================== 1: Kibble Nibble: mewsings from the food bowl (editorial) Happy New Year, all cat-loving home-business PURRsons! It's a good thing I did not make any new year's resolutions; I would probably feel guilty about not following through on them. If you remember last mnth's frantic note, things have slowed down some but we are still not entirely out of the other house and we still have boxes to unpack. I am having some of my clothes and other items sold on eBay by 99walker.  He is a power seller and we have made a payment arrangement that coud work out for both of us. His nephew, Alex, may feel quite differently about this now that the teenage boy has older women's clothing hanging in his closet--all the more motivation for getting them sold, right? We are very excited about beginning some new advertising methods, some of which I will bring to your attention elsewhere in this ezine.  You are more than welcome to join in, to help your own advertising efforts. And check out those candles!  They make great gifts, great fundraisers, and more!Valentine's Day is around the corner.  So are spring, Easter, Mother's Day and other days for candle light. Thanks Lauren Merryfield @@@@@@@ ~~~~~~~ ATTENTION ADVERTISERS: Beginning with the March, 2004 Issue: Advertise In Catlines Newsletter We offer two forms of advertising to our subscribers. Solo ads and feature ads. (See catliness.com for directions) ******* Please remember the free ad board for placement of your free ads--read below. --------------------- Catly Resources: (I do not make any money on these) Association For Pet Loss And Bereavement: http://www.aplb.org ******* Cat Collectors' Site: (NOTICE: brand new address): http://p075.ezboard.com/binternationalcatcollectorsclub ******* Cat-writers' site: http://www.catwriters.org ********************* For the very best litter, check out the following: http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com ********************* For help with excessive scratching/clawing: (too late for our couch) http://www.stickypaws.com ) ********************* ===================== Paid ads: http://www.catliness.com and free ads at: http://www.freeadboard.com/?pro=470 ===================== 2: Kitten Kabootle's Kubbyhole (catly writings) Bias In Taking Suggestions Affects Cat by Lauren Merryfield I have just been through a situation on a cat list that has me pretty upset. I've had it happen many times in my life when someone will not listen to me just because I can't see and therefore, whatever I think just doesn't count; has no merit. It happens now and then even in my family; especially on Jim's side. Some people on a cat list will get help from several members, really appreciate it, but either ignore my help or consider it not to be equal caliber help. They'll thank all the rest and then turn around and chew me out--usually off list.   I think this happened over the weekend on another list and a poor, innocent, reabandoned cat may be suffering partly due to it. I am not responsible for what others might believe about humans with disabilities, but I am quite certain that my being disabled influenced this person's not listening to me strongly enough to consider consequences to a dear little cat.  This person has reacted to me this way before, and pretty much says so in her posts to me. A woman who lived near this person moved and left her cat behind. The person in question decided to take the cat in at least temporarily, but she really didn't think she could afford another cat, since she had several of her own. The abandoned cat did not take well to this person's cats (she did not keep the abandoned cat in a separate room) so her cats were all upset and the new cat was bitey and otherwise acting out. The thing is, this person took it personally and was saying that the cat was biting her, her husband, and the other cats and being on bad behavior toward them when it wasn't their fault; after all, they were trying to provide a home for her and were feeding her, etc, etc, etc.  You know, the "after all I did for you???" thing that some parents do to their kids; that kind of thing. This person became so angry that she vowed to get rid of the kitty; to take the kitty to a shelter. She did this without trying the suggestion of keeping the kitty in a separate room. She did this without taking the kitty to a vet to see if she had any other problems besides psychological upset.  I and a few others had suggested this but it was like she was so angry at this poor, abandoned, displaced kitty, that she took it out on the kitty by getting rid of her. Then she took it out on me for "telling her what a bad person she was and how she did a terrible job taking care of cats, " etc, when all I had done was, as others had done, was to suggest keeping the kitty in a separate place; taking her to the vet, giving her extra attention, etc, and, in making her decision, to please think about the consequences to the cat. She said that since I couldn't see, what would I know anyway? She even insisted that it was really Jim who was raising our cats.  This is not true, especially when he is at work all day and occasionally in the hospital. She said she didn't mind suggestions from the others, but mine were not wanted.  I told her I didn't care what she thought of me; I cared about what was going to happen to the kitty. I know that sometimes cat placements do not work out, but it really bothers me when, well, especially when, cat-lovers, who have raised lots of cats, fly off the handle like this, with no concern about what will happen to this cat and many others, now. Will some good-hearted, patient person come along to retrain this kitty or will she just be euthanized because she is aggressive? I do not know. Maryah was quite a mess when we first took her, too, but we had been warned that so far she had not made it in 4 other placements.  But we took care, like we always do, about keeping Maryah in the bathroom with her own stuff at first, until they all seemed ready to meet each other. When Jaspur scolded maryah, I was aware of it; knew he wasn't killing her, and asked him quietly to be careful not to scare or hurt Maryah.  Jaspur knows what "hurt" and "scare" mean. Maryah is still skitty but she doesn't bite or scratch and sometimes these guys spend time together and sometimes not; they do whatever comes natural for them, even when we moved recently. They really did such a good job at acclamating to the new home and I told them how proud of them I was and what good kitties they were.  They all know what "good kitty" means. If we'd only kept Maryah for a couple days or had just left them all to kiss or kill, who knows but what she might have had yet another bad placement.  If I'd become angry about the bloody scratches on my legs and hands, and just dumped her back into a shelter, would she have had just another bad placement--or might she have been euthanized?  Our sweet, cute, funny, very smart Maryah? No way! I mean, I am no guru; I am not well-known for doing all kinds of cat research.  None of my cat writings would ever win in certain arenas, however, cats trust me.  Cats do not care what my worldly accomplishments might be. They care that they are loved, cared for, socialized, nurtured, with a patience and heart only known really inside the walls where we live.  (And, to some extent, shared here in CATLINES.) I did not say "I told you so" to this person, or that she was a "bad person," or "bad kitty sitter," etc, though she seemed angry at my suggestions. This kind of lack of education; lack of intuition or lack of connection with cats--I do not know the words to call it right now--I feel some anger and lots of sadness for this poor kitty! I feel sad because I know that this kitty is not the first or last cat to meet such a well-intended, but inappropriate reabandonment. Thanks for listening!  I just needed to get it off my chest and I know, for a certainty, that there are many on this list who will really honestly, realistically know of which I write.  After reading CATLINES for nearly four years, certainly you know my genuine love and concern for all felines of the universe! @@@@@@@ PEANUT Peanut, a resident cat at Heartland Veterinary Hospital, doesn't see that other animals are sick. Somehow, she feels it. Despite her blindness, Peanut has taken on the role of nurse at the hospital. When other animals come out of surgery, she slides into their cages to watch over them. She snuggles up to or lies across the patients. Sometimes she grooms them, too. Just before or right after the patient wakes, Peanut leaves. Michelle Stephenson, a veterinarian at the hospital, has seen some interesting animal behavior. She's seen mama cats take in puppies and mama dogs look after kittens. But she's never seen anything quite like Peanut. "She wants to get right in there with them," Stephenson said. "Sometimes I wonder if she knows we saved her life or something." Perhaps Peanut feels she must return the kindness she received about a year ago. The hospital staff took in Peanut Dec. 19, 2003. She had somehow found her way to the front porch of a former hospital employee. She was a scrawny mess. "Her eyes were completely scabbed shut with infection," Stephenson said. The starved cat, estimated to be 2 or 3 years old at the time, weighed 3 pounds. The hospital staff treated the cat's eyes, but it was too late. The infections left blinding scars. Still, they did fatten her up. She now weighs 6 pounds â?" a healthy weight for her height. Stephenson figures Peanut had been on her own for some time and didn't get the nutrition she needed when she should have been growing the most, leaving the cat with a petite frame. Janet Morris, for one, is glad Peanut made a comeback. Last month, Morris' 10-year-old golden retriever, Rajah, underwent surgery at Heartland Veterinary Hospital. Doctors removed a large tumor from the 100-pound dog's side. Shortly after the operation, Rajah started hemorrhaging and doctors performed a second surgery. Afterward, Morris went into the kennel area to visit Rajah. Peanut was lying beside the dog. The tiny cat's arms were stretched out as if she were trying to hug Rajah's neck. "It was just so incredible," Morris said. "It made all of us cry." Despite a heavy dose of painkillers, Rajah was awake enough to wag her tail at the sound of her owner's voice. Rajah seemed to appreciate the sound of Peanut purring, too. Morris said the purring seemed to soothe the dog. Peanut stayed in the cage for about three hours, licking Rajah's ears and head and playing with her fur. Normally, Rajah wouldn't let a cat near her. Anytime she sees a cat, the hair on her neck spikes, she growls and does all she can to chase it, Morris said. But she didn't mind Peanut. Even when the painkillers wore off, Rajah just sniffed and rubbed noses with Peanut. "It was as if she knew that was the cat that helped nurse her back to health," Morris said. Rajah's 15-inch incision is still healing, but she's otherwise back to her old self. The first time Peanut curled up beside a surgery patient, Stephenson thought it was a fluke. Maybe the cat just liked the patient's heating blanket, she thought. The cage door was left open to save time because sedated animals have to be examined so often. "It just started happening over and over again," Stephenson said. If the cage door is shut, Peanut will pace back and forth until someone lets her in. The little blind cat has had as much impact on the humans at the hospital. She loves to play and oozes with personality. "We started treating her and just absolutely fell in love with her," said technician Robin King. The staff adopted her and she lives at the hospital. They named her Peanut and gave her the nickname Peanutter because of her size. Even if she put on some extra weight, the name will still fit thanks to one of her favorite playtime activities. She has an obsession with packing peanuts. When shipping boxes come into the office, Peanut will climb onto the boxes, waiting for someone to open them. If the contents are wrapped in bubble wrap, she'll sulk, Stephenson said. The staff loves her so much, they've made her a mascot of sorts, Stephenson said. In each employee's car, a picture of Peanut hangs from the rearview mirror. The ornaments include the words, "It's all about her," reminding the employees that they do their jobs to help all animals just like they helped Peanut. By Sarah Baker www.newsenterpriseonline.com/articles/2004/12/05/news/news3.txt @@@@@@@ Dear Lists, I'm forwarding an e-mail that came  out of the ASPCA's Public Information Office today. Please feel free to share widely. Marion Special Projects Editor National Programs Office American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 110 Fifth Avenue, Second Floor New York, NY 10011 (212) 876-7700, ext. 4444 The devastation wreaked by the tsunami in South Asia was not reserved for humans alone. The toll the damage has taken on the area's animal population is catastrophic and requires an immediate and large-scale response. A large starving dog population on the island of Phuket, Thailand, as well as an absence of food and water for animals --  be they farm animals, endangered wildlife, sea life or dogs and cats -- in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have rallied several international animal rescue organizations to action. World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) are currently dispatching their disaster relief teams to the hardest hit regions in order to provide food and veterinary supplies. Both organizations are accepting donations through their Disaster Relief Funds. Links to both organizations appear below: http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/392_tsunami_s_animal_victims.cfm http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=3 Thank you. -Luiza Grunebaum Coordinator, Public Information Luizag@aspca.org (212) 876-7700, ext. 4648 @@@@@@@ ===================== (note: this ad is from our former webperson before we found our current managed account with Katstorm&co.) *ANNOUNCING!!* MOMMY ADS! Undeniably one of the best online resources for WAHMs. Fantastic at Home Business ideas! A multitude of Targeted Traffic Generators! Secure your *exclusive* listing today! http://www.mommyads.com ===================== MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW Lauren Merryfield is the editor/publisher of CATLINES.  She and her husband, Jim, live in Washington with their four feline "kids," Jaspur, Mikey, Gabrielle and Maryah. Daughter, Lynden, lives in Nebraska, Lauren's homeland. Lauren has been published in several magazines and books including "The Braille Monitor," "Future Reflections," (national Publications) and "News From Blind Nebraskans," state newsletter. "Heartwarmers of Love," an anthology, contains her story "Love Far Beyond The Physical," concerning the marriage to her husband Jim. Her story "Kabootle: Rescue Cat," was published in an anthology by Angel Animals, entitled "God's Messengers: what animals tell us about the Divine." Her essay "My heroes three" appeared in the August, 2004 edition of the CF Alliance Newsletter, (fibromyalgia.) Her poem "Missed Opportunities" was published in FibroHugs book of poetry 2004. Lauren is a member of the Cat Writers' Association: http://www.catwriters.org and co-owner of http://www.catliness.com where one can join CATLINES. She has recently opened her first honest-to-goodness online store, selling cat-theme jewelry items, some are one-of-a-kind: http://www.catliness.com She is now a member of the APLB--Association For Pet-Loss And Bereavement, receiving a diploma in counselor training in May of 2004. http://www.aplb.org and, Heaven forbid, says Jim, the Cat Collectors' Club: http://www.catcollectors.org And even *more* "Heaven forbid," she's on Ebay: EBAY!  We're there!  Bid Now! http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/meowheart/. She is enjoying spreading her catliness around! MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW --------------------- InstantAudio Put audio in your emails, on your website; isn't that cool! Join us today: http://instantaudio.com/specialinfo.asp?x=34122 --------------------- (It is quite possible that many of the "author unknown" catly writings appearing in CATLINES are those of Mark Mason at: http://www.catdiary.com ) --------------------- 3:  Bizcat Skills Resolutions You Can Keep The classic "New Year's Resolution" has become so cliché and so over-used, that we joke about how quickly we break our resolutions, completely ignoring the fact that we are, indeed, breaking a promise to ourselves when we do so. It's likely that resolutions for the new year suffer a great deal of misunderstanding. They are seen as throw-away promises to ourselves, and it's pretty common for most folks to break the resolution a week or two later (completely forgetting it was ever a promise made at all...) The truth is, if you don't take the promise seriously when you first make it, there's no real reason to continue to try to keep that promise. If it's done as a joke or on the spur of the moment some New Year's Eve, why would you expect yourself to hold to that promise for an entire year? But there's another sort of New Year's Resolution... the kind we definitely should pay close attention to and do our best to stick to. These are the kinds of resolutions that come as the result of introspection and reflection, of a true desire for change or goal attainment. If your resolutions this year truly affect your health, your life (and the way you want to live it) and your family and friends, then perhaps it's worth a good look at ways to make such promises more than empty good intentions. The most common resolutions every year, worldwide, are to lose weight and to stop smoking. Both terribly important to your health, well-being, and ability to be here year after year to keep making resolutions at all. There are others as well... and many of them affect your day-to-day life. Perhaps you'll resolve to read books that will help you deal with anger or depression or self esteem issues. Perhaps you might even resolve to get counseling for certain things that you've been trying hard to deal with on your own, but haven't been quite successful with. But how do we stick to these resolutions? Here are some tips to help make your resolutions for 2005 more than just empty promises:   1.. Be Specific.   Instead of saying "I'm going to lose weight this year," or "I'm going to stick with my low carb diet this year", say "I'm going to take an active roll in counting my carb grams and calories each day until I find what works for me."   Or instead of "I'm going to have more willpower to stay away from temptation this year", say "I'm going to have a plan for how to deal with temptation this year and how to tell people 'no'." Then write up the plan. Prove to yourself you've done what you said.   Have a contingency plan for when you are tempted. For instance, if you want to smoke, go for a walk instead, or call a friend.   If you say that you're going to write more letters to friends you may or may not do so, but if you say that you're going to write at least two letters a week to friends, you have a specific goal that you can measure and verify, and you'll have written over 100 letters in 2005. Make your resolutions quantifiable and verifiable.   b.. Be Realistic.   Don't promise to lose twenty pounds by Valentine's Day if you can't do it. Very few people can safely lose that much weight that quickly.   Don't promise to always clean your house every single day. Don't promise to give half of your earnings to charity if you can't afford it.   The more realistic you are, the more likely you'll be to stick to your resolutions, and the more pride you'll get out of having accomplished something valuable.   c.. Be Prepared.   Lasting change means being prepared to make sacrifices. If you're resistant to making the necessary sacrifices, ask yourself why. Many people resist change because they're afraid of the unknown. Unhealthy habits may be harmful and detract from your quality of life, but they're familiar, and for many that's reason enough to keep them.   The best way to overcome this fear of the unknown is to make yourself fully aware of the consequences of not changing your current habits, and the advantages of adopting new behaviors. Make a list of the pros and cons of smoking, for example. A "pro" might be the relief from tension smoking brings you. A definite "con," however, is the greatly increased risk of cancer and heart disease; and its interferrence to making a lowered carb diet work to its best ability. Seeing the consequences of a bad habit in black and white may make fear of the unknown less imposing and make change more desirable.   d.. Be Others-focused.   If all of your resolutions focus on yourself and what you want, you'll be ignoring one of the great truths in life -- we find happiness and self-satisfaction in doing things for others.   Want a happier life? Then don't resolve to become happier. Instead, resolve to do one good thing every day for someone else, with no recognition or reward.   These can be simple deeds such as helping a stranger carry something from the store to his or her car, or donating a dollar when the person in front of you in the check-out line comes up 95 cents short. Simple things that cost us very little in life and invariably bring us happiness and better self-esteem.   e.. Keep Reminders Visible.   Write down and post these resolutions where you'll see them many times every day. Remind yourself constantly that you have a goal this year, and that you're working to reach this goal.   f.. Get a Support System.   Form a support system of friends and family, who will cheer you on and also challenge you to stick to your goals.   g.. The One Resolution Everyone Should Make.   Find time for yourself, and spend it doing something you enjoy. It might be reading, painting, hiking, writing, playing an instrument, making crafts, almost anything. If you don't have a hobby you can do by yourself, find one! Being able to enjoy time spent alone is important; it helps you remember who you really are. Take credit for success when you achieve a resolution, but it is a mistake to blame yourself if you fail. Instead, look at the barriers that were in your way. See how you can do better the next time and figure out a better plan to succeed. You do get to try again and can make behavior changes throughout the year, not only at New Year's. Remember that there's nothing wrong with Easter resolutions or Birthday resolutions! Neil and I wish you a Healthy and Happy 2005! http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/magazine/lclnewsvol06-no1-pg1.html @@@@@@@ Allen Says... Dr.Mani does... Allen says... You spend the exact same effort to promote a product that pays you a one time $10 commission as you do to promote a product that pays you $10 every month. Dr.Mani reads... You should concentrate ONLY on residual income schemes which pay commissions long after the hard work of selling had ended. Then Dr.Mani acts... I chose programs with residual income potential to promote actively. One of them had too high an attrition rate to be profitable. Be careful in your research BEFORE promoting any of these. One of the best performers for me has been NICHEOLOGY by Jimmy D.Brown and Ryan Deiss. The idea of getting paid for months after the initial work is done can grow on you - until, as Allen says, you won't promote single sale producst at all. Here's the method I followed:  Created a short report highlighting the benefits of niche marketing  Mailed out a letter to my list  Followed up, right until the day the site closed doors to new applications  Offered added value by offering membership to Affitrain and offering a set of 'Power Tools' for formatting sales letters for the Nicheology products to my sign-ups Profit: $250 a month      Time & Effort: Medium ******* Allen says... "How To Double The Impact AND The Sales Of Your Book!" Call it a system and NAME that system... Dr.Mani reads... Turning the lessons you teach in an ebook into a step-by-step process others can implement, and then giving it a catchy name, will help sell more volume - at higher prices. Then Dr.Mani acts... I tested this out on my list by offering them N-POD, projecting it as a system rather than a set of tapes. The response was ecstatic. Then I went back and re-created my own product and packaged it as a course - and called it Ezine ANTI Marketing. Priced it at $197 and made a number of quick sales, got awesome testimonials, landed several JV deals. Profit: $8,000      Time & Effort: Medium ******* Allen says... Your customers will pay you 10 times more to do it for them than they will for you to teach them how to do it themselves Dr.Mani reads... Most people write ebooks which teach buyers how to do things. But what most folks want is 'ready to go' solutions. Create these instead of 'how to' books. Then Dr.Mani acts... This has been the MOST profitable idea I've ever heard in my 7 years online. And I created a line of products with premium pricing - and all have been HOT sellers.  Power Niche Minisites - click here for details  Instant Niche Minisites - learn more here  Smart Niche Minisites - check it out Revenue: $45,000+ this year    Time & Effort: High ******* Allen says... I would write reports for the newcomers that educates them about the real value of what you're wanting them to buy. I would pick out a product that made me a good commission, say $60 to $150 per sale. Dr.Mani reads... You should practice education marketing in a subtle form - by creating info-products (as PDF documents with your links baked into them) which highlight the benefits of a product, then making it viral. It helps if there is a 2-tier affiliate program, as you can create it for your affiliates to use. Then Dr.Mani acts... I first tried this with my N-POD report for Joshua Shafran's course which pays affiliates $400 for each sale. It was downloaded over 400 times. I made 12 sales, passively. I next created the "Directory of Marketing," special report for Charlie Page's excellent member site. It is still being passed around, and while it hasn't been as profitable, the program pays residual income - so there's still life in it! Profit: $4,800      Time & Effort: Medium ******* Allen says... There's one critical reason why most people fail at making money on the Internet... They ignore the power of learning how to write copy. It's the copy that makes the difference... Nothing you will ever do will be as important or powerful. Dr.Mani reads... Stop everything else you're doing and work on writing better copy. Seriously. Get books, join courses, practice daily. Then Dr.Mani acts... I signed up for the AWAI Michael Masterson's "Accelerated Six Figure Copywriting" program and bought every recommended copywriting book I could - and am reading them, practicing, doing exercises daily. Here's a short list:  Web Copy That Sells - Maria Veloso  Million Dollar Web Copywriting - Terry Dean  Turn Words Into Money - Ted Nicholas  Method Marketing - Denny Hatch  Copywriting for the Web - Bob Serling Profit: $3,000 in 3 months      Time & Effort: High @@@@@@@ Column By Jim Donovan ----------------------- How Big Are Your Questions? It doesn't get any simpler than that. As with most real wisdom this idea, expressed so beautifully by Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of "Chicken Soup for the Soul," is very simple to understand and even simpler to implement. If you want a bigger outcome ask a bigger question. I'll take Mark's idea a step further and add that if you want a better outcome, ask a better question. In "Handbook to a Happier Life" I offer the suggestion of using empowering questions like "What am I grateful for?, What am I looking forward to?, and What am I happy about?" when you first awaken as a way to start your day off on a happier note. What about using questions to get a bigger result? For example, let's suppose you own your own business, as I sincerely hope you do. Even a small part-time business will not only give you a little or a lot of extra income, but more importantly will give you added peace of mind since you will feel more in control of your income. This can be an important distinction in our current uncertain job market. By the way, you can expect the uncertainty in employment to continue as more and more companies tighten their corporate belts and view people as a resource to be used on an as-needed basis rather as than someone to hire for lifetime employment. So, you have your business, the economy is a little slow and you want to increase your revenue. You've calculated that five new clients or customers would make up the difference in business and income so you've been asking yourself, either formally or informally, "How can I attract five new customers?" As soon as you ask yourself a question, your conscious and subconscious mind go to work coming up with the answers and you are given new ideas that are in alignment with your question. You will begin thinking of ways to attract the five new customers that you want. Now, what if you were to ask, "How can I attract 50 new customers?" You guessed it. Your mind will immediately go to work coming up with idea for you to attract 50 new customers. How would that feel? Recently I asked myself a bigger question with regard to my exercise regimen. I had been doing aerobic exercise three days and strength training two days each week. One day I was inspired to ask, "How would I feel if I exercised as many days as I can for the month of June?" As of this writing, it is June 24th and I have exercised 21 days so far this month. I feel great, I'm reaching my health and fitness goals faster and I have more energy than before. Keep in mind that what caused this change was simply a different, in this case, bigger question. In what area of your life could you use a bigger question to bring you toward an even more fulfilling life? Using a question to make unpleasant tasks more fun. By asking ourselves better questions, we get better results. Typically when we have an unpleasant task ahead we ask what I call a "lousy question." We ask "Why me? Why do I have to do this?" I remember years ago my brother, the youngest in the family, asking my father this question when he was told to take out the garbage. My father without missing a beat replied, "Because you have no seniority." Rather than asking an equally disempowering question, the next time you are faced with a task you'd rather not do, ask a better question. You might ask for example, "How can I do this and make if fun?" I know people who have used this and are now cleaning their houses with dance music playing. Personally I find my treadmill time at the gym much easier to take when I have a tape playing in my tape player, plus I get the added benefit of increasing my mental capacity as I work out. By asking bigger and better questions, you can dramatically impact the results your experience in your life and have more fun at the same time. What new, empowering question could you formulate to help propel you toward your goals? ___________ Jim Donovan is a motivational speaker and the author of several books who asks, if you had all the information and tools you needed to live your dream life, would you use them? Yes? Then take advantage of his special, limited time offer at http://getmotivation.com/qk.cgi/jimdonovanbk @@@@@@@ Discovering Resiliency by Julia Cameron Panic is an escalating sense of terror that can feel as if we are being flooded and immobilized by the glare of change. Panic is what you feel on the way to the altar or to the theater on opening night, or to the airport for a book tour. It is rooted in "I know where I want to go, but how am I going to get there?" Worry Worry has an anxious and unfocused quality. It skitters subject to subject, fixating first on one thing, then on another. Like a noisy vacuum cleaner, its chief function is to distract us from what we really are afraid of. Worry is a kind of emotional anteater poking into all corners for trouble. Fear is not obsessive like worry and not escalating like panic. Fear is more reality based. It asks us to check something out. Unpleasant as it is, fear is our ally. Ignore it and the fear escalates. A sense of loneliness joins its clamor. At its root, fear is based in a sense of isolation. We feel like David facing Goliath with no help from his cronies and a concern that this time, his trusty slingshot might not work. The more active -- and even more negative -- your imagination is, the more it is a sign of creative energy. Think of yourself as a racehorse -- all that agitated animation as you prance from paddock to track bodes well for your ability to actually run. In both my teaching and collaborative experience, I have often found that the most "fearful" and "neurotic" people are actually those with the best imaginations. They have simply channeled their imaginations down the routes of their cultural conditioning. The News at Five is never the good news, and so when they play the possible movie of their future they routinely screen the one with danger and dire outcomes. Worry is the imagination's negative stepsister. Instead of making things, we make trouble. Culturally, we are trained to worry. We are trained to prepare for any negative possibility. The news tutors us daily in the many possible catastrophes available to us all. Is it any wonder that our imaginations routinely turn to worry? We do not hear about the many old people who make it safely home; we hear of the grandmother who did not. Fears for our own safety and the safety of others, the sudden suspicion of brain tumors and neurological disorders, the "realization" that we are going blind or deaf, any and all of these worrisome symptoms indicate we are on the brink of a large creative breakthrough, not breakdown, although the resemblance between the two can feel striking. Poised to shoot a feature film, I found myself abruptly plagued by the "conviction" that a sniper was about to shoot me in the eye. Where this phobia came from, I don't know, but it plagued me on the city streets. That it arrived on the brink of my shooting a film, I consider no coincidence. Also, non-coincidentally, once the camera was running, my sniper ran away. Authors leave on book tours, huffing on their inhalers. Filmmakers populate the ER, suddenly beset by hives. Pianists know the terror of imminent arthritic crippling. Dancers develop club feet, stubbing their "en pointe" toes walking to the bathroom. We survive these maladies and the success that they presage more easily if we remember not to worry about worry. After thirty-five years in the arts and twenty-five years of teaching creative unblocking, I sometimes think of myself as a creative dowsing rod. I will meet someone and my radar will start to twitch. Creative energy is clear and palpable energy, disguised perhaps as neurosis or fretfulness, but real and usable energy nonetheless. I feel a little like a tracker -- the bent twig of someone's undue anxiety tells me that person has an active imagination that needs to be focused and channeled, and that when it is, we will have quite a flowering. One of my daughter's high school friends was a hyperactive teenager with bright, avid eyes and a restless energy that jogged him foot to foot as he exclaimed, "Look at that! Look at that!" his attention darting here, then there. Nothing escaped his worried attention. He literally looked for trouble. That boy needs a camera, I thought, and gave him one for his high school graduation present. It's ten years later and he's a filmmaker. No surprise to me. His worrisome intensity lacked only the right channel. When we focus our imaginations to inhabit the positive, the same creative energy that was worry can become something else. I have written poems, songs, entire plays with "anxiety." When worry strikes, remind yourself your gift for worry and negativity is merely a sure sign of your considerable creative powers. It is the proof of the creative potential you have for making your life better, not worse. We can learn to throw the switch that channels our energy out of worry and into invention. If we are to expand our lives, we must be open to positive possibilities and outcomes as well as negative ones. By learning to embrace our worried energy, we are able to translate it from fear into fuel. "Just use it, just use it," an accomplished actress chants to herself when the worried willies strike. This is a learned process. In my experience, artists never completely outgrow worry. We simply become more adroit at recognizing it as misplaced creative energy. I have sat in the back of movie theaters with accomplished directors who suffered attacks of asthma and nausea as their movies were screened for preview audiences. As a playwright, I have watched in horror as my leading lady stood heaving like a carthorse, hyperventilating in the wings before stepping onstage to perform brilliantly. It is palpable nonsense to believe that "real artists" are somehow beyond fear, and yet that is the version of "real artists" so often sold to us by the press. We learn of an artist's nerviness "Steven acquired his first camera at age seven" but we seldom hear of an artist's nerves. It is for this reason that I like to tell the stories I was privy to in my twenties, when I was married to young Martin Scorsese, who was friends with young Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Brian DePalma, and Francis Ford Coppola. From my privileged position as wife and insider, I witnessed fits of nerves and bouts of insecurity suffered through with the help of friends. Because all of the men in our intimate circle matured into very famous artists, these stories are quite valuable -- not because they drop names but because they drop information. They tell us in no uncertain terms that great artists suffer great fears like the rest of us. They do not make art without fear but despite fear. They are not worry free but they are free to both worry and create. They are not superhuman and we need not expect ourselves to be so either. We need not disqualify ourselves from trying by saying "Since it's so terrifying for me, I must not be supposed to do it." Let me say it again: Some of the most terrified people I ever met are some of the greatest American artists. They have achieved their careers by walking through their fears, not by running away from them. The very active imaginations that led them into jittery terrors are the same imaginations that have allowed them to thrill us, enthrall us, and enchant us. Your own worries may similarly be the pilot fish that accompany your great talent. They are certainly no reason not to swim deeper into the waters of your own creative consciousness. TASK: Let the "Reel" Be an Ideal Our imagination is skilled at inhabiting the negative. We must train it to inhabit the positive. On the brink of a breakthrough, we often rehearse our bad reviews -- or, at least, our bad day. We imagine how foolish we will look ever to have hoped to have our dreams. We are adroit at picturing our creative downfalls. Fortunately, success sometimes comes to us whether we can imagine it or not. Still, it comes to us more easily and stays more comfortably if it feels like a welcome guest, something looked forward to with anticipation, not apprehension. This tool is an exercise in optimism, and that word "exercise" is well chosen. Some of us may have to strain to constructively imagine our ideal day. But let's try it. Take pen in hand. Set aside at least one half hour for writing freely. Imagine yourself at the beginning of your ideal day, a day in which all of your dreams have come true and you are living smack in the middle of your own glorious accomplishments. How does it feel? How good can you imagine feeling? Moment by moment, hour by hour, happening by happening, and person by person, give yourself the pleasure in your own mind's eye of the precise day you would like to have. For example: "I wake up early, just as a beautiful morning light spills into the room and focuses on the wall where I have hung the covers of my best original cast albums for my Broadway shows. My bedroom has a fireplace and my row of Oscars and Tony awards balance happily on the mantel. I slip from bed so as not to wake my beloved, who is happily still asleep. It is a big day, day one of rehearsals for a new show. Casting has gone well. The director is superb. Everyone is eager and excited to be at work, and so am I. I have worked with many of these people before. We have a loyal, constructive, and brilliantly talented core group of talent that was working in what they call "Broadway reborn," as the melodic songs of our work echo the best of Rodgers and Hammerstein." Let your imagination be a real "ham." Spare no expense and consider nothing too frivolous. Do you have telegrams of congratulations wreathing your makeup mirror? Did somebody send you two dozen roses, and a dozen fresh bagels for breakfast? When the phone rings with great news, who is calling to say "That's great!" Is it your favorite sister or the president? This is your day and you have it exactly as you want. Allow yourself to inhabit your absolute ideal from morning until nightfall. Include your family and friends, your pets, time for a nap or high tea. Enjoy scones and excellent reviews. Accept a lucrative and prestigious film deal. Make arrangements to tithe a percentage of your megaprofits to charity. Stretch your mind and your emotional boundaries to encompass the very best day you can imagine and allow yourself a sense of peace, calm, and self-respect for a job well done. This article is excerpted from Walking in This World, ©2002, by Julia Cameron. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Tarcher/Putnam publishing. Info/Order this book. About the Author JULIA CAMERON has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of seventeen books of fiction and nonfiction, among them The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, and The Right to Write, her best-selling works on the creative process. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television. Julia divides her time between Manhattan and the high desert of New Mexico. ============================ What are your intentions this year?  Join us and share them here: http://bizcats.powerfulintentions.com ============================ And, while you are at it, Empower yourself: http://www.empowerism.com/e/95644 ===================== Attention advertisers: The Free Ad Board I promised you is now here for your convenience at CATLINES. Submit your ads at: http://www.freeadboard.com/?pro=470 ===================== Write a book now! http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=191341 ===================== $10 a month for your very own website and more!  Come see what this is all about: http://www.movie.ws/bestone ===================== ===================== The Cat's Meow http://www.cafeshops.com/poofcat ===================== 4: Look What The Cats Dragged In "LAW OF CAT COMPOSITION: A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't Matter." --Unknown Author Submitted by Alera @@@@@@@ "Don't expect too much from human beings.  We were created at the end of the week when God was tired and looking forward to a day off." --Mark Twain @@@@@@@ "No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens." --Abraham Lincoln @@@@@@@ We have two cats. They're my wife's cats, Mischa and Alex. You can tell a woman names a cat like this. Women always have sensitive names: Muffy, Fluffy, Buffy. Guys name cats things like Tuna Breath, Fur Face, Meow Head. They're nice cats. They've been neutered and they've been declawed. So they're like pillows that eat. --Larry Reeb @@@@@@@ Wyah's Surprise by Lauren Merryfield When I went to the bathroom last night, Maryah came to visit, as she often does.  Then she confidently flung herself into the tub, as I reached out to pet her.  I heard a small kitty paw splash as she discovered there was water in the tub! Immediately she tried to fling herself out but slid.  I helped her out and she shook herself off.  Poor kitty!  By then it was funny to me!  What a shock that must have been for our skitty kitty. There was about an inch or two of water from when I'd run water for the kitties to drink, but I didn't know the plug had worked itself in, so I was no more aware than Maryah that the tub was holding the water. I was afraid I wouldn't see her for days but when I came into the office, there she was.  She let me pet her and I laughed, explaining to her what had happened.  I think she knew I was surprised, too, and I did help her get out. Guess what?  She doesn't check out that tub anymore! @@@@@@@ If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer. --Alfred North Whitehead (1861 - 1947) @@@@@@@ It's funny how dogs and cats know the inside of folks better than other folks do, isn't it? --Eleanor H. Porter (1868 - 1920), Pollyanna, 1912 @@@@@@@ Cats regard people as warmblooded furniture. --Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Deep End of the Ocean Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. --Jeff Valdez Cats regard people as warmblooded furniture. --Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Deep End of the Ocean Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. --Jeff Valdez A leopard does not change his spots, or change his feeling that spots are rather a credit. Author: Ivy Compton-Burnett Source: More Women Than Men (ch. 4) MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW   REMEMBER to help provide for the kitties   --yours and ours-- by visiting our sponsors!   Thanks. MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW 5: from Outside the catbox Thanks for the feedback, from ideas for this newsletter to your cat questions and concerns, which I've been glad to answer, to the best of my knowledge, or forward you on to someone else who knows better than I.  Maybe someday I'll be paid for this??? I appreciate the notes of concern from December's "rant" when just too many things were going on at once.  Many of you were able to relate to that.  I hope things are calming down for everyone now with the new year. Thanks. Lauren Merryfield 6: subscription info and other strays a catly site! CATLINES is a member of the Ezineville Club @ Village of Tidbits. To become a free member visit Ezineville Club @ http://www.villageoftidbits.com --------------------- >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< CATLINES is now a member of the IPEA http://www.InternationalePublishersAssociation.com _________________________________________________________ CATLINES is published by Lauren Merryfield co-owner of catliness.com. We are proud members of the International Council of Online Professionals (I-cop) http://www.i-cop.org> ======================== Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra22526.rate ===================== Sub and unsub info: You may subscribe or unsubscribe to CATLINES by going to our website: http://www.catliness.com (much easier now!) To submit catly writings for possible publication, mailto:info@bizofchoice.com?subject=catlines-submit For feedback, questions or suggestions: mailto:info@bizofchoice.com?subject=catlines-feedback --------------------------- Copyright © 2004 by Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< --------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- Welcome to *CATLINES* the MEWsletter! For cat-loving Home Business PURRSons: Home business workers desiring to share what they know. --------------------- NEW! MY KITTY BLOG: http://mycatablog.blogspot.com ~~~~~~~ A Place To Rethink: NEW! http://www.anotherwaytoday.com Corresponding blog: http://www.anotherwaytoday.blogspot.com ~~~~~~~ Brand NEW! SCENTLINES for candle-loving home-business persons! http://www.radiantsoy.com http://www.candlesaglow.biz (soy/veg candles, bath and body products; new, great company!) -------------------- Remember to Help the feline population by adopting or fostering stray, hungry, frightened cats! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ===================== F R E E G I F T F O R Y O U http://www.powerpointerspage.com/185104/freebook.pdf ===================== New entries on our website; come check them out! Something there just for you! http://www.catliness.com (We have animal-theme jewelry, Kitty Toys and dishes there for you!) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ EBAY; we finally made it!  Bid now!  Bid Often! http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/meowheart/. ******* >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< *CATLINES* vol. 3, Issue 11, January 15, 2005 Published monthly (most of the time) by http://www.catliness.com (in nine lives of progress) WINNER OF THE GOLDEN WHISKERS AWARD http://www.meowhoo.com hosted by Katherine Cook at: http://www.katstorm.com ===================== Editor: Lauren Merryfield =======>^..^<===== Treats For January (Note: copy the links into your browser to make them work; music and great verses you don't want to miss!) Happy New Year Celebrate http://www.mamarocks.com/mamas_links53.htm ******* An old English blessing I've always liked. Su God bless thy year, Thy coming in, thy going out, Thy rest, thy traveling about, The rough, the smooth, The bright, the drear, God bless thy year! ******* http://home.att.net/~Poofycatt/newyear.html (Every day is hug your cat day!) ******* ===================== From my friend, Chris L.  She sells everything! http://tishtreasure.zoovy.com ===================== CATTICAL MEWSIC! It's the cat's meow! as one album owner wrote: "... is bright, fresh and irresistible. It's catnip for the ears." To learn more about the Symphonia Felina album  and Forestdale album, (available online only) and ClydeSight 2.0!, visit the Forestdale Music Album Web Site for playing samples: http://www.clydesight.com/forestdale/samp.html Tim Thompson ClydeSight Productions C.H.U. (Clyde's Human Unit) Clyde Big Paws, Feline Unit 236.8v2 1990-1997 "Clyde Big Paws--Keeping the Memory Alive" Visit ClydeSight2.0! the website of Clyde the Cat at: http://www.clydesight.com and Clyde's mewsical extraveganza, Concert at CLAW http://claw.org/theater/clydeconc/startpg.shtml ===================== _____________________ If you are receiving this newsletter, either you subscribed recently or received a copy from a friend. Thank you for joining and accepting our catly ezine, ads and other notices from catliness.com! _____________________ To do the uncatly thing, send an email to: mailto:info@bizofchoice.com with unsubscribe catlines in the subject. Thanks. And if you do it--you just may have Jaspur Jaws to answer to, lol. _____________________ >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< (4 kitty heads, representing Jaspur, Mikey, Gabrielle and Maryah, suPURRvisors and helPURRs in these adventures into catliness.) ===================== >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< And now! ... 4 cats present... * CATLINES * ===================== Table of contents: 1: Kibble Nibble: mewsings from the food bowl (editorial) 2: Kitten Kabootle's Kubbyhole (catly writings) (in loving memory of Kitten Kabootle, now living at Rainbow Bridge) 3: biz-catskills (home-business, motivational or general biz articles) 4: look what the cats dragged in (jokes, quotes, very brief verse) 5: from Outside the catbox (questions, comments from readers) 6: subscription info and other strays ===================== Weekly Drawing - Win a FREE Gourmet Soy Candle 16 oz and yummy to the bottom of the jar! Enter up to once a day at - http://www.candlesaglow.biz "When all candles be out, all cats be gray." --John Heywood ===================== 1: Kibble Nibble: mewsings from the food bowl (editorial) Happy New Year, all cat-loving home-business PURRsons! It's a good thing I did not make any new year's resolutions; I would probably feel guilty about not following through on them. If you remember last mnth's frantic note, things have slowed down some but we are still not entirely out of the other house and we still have boxes to unpack. I am having some of my clothes and other items sold on eBay by 99walker.  He is a power seller and we have made a payment arrangement that coud work out for both of us. His nephew, Alex, may feel quite differently about this now that the teenage boy has older women's clothing hanging in his closet--all the more motivation for getting them sold, right? We are very excited about beginning some new advertising methods, some of which I will bring to your attention elsewhere in this ezine.  You are more than welcome to join in, to help your own advertising efforts. And check out those candles!  They make great gifts, great fundraisers, and more!Valentine's Day is around the corner.  So are spring, Easter, Mother's Day and other days for candle light. Thanks Lauren Merryfield @@@@@@@ ~~~~~~~ ATTENTION ADVERTISERS: Beginning with the March, 2004 Issue: Advertise In Catlines Newsletter We offer two forms of advertising to our subscribers. Solo ads and feature ads. (See catliness.com for directions) ******* Please remember the free ad board for placement of your free ads--read below. --------------------- Catly Resources: (I do not make any money on these) Association For Pet Loss And Bereavement: http://www.aplb.org ******* Cat Collectors' Site: (NOTICE: brand new address): http://p075.ezboard.com/binternationalcatcollectorsclub ******* Cat-writers' site: http://www.catwriters.org ********************* For the very best litter, check out the following: http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com ********************* For help with excessive scratching/clawing: (too late for our couch) http://www.stickypaws.com ) ********************* ===================== Paid ads: http://www.catliness.com and free ads at: http://www.freeadboard.com/?pro=470 ===================== 2: Kitten Kabootle's Kubbyhole (catly writings) Bias In Taking Suggestions Affects Cat by Lauren Merryfield I have just been through a situation on a cat list that has me pretty upset. I've had it happen many times in my life when someone will not listen to me just because I can't see and therefore, whatever I think just doesn't count; has no merit. It happens now and then even in my family; especially on Jim's side. Some people on a cat list will get help from several members, really appreciate it, but either ignore my help or consider it not to be equal caliber help. They'll thank all the rest and then turn around and chew me out--usually off list.   I think this happened over the weekend on another list and a poor, innocent, reabandoned cat may be suffering partly due to it. I am not responsible for what others might believe about humans with disabilities, but I am quite certain that my being disabled influenced this person's not listening to me strongly enough to consider consequences to a dear little cat.  This person has reacted to me this way before, and pretty much says so in her posts to me. A woman who lived near this person moved and left her cat behind. The person in question decided to take the cat in at least temporarily, but she really didn't think she could afford another cat, since she had several of her own. The abandoned cat did not take well to this person's cats (she did not keep the abandoned cat in a separate room) so her cats were all upset and the new cat was bitey and otherwise acting out. The thing is, this person took it personally and was saying that the cat was biting her, her husband, and the other cats and being on bad behavior toward them when it wasn't their fault; after all, they were trying to provide a home for her and were feeding her, etc, etc, etc.  You know, the "after all I did for you???" thing that some parents do to their kids; that kind of thing. This person became so angry that she vowed to get rid of the kitty; to take the kitty to a shelter. She did this without trying the suggestion of keeping the kitty in a separate room. She did this without taking the kitty to a vet to see if she had any other problems besides psychological upset.  I and a few others had suggested this but it was like she was so angry at this poor, abandoned, displaced kitty, that she took it out on the kitty by getting rid of her. Then she took it out on me for "telling her what a bad person she was and how she did a terrible job taking care of cats, " etc, when all I had done was, as others had done, was to suggest keeping the kitty in a separate place; taking her to the vet, giving her extra attention, etc, and, in making her decision, to please think about the consequences to the cat. She said that since I couldn't see, what would I know anyway? She even insisted that it was really Jim who was raising our cats.  This is not true, especially when he is at work all day and occasionally in the hospital. She said she didn't mind suggestions from the others, but mine were not wanted.  I told her I didn't care what she thought of me; I cared about what was going to happen to the kitty. I know that sometimes cat placements do not work out, but it really bothers me when, well, especially when, cat-lovers, who have raised lots of cats, fly off the handle like this, with no concern about what will happen to this cat and many others, now. Will some good-hearted, patient person come along to retrain this kitty or will she just be euthanized because she is aggressive? I do not know. Maryah was quite a mess when we first took her, too, but we had been warned that so far she had not made it in 4 other placements.  But we took care, like we always do, about keeping Maryah in the bathroom with her own stuff at first, until they all seemed ready to meet each other. When Jaspur scolded maryah, I was aware of it; knew he wasn't killing her, and asked him quietly to be careful not to scare or hurt Maryah.  Jaspur knows what "hurt" and "scare" mean. Maryah is still skitty but she doesn't bite or scratch and sometimes these guys spend time together and sometimes not; they do whatever comes natural for them, even when we moved recently. They really did such a good job at acclamating to the new home and I told them how proud of them I was and what good kitties they were.  They all know what "good kitty" means. If we'd only kept Maryah for a couple days or had just left them all to kiss or kill, who knows but what she might have had yet another bad placement.  If I'd become angry about the bloody scratches on my legs and hands, and just dumped her back into a shelter, would she have had just another bad placement--or might she have been euthanized?  Our sweet, cute, funny, very smart Maryah? No way! I mean, I am no guru; I am not well-known for doing all kinds of cat research.  None of my cat writings would ever win in certain arenas, however, cats trust me.  Cats do not care what my worldly accomplishments might be. They care that they are loved, cared for, socialized, nurtured, with a patience and heart only known really inside the walls where we live.  (And, to some extent, shared here in CATLINES.) I did not say "I told you so" to this person, or that she was a "bad person," or "bad kitty sitter," etc, though she seemed angry at my suggestions. This kind of lack of education; lack of intuition or lack of connection with cats--I do not know the words to call it right now--I feel some anger and lots of sadness for this poor kitty! I feel sad because I know that this kitty is not the first or last cat to meet such a well-intended, but inappropriate reabandonment. Thanks for listening!  I just needed to get it off my chest and I know, for a certainty, that there are many on this list who will really honestly, realistically know of which I write.  After reading CATLINES for nearly four years, certainly you know my genuine love and concern for all felines of the universe! @@@@@@@ PEANUT Peanut, a resident cat at Heartland Veterinary Hospital, doesn't see that other animals are sick. Somehow, she feels it. Despite her blindness, Peanut has taken on the role of nurse at the hospital. When other animals come out of surgery, she slides into their cages to watch over them. She snuggles up to or lies across the patients. Sometimes she grooms them, too. Just before or right after the patient wakes, Peanut leaves. Michelle Stephenson, a veterinarian at the hospital, has seen some interesting animal behavior. She's seen mama cats take in puppies and mama dogs look after kittens. But she's never seen anything quite like Peanut. "She wants to get right in there with them," Stephenson said. "Sometimes I wonder if she knows we saved her life or something." Perhaps Peanut feels she must return the kindness she received about a year ago. The hospital staff took in Peanut Dec. 19, 2003. She had somehow found her way to the front porch of a former hospital employee. She was a scrawny mess. "Her eyes were completely scabbed shut with infection," Stephenson said. The starved cat, estimated to be 2 or 3 years old at the time, weighed 3 pounds. The hospital staff treated the cat's eyes, but it was too late. The infections left blinding scars. Still, they did fatten her up. She now weighs 6 pounds â?" a healthy weight for her height. Stephenson figures Peanut had been on her own for some time and didn't get the nutrition she needed when she should have been growing the most, leaving the cat with a petite frame. Janet Morris, for one, is glad Peanut made a comeback. Last month, Morris' 10-year-old golden retriever, Rajah, underwent surgery at Heartland Veterinary Hospital. Doctors removed a large tumor from the 100-pound dog's side. Shortly after the operation, Rajah started hemorrhaging and doctors performed a second surgery. Afterward, Morris went into the kennel area to visit Rajah. Peanut was lying beside the dog. The tiny cat's arms were stretched out as if she were trying to hug Rajah's neck. "It was just so incredible," Morris said. "It made all of us cry." Despite a heavy dose of painkillers, Rajah was awake enough to wag her tail at the sound of her owner's voice. Rajah seemed to appreciate the sound of Peanut purring, too. Morris said the purring seemed to soothe the dog. Peanut stayed in the cage for about three hours, licking Rajah's ears and head and playing with her fur. Normally, Rajah wouldn't let a cat near her. Anytime she sees a cat, the hair on her neck spikes, she growls and does all she can to chase it, Morris said. But she didn't mind Peanut. Even when the painkillers wore off, Rajah just sniffed and rubbed noses with Peanut. "It was as if she knew that was the cat that helped nurse her back to health," Morris said. Rajah's 15-inch incision is still healing, but she's otherwise back to her old self. The first time Peanut curled up beside a surgery patient, Stephenson thought it was a fluke. Maybe the cat just liked the patient's heating blanket, she thought. The cage door was left open to save time because sedated animals have to be examined so often. "It just started happening over and over again," Stephenson said. If the cage door is shut, Peanut will pace back and forth until someone lets her in. The little blind cat has had as much impact on the humans at the hospital. She loves to play and oozes with personality. "We started treating her and just absolutely fell in love with her," said technician Robin King. The staff adopted her and she lives at the hospital. They named her Peanut and gave her the nickname Peanutter because of her size. Even if she put on some extra weight, the name will still fit thanks to one of her favorite playtime activities. She has an obsession with packing peanuts. When shipping boxes come into the office, Peanut will climb onto the boxes, waiting for someone to open them. If the contents are wrapped in bubble wrap, she'll sulk, Stephenson said. The staff loves her so much, they've made her a mascot of sorts, Stephenson said. In each employee's car, a picture of Peanut hangs from the rearview mirror. The ornaments include the words, "It's all about her," reminding the employees that they do their jobs to help all animals just like they helped Peanut. By Sarah Baker www.newsenterpriseonline.com/articles/2004/12/05/news/news3.txt @@@@@@@ Dear Lists, I'm forwarding an e-mail that came  out of the ASPCA's Public Information Office today. Please feel free to share widely. Marion Special Projects Editor National Programs Office American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 110 Fifth Avenue, Second Floor New York, NY 10011 (212) 876-7700, ext. 4444 The devastation wreaked by the tsunami in South Asia was not reserved for humans alone. The toll the damage has taken on the area's animal population is catastrophic and requires an immediate and large-scale response. A large starving dog population on the island of Phuket, Thailand, as well as an absence of food and water for animals --  be they farm animals, endangered wildlife, sea life or dogs and cats -- in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have rallied several international animal rescue organizations to action. World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) are currently dispatching their disaster relief teams to the hardest hit regions in order to provide food and veterinary supplies. Both organizations are accepting donations through their Disaster Relief Funds. Links to both organizations appear below: http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/392_tsunami_s_animal_victims.cfm http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=3 Thank you. -Luiza Grunebaum Coordinator, Public Information Luizag@aspca.org (212) 876-7700, ext. 4648 @@@@@@@ ===================== (note: this ad is from our former webperson before we found our current managed account with Katstorm&co.) *ANNOUNCING!!* MOMMY ADS! Undeniably one of the best online resources for WAHMs. Fantastic at Home Business ideas! A multitude of Targeted Traffic Generators! Secure your *exclusive* listing today! http://www.mommyads.com ===================== MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW Lauren Merryfield is the editor/publisher of CATLINES.  She and her husband, Jim, live in Washington with their four feline "kids," Jaspur, Mikey, Gabrielle and Maryah. Daughter, Lynden, lives in Nebraska, Lauren's homeland. Lauren has been published in several magazines and books including "The Braille Monitor," "Future Reflections," (national Publications) and "News From Blind Nebraskans," state newsletter. "Heartwarmers of Love," an anthology, contains her story "Love Far Beyond The Physical," concerning the marriage to her husband Jim. Her story "Kabootle: Rescue Cat," was published in an anthology by Angel Animals, entitled "God's Messengers: what animals tell us about the Divine." Her essay "My heroes three" appeared in the August, 2004 edition of the CF Alliance Newsletter, (fibromyalgia.) Her poem "Missed Opportunities" was published in FibroHugs book of poetry 2004. Lauren is a member of the Cat Writers' Association: http://www.catwriters.org and co-owner of http://www.catliness.com where one can join CATLINES. She has recently opened her first honest-to-goodness online store, selling cat-theme jewelry items, some are one-of-a-kind: http://www.catliness.com She is now a member of the APLB--Association For Pet-Loss And Bereavement, receiving a diploma in counselor training in May of 2004. http://www.aplb.org and, Heaven forbid, says Jim, the Cat Collectors' Club: http://www.catcollectors.org And even *more* "Heaven forbid," she's on Ebay: EBAY!  We're there!  Bid Now! http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/meowheart/. She is enjoying spreading her catliness around! MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW --------------------- InstantAudio Put audio in your emails, on your website; isn't that cool! Join us today: http://instantaudio.com/specialinfo.asp?x=34122 --------------------- (It is quite possible that many of the "author unknown" catly writings appearing in CATLINES are those of Mark Mason at: http://www.catdiary.com ) --------------------- 3:  Bizcat Skills Resolutions You Can Keep The classic "New Year's Resolution" has become so cliché and so over-used, that we joke about how quickly we break our resolutions, completely ignoring the fact that we are, indeed, breaking a promise to ourselves when we do so. It's likely that resolutions for the new year suffer a great deal of misunderstanding. They are seen as throw-away promises to ourselves, and it's pretty common for most folks to break the resolution a week or two later (completely forgetting it was ever a promise made at all...) The truth is, if you don't take the promise seriously when you first make it, there's no real reason to continue to try to keep that promise. If it's done as a joke or on the spur of the moment some New Year's Eve, why would you expect yourself to hold to that promise for an entire year? But there's another sort of New Year's Resolution... the kind we definitely should pay close attention to and do our best to stick to. These are the kinds of resolutions that come as the result of introspection and reflection, of a true desire for change or goal attainment. If your resolutions this year truly affect your health, your life (and the way you want to live it) and your family and friends, then perhaps it's worth a good look at ways to make such promises more than empty good intentions. The most common resolutions every year, worldwide, are to lose weight and to stop smoking. Both terribly important to your health, well-being, and ability to be here year after year to keep making resolutions at all. There are others as well... and many of them affect your day-to-day life. Perhaps you'll resolve to read books that will help you deal with anger or depression or self esteem issues. Perhaps you might even resolve to get counseling for certain things that you've been trying hard to deal with on your own, but haven't been quite successful with. But how do we stick to these resolutions? Here are some tips to help make your resolutions for 2005 more than just empty promises:   1.. Be Specific.   Instead of saying "I'm going to lose weight this year," or "I'm going to stick with my low carb diet this year", say "I'm going to take an active roll in counting my carb grams and calories each day until I find what works for me."   Or instead of "I'm going to have more willpower to stay away from temptation this year", say "I'm going to have a plan for how to deal with temptation this year and how to tell people 'no'." Then write up the plan. Prove to yourself you've done what you said.   Have a contingency plan for when you are tempted. For instance, if you want to smoke, go for a walk instead, or call a friend.   If you say that you're going to write more letters to friends you may or may not do so, but if you say that you're going to write at least two letters a week to friends, you have a specific goal that you can measure and verify, and you'll have written over 100 letters in 2005. Make your resolutions quantifiable and verifiable.   b.. Be Realistic.   Don't promise to lose twenty pounds by Valentine's Day if you can't do it. Very few people can safely lose that much weight that quickly.   Don't promise to always clean your house every single day. Don't promise to give half of your earnings to charity if you can't afford it.   The more realistic you are, the more likely you'll be to stick to your resolutions, and the more pride you'll get out of having accomplished something valuable.   c.. Be Prepared.   Lasting change means being prepared to make sacrifices. If you're resistant to making the necessary sacrifices, ask yourself why. Many people resist change because they're afraid of the unknown. Unhealthy habits may be harmful and detract from your quality of life, but they're familiar, and for many that's reason enough to keep them.   The best way to overcome this fear of the unknown is to make yourself fully aware of the consequences of not changing your current habits, and the advantages of adopting new behaviors. Make a list of the pros and cons of smoking, for example. A "pro" might be the relief from tension smoking brings you. A definite "con," however, is the greatly increased risk of cancer and heart disease; and its interferrence to making a lowered carb diet work to its best ability. Seeing the consequences of a bad habit in black and white may make fear of the unknown less imposing and make change more desirable.   d.. Be Others-focused.   If all of your resolutions focus on yourself and what you want, you'll be ignoring one of the great truths in life -- we find happiness and self-satisfaction in doing things for others.   Want a happier life? Then don't resolve to become happier. Instead, resolve to do one good thing every day for someone else, with no recognition or reward.   These can be simple deeds such as helping a stranger carry something from the store to his or her car, or donating a dollar when the person in front of you in the check-out line comes up 95 cents short. Simple things that cost us very little in life and invariably bring us happiness and better self-esteem.   e.. Keep Reminders Visible.   Write down and post these resolutions where you'll see them many times every day. Remind yourself constantly that you have a goal this year, and that you're working to reach this goal.   f.. Get a Support System.   Form a support system of friends and family, who will cheer you on and also challenge you to stick to your goals.   g.. The One Resolution Everyone Should Make.   Find time for yourself, and spend it doing something you enjoy. It might be reading, painting, hiking, writing, playing an instrument, making crafts, almost anything. If you don't have a hobby you can do by yourself, find one! Being able to enjoy time spent alone is important; it helps you remember who you really are. Take credit for success when you achieve a resolution, but it is a mistake to blame yourself if you fail. Instead, look at the barriers that were in your way. See how you can do better the next time and figure out a better plan to succeed. You do get to try again and can make behavior changes throughout the year, not only at New Year's. Remember that there's nothing wrong with Easter resolutions or Birthday resolutions! Neil and I wish you a Healthy and Happy 2005! http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/magazine/lclnewsvol06-no1-pg1.html @@@@@@@ Allen Says... Dr.Mani does... Allen says... You spend the exact same effort to promote a product that pays you a one time $10 commission as you do to promote a product that pays you $10 every month. Dr.Mani reads... You should concentrate ONLY on residual income schemes which pay commissions long after the hard work of selling had ended. Then Dr.Mani acts... I chose programs with residual income potential to promote actively. One of them had too high an attrition rate to be profitable. Be careful in your research BEFORE promoting any of these. One of the best performers for me has been NICHEOLOGY by Jimmy D.Brown and Ryan Deiss. The idea of getting paid for months after the initial work is done can grow on you - until, as Allen says, you won't promote single sale producst at all. Here's the method I followed:  Created a short report highlighting the benefits of niche marketing  Mailed out a letter to my list  Followed up, right until the day the site closed doors to new applications  Offered added value by offering membership to Affitrain and offering a set of 'Power Tools' for formatting sales letters for the Nicheology products to my sign-ups Profit: $250 a month      Time & Effort: Medium ******* Allen says... "How To Double The Impact AND The Sales Of Your Book!" Call it a system and NAME that system... Dr.Mani reads... Turning the lessons you teach in an ebook into a step-by-step process others can implement, and then giving it a catchy name, will help sell more volume - at higher prices. Then Dr.Mani acts... I tested this out on my list by offering them N-POD, projecting it as a system rather than a set of tapes. The response was ecstatic. Then I went back and re-created my own product and packaged it as a course - and called it Ezine ANTI Marketing. Priced it at $197 and made a number of quick sales, got awesome testimonials, landed several JV deals. Profit: $8,000      Time & Effort: Medium ******* Allen says... Your customers will pay you 10 times more to do it for them than they will for you to teach them how to do it themselves Dr.Mani reads... Most people write ebooks which teach buyers how to do things. But what most folks want is 'ready to go' solutions. Create these instead of 'how to' books. Then Dr.Mani acts... This has been the MOST profitable idea I've ever heard in my 7 years online. And I created a line of products with premium pricing - and all have been HOT sellers.  Power Niche Minisites - click here for details  Instant Niche Minisites - learn more here  Smart Niche Minisites - check it out Revenue: $45,000+ this year    Time & Effort: High ******* Allen says... I would write reports for the newcomers that educates them about the real value of what you're wanting them to buy. I would pick out a product that made me a good commission, say $60 to $150 per sale. Dr.Mani reads... You should practice education marketing in a subtle form - by creating info-products (as PDF documents with your links baked into them) which highlight the benefits of a product, then making it viral. It helps if there is a 2-tier affiliate program, as you can create it for your affiliates to use. Then Dr.Mani acts... I first tried this with my N-POD report for Joshua Shafran's course which pays affiliates $400 for each sale. It was downloaded over 400 times. I made 12 sales, passively. I next created the "Directory of Marketing," special report for Charlie Page's excellent member site. It is still being passed around, and while it hasn't been as profitable, the program pays residual income - so there's still life in it! Profit: $4,800      Time & Effort: Medium ******* Allen says... There's one critical reason why most people fail at making money on the Internet... They ignore the power of learning how to write copy. It's the copy that makes the difference... Nothing you will ever do will be as important or powerful. Dr.Mani reads... Stop everything else you're doing and work on writing better copy. Seriously. Get books, join courses, practice daily. Then Dr.Mani acts... I signed up for the AWAI Michael Masterson's "Accelerated Six Figure Copywriting" program and bought every recommended copywriting book I could - and am reading them, practicing, doing exercises daily. Here's a short list:  Web Copy That Sells - Maria Veloso  Million Dollar Web Copywriting - Terry Dean  Turn Words Into Money - Ted Nicholas  Method Marketing - Denny Hatch  Copywriting for the Web - Bob Serling Profit: $3,000 in 3 months      Time & Effort: High @@@@@@@ Column By Jim Donovan ----------------------- How Big Are Your Questions? It doesn't get any simpler than that. As with most real wisdom this idea, expressed so beautifully by Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of "Chicken Soup for the Soul," is very simple to understand and even simpler to implement. If you want a bigger outcome ask a bigger question. I'll take Mark's idea a step further and add that if you want a better outcome, ask a better question. In "Handbook to a Happier Life" I offer the suggestion of using empowering questions like "What am I grateful for?, What am I looking forward to?, and What am I happy about?" when you first awaken as a way to start your day off on a happier note. What about using questions to get a bigger result? For example, let's suppose you own your own business, as I sincerely hope you do. Even a small part-time business will not only give you a little or a lot of extra income, but more importantly will give you added peace of mind since you will feel more in control of your income. This can be an important distinction in our current uncertain job market. By the way, you can expect the uncertainty in employment to continue as more and more companies tighten their corporate belts and view people as a resource to be used on an as-needed basis rather as than someone to hire for lifetime employment. So, you have your business, the economy is a little slow and you want to increase your revenue. You've calculated that five new clients or customers would make up the difference in business and income so you've been asking yourself, either formally or informally, "How can I attract five new customers?" As soon as you ask yourself a question, your conscious and subconscious mind go to work coming up with the answers and you are given new ideas that are in alignment with your question. You will begin thinking of ways to attract the five new customers that you want. Now, what if you were to ask, "How can I attract 50 new customers?" You guessed it. Your mind will immediately go to work coming up with idea for you to attract 50 new customers. How would that feel? Recently I asked myself a bigger question with regard to my exercise regimen. I had been doing aerobic exercise three days and strength training two days each week. One day I was inspired to ask, "How would I feel if I exercised as many days as I can for the month of June?" As of this writing, it is June 24th and I have exercised 21 days so far this month. I feel great, I'm reaching my health and fitness goals faster and I have more energy than before. Keep in mind that what caused this change was simply a different, in this case, bigger question. In what area of your life could you use a bigger question to bring you toward an even more fulfilling life? Using a question to make unpleasant tasks more fun. By asking ourselves better questions, we get better results. Typically when we have an unpleasant task ahead we ask what I call a "lousy question." We ask "Why me? Why do I have to do this?" I remember years ago my brother, the youngest in the family, asking my father this question when he was told to take out the garbage. My father without missing a beat replied, "Because you have no seniority." Rather than asking an equally disempowering question, the next time you are faced with a task you'd rather not do, ask a better question. You might ask for example, "How can I do this and make if fun?" I know people who have used this and are now cleaning their houses with dance music playing. Personally I find my treadmill time at the gym much easier to take when I have a tape playing in my tape player, plus I get the added benefit of increasing my mental capacity as I work out. By asking bigger and better questions, you can dramatically impact the results your experience in your life and have more fun at the same time. What new, empowering question could you formulate to help propel you toward your goals? ___________ Jim Donovan is a motivational speaker and the author of several books who asks, if you had all the information and tools you needed to live your dream life, would you use them? Yes? Then take advantage of his special, limited time offer at http://getmotivation.com/qk.cgi/jimdonovanbk @@@@@@@ Discovering Resiliency by Julia Cameron Panic is an escalating sense of terror that can feel as if we are being flooded and immobilized by the glare of change. Panic is what you feel on the way to the altar or to the theater on opening night, or to the airport for a book tour. It is rooted in "I know where I want to go, but how am I going to get there?" Worry Worry has an anxious and unfocused quality. It skitters subject to subject, fixating first on one thing, then on another. Like a noisy vacuum cleaner, its chief function is to distract us from what we really are afraid of. Worry is a kind of emotional anteater poking into all corners for trouble. Fear is not obsessive like worry and not escalating like panic. Fear is more reality based. It asks us to check something out. Unpleasant as it is, fear is our ally. Ignore it and the fear escalates. A sense of loneliness joins its clamor. At its root, fear is based in a sense of isolation. We feel like David facing Goliath with no help from his cronies and a concern that this time, his trusty slingshot might not work. The more active -- and even more negative -- your imagination is, the more it is a sign of creative energy. Think of yourself as a racehorse -- all that agitated animation as you prance from paddock to track bodes well for your ability to actually run. In both my teaching and collaborative experience, I have often found that the most "fearful" and "neurotic" people are actually those with the best imaginations. They have simply channeled their imaginations down the routes of their cultural conditioning. The News at Five is never the good news, and so when they play the possible movie of their future they routinely screen the one with danger and dire outcomes. Worry is the imagination's negative stepsister. Instead of making things, we make trouble. Culturally, we are trained to worry. We are trained to prepare for any negative possibility. The news tutors us daily in the many possible catastrophes available to us all. Is it any wonder that our imaginations routinely turn to worry? We do not hear about the many old people who make it safely home; we hear of the grandmother who did not. Fears for our own safety and the safety of others, the sudden suspicion of brain tumors and neurological disorders, the "realization" that we are going blind or deaf, any and all of these worrisome symptoms indicate we are on the brink of a large creative breakthrough, not breakdown, although the resemblance between the two can feel striking. Poised to shoot a feature film, I found myself abruptly plagued by the "conviction" that a sniper was about to shoot me in the eye. Where this phobia came from, I don't know, but it plagued me on the city streets. That it arrived on the brink of my shooting a film, I consider no coincidence. Also, non-coincidentally, once the camera was running, my sniper ran away. Authors leave on book tours, huffing on their inhalers. Filmmakers populate the ER, suddenly beset by hives. Pianists know the terror of imminent arthritic crippling. Dancers develop club feet, stubbing their "en pointe" toes walking to the bathroom. We survive these maladies and the success that they presage more easily if we remember not to worry about worry. After thirty-five years in the arts and twenty-five years of teaching creative unblocking, I sometimes think of myself as a creative dowsing rod. I will meet someone and my radar will start to twitch. Creative energy is clear and palpable energy, disguised perhaps as neurosis or fretfulness, but real and usable energy nonetheless. I feel a little like a tracker -- the bent twig of someone's undue anxiety tells me that person has an active imagination that needs to be focused and channeled, and that when it is, we will have quite a flowering. One of my daughter's high school friends was a hyperactive teenager with bright, avid eyes and a restless energy that jogged him foot to foot as he exclaimed, "Look at that! Look at that!" his attention darting here, then there. Nothing escaped his worried attention. He literally looked for trouble. That boy needs a camera, I thought, and gave him one for his high school graduation present. It's ten years later and he's a filmmaker. No surprise to me. His worrisome intensity lacked only the right channel. When we focus our imaginations to inhabit the positive, the same creative energy that was worry can become something else. I have written poems, songs, entire plays with "anxiety." When worry strikes, remind yourself your gift for worry and negativity is merely a sure sign of your considerable creative powers. It is the proof of the creative potential you have for making your life better, not worse. We can learn to throw the switch that channels our energy out of worry and into invention. If we are to expand our lives, we must be open to positive possibilities and outcomes as well as negative ones. By learning to embrace our worried energy, we are able to translate it from fear into fuel. "Just use it, just use it," an accomplished actress chants to herself when the worried willies strike. This is a learned process. In my experience, artists never completely outgrow worry. We simply become more adroit at recognizing it as misplaced creative energy. I have sat in the back of movie theaters with accomplished directors who suffered attacks of asthma and nausea as their movies were screened for preview audiences. As a playwright, I have watched in horror as my leading lady stood heaving like a carthorse, hyperventilating in the wings before stepping onstage to perform brilliantly. It is palpable nonsense to believe that "real artists" are somehow beyond fear, and yet that is the version of "real artists" so often sold to us by the press. We learn of an artist's nerviness "Steven acquired his first camera at age seven" but we seldom hear of an artist's nerves. It is for this reason that I like to tell the stories I was privy to in my twenties, when I was married to young Martin Scorsese, who was friends with young Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Brian DePalma, and Francis Ford Coppola. From my privileged position as wife and insider, I witnessed fits of nerves and bouts of insecurity suffered through with the help of friends. Because all of the men in our intimate circle matured into very famous artists, these stories are quite valuable -- not because they drop names but because they drop information. They tell us in no uncertain terms that great artists suffer great fears like the rest of us. They do not make art without fear but despite fear. They are not worry free but they are free to both worry and create. They are not superhuman and we need not expect ourselves to be so either. We need not disqualify ourselves from trying by saying "Since it's so terrifying for me, I must not be supposed to do it." Let me say it again: Some of the most terrified people I ever met are some of the greatest American artists. They have achieved their careers by walking through their fears, not by running away from them. The very active imaginations that led them into jittery terrors are the same imaginations that have allowed them to thrill us, enthrall us, and enchant us. Your own worries may similarly be the pilot fish that accompany your great talent. They are certainly no reason not to swim deeper into the waters of your own creative consciousness. TASK: Let the "Reel" Be an Ideal Our imagination is skilled at inhabiting the negative. We must train it to inhabit the positive. On the brink of a breakthrough, we often rehearse our bad reviews -- or, at least, our bad day. We imagine how foolish we will look ever to have hoped to have our dreams. We are adroit at picturing our creative downfalls. Fortunately, success sometimes comes to us whether we can imagine it or not. Still, it comes to us more easily and stays more comfortably if it feels like a welcome guest, something looked forward to with anticipation, not apprehension. This tool is an exercise in optimism, and that word "exercise" is well chosen. Some of us may have to strain to constructively imagine our ideal day. But let's try it. Take pen in hand. Set aside at least one half hour for writing freely. Imagine yourself at the beginning of your ideal day, a day in which all of your dreams have come true and you are living smack in the middle of your own glorious accomplishments. How does it feel? How good can you imagine feeling? Moment by moment, hour by hour, happening by happening, and person by person, give yourself the pleasure in your own mind's eye of the precise day you would like to have. For example: "I wake up early, just as a beautiful morning light spills into the room and focuses on the wall where I have hung the covers of my best original cast albums for my Broadway shows. My bedroom has a fireplace and my row of Oscars and Tony awards balance happily on the mantel. I slip from bed so as not to wake my beloved, who is happily still asleep. It is a big day, day one of rehearsals for a new show. Casting has gone well. The director is superb. Everyone is eager and excited to be at work, and so am I. I have worked with many of these people before. We have a loyal, constructive, and brilliantly talented core group of talent that was working in what they call "Broadway reborn," as the melodic songs of our work echo the best of Rodgers and Hammerstein." Let your imagination be a real "ham." Spare no expense and consider nothing too frivolous. Do you have telegrams of congratulations wreathing your makeup mirror? Did somebody send you two dozen roses, and a dozen fresh bagels for breakfast? When the phone rings with great news, who is calling to say "That's great!" Is it your favorite sister or the president? This is your day and you have it exactly as you want. Allow yourself to inhabit your absolute ideal from morning until nightfall. Include your family and friends, your pets, time for a nap or high tea. Enjoy scones and excellent reviews. Accept a lucrative and prestigious film deal. Make arrangements to tithe a percentage of your megaprofits to charity. Stretch your mind and your emotional boundaries to encompass the very best day you can imagine and allow yourself a sense of peace, calm, and self-respect for a job well done. This article is excerpted from Walking in This World, ©2002, by Julia Cameron. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Tarcher/Putnam publishing. Info/Order this book. About the Author JULIA CAMERON has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of seventeen books of fiction and nonfiction, among them The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, and The Right to Write, her best-selling works on the creative process. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television. Julia divides her time between Manhattan and the high desert of New Mexico. ============================ What are your intentions this year?  Join us and share them here: http://bizcats.powerfulintentions.com ============================ And, while you are at it, Empower yourself: http://www.empowerism.com/e/95644 ===================== Attention advertisers: The Free Ad Board I promised you is now here for your convenience at CATLINES. Submit your ads at: http://www.freeadboard.com/?pro=470 ===================== Write a book now! http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=191341 ===================== $10 a month for your very own website and more!  Come see what this is all about: http://www.movie.ws/bestone ===================== ===================== The Cat's Meow http://www.cafeshops.com/poofcat ===================== 4: Look What The Cats Dragged In "LAW OF CAT COMPOSITION: A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't Matter." --Unknown Author Submitted by Alera @@@@@@@ "Don't expect too much from human beings.  We were created at the end of the week when God was tired and looking forward to a day off." --Mark Twain @@@@@@@ "No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens." --Abraham Lincoln @@@@@@@ We have two cats. They're my wife's cats, Mischa and Alex. You can tell a woman names a cat like this. Women always have sensitive names: Muffy, Fluffy, Buffy. Guys name cats things like Tuna Breath, Fur Face, Meow Head. They're nice cats. They've been neutered and they've been declawed. So they're like pillows that eat. --Larry Reeb @@@@@@@ Wyah's Surprise by Lauren Merryfield When I went to the bathroom last night, Maryah came to visit, as she often does.  Then she confidently flung herself into the tub, as I reached out to pet her.  I heard a small kitty paw splash as she discovered there was water in the tub! Immediately she tried to fling herself out but slid.  I helped her out and she shook herself off.  Poor kitty!  By then it was funny to me!  What a shock that must have been for our skitty kitty. There was about an inch or two of water from when I'd run water for the kitti