IN THIS ISSUE
Welcome
Feature Article - Freedom of Choice
Words to Inspire
Guest Column - The Rewards and Risks of Personal Freedom
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WELCOME

Greetings and welcome to all of you. We are delighted to send you another issue of KEYS TO SUCCESS. Thank you for joining us.

I hope you are ready to enjoy a lovely three day Fourth of July weekend. In honor of the patriotic holiday the articles in this issue look at independence and freedoms. Please enjoy the message.

Our commitment is to give you practical information and inspirational ideas to benefit your business and personal life. We are committed to "bringing out your best"! We welcome feedback so we can improve and offer real value to you.

Keys to Success is written and published by Carol Gegner. Are you ready to excel? Check out http://www.coachexecs.com. We are ready to help you.

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Freedom of Choice

Summer is in full swing and this weekend we will be celebrating the Fourth of July. Every year we take this time to honor our independence and all the freedoms we enjoy in the United States. It's a time for flag waving, marching parades, picnics and fabulous fireworks filling the evening sky. How fortunate we are!

The Fourth of July is also called Independence Day since it represents the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Our independence provides us with freedoms that we treasure as a nation. Those freedoms created so many years ago allow us to live a life filled with personal freedoms.

Many of you live in different countries and you will not be celebrating the Fourth of July. However, we can all embrace certain freedoms, particularly the freedom of choice. We make hundreds of choices every day. Often we aren't even aware that we made a choice because it is so much a part of what we do. That's when choices become habits. How much thought do you give to the daily choices of what you eat or what you wear?

Og Mandino tells us in his book "The Choice" that our life is a reflection of the choices we make. If we want a better way to live we need to make different choices. The story is based on a very successful insurance salesman. Yes, he made a lot of money, received many awards, and was well known in his industry. He had provided very well for his family. One day as he looked at his two sons he realized he was missing something very important. He was missing out on their lives!

This was a crucial point in his life. He declared his own Independence Day when he chose to jump out of the rat race and create a lifestyle filled with quality not quantity.

What do you need to do to create your personal Independence Day? What do you need more of or less of? What choices can you make that will make a difference in your life?

Making different choices requires us to become more aware of what we are doing. Try engaging your five senses as a barometer for creating what you really want.

1. What do you see? Take the time to visualize what you want. Make
the picture vivid in your mind's eye. That picture acts like a
magnet that pulls you forward to what you want now and in the
future.

2. What do you hear? Listen to your inner voice. You need to
receive feedback from others and give it consideration. In the
end use your wisdom to help you determine what you do.

3. What do you feel? Your intuition is strong. Please don't ignore
it. Only you know if something feels right for you. Pay attention
to the tug.

4. What do you smell? Make your own bouquet representing what you
want in your life. Fill it with a variety of beautiful flowers
with lovely scents. Then take time to enjoy it.

5. Who or what do you touch? Your choices probably affect other
people. What impact do those choices have on you and the important
people in your life? Make your touch gentle, yet firm.

It is time to make new choices when what you have isn't what you want. Choice is a freedom we all have and it is up to us to use it. Create a better way to live using your freedom of choice. The path may be challenging;the results will be worth celebrating.
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WORDS TO INSPIRE

"Don't take anyone else's definition of success as your
own."
Jacqueline Briskin, Author

"To decide to be at the level of choice is to take
responsibility for your life and to be in control of your
life."
Arbie M. Dale, Author

"One's philosophy is expressed in the choices one makes."
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Stateswoman and Writer
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GUEST ARTICLE

The Rewards and Risks of Personal Freedom by Charlie Badenhop

One of the first things I noticed about my newly purchased
parrot, was that he couldn't fly. Chico's wings had been clipped
and he was stuck here on earth just like us humans.

Once the weather turned nice I took Chico and sat him on a branch
of a tree in my backyard, hoping to make him happier. At first he
seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking
like an agitated father pacing back and forth in the maternity
waiting room. I was surprised to see that he didn't flap his
wings in an attempt to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable. I
always wondered how he knew such a thing.

One day, while sitting on his branch, Chico got way more agitated
then he had been when I first took him outside months ago. He was
pacing back and forth and talking up a storm. Then all of a
sudden, he stopped pacing, let out a spine tingling scream, and
started madly flapping his wings for the first time ever. About
three seconds later, he lifted off from the branch like the space
shuttle at Cape Canaveral! I was amazed and shocked. Little did I
know his feathers had been growing back in, and just like a sly
convict, Chico had been biding his time until the moment was ripe
for escape!

Chico made his break for freedom on a late Monday afternoon, and
by late Monday night I knew he was not coming home. Finally, on
Tuesday evening Chico returned, but stayed way out of reach. I
talked to him and showed him some food, but to no avail. Then I
took his cage inside so he would not relate coming back to
getting locked up again. Finally, I made him a firm promise that
if he did come back I would let him out every day the weather was
nice. Shortly after making my solemn oath, he flew onto my
shoulder and I took him upstairs.

From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him
out early and he would fly around and be back before dark. This
routine lasted for about two months and then suddenly Chico
became ill. The vet said that he had contracted a disease from
the pigeons in the neighborhood. Within a few days he died, and I
mourned his loss.

Just once the thought crossed my mind that if I had not set him
free to fly every day, he would still be alive. It was then that
I realized that the quality of one's life is much more important
than the number of years one lives. What sense is there in being
a bird if you can't fly?

Chico made his initial break for freedom on a late Monday
afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a
chance when the conditions are right, knowing you too in your own
way, were built to fly. If you don't set yourself free, what will
be the purpose of your life?