Accountable Citizens Updates

Words Of Wisdom That Can Be Life-Changing

Guest author T.O. Illustratio shares a story of life-changing words of wisdom from a stranger turned friend.

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Step By Step Goal Setting That Works For Any Personality Type

Even if you don't like lists, this step by step goal setting process will power your success.

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Blessings of This Season

Morning is breaking on this Christmas Day as I write this greeting. The sun will be showing through soon, although in my northern state, sunshine is often fleeting in late December. We learn to savor every sliver of that warm light. It's quiet outside now, still and calm in advance of the new day.

All of us in the editorial room at accountablecitizens.com wish you a blessed Christmas full of the hope of this time of year. If you are someone who doesn't believe in such things, we wish you the same hope and peace of new opportunities.

If you are going through a series of "firsts" following the loss of someone close to you, we wish you strength and fond memories of the person you've lost. I am going through the same thing this holiday season and I won't dare suggest it is easy. It isn't.

The quiet time of this pre-dawn sequence that would give way to the full day is a good opportunity to reflect on the good times. No matter how bad it seems, there are good times.

We wish all of you the belief we feel of better times ahead, better because we are determined to make things better than we found them. We can't fix all the problems of our world. You can't fix everything either. But we can work on fixing some of it. You can too.

As this fresh new morning opens up into a full day, so too does this quiet time of reflection. Reflection on blessings received, new challenges ahead and joyful events waiting for all of us to realize. There is someone out there waiting for you to lift them to a higher level. Only you can do it because only you can reach them.

There is also someone waiting to give you a helping hand, even if that is just a metaphoric,(or maybe an actual) high five. Such is the hope of this Christmas season. Hope and promise.

Peace and happiness to all of you.

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We're Holding Out For A Hero But That Hero Is Closer Than We Think

Who will be the next great leader? Who will come forward to right the wrongs? We're holding out for a hero, all the while unaware the hero is already here.

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Another Term For Responsible. Leading To "And Then What?"

And then what? We're giving you another term for responsible, or rather a list of terms. If you're reading this page, you'll know what to do next.

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Habits Of Highly Effective People From The Wisdom Of An Expert

We don't have to reinvent the wheel. Follow this proven wisdom describing the habits of highly effective people.

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The Power Of Your Words Has A Lasting Impact. Make It Inspirational!

The question hit me like a slap in the face. "You have no idea of the power of your words do you?" A powerful life lesson changed me in such a positive way.

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How To Ask Better Questions Is A Life-Enhancing Skill

Small adjustments can provide huge benefits. Learning how to ask better questions will make a big difference in your life and those you meet.

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"Don't Be Distracted By Criticism"

"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember-the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you."

In this week or now, ten day period where we focus on kicking the negative out of our minds, this advice included in our recent page filled with impactful Zig Ziglar quotes seems very relevant. If you haven't had the chance to read that page, the link is just below.

Zig Ziglar Quotes

It seems like as humans, we tend to tumble or are led through convenient distraction into two camps. Both of these camps do nothing but take us away from achieving our goals. We are either held back by the continual drumbeat of criticism for our decisions or hopes, or even worse, we join the ever-growing chorus of noise that actively works to tear down any success that isn't our own.

We see it in national events where misfortune or bad acts, where even death of prominent figures serves as new forums to pile inflammatory remarks on to an already sad situation.

Even more powerful are the small, localized examples of the end result of people being held back by the criticism of those who have neither the willingness nor the courage to strike out boldly on their own to reach new successes. Instead they are content to tear down the efforts, to pull the others back down to their own level. We've used the metaphor of the crab pot before. The fishermen don't need to put a lid on the crab pot, because if one attempts to climb out of the container, there is another eager to pull it back down.

While never easy, the simple solution to this dilemma of being held back by the negative residing in our minds is to have something stronger to guide you. Something more powerful than the negative. Regular readers know we try to make every page on our website align with our three core values. One of those is to always be accountable.

We welcome any constructive criticism. If it makes our website better, we're all for it. As for the negative, just for the sake of tearing down, we don't give it a second thought. That took a while to get to, but it is worth the effort. We recommend it to all of you.

Realistically, most people checking into this type of website aren't looking to tear down, but rather to grow as leaders and as accountable citizens. We certainly need more of those.

"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember-the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you." Zig Ziglar

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Zig Ziglar Quotes To Clear Away The Funk

We all get bogged down in negativity. The key is to shake it off and move forward. These Zig Ziglar quotes will help you kick out the doubt.

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Socialism In The United States and A Cautionary Fable

Guest author T.O. Illustratio shares a fictional fable that should lead us to pay attention to the impact of socialism in the United States.

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Providing Ammunition To The Negative Forces

A couple days ago in this spot you were able to read a column from guest author T.O. Illustratio. You can find it two spots below this one in the blog lineup.

It was suggested in our editorial room that I should add my own two cents to this topic. It wasn't suggested by me, because publicly admitting to past and sometimes current failures isn't any fun. But as accountable citizens, it is part of the gig to own up to past mistakes. Maybe some of you will relate to this page and we'll save you some lost time.

Our guest author could have been writing that column especially for me. My co-editors know I've allowed a couple negative influences to occupy that rent-free time in my mind. It has affected my energy, my focus, and even my own self confidence. The sad part of this admission is the tenants living in my mind aren't wasting any of their own energy and time thinking about me.

I'm providing all the ammunition they could ever hope to direct at me or any of the other targets they laser in on as they go about their seemingly daily mission to bring people down to a level of misery and sadness matching their own.

One of my co-editors, the one who wrote about being trapped in past codependent relationships was pretty blunt. "Yeah, those two people were lousy to you. So what? Get over it and get back into the work. They are only part of your existence because you've allowed them to remain there."

Sometimes it gets interesting in our editorial room as we discuss content ideas. This time, there wasn't any counter-argument. What could I say? It was all true.

If I could push rewind and do things differently, I would do it in a minute. I can't go back but I can learn from it and move forward with the two-fold gift experience grants us. Wisdom and pain. Both are valuable if channeled in the right direction.

My past bonehead decisions allow me the chance to give all of you a heads-up so you might be able to avoid the same pitfalls. Or if you decide to make the same doomed choices, you will recover faster because you know we've done it too.

It took a while, but I can feel the trigger pulling now and am better prepared to kick the squatters out of my mind as T.O. Illustratio wrote. You can too.

Check out our page directory to read that amazing story about how to stop being codependent. You'll find the button in the right margin of every page.

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The Unsung Hero Impacting American Legacy

Guest author T.O. Illustratio delves into the contributions of the unsung hero and the importance of remembering those contributions.

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A Resolution Prequel

Allow me to offer all of you reading this, a "resolution prequel." Let this manuscript guide you to inspired determination as you consider those New Year's resolutions that are looming, just a few weeks away.

Consider if you are so inclined, to follow this advice from a purveyor of sage wisdom. "What comes out of your mouth is determined by what goes into your mind." Zig Ziglar

That advice not only impacts our words, but also our daily thoughts which drive our actions. Perhaps the best analogy this humble scribe can offer is the successful real estate investor. That housing mogul would have little success if tenants were allowed to live rent-free.

Knowing the previous paragraph to be factual, lets turn that metaphorical rent-free tenant toward our own thoughts. If asked who is guilty of allowing people who spew negative energy, rent-free existence in their minds, please raise your hands, I would be compelled by honesty to lift my arm quickly, if not sheepishly. Who wants to admit that we allow blowhards who should have no impact or influence to control our lives and loves?

But this has been a failing of my own for too long. As a prequel to any new initiatives and self-promises in the coming year, lets collectively agree to kick out the squatters who occupy our minds, rent-free. They are robbing us, point-blank, of our opportunities to wring the best out of the daily gift that is each new day.

Whether it be the talking heads on television, the pompous politicians, the lazy coworkers, or anyone else we allow to distract us from personal growth and joy, lets evict them from our minds.

Every journey is made easier with needless baggage removed. The negative squatters cluttering our minds are just dragging us down to their level. They can only do that if we allow them to do so.

Written by T.O. Illustratio

The Bus Stop Gave Him A Lesson That Came Back To Him

Guest author T.O. Illustratio offers a fable about how an experience at the bus stop changed several lives through an act of kindness

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