One day a teacher of God showed up in front of me and said something that no-one had ever said before:
“I have just come to tell you that you’re not from here, you never were and it’s time to go home”….

That was it…it was my call to awaken and I answered it. I was shown the door and I stepped through it. I remember when that happened I had a vision of a bird in a cage. It was perched at the open door tempted to look back and call to all the other birds in the cage to come. I knew what I had to do. I saw in that instant like a camera frame by frame capturing the bird in flight as it left the cage, that there was only ONE. Each frame represented everyONE in the Sonship. I saw when it was done by one it WAS done by all. My part could only be to join that MIND and all would follow. My cry for help had been answered.

Salvation is my only function here. God still is Love, and this is not His Will.

“Your Father loves you. All the world of pain is not His Will. Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you. Then let the Thought with which He has replaced all your mistakes enter the darkened places of your mind that thought the thoughts that never were His Will. This part belongs to God, as does the rest. It does not think its solitary thoughts, and make them real by hiding them from Him. Let in the light, and you will look upon no obstacle to what He wills for you. Open your secrets to His kindly light, and see how bright this light still shines in you. Practice His Thought today, and let His light seek out and lighten up all darkened spots, and shine through them to join them to the rest. It is God’s Will your mind be one with His.

It is God’s Will that He has but one Son.

It is God’s Will that His one Son is you.”

A Course in Miracles ~ Lesson 99

God’s Will for me is perfect happiness ~ as I give this message away I hear it for myself and I remember for everyone. I am only EVER teaching myself. This is the end of time and as we shine on each other we remember the moment that we all sprang into heaven. This experience is contagious. I HAVE to give this away. A Course in Miracles worked, as the blocks to love’s awareness are removed, the clouds are gone I can no more stop the sun from shining. The Course was given to me to GIVE. Thank you Jesus.

This Easter I offer my gratitude to the Master Teacher. The Master is a flame and I the moth am drawn directly into that flame where I disappear. Here I am free of the little self I once believed I was. Here I am free of guilt and free to accept and experience God’s Judgment of me instead of my own.

“You are still My holy Son, forever innocent, forever loving and forever loved, as limitless as your Creator, and completely changeless and forever pure. Therefore awaken and return to Me. I am your Father and you are My Son.”

I am certain that there is nothing that cannot be healed at this altar within my mind. In that experience Jesus stands with me and all my brothers, as we are joyfully remembering Him. It’s a miracle! He Is Risen In Me!

Sue Maybury is the co-creator of The Miracle Times – a spiritual Ezine inspired by teachers of God who are dedicated to sharing the experience of joyous awakening through A Course In Miracles.
The Miracle Times: http://www.themiracletimes.com

For decades, the real estate world turned in a predictable manner. The roles of buyers, sellers and real estate professionals were fairly well defined and transactions followed a predictable path of yard signs, newspaper ads, open houses and miles of paperwork.

Recently, online and empowered consumers have changed the game. Real estate professionals now face issues similar to the ones that have transformed the retail, personal finance and travel planning industries. As technology advances and new business models evolve, the real estate industry has begun to transform itself from providing traditional, carefully controlled “agent-centric” transactions to new “consumer-centric” practices. The following is a look at some of the recent industry trends and how buyers, sellers and investors can expect to benefit. The “Five Ds” that are driving change in real estate are:

1. Disruption – Over the past 10 years, the Internet has matured into a powerful platform for delivering real estate information, forever changing the interaction between buyers, sellers and real estate professionals.

2. Displacement – The popularity and acceptance of self-service and consumer-direct business models is being felt by real estate professionals, who are striving to develop attractive new offerings for Web-savvy consumers.

3. Demanding consumers – You now have more real estate knowledge, tools and resources at your fingertips than ever before. More savvy consumers tend to be more independent and demanding.

4. Downward pressure – Traditional real estate commissions of 5-6 percent of a property’s sales price are facing downward pressure.

5. Developing alternatives – The real estate industry is transforming itself to provide targeted services and exciting new options that add value for consumers.
Disruption

“We are going to see our industry go through dramatic transformation via the Internet and consolidation of agents and companies.” – eRealty Times Columnist Dirk Zeller

Some industry observers have adopted Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen’s term “disruptive technology” to explain recent developments in real estate. Though it’s easy to point to the World Wide Web and advancing technology as the main changes in real estate, that’s only part of what’s shaking things up. Essentially, the real cause of disruption is not just technology, but technology-enabled real estate consumers.

Web-enabled consumers

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), more than 72 percent of homebuyers now begin their home search online. The popularity of online real estate ads surpassed newspaper property listings back in 2001, and the gap is widening. Less than one percent of buyers first learned about the home they purchased on the Internet in 1995, while in 2004, that number passed 20 percent.

According to a California Association of Realtors (CAR) survey, 97 percent of respondents said the Web helped them understand the buying process better and 100 percent said using the Web helped them understand home values better. Web-enabled homebuyers like you are taking a more active role in researching homes and neighborhoods. You also now spend less time with real estate professionals once you have completed your research. Internet homebuyers also used the Web effectively to filter out properties that did not interest them, visiting 6.1 homes on average versus 15.4 for traditional buyers.

Today, you can view photos and detailed information for hundreds of properties in the time it used to take to visit a single one. And the Web provides much more opportunity than simply moving print listings online. The growing availability of residential high-speed Internet connections has boosted the popularity of virtual tours and interactive maps, providing consumers with powerful and flexible visual search tools.

In addition to making home searches easier, automated valuation model (AVM) software is making a big impact in how properties are evaluated. AVMs, which generate valuation estimates by analyzing and comparing property information data, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and accurate. While not considered a substitute for human appraisals, AVMs are gaining popularity because they are inexpensive, easy to use and produce valuation estimates in minutes. Now AVMs, used extensively in electronic mortgage approval processing during the recent refinancing boom, are becoming available on real-estate Websites aimed at consumers. This is a significant development for independent sellers, who often find it challenging to price their properties correctly when selling on their own.

The MLS goes public

“In real estate, MLS data sits at the apex of the change, specifically the MLS information that is pushed to the Internet every minute of the day.” – Bradley Inman, Publisher of Inman News

Once an exclusive tool for real estate professionals, the multiple listing service (MLS) has in recent years become a very public platform for real estate listings. The MLS is the nation’s most comprehensive database of properties for sale – four out of five homes sold in the United States are listed on the MLS.
MLS properties are available to agents and brokers worldwide, and are now accessible via consumer Web sites such as Realtor.com, WSJ.com, Excite, Netscape, AOL and MSN. MLS listings also appear on local, regional and national brokerage Websites through Internet Data Exchange (IDX) agreements that allow participating Realtors to share listings and display them to consumers. Even though only licensed realtors can list property on the MLS, the system has begun to figure prominently for the $110 billion independent seller (for-sale-by-owner or FSBO) market. About 13 percent of real estate sales are now FSBO, conducted without a broker’s assistance.

Type “flat fee MLS” into any major search engine, and you’ll see dozens of real estate professionals willing to list your property in the MLS for a fee. If you are willing to pay a commission of 2-3 percent, you can attract the attention of thousands of agents who will show your property to prospective buyers. You can then reduce the cost of the sale to about half a traditional 5-6 percent sales commission, plus the cost of the MLS listing. If you find an independent buyer working without an agent, you could make a sale with no commission at all and pay only an MLS listing flat fee.
Displacement

Currently, about 2.4 million real estate licensees operate nationally, according to the Association of Real Estate License Law officials. The NAR has more than one million members, up from about 760,000 members five years ago. Many real estate professionals and industry observers expect a significant decline in this number because some tasks traditionally performed by agents and brokers can now be done more quickly and easily by Web-enabled consumers.

“Historically the fundamental driver of the real estate industry was the control of information. The real estate agent and the real estate office were the only sources of comprehensive information on which properties were for sale and those who might be interested in buying them. With this control revenues were practically guaranteed.

Moreover, because this exclusive control was akin to a monopoly by virtue of the multiple listing service (MLS) any firm of any size could serve the customer equally well. As a result, the number of real estate companies grew without regard to market efficiencies.

Simply put, the traditional model is too inflexible. Consumers are seriously questioning the value of a real estate agent. They frequently feel that many of the traditional tasks undertaken by the agents are now either no longer required or can be done by the consumer themselves.”

- Swanepoel & Tuccillo, Real Estate Confronts Profitability

The quotes above, from a popular report on emerging real estate business models and dwindling profit margins, highlight a number of issues traditional real estate professionals are now facing. And if the real estate industry has grown historically without regard to market efficiencies, the issue has only been compounded since 2001, as new agents signed on in droves, lured by low interest rates and skyrocketing home prices in many areas. It’s likely that the number of traditional real estate agents will decline, while new types of real estate jobs will be created to deliver value to Web-savvy customers.

NEXT in Part 2 of 2: – Demanding Consumers, Downward Pressure and Developing Alternatives

Charles Warnock is Marketing Communications Manager at Homekeys in Miami, Florida. Homekeys is a non-traditional real estate Web site that helps consumers buy, sell and save thousands on real estate. Learn more at http://www.homekeys.net. Charles writes frequently on real estate, finance, advertising and marketing communications.

Lack of Experienced Qualified Coaches

The consensus on the top problems in youth sports and gymnastics would at least include the following list. In gymnastics, the lack of qualified coaches is perhaps the biggest problem. The sport is growing at a rapid rate and there were not enough coaches (of any experience level) before.

No Place for Coaches to Learn

There are many reasons for this and a number of deficiencies in the coaching pool. The largest problems is that there is no place for anyone who is interested to go to learn how to coach correctly. There is no college, University, trade school or even central source of information where you can go
to learn how to coach and the higher the level you aspire to coach, the less information and resources there are.

Bad Coaching Habits and Practicesare Passed On

Coaches in this country learned how to coach either from how they were coached themselves or by mimicking another coach in the gym. A once annual coaches’ congress realistically does little to improve the situation. Add in the lack of useful informational resources and coaches are basically on their own.
This is the problem we have chosen to attack ourselves with our web site and products.

Developmentally Inappropriate Training

Linked to this situation and problem is the developmentally inappropriate coaching style of many coaches in our sport. Lack of knowledge about training loads and hours in the gym and the amount of pressure to place on very young gymnasts is far too common in our sport.

Parents and Coaches Want Medals, Gymnasts Want to Learn and Have Fun

The next major problem in the sport is the overemphasis on winning, in actuality more by coaches and parents, than by gymnasts themselves. Parents evaluate the sport by the competitive success (read that -count the medals) their child. Coaches match that and then top it with an emphasis on how much control they have over their team and macho competition about which coach can teach the hardest skill in the shortest amount of time instead of building a correct basis for long-term development.

No Fun Allowed – Get Out

Coaches are often all too willing to sacrifice the natural fun of the sport in their ego drive toward reaching their own personal goals. Some even take the position that gymnasts on team should not be having any fun at all because training in gymnastics requires nothing but serious training. Our advice in this situation – find a new coach – or if that is an impossibility, learn to ignore that attitude in them.

The Most Talented Are Burned Out First

We are talking about burn-out. And unfortunately, it often happens first to the most talented of our gymnasts. Coaches get a young talent in their gym and proceed to push them too far, too fast in terms of too many hours in the gym, too much unnecessary pressure too soon and robbing of the fun of the sport. The gymnasts are driven out of the sport before they are old enough to compete interantionally.

Coaches Burn Before They Learn

By the time coaches realize their mistake, they are many years and many burned out gymnasts into their career. The problem seems to have resurfaced with a vengeance lately. One generation of coaches learned their lesson a decade ago, but without anywhere to learn from the mistakes of others, the new generation of coaches is busily burning out gymnasts of their own.

Learning High Level Skills is Not the Problem

Some have misunderstood our position in this regard. We do not advocate restricting the learning speed of gymnasts and decreasing the quality and level of skills they are capable of learning. We simply believe young and very young gymnasts should have limited practice hours and competitive pressure. We still want them in the gym when they are 16 and finally old enough to compete internationally.

Too Much Pressure or Too Little Support

The next problem is almost a conundrum (an enigma, a puzzle). On the one hand, many parents put far too much parental pressure on athletes, especially in light of the fact that some coaches are putting too much pressure on the very same gymnasts themselves. On the other hand, some gymnasts suffer from a lack of attention and support from their parents.

Education is the Solution

The solution for all of the above problems is education – education for parents and coaches.

15 Books and Counting

John Howard is the author of 15 books and e-Books about gymnastics, gym design, gymnastics humor and cheerleading. More books are already on the way. He has 25 years experience and has coached State, Regional and National champion gymnasts and international competitors and cheerleaders at the National level in NCAA Division I.

Enter the Gymnastics Zone
GymnasticsZone.com is a web site for gymnasts, cheerleaders, coaches and parents with numerous FREE articles and information, fun pages and activities available for viewing at: http://GymnasticsZone.com

For More Information
A variety of interesting and useful products and even more In-depth information products are available at: http://gymnasticszone.com/eBooks.htm

So, you have decided that you are interested in the niche of forex trading. Now, all you need to do is find which is the best forex trading online possible. My advice to you is to give yourself enough time to do some research to find the best system to use for your forex trading purposes.

If you have made up your mind that you wish to break into the forex trading market, then there are some things you will definitely wish to consider first. If you are thoughtful about your decision and you truly desire to learn forex, then you want to take some steps.

When I was growing up, my father had this saying, “You know, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” What he intended would take me a few years to figure out. But now I get it; especially since I survive on doing forex online. So just what is that you say? Well, in short, automated forex is the method of maneuvering your foreign exchange currency, or forex, account on automatic.

There are many different ways that you can school yourself about forex trading. One method is to have a tutor of sorts. If you know someone who is experienced in online forex, then you may want to ask them if they would be inclined to help you learn online forex. If having a private instructor is not an option for you, then you will need to either buy or download an instructional book, or open a practice account and begin practicing trading in a simulated forex trading market.

Many people have had experience of the huge difference that can come about from simply changing the colour on your walls. Another overlooked way to change the way a room looks is to change the flooring, stripe carpet can make a great alternative to exposed floorboards or lino.

Another useful tip to change the feel of a room is to change the shape of the space itself. It’s not always an easy task to pull this off successfully. Some rooms have ceilings which are not in proportion to the width of the room which can look strange – one possible solution is to create an artificial ceiling to bring the room back in proportion. If your loo is located adjacent to your bathroom it’s a sensible idea to remove the parting wall. Conversely adding a parting wall where necessary can always be a great way to bring a space back into proportion.

To make a room feel much wider than in fact it is a good tip is to hang large mirrors which will instantly change the look and feel of a room. Small mirrors also go a long way to achieving the desired affect and can often cost the fraction of the price of a huge mirror. By employing the mirror strategy you are in effect tricking your brain into thinking that a space is much bigger than in reality it physically is. Another great idea to make the most of rooms with very high ceilings is to build an additional split level.

Comfortable furniture is an absolute must for any home and can make a huge difference to a room. If your room is one designed to relax in make sure that the furniture you choose for it allows you to relax.

Graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering which is usually believed to be the most extensive of any of the engineering disciplines you will normally find lots of mechanical engineering vacancies to pick from. A broad range of industries are available, such as energy, heating systems, cooling system design, and the planning and maintenance of air conditioning; the automobile industry, plant engineering and upkeep; highly pressurized vessels and piping. Mechanical engineering jobs may include working in marketing, administrative or supervisory roles, additional examples could be agriculture and production manufacturing. How much of a remuneration should a mechanical engineer expect? Information from a mechanical engineering study commissioned by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a position in mechanical engineering in the vast majority of cases covers a 40,000 dollars to $93000 wage band, your education and of course work experience being controlling elements. An additional factor affecting your mechanical engineering remuneration is the engineering branch you have opted for. Strategies for securing the top vacancy: — It’s really important to write a detailed and current CV. When you are happy with CV which highlights your qualifications, you’re now ready to get proactive and start networking. How can you find positions in my chosen field?

Attending employment fairs: The engineering staff at numerous colleges will usually hold information about local employment fairs. You will get a wonderful opportunity to introduce yourself to the people hiring.

Working as an intern: Any college can provide help with internship placements. Graduating students are often employed by firms in which they had an internship, and can also improve your chances of a better salary. Joining groups: Mechanical engineering groups and meetings can provide you with the chance of not only learning what is occurring in your chosen profession, but also opens up networking opportunities. Newspapers are a worthwhile resource: Businesses that need engineers advertise in the papers just like any firm. Check the press daily; submit your cv and always to follow up. The most significant element is perseverance.

Use cyberspace: Submit a comprehensive CV on the job search sites on the net. Put together a profile on the LinkedIn website and network. Harness the might of the web to ramp up the search for the perfect job.

Perseverance and making industry contacts are significant in discovering a job. Keep your CV and name out and make sure you go for for lots of vacancies; never fail to follow through every last lead; use the might of the internet for networking and submit a profile. All these actions can help you find the ideal job for you.

Sports trainers is considered the most important piece of equipment you’ll purchase so it is fundamental that you choose the correct shoes.

Many people don’t realise that there are several differences in the way in which sports trainers pad your feet. It is not great for your feet if you participate in football or tennis in the identical footwear that you wear for jogging. Find superb deals on cycling equipment online today.

“It has been reported, that 65% of the United Kingdom’s recreational men sportsmen & women sportsmen wear the wrong trainers for their selected sport,” he says. “Trainers are the most imperative piece of sportswear gear you will ever pay money for & altering what you wear on your feet can prevent damage.”

Football can put lots of strain on the feet, specially when playing on tough pitches like that of AstroTurf. The football boots can also put tension on your feet, and it is not exceptional for a footballer to suffer from corns, calluses or damaged, thickened & ingrown toenails. A excellent, well-fitted pair of boots is necessary & there should not be any signs of pressure on the foot after a game or training session.

Racquet sports: It is fundamental when participating in racquet sports, like that of table tennis or badminton, to pick trainers particularly intended for the purpose. These sports activity involve a significant amount of left-to-right movement and sports trainers won’t give the appropriate steadiness. Racquet sport shoes are heavier & more solid than jogging shoes, as their toes are engineered for stop-and-go action. Comfort should be your main concern & It’s essential to trade your sports shoes often.

Walking is a fabulous way to start a fitness regime, while the more adventurous go for mountain climbing. It is good for your cardiovascular health but is lower impact & so comes with less risk of harm.

Pass Drug Test Opiate

Drug examination has become a public problem around the earth. Some societies perform drug screens on newly employed individuals or present employees to guarantee a drug-free environment at workplace.

Insurance authorities and courts carry out drug tests on a normal basis on distrusted individuals. The important question that comes to your head, when you go for such test is how to beat the drug test?

Online websites much like Fact About Passing Drug Test provides the current detoxification products including permanent cleansers, synthetic urine products, and saliva cleaning products, detox drinks and home drug examination kits.

Drug Free Passing Test

Pass The Drug Test offers up pro support for every item, with support catered by drug test experts whom are extremely seasoned with several types of drug testing types and issues. Support is available by e-mail and telephone. Shipping is speedy, with complete secrecy assured, using plain and discrete boxing materials to keep all client secrecy.

Methamphetamine Drug Test

Embedded on the new website is a whopping range of products for cleansing and examination intents. Permanent cleansing agents are proposed in 3, 5 and 7, 10, 14, 21 and 30 day formulas, with a variety of herbs, roots, barks and minerals that are known lipids destroyers which act to break down fat cells and get rid of toxins completely. Imitation urine is offered, which carries all components ordinarily incurred in weewee, especially balanced for pH with specific gravity, creatin and other urine features. A saliva cleansing mouthwash is offered up will destroy toxins from your mouth with only 3 minutes of use. We offer a range of detoxification drinks, all bearing the best efficient herbs and fiber to help free the body of toxins that may have accrued.

If you use Excite to hunt the wide world web for us here are 10 Good phrases to utilize to obtain our web site.

How To Pass A Hair Sample Drug Test

High School Drug Testing as well offers drug screening kits including saliva, hair and piss based tests to guarantee that detoxification efforts are effective. For more information, visit Use Niacin To Pass A Drug Test If you have any questions, please call us at: 877-727-7123

Today’s marketplace is flooded with training aids. You can find one for nearly every part of the game. And more and more are being introduced every day. While a training aid won’t lower your golf handicap overnight or replace golf tips, it will help improve your golf game if you work with it faithfully.

Below are five training aids golfers often ask about in my golf lessons. Designed to improve your swing or a phase of your swing, these products help correct faults, groove mechanics, and/or ingrain the feel of swing. The key, as always, is finding a training aid that works for you before investing your hard-earned money.

(And incidentally, I am in no way affiliated with these companies nor do I make money from these reviews.)

Amazing Assist Swing Trainer (www.matzie.com)

Available from Gibas & Matzie Golf Products, the Amazing ASSIST training club improves your swing and increases strength. It’s like getting a golf lesson free of charge. Its weighted head and bent shaft teaches the correct hand action. The ASSIST improves muscle memory, extension, and weight transfer as well as tempo and timing.

As the club is swung, the proper release action is exaggerated to eliminate slicing, increase clubhead speed, and produce straight shots. In addition, the training grip places the thumbs and index fingers Vs of your hands in the traditional 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock positions. You can use it at home, on the range, or before your golf lessons.

The Amazing ASSIST is ideal for pre-game or pre-practice warm-ups or for everyday use to improve your swing. The ASSIST is available for men, women, and juniors, and for right-handers and left-handers. An instructional video comes with the product. The cost is $70.

The Elbow Tac-Tic (www.4golftraining.com)

Maintaining one’s left elbow (for right-handers) as straight as comfortably possible determines the width of your swing arc, as I’ve explained in my golf tips. The wider the swing arc, the greater the power. The Elbow Tac-Tic sleeve clicks when the elbow breaks down, providing the instant feedback needed to correct the swing and keep the left elbow extended. The Tac-tic also works on the right arm, clicking when the elbow bends at the proper point in the backswing. Cost: 39.95.

The Speed Stik (www.speedstik.com)

Most golf instruction will tell you that clubhead speed determines the distance a ball is hit. The faster the clubhead speed, the farther the ball goes. Working out with the Speed Stik increases a golfer’s clubhead speed and trains proper balance and on-plane swing. Swing the Speed Stick in a continuous motion back and forth, keeping it about 18 inches off the ground. Start slowly at first, and then build momentum. Check the speed gauge for your MPHs. Every increase of 1 MPH equals three more yards of distance. Repeat a few days a week and chart your distance. Cost: $99.99

The Impact Ball (www.theimpactball.com)

The Impact Ball develops the feel of hitting a ball properly. Available from To-M-Pact Golf, Inc., it’s easy to use and understand. It’s based on the idea that many recreational players have certain swing faults (chicken wing, flying elbows, etc.) or that they try to scoop the ball off the ground when hitting. Sometimes, even the best golf instruction can’t rid a player of certain faults.

The Impact Ball works. It’s placed between the forearms and held there through your swing. The ball is bi-colored, and the only thought to focus on is to getting the ball to change colors as the club moves through the impact area. The product trains golfers to strike the ball solidly with a square clubface, eliminating any attempts to flip or scoop the ball during the shot.

The Impact Ball addresses every phase of the gamechipping, pitching, putting, driving, and bunker play. You can hit balls on the range with the Impact Ball or practice swinging the club with it at home. The cost: $39.95 + shipping and handling.

The Swing Magic Driver (www.swingmagic.com)

Training with Kallassy’s Swing Magic Driver ingrains the proper motion into your swing. Designed to improve timing, tempo, and rhythm, the Swing Magic synchronizes the movement of your arms, hands, and body. A sliding training clip enables you to separate your right hand (for right handers) during the backswing. By separating the right hand on the backswing and reconnecting it on the downswing imprints an on-plane golf swing, essential for consistent ball striking. It prevents you from coming “over the top” as well. Cost: $89.95.

Remember, a training aid is not a panacea, as I often mention in my golf tips. It won’t dramatically improve your game overnight. It won’t make up for good course management. And it won’t take the place of a one-on-one golf lesson. But it will ingrain the fundamentals of a good swing, cut strokes off your scores, and lower your golf handicap, if you practice with it faithfully. Just make sure the training aid is right for you before buying.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately.

Through billiards practice, a systematic form of training, you hope to change yourself and not only become a better player, but a better person. Through personal growth, we gain more skills and win more games. Pick some unsure elements of your game and set a plan to change them.

Work on your break

Develop a good break. Always try to keep the cue ball under control; equally as important, making a ball on the break and playing position for another shot is keeping the cue ball from going in a pocket or flying off the table, giving your opponent ball in hand for his/her first shot is probably the worst thing you can do.

The plump pigeon

If your kick shots don’t include a plan for which side of the object ball is going to be best to hit, you are one plump, juicy pigeon waiting for a peregrine falcon to strike.

Master this!

You must master the shot that cuts a ball along or nearly parallel to a short rail and brings the cue ball out of there using two rails with low outside english. Practice this one at all speeds and angles, especially when you need to go end to end.

Relieve the boredom

Yes practice can be boring. It is hard work. The harder you work, the more results you will get. It takes concentration and everyone’s attention span is different. By understanding what practice really is, and that only Perfect Practice will make perfect, can we discipline ourselves to longer practice.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

The goals of stance are stability, consistent sighting, and a simple swing. If you fulfill those goals, don’t worry about the details.

Some people spend far to much time pointing their toes in exactly the right direction, or keeping their Pinky off the wrap, or adopting some other little quirk that their uncle Fred assured them was the golden rule for pocketing balls.

Are you solid can you see the shot? Can your arm swing freely?

The details will take care of themselves and you will free yourself to concentrate on what really matters.

Have fun with practice

Relax and have fun while you are practicing. Way too many sessions result in nothing because the desire to score outweighed the need to learn. . Concentration doesn’t mean you have to tighten up. Tightening up will only minimize your chances for success.

How we learn

#1 To learn something, we must Isolate, Concentrate, Exaggerate, and Repeat.

–Isolate a particular problem, or new element you want to learn. Focus your practice time on these specifics.

–Concentrate not only on these specifics but each individual shot until you get it.

–Exaggerate by slowing down the shot, to the point you can see every detail. Making it is not half as important as seeing everything that goes into the shot. Your alignment, cue tip impact point, cue ball impact with object ball and the natural direction of the cue ball after impact, all are paramount.

–Repeat—Once you have the details fixed in your mind, repeat the shot 10-20 times keeping track of how many you miss and analyze your misses to correct.

#2 Only Perfect Practice makes perfect

#3 Practice drills are most productive when they are progressive drills.

#4 “Our minds can only absorb what our butts can endure!”

#5 We practice in the Conscious mind and play in the Subconscious mind.

Control Drill

A good “cue ball control” drill that you can vary every time you practice is to randomly place one object ball anywhere on the table.

Now mark this spot on the table with a piece of chalk so you can replace the object ball after every shot. Next, select a starting position for the cue ball and mark it with a piece of chalk.

The drill is to pocket object ball and select a different shape position for your cue ball to end at in each time.

Continue until you feel confident that you can get position from this shot to almost anywhere on the table.

Learn to Read…

Learn to read with an open but critical mind. Some pool books are riddled with errors, but most have some useful information.

If there is no way to test what an author is saying, the point is probably of little value.

Learn to execute

You will reach the point where you are able to execute your intended shot, knowing you can do it. When you pull the trigger on a shot you know where the cue ball is going after impact. You have no reason to freeze over the shot. Let it go.

Reg Hardy is chief cook and bottle washer at Billiards Crossing, the web’s only exclusive members only site devoted to the fine art of billiards improvement. This site now featues over 120 articles, e-books and other resources specifically for casual pool players who want to better their game. Check out the trail membership, log onto the Headspot forum and book a session in the Cross Talk chat room. Stop by http://www.billiardscrossing.com, Where Good Players Get Better!