Drag Racing Tip – Letting Other Drivers Get To You

So, if you have raced recently, how did it go? How many rounds did you go? If you didn’t win the race, why do you think you lost the round you did? Was it mechanical failure? Was it because you redlit? Was it you judged the stripe wrong? So many things can go wrong can’t they? I mean we are in a sport where you and your vehicle almost have to be perfect to win. And every round is a race in itself. You really have to be on your game to make it consistently into the money rounds week after week. There seems to be an endless amount of ways though on how to blow a run. One of the ways I’m going to talk about can totally be avoided. That is, how you perceive your competition and how that perception of them affects your own driving.

I have observed many drivers get so worked up over other drivers and their cars. Now, I’m not talking about getting upset over the suspicion of someone cheating. I’m talking about letting other people and their performance affect your strategy. In drag racing it can be very easy to beat yourself just by the way you think. In this sport it is extremely important to run your own race and not worry so much about what the other driver is doing. When I race, I often times could not tell you when asked, who I ran the last round. I may be able to tell you the color or make of the car, but not always. Why? Because the only thing I cared about the other car was the dial in. I want to know the dial in so I know who’s leaving first and how much to expect the difference to be. That’s it.

This is going to sound like bragging, so please forgive me, but I want to share my experiences with you for a moment to make a point. I am no professional racer by any means and lately my life has not allowed me to get out there as much as I have wanted to, but I have known my best success when I take the attitude of I don’t care who I’m running. I have beat many of the best racers we have around here. I’m talking frequent winners, track champions, divisional winners, etc. Not because I am so much better, but mainly for two reasons. My car was running consistent that day and I had the attitude of just running my own race. I didn’t care who was in the other lane. I didn’t let their status affect me. Heck, when I first started beating these guys I didn’t even know who they were! People would come up to me afterwards and say, “Do you know who you just beat?!” I was like, “No, does it matter?” They would often be amazed at my nonchalant attitude about it. But let me tell you, that really helps.

I have witnessed other drivers get so worked up over running a particular person. They are either intimidated by them and say things like, “Oh no, I have so and so in the next round. I’ll never beat him.” Or they will say things like, “That guy beats me every time we run against each other. I guess I’m going home early tonight.” Of course one of my favorite whines that I hear from immature drivers is, “That guy is picking on me! He always tries to get up next to me so I have to run him!” That one just cracks me up and we have been accused of that before. I can assure you, we don’t pick on anyone. Do you see though, with this kind of attitude you have already lost the race? When you let this kind of thinking come into your racing it sets up the losing scenario in your mind already and I can guarantee you won’t run your best. Even if you happen to win the round, it may be more of because the other guy screwed up worse than you did. Rarely do I see drivers win rounds with thinking like this.

The other scenario I see is jealousy. They see a driver they don’t particular care for. Often times because that driver is winning a lot and it causes jealousy and suspicion. So they rush through their pit routine so they can get up there next to that other car in the hopes of getting him. They want to prove that they can beat them. They are so hell bent on beating that guy no matter what. What happens though most of the time in their rush to beat them they overlook things. Like they forgot to adjust their tire pressure. They rush staging and may stage too deep causing them to redlight or be so mad at the other guy they blow the finish by breaking out by too much. They let their emotions blow the race for them. You see this attitude even in the pro divisions. I have seen top fuel and funny car drivers redlight, essentially giving it away because they were up against a well known team. They felt the pressure as too strong and they screwed up.

My husband (we were just friends at the time), in trying to help me, started filling me in on other drivers right before I was to run them. He would say things like, “This guy always cuts lousy lights.” or “This guy can’t judge the stripe.” or “This guy cuts killer lights.” or “This guy bags a lot.” In the effort to help me it ended up hurting my performance because it caused me to think too much about the other driver and what he may or may not do. I couldn’t focus on me and my car at the same time as focusing on him and his car. In drag racing you don’t have that kind of time.

See, if you focus on just your own performance and not the other driver’s you tend to drive better. Don’t let someone else intimidate you or upset you. I have proven they can be beat just as easily as anyone. I do that by not caring who the other driver is. So just run your own race and by summer time it may well be the other drivers who are intimidated by you because you are always going rounds.

Good luck this season

Recalls

There seems to be more and more recalls especially dealing with items for infants and children. My favorites are the ones that still have lead paint. Why are we allowing these things to be sold in this country? Mainly because they are cheap. Most all toys (that are priced reasonably) are made in China. Yes, you can get some American made toys, but they are not the popular toys and they tend to be expensive. Sad.
Check the CSPC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) for the latest recalls. You may want to check monthly.

Want To Change Your Luck?

Think that some people seem luckier than others? Does it appear that bad luck follows you everywhere? Are you like I was – saying, “That’s just my luck”?

Why is it that some people are successful at almost everything they do, while others seem to continually fail? Is it luck, or something else?
Want to change your luck for the better? Well, if you do there is a secret I am willing to share with you.

If you want to change your luck, you first have to change your thinking. You see, what you think about comes about. Our thoughts are extremely powerful and must be mastered. They can shape our lives in ways we can only imagine.

In order for you to create anything – health, finances, career, relationships, etc. you have to attract those things with the way you think. So if you want a successful career, you have to think successfully. If you want a great relationship in your life, then you have to think about what you want and what you see in a person and yourself that would make for a great relationship.

So how do you change your thinking when it seems like everything bad is happening? Well, I have to first ask this question. Is everything that has been happening to you really bad? I mean is it really or does it just appear that way? Come on, think about it. There has to be at least one good thing going on in your life. Take a minute and think of a few. Still have your job? Are you and your kids healthy? See where I’m going with this? Before reading any further take a minute and think of the things that are going right in your life.

Ok, so now that we realize that not everything happening right now is bad, how do I take a few good things and make more of them show up in my life? First we focus on what we have instead of what we don’t have. I know you have heard this before, but it bears repeating. Being grateful for all the things we have and always saying thanks is the one sure way to feel good and get those good thoughts flowing. When you start adding up all the blessings you have in your life then the things that aren’t going so well tend to slip into the background don’t they?

Next take stock over what you have control over. You may not have control over the economy, but you have control over your own spending. You can’t control how other people react to things, but you can control how you react. You also can control your thoughts.

Never waste your time thinking about something you do not want. Concentrate only on what you want to happen. Does it always work out the way you plan? No, of course not. But a lot of times it does and the reason it does is because when you focus on what you want instead of what you don’t want the things you need to succeed start showing up. Like, the materials you need to finish that project suddenly become available and at a good price; the right people you need to meet to get the job start showing up out of the blue. In drag racing your car is running consistent and for some strange reason your opponents keep red lighting making it appear you are “lucky” that day. You get the picture?

Take control of the one thing you do have control over – your thoughts. There it is, the secret to better luck – our own thoughts.
So, if you want to be lucky, then start thinking like a lucky person.

It Was Just A Break

It’s been a while I know. I haven’t added anything new for a while because of a few reasons. One, I took a break from the computer – a long break. I was just sick of it. Ever get that way? And you know what? Part of me missed it and part of me didn’t. I missed writing and talking with family and friends via email, but overall I did fine without it. Boy did I get a lot of emails! Then calls to follow up why I didn’t email back! So I have a lot of catching up to do.

The second reason is because the teething is back. My 13 month old is now getting molars I believe. Just when you think you have them sleeping good through the night the teething returns. Ugh!!!!
He’s been getting up at night and needs help getting back to sleep. Then I can’t seem to get back to sleep. On top of it all he only wants to take one nap a day most days and since I haven’t been getting much sleep lately I find myself napping then too. His naptimes are the only times I get to do any computer work. So if I’m spending my time napping myself, I can’t get anything done!

I also have been super busy. I have been de-cluttering for the past year or so and I am back at it. I really believe less is more especially when it comes to stuff. I like the more room we have and less stuff to clean. But it takes a lot of time. It is something though I highly recommend. I’ll go into more details about de-cluttering later.

Racing season has also started and my husband has been hard at work trying to get his car back together in time. I can’t seem to find the time to get mine going. He got the motor back in his and took it out this past Saturday only to have too high of crankcase pressure and blowed out the seals on the second run. So that ended race night pretty quick. He thinks he knows what the cause is and will work on it some this week, but boy what a mess he has under the hood. We were going to stay and watch our friends run, but my son’s headphones broke. Since I didn’t want to chance ruining his hearing we went ahead and left. Oh and I promise I will have more on racing coming up in further posts.

Hope you all are as busy as we are. It’s hectic, but at least life is definitely not boring!

Later.

Horse Tip-Bringing Horses In With Just A Rope

Do you bring your horse in from the field or take him out with just a rope around his neck?

Many people do and I used to, but I don’t anymore and I haven’t in a long time. I’ll tell you why I stopped doing it.

I have always insisted that my horses have good ground manners and listen to me both on the lead and loose. They get so well mannered that I tend to get complacent and forget sometimes that things can get out of hand in a blink of an eye. Let me share a story of an incident that fortunately didn’t happen to me, but I witnessed.

At this one stable I was boarding at a woman was bringing in her well mannered horse like she had done countless times before. She just had the rope around his neck as usual. He wasn’t rushing or pulling her. He was walking calmly as usual when all of a sudden something fell behind him. Though this horse wasn’t one that spooked at everything, this did scare him. He lunged forward and because she didn’t have control of his head she wasn’t able to turn him. This scared him more and he knocked her down. It gets worse. Now the horse is running back to his stall. Her 3 year old son was standing off to the side by some buckets and a wheel barrow. He was not in the way, but it didn’t matter. The horse headed straight for him as the direct line to the stall.

The horse ran full tilt into the area the little boy was in. Buckets, wheel barrow and what seemed like the little boy went flying in all directions. Thankfully the little guy wasn’t hurt, just terrified. We think the buckets and wheel barrow hit him, but the horse missed him. It could have been a lot worse, but to me and all who witnessed it, it taught us all a valuable lesson. Always spend a little extra time to put a halter and a lead rope on when leading your horse. It only takes a few seconds and it is ultimately safer. If she had a halter on her horse she may have been able to get him turned and slowed before he would have bolted and picked up any speed causing the horse to run blindly through the barn.

Now I understand the accident could have happened anyway even with a halter on, but we all know you have no control whatsoever with just a rope around the neck. So please, for everyone’s safety in the barn, including your own, don’t fall into a lazy habit. Spend the extra few seconds it takes to put a halter on and lead your horse in properly. I do now.

Movies/Shows/Music Videos/Commercials Showing Someone Driving While The Car Is In Park

Have you ever noticed this?
I was just watching a movie where they showed the actor in the front seat “driving” down the road. You see the background going by in the back window. But have you ever looked at the steering wheel and the area surrounding it? Nine times out of ten they show the gear shift in the “park” position. I hate this. Either the director doesn’t realize this or they think we are too stupid to notice. If they pay such attention to details in a show, how can they overlook this seemingly obvious mistake? You would think someone on the staff would notice this. This is of course more so in older shows where the they show older cars with automatic transmissions where the gears shift is on the column.
Next time you’re watching, notice if it’s a car with a column shift and if so, what gear is it in?

Could you use some extra money?

That’s kind of a dumb question, isn’t it? Like how many people would say no, they couldn’t use any extra money. But it’s a question I like to ask. I know I can always use extra money.

One of the ways I like to make extra money is helping others and one of the ways I help others is to introduce them to good nutrition and non toxic household cleaners. I introduce them to Shaklee. Products that have helped me improve my health tremendously. Not to mention the money I save!

In the midst of our financial uncertainty I like to tell people about a great opportunity available right now and offer my help to those who are interested in making some money right away.

Shaklee is the #1 natural nutrition company in the United States. Shaklee is strong, doing great and growing as we offer products that people want and continue to use during this economic downturn. They are products people use every day. We have grown in every recession since the company was founded in 1956 and now is no different. We are growing and showing people how to SAVE money and how to EARN money now.

Would you or someone you know be interested in learning what a plan to earn money in Shaklee would look like? How it works? How quickly you can expect to earn? Would you (or someone you know) like to learn how to earn enough money to cover a car payment, your rent or mortgage?

I like working with those who want to create a different financial future for themselves. And it would be such a privilege for me to help you achieve what you are looking for from your life and work.

We have a path; a process that works. Since you own your own business, you don’t have to worry about being laid off and losing that income as you would with a job.

If you are interested in taking a few minutes to chat, let me know via email at youtobehealthy@yahoo.com. I can send you some details. Or you can check out our website at www.shaklee.net/tobehealthy. If you are not interested for yourself, please take a few minutes and think of someone who might be able to benefit and pass this message on.

Thank you!

Money Saving Tip – Hanging Clothes To Dry

Do you hang your clothes up to dry or do you just throw them into the dryer straight from the washer? If you do the latter you may be wasting a lot of money.

We just received our gas and electric bill. We heat with gas and our dryer is electric. We have a three bedroom split level and a lot of laundry. (Doesn’t everybody?) Your house may be smaller or larger and there may be more in your family so of course your usage may be different. But still, you will save a lot of money if you choose to hang dry your clothes. You also save money in not wearing out your clothes as fast. You will find clothes don’t fade or wear as bad when hang dried.

Last month’s bill had about a week and a half of hang drying clothes on it and it was $270. Less than we thought it would be as it had been very cold. This month’s bill was a shocker though - $167! More than a hundred dollars cheaper! We had a very cold month so that wasn’t it. I’m home more so you think that would drive it up even more.
What was done differently? I only used the dryer to fluff the clothes once they were dry on the line.
Now I know February is short a day or so, but wow what a savings a few extra minutes equals to!

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking I don’t have time or space to do that. I bet you do.

Let’s first tackle the time. I don’t have a lot of spare time either, but for this kind of savings I’m making time. And it really doesn’t take that long. Being that’s it winter and I don’t have an outside clothes line up yet I am hanging mine in the laundry room. It’s easy and cheap to string a few lines across the ceiling and get some plastic hangers. I hang shirts and use clothes pins to fasten clothes, towels, etc to hangers and hang up to dry overnight. I can usually hang two to three loads up at a time. Then the next day I take a load down, toss it in the dryer with a dryer cloth for about five minutes and they are soft and wrinkle free. Just like they were when they were dried in the dryer. And you don’t even need to set them on the hot setting either. I can be fluffing one load while I’m hanging another to dry or folding a load I just fluffed. I’m figuring it may be taking me about two minutes of extra time per load. So not a lot of time.

Now as far as space – I bet if you think about it you have more hanging space than you think. A laundry room, basement, bathroom. Don’t want to stretch a clothes line? Then get a portable clothes rack or two and hang them to dry there. There are lots of different racks out there. Check the Internet, stores and see what works best for you. And don’t forget the clothes pins. I recommend the wooden spring type. Don’t get the plastic ones – they break too easily. The old wooden ones are the best and they are really cheap.

Think you can’t dry sheets on hangers because they are too big? All you need are about three hangers and six wooden clothes pins. Just hang each end on a hanger, gather up the middle and hang on a third hanger. Don’t worry about “pockets” They will dry without any problem.

Still don’t want to hang inside? It doesn’t have to be warm and sunny outside to dry clothes. It can be cold, just as long as it’s dry obviously. Yes, they may dry stiff, but that’s where just a few minutes in the dryer will soften them up.

So start saving money today. Besides if you haven’t noticed – frugal is “in” now.

March is Children’s Health Month

How healthy is your child?

Click Here for ways that supplements can help you improve your child’s health today!

Do You Shop Online?

If you do and most of us have at one time or another, then you just have to check out Big Crumbs & Ebates.

These are online sites that offer cash back when you make online purchases. You log into their site, find your store, and then click on the link. It will then take you to the EXACT store you could have gone to on your own. BUT, they give you a percentage back for clicking thru their site first.

Don’t pass up on free money when shopping online!

What kind of stores? Most every one you currently shop at. Old Navy, WalMart, Sears, and Ebay just to name a few!

Big Crumbs has Ebay, but Ebates does not. It does have other stores that Big Crumbs does not. And, the surprising thing...some stores give a higher percentage back on Big Crumbs, and other stores give a higher percentage back on Ebates.

So start now. First sign up for Ebates and Big Crumbs. You will need a PayPal account if you don’t already have one. Then when you ever buying ANYTHING online...log into your Big Crumbs and Ebates accounts to see if your store is listed and who is giving a higher percentage back. Then, click on your site and shop!

It’s that easy! Wow, imagine that! Getting paid to shop!

Click Here to take you to Big Crumbs
Click Here to take you to Ebates