Posts Tagged ‘spirit’

About Old Fashioned Thinking

Monday, December 21st, 2009

 

Success Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs

 

Being a first-time entrepreneur can be challenging and nerve-wracking but also very exciting and rewarding. There is no end to the many financial, legal, staffing, marketing, and customer issues that will come up as you launch your business. A‎nd, unfortunately, there is a lot of conflicting advice out there for the aspiring entrepreneur. But here are 15 core tips to help you begin navigating the startup landscape:

1‎. First-time entrepreneurs should start a business they are passionate and knowledgeable about

Startups can be quite a grind, so pick something that excites and motivates you. Avoid businesses or industries that you don’t already know a good deal about, as the steep learning curve may hamper your success. Check out the best images of harold matzner.

2. Pick a business idea that has a big market opportunity

Make sure to carefully reseach if there’s a big market for your product or service. Investors will typically only invest in your company if they see a large market opportunity and that the company has the potential to grow into something significant.

3. Raise as much startup funding as you can

It’s almost always harder and takes longer to raise startup financing than you think. You must ensure you have a cushion for all the product development and marketing expenses you will incur. In an ideal world, you will have sufficient capital for your operations to break even. Don’t worry about diluting your percentage ownership in the company. Developing a great product takes time and money.

Check out these two articles on raising financing from invest‎ors: 28 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Pitching to Investors and 20 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know About Angel Investors.

4. Constantly monitor your finances

You must keep on top of all of your expenses, income and balance sheet. Many startups have failed because the entrepreneur wasn’t able to adjust spending to avoid running out of cash. Maintain a low overhead. Be frugal with expenses and avoid unnecessary costs. Learn to live on a shoestring budget until meaningful revenues start to flow in.

5. Research the competitionMake sure you are thoroughly researching competitive products or services in the marketplace, and keep on top of new developments and enhancements from your competitors. ‎One way to do this is to set up a Google alert to notify you when any new information about your competitors shows up online.

6. Ask for advice from other entrepreneurs

Advice from other entrepreneurs and business professionals (such as lawyers and accountants) can prove to be invaluable. Consider putting together an advisory board, and don’t be afraid to motivate members by giving them stock options in your company. Read industry newsletters and startup publications like AllBusiness.com and Entrepreneur.com. Find mentors who can give you advice on hiring, product development, marketing and fundraising‎.

7. Develop a great elevator pitch

You should have a succinct and compelling story about what your startup does and what problem it solves. Have this ready for potential customers and investors (although you will need to tailor it to the specific audience)‎. Keep it to 30 seconds or less. Articulate your mission and goals, and why your product or service is compelling and unique. And if an investor is interested, be prepared to follow up with an executive summary about the company or a 12-15 slide PowerPoint “deck” that dives into more detail about the company and the market opportunity.

 

Tips for Proper Nutrition

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Essential Components of a Healthy Diet

Essential Components of a Healthy DietWith so much conflicting advice in the media, it can be difficult to determine the best way to eat healthily and stay in shape. For example, while some sources of information say that eliminating sugar and fat completely is the best way to stay fit, others suggest that the total amount of calories consumed is all that matters. To help clear up the confusion, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collaborated to create dietary guidelines for all people in the United States. Check these alpilean reviews.

Tips for Proper Nutrition

Based on the most recent edition of the HHS and USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, all people should:

  • Limit the amount of refined grains, added sugars, cholesterol, trans fats, saturated fats, and sodium in their diet.
  • Consume more seafood, low-fat dairy, fat-free products, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
    Eat the appropriate amount of calories and engage in regular physical activity. Read more about alpilean.

The Food Pyramid

According to the USDA, Americans need to eat a variety of foods in specific amounts in order to optimize their health. These foods include fruits and vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy products.

Fruits and Vegetables

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduces your risk of heart attack, stroke, and certain types of cancers. The USDA suggests filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables during every meal.

Grains

Eating whole grains helps with weight management, reduces constipation, and may reduce the risk of heart disease. The USDA recommends making at least half of your grains whole grains.

Protein

Protein is important for good health, but it should be consumed in limited quantities. The USDA recommends consuming between 2 and 6 ounces of protein each day, depending on your age and gender. It’s also important to vary the types of meat you consume.

Dairy

Consuming dairy products reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. However, many dairy products are high in fat, which can cause weight gain and other problems. For maximum benefit, the USDA recommends switching to low-fat dairy products whenever possible.

In addition to eating the proper amount of food from each of these categories on a daily basis, the dietary guidelines also recommend eating as many whole, unprocessed foods as possible in order to minimize exposure to additives.

The POWER of Habit

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

 

John Dryden famously said, “We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.”

Confucius said, “Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.”

And Aristotle noticed that, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”

 

It’s pretty clear that the habits you adopt will shape who you are. What are your habits?
Do you eat the same thing for lunch, go through the same exercise routine, and fall into bed at the same time each night?
Or maybe you’ve made a habit out of eating something sweet before bed, avoiding the gym, and staying up as late as possible.

When it comes to your fitness, the two habits that define you are your eating and exercise habits. In fact, everyone that you know who is in great shape has dialed in these two important habits. Check these amarose reviews.

If you aren’t happy with your current state, then simply adjust your eating and exercise habits.

 

Here’s how to adopt a habit:

1) Decide on the ONE habit that you would like to develop. It’s tempting to pick up 3 or 4 healthy habits but choosing just one new habit is realistic and doable. Here are some healthy habit ideas:

• Do not eat after 7pm each night.
• Bring your lunch to work instead of eating fast food.
• Exercise 4 times a week before or after work for 45 minutes each time.
• Only eat fruits and veggies as your afternoon snack (mostly veggies).
• Get up early and exercise for an hour each morning.
• Workout with me 3 times a week.

 

2) Write your new habit down on paper. Also include your 3 main motivators for developing this new habit, the obstacles you’ll face, and your strategies for overcoming these obstacles.

Here’s an example:

• My new habit is to work with a personal trainer 3 times each week. Learn more about protetox.
• My 3 main motivators are 1) to feel confident in my bathing suit this summer, 2) to have more energy, and 3) to fit into my skinny jeans.
• The obstacles I will face are 1) not having the energy to go to my session after work, 2) not having enough money to pay for sessions, and 3) not having my spouse’s support.
• I will overcome these obstacles by 1) doing my workouts before work instead of after work, so I have more energy, 2) cutting down on frivolous spending to ensure that I can afford it, and 3) asking my spouse to join me so we can get in shape together.

 

3) Commit fully to your new habit, in a public way. This could mean posting it on social media, or simply announcing it at the dinner table. Put yourself in a position where you’ll be less likely to give up on your new habit. Visit https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/561560/six-best-testosterone-booster-for-muscle-growth-to-try-in-2022/.

 

4) Keep track of your progress. You could keep a detailed journal or simply make a check mark on each calendar day that you successfully exercise your new habit. Once your new habit becomes second nature, usually in about 30 days, feel free to add a second habit by going through the same steps. I’d love for my fitness program to become your new healthy habit!

About the End of the Stock Market

Monday, October 6th, 2008

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was the first stock exchange to introduce continuous trade in the early 17th century. The Dutch pioneered short selling and every other “modern” instrument. Until the sixties Government and the Big Companies were controlled by about 200 Rich Dutch Families (including the Royal Family). They controlled Society and took care of Stability.

In the 17th century the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was introduced by the Dutch Government. The VOC was the first multinational in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was the first mega corporation possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.

In the 17th century about 200 families, the so called Regenten, were in control of the Netherlands. The families promoted their members in every influential position available.

The Democracy of the Netherlands was in reality an Oligarchy. The “oligarchic way” of decision making, the Dutch Polder Model, is still the most important way to reach consensus in the Netherlands. Everything happens “behind closed doors”.

Until 1917 only the Rich people were allowed to Vote. The Rich Voted with their Money. In the beginning of the 20th century (1917) the universal suffrage for male citizens was introduced in the Netherlands. Two years later (1919) the female part of the country followed.

The Rich not only voted with their money they were also the most important owners of the Stocks. With the power of their stock and their money they helped their families to acquire important positions in the State and the Companies.

Until the Sixties the Rich maintained a very powerful social network based on reciprocity in the Netherlands. This network was not a local network. It was an international network. The influential Dutch Families were connected to comparable networks all over the world.

Around the Seventies the power of the Rich Families went down. They lost their influence in Parliament and in the Companies. The Flower Power Generation took over the Power at every Level of Society. After some time most of them lost their Ideals of Peace and Harmony.

They started to buy houses and shares and were helped by the Rising of the Economic Kondratiev Cycle. In contrary to the Regenten the Baby Boomers acted on their own. They were very Individualistic and never created a Social Network that could support Society.

Around 2000 the stock market started to vibrate and to go down. The same happened in politics. Many voters are now moving from party to party.

Who is controlling Society?

At this moment nobody is controlling Society. Society is taking its own course.

Who is controlling the Stock Market?

At this moment nobody is controlling the Stock Market. The Stock Market is taking its own course.

Not only the Stock Exchange but also the Political System and the Weather System are taking their own course.

Is there and end to this all?

I don’t think so.

Why?

We have entered the Downfall of the Kondratiev Cycle. During this Downfall the Old Institutions are destroyed and New Institutions take over the Power. We are in an “In Between State”. In this state everything is On the Move. Everything is Moving Up & Down, Left & Right. What many people don’t see that even the Center is Moving. The State and the Stock Exchange are not able to cope with the excessive amount of Movement.

What will happen at the End of the big Shake Up?

There are two possibilities. The first one is the return to an old center.  My guess is that we will move back to the State of the Renaissance.

The second possibility is “frightening” for many people. We will jump to an unknown state predicted by many Old Civilizations called the Fifth World or the Golden Age.

The Hopis call our time the “The Fourth Age of Man”. According to them the Earth has been wiped clean 3 times already. First by Fire, next by Ice, most recently by the great Flood approximately 11,000-12,000 years ago. We are now entering the last stage of the Fourth Age called “The great day of Purification“. This stage culminates either in total Rebirth or total Annihilation.

The Degree of Violence will be determined by the Degree of Inequity caused among the peoples of the world and in the Balance of Nature. In this crisis Rich and Poor will be forced to struggle as Equals in order to Survive. The beginning of the Fifth World will be heralded by the arrival of a being known as Pahana, or the lost “White Brother“.

If we believe the Prophecy of the Hopi and many other “Spiritual Movements (Gnostics, Sufi’s)” the only way that will save us from total annihilation is the Creation of Balance. We don’t have much time left. The Great day of Purification will happen at the End of 2012. At that time the “Lost White Brother” (The Center) will return.

Is it possible to Balance the Financial System?

 Yes, I think so.

The only thing we have to do is to Unite Shareholders, Customers and Workers and give them an Equal Share in a Company. They have to Share the Power, the Profit or Loss, the Spirit and the Soul. They have to become Enthousiastic about What is Happening (Spirit).

They have to take care of Nature and the Other (Soul). If we do this we will recreate the Social Power Network of the Rich on a Different Scale (Earth) with other Participants. If we Help the Other we don’t need a Pension!

I am sure You want to put Your Savings into a Shared Enterprise. I am also sure that You will Never Regain the Money you will invest in Shares at the Stock Exchange. The Era of the Stock Exchange is Gone for Ever.

About the Renaissance

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

The Renaissance was a Cultural Movement that spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. It started in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spread to the rest of Western Europe.

 After the Dark Middle Ages, controlled by the Church of Rome, aimed at the Inside (Spirit and Soul), many people wanted to discover the Outside.

The Renaissance is the Age of Discovery. It is the time of Columbus.

T704836_23The printing press, invented in 1450, made it possible to distribute all the new knowledge all over the known world.

The new knowledge is in reality very old knowledge. Renaissance means re-birth and the Renaissance is the re-birth of the knowledge (and wisdom) of the Greek and the Romans.

This knowledge was forbidden and destroyed by the Rulers in Rome. It came back because of renewed contacts with the Arab Culture. At that time Arab Culture was at the top of its cycle.

Art (Leonardo Da Vinci) and Science (Copernicus (1514)) exploded. Both of them were funded by the rich merchants (Medici, Venice).

Scientists started to experiment and used advanced tools (Microscope, Telescope) to study the external world and the internal world (the Body). They looked with their own Eyes and not with the Eyes of the Bible.

renaissanceperIn the Arts the Perspective was invented. Artist used advanced tools (“camera’s) to support their own eyes to project the outside world on a flat surface.

Another Re-Birth was the Reformation (Luther, 1517). The Bible was translated in many languages and distributed by the printing press to many people.

For the first time people outside the Church could read and study Religious documents and compare them with Scientific Evidence  from Greece, Arabia and Rome.

columbus_taking_possessionThe need to convert others to the Christian faith was huge. Many expeditions, Crusades,  were send out to unknown territory to find convertible humans.

The missionaries used the old fashioned trick learned from the Huns to force people to accept  the Faith by violence. Millions of people were tortured and killed.

At the outside of the Christian Empire the Arabs were attacking all the time. They were also very wealthy.

The search for Gold stimulated the weapon-industry of the west.

Not only the weapon industry flourished also the transport industry (Maps, Navigation, Big Ships) made a lot of progress.

The combination of both of them (The Navy, “War-Ships”) helped the West to Rule the Sea.

mercatorProduction in the Renaissance was carried out by the Guilds, a Cooperation of Craftsman. They were almost in total control of every craft in the big cities.

The Renaissance (Creation) is part of the Cycle of Western Culture.

In this Cycle it was preceded by the rule of Roman Church (Control) and followed by the Industrial Revolution (Social).

The rebirth was fuelled by an Expansion Phase (Fire).

In this phase not only Arabic Culture expanded and rose to a high point also the new rulers of the West (Celts, Germans), the descendants of the Huns, created new Kingdoms and build the Cathedrals. The Cathedrals contained all the occult knowledge of that time (Sacred Geometry, The Spiral, The Light, The Four Forces,.).

On a macro level we see an interesting pattern.

The phase of Fire (Expansion, Practice, Summer, Sensory, …) fuels the phase of Creation (Up, Spirit, Idea, Eye, Winter, Mythic,…).

Ideas are put into Practice or Practice generates Ideas. The combination of Sensory and Mythic (A Game) is called Invention or Exploration by Will McWhinney.

The game of Exploration is an Infinite Game. Infinite games are about continuing the Game.

Going Back to Jump to another Level is also a pattern that is visible in the most advanced theory about ecologies promoted by the Resilience Alliance (RA).

The Ecology of the Roman Church dominant in the Dark part of the Middle Ages collapsed. It collapsed because of many factors.

In this time the Plague killed millions of people. The Climate was very instable (An Ice-Age) and the new Kingdoms of the Huns and Celts were heavily expanded. They started to fight for dominance.

According to the theory of RA a collapsing ecology reverts to a previous stage to rise again.

What does this say about Innovation?

Innovation is fuelled by an earlier (expansion) stage in history. It is triggered by a collapse of an Ecology.

If we look at the current state of the world we see a Collapse (a Compression) of the World Wide Ecology. It will certainly generate a stage of Ideas and Creativity.

This is needed to solve the current problems. In contrary to many ideas about Innovation the only way to solve the problems is to Look Back and Learn from History.

We can learn from the Control Stage of the Middle Ages where one paradigm was enforced. At this moment Science is enforcing again one paradigm, the paradigm of Control, Abstraction, Technology, the Computer, Statistics and the Factory.

They were created during the Industrial Revolution that was aimed at creating Unity (Every Thing is the Same).

At this moment we are moving into the stage of the Center, Balance and Harmony.  In this stage we always jump to a new level of Conscioussness. In the last Center-Stage the Religion of the Islam was born so the chances are high that a new World Religion will appear or re-appear.

People that explore contradicting paradigms are excluded from the scientific community. This community controls the world of Inspiration just like the Guilds were controlling the crafts in the Renaissance. To innovate we need Freedom of Paradigm.

We can learn from the Idea stage of the Renaissance. It teaches us that a Union of Art, Science and Spirituality is needed to support real innovation.

We can also learn from a comparable phase in the Cycle, the phase of Harmony. In this phase the old is completely destroyed by an invasion of people outside its territory (The Huns).

The West is trying with all its force to block a huge part of the Earth (the “Under-Developed” countries) to take part in its innovation. It creates (Economic and Legal) Walls just like the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire created Walls to protect their territory from the Huns and The Celts when they were in their end-stage.

The Under-Developed countries are of a Lower Culture. Perhaps these cultures carry something the West desperately needs. In these cultures the collective is more important than the individual. In these cultures the sick, the poor and the old are still taken care of.

Funny.

I believe this was the message Christianity wanted to bring to the World.

Something went wrong in the West don’t you think?

LINKS

About the Perspective

Lectures about the Renaissance part 1

Lectures about the Renaissance part 2

Lectures about the Renaissance part 3

How Akhenaton started the Age of Aquarius at the Wrong Moment

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

mosesAkhenaton (1300 BC), married to the beautiful Nefertiti, reformed the state religion of Egypt in a very rigorous way.

In that time the main deity was named Amen. Out of the blue Amenhotep adopted an old deity called Aten and changed everything.

He not only changed his name (his old name was Amenhotep IV) but he also erased Amen from all the inscriptions of the capital Thebes and built a new capital to the north of Thebes called Akhetaten, the place where Aten rises.

The powerful priests of Amen (or Ammon) did not like this move and revolted. The priests of Aten were expelled of Egypt and fled to Palestine.

The leader of this expedition was the high priests of Ahktnaton called Ra-Mose. The mother of Ahkhnaton was Tiye. She was the daughter of the Chief Minister of his Father, Yuga.

bust_of_nefertiti1In 1939 Sigmund Freud published a book called “Moses and Monotheism“. In this book Freud argues that Moses was the High Priest of Akhenaten. Yuga, the father of his wife is the Jewish patriarch Joseph and his high priest Ra-Mose is the Moses of the Old Testament.

In Moses and Monotheism, Freud claims that Ra-Moses only led his close followers into freedom and that they subsequently killed Moses in a rebellion.

Freud explains that years after the murder of Moses, the rebels formed a religion which promoted Moses as the Saviour of the Israelites. This religion was a mixture of the worship of Aten and Zoroaster (Mithras). Maitreya is the Hindu-variant of Mithras.

The Roman Emperor Constantine created the New Testament of the Bible. He used the widespread Cult of Mithras to introduce Christianity in the Roman Empire.

The cults of Mithras and Maitreya expect a return of an enlightened teacher on Earth.

aquariusHis coming is characterized by a number of physical events (lowering of the sea level, strange weather conditions, decline of nature, war and other disasters). At this moment we are living in the Kali Yuga literally the “age of darkness“.

A complete cycle takes a precession of the equinox, 25. 200 years. All the epochs together equal 12,000 years in the ascending phase and 12,000 years in the descending phase.

The lengths of the periods maintain a 4,3,2,1 ratio to each other. This means that the end of the Cycle (the Dark side, Amen, Kali Yuga) is situated in Pisces and the new cycle starts with the Age of Aquarius.

mozesStephen Mehler wrote From Light into Darkness (2005) and The land of Osiris. He has researched the ancient wisdom (Al Khemit) of the original civilization of Egypt.

According to Mehler the original culture of Egypt believed in a cycle that consists of five stages.

The first stage was called Aten (The Light) and the last stage that started around 3000 BC was called Amen. This is the stage of the Darkness.

In the first stage humans are highly conscious and are capable of many capabilities like travelling in time and space with their Light-Body.

This stage is related to the old continent of MU (the Land of Dreams). The Light of Aten was the Light of Enlightment, the Spirit of Creation.

During the stage of Amen Religion was created and the priests became an important power. The priests invented the Gods and used rituals and rules to manage the masses.

The Roman Emperors did the same with Christianity. It was transformed from an inspirational movement of the followers of the Light (the Gnostics) to a very intelligent way to continue the Roman State.

At this moment Spirit and Soul are on their return. They show the coming of the Age of Aquirius.

For until now unknown reasons (perhaps the influence of his mother who came from “India”) Ahkhnaton started the new cycle of Aten when the cycle was not completed. He revolted at the wrong time. He wanted to bring the Light in the time of Darkness and was stopped by the Institution of the Church of Ammon (Materialism).

After his death the priests almost wiped out his existence. It took a lot of research to reconstruct his life. By accident (does it exist?) he send the 12 tribes of Israel to their Homeland and by his High Priest Moses started the Jewish Religion that generated the Christian Religion that was also stopped by the new Priests of Ammon (The Roman Empire).

At this moment many people in many religions are waiting for the new Maitreya to come who will restore the stage of the Light.

Ahkhnaton was a King-Poet. Some scientist believe he is the biblical King Solomon. Ahkhnaton/Solomon created The Great Hymn to Aten.

How manifold it is, what thou hast made!

They are hidden from the face (of man).

O sole god, like whom there is no other!

Thou didst create the world according to thy desire,

Whilst thou wert alone: All men, cattle, and wild beasts,

Whatever is on earth, going upon (its) feet,

And what is on high, flying with its wings.

The countries of Syria and Nubia, the land of Egypt,

Thou settest every man in his place,

Thou suppliest their necessities:

Everyone has his food, and his time of life is reckoned.

Their tongues are separate in speech,

And their natures as well;

Their skins are distinguished,

As thou distinguishest the foreign peoples.

Thou makest a Nile in the underworld,

Thou bringest forth as thou desirest

To maintain the people (of Egypt)

According as thou madest them for thyself,

The lord of all of them, wearying (himself) with them,

The lord of every land, rising for them,

The Aton of the day, great of majesty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hymn_to_the_Aten

LINK

The Final Proof of the Theory of Freud

About Psychic Reading

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

When you are a young child you don’t know that some people are gifted with a certain talent and others are not. When you are born with an unusual talent people in your environment don’t understand you.

Sometimes they even tell you that you are a “weird” person and you have to behave “normal”. When you are “abnormal” it is very difficult to behave normal. When you get older you find a way to hide your ‘strange” talent. You start to behave like “the others”.

When I was young I experienced that I could “read” people. At that time I did not know my talent was called “reading”. To me “reading” was “normal” and as a young innocent child I told people many things about their “inner life” that I could not know.I was gifted with more “unusual talents” like music and mathematics.

My talents were unusual because nobody in my family and my social context was “para-normal”, “highy analytical” or “musical”.

When you look at the scientific community “reading” is classified as “para-normal” and a huge part of the scientific community, the skeptics, are fighting paranormal abilities.

I never understood why they are fighting something some people are gifted with. They are certainly not fighting people who are talented in art or mathematics.

They don’t believe the talent of reading exists because they are unable to explain this talent. They are also not able to explain the talents in art or mathematics. To me they are “the same talent”.

They are all related to what I would call Intuition. When you are Intuitive you “just know” something but you are unable to explain to other peoople why “you know what you know”.

Some people even want to pay a lot of money when you are able to prove that you are “para-normal”. They arrange weird experimental environments and don’t understand that the talent of “reading” is highly context-dependent.

The talents of art and mathematics are also context-dependent. Doing mathematics in a crowded space is impossible.

I want to give you (and the skeptics) some idea how “reading (and mathematics)” works with me.

When you want to “read” you have to be in a certain mood. You have to be “grounded”, relaxed and “opened up”.

“Grounded” feels like having “a close connection to Earth”. You are “grounded” when you feel there is “something” streaming through your body.

This “something” creates the state of relaxation. The “something” is also the connector that generates the “opening up”. The “something” is called Prana, Chi or the “Inner Light”. I prefer the last term.

It is not necessary that the somebody you want to “read” is available in the space you are staying. It is also not necessary that the somebody you want to read is alive, You need some kind of clue to make the connection. Most of the time a name is sufficient.

When the connection is made you have to make a distinction between two sensory systems. You have to stop you’re own system. This is the most difficult task to perform because you’re system is always interfering.

If you are connected to the wrong system you are “biased”. Reading works very well when you don’t know the person you are reading.

I “know” or “feel” when I have disconnected from my own system. The feeling “looks like” “being in the observer-mode”. You are looking at the world from a distance.

When this state is accomplished a “voice” starts to talk and you “see images”. The reading always starts with “hints”. “Hints” are words and flashes. A few seconds later the words and images change into a “movie”.

In exceptional situations you also feel emotions or are completely taken over by “the other”. If this happens you are “channeling”. I don’t like this state because I really don’t know who or what is taking over.

About The Rose

Sunday, October 21st, 2007

What is defensive driving and how it helps fleet managers

Defensive driving is the key mindset that will keep your fleet safe, vehicles in order and drivers in check. And it will save you and all fleet drivers the embarrassment of a typical dressing down by the interstate and highway police.

Being a mindset, defensive driving incorporates a set of driving behaviors that enables drivers achieve a daily routine that is as uneventful as possible. And that is preponderantly important in the life of a fleet manager.

 

What is defensive driving?

Defensive driving is a mindset that enables a motorist to identify and anticipate driving hazards. That said, it requires certain driving skills that enable the motorist to control their speed, expect the unexpected and always remain alert. It also requires respecting all drivers, as well as weather and road conditions, leveraging adjustability.

According to Wikipedia, there is a standardized way to look at it. To that end, the “Safe Practices for Motor Vehicle Operations” standard, defines it as a set of defensive driving skills, where you —the driver — are aiming to “save lives, time, and money, in spite of the conditions around you and the actions of others”.

The basic principles of defensive driving

In 1937, Mark Everard Pepys introduced the roadcraft system of car or motorcycle control. Interestingly, it’s purpose was to educate motorists on how to operate their vehicles safely. A lot has changed since this first attempt at safe driving; all for the better. Especially since the number of vehicles increased from a few thousand in the 1900s to around 1.32 billion in 2016. Without a doubt, driving safely is all the more important in 2020. To that end, certain principles were developed, to describe and support the efforts in fostering defensive driving. Get the most professional assistance from the best ny defensive driving course.

  • Always respecting the minimum and maximum speed limits
  • Being alert and distraction free at all times, so that if faced with a difficult situation you can anticipate an odd predicament and avoid the danger
  • Being respectful and pay attention to other drivers
  • Maintaining a safe distance from the preceding vehicle
  • Looking ahead, expecting the unexpected, as other motorists might not behave as you ordinarily would. This includes both motorists and pedestrians.
  • Always keeping weather and road conditions in mind, adjusting driving behavior accordingly
  • Adjusting speed before entering a bend, avoiding the need to hit the brakes in the middle of a bend.
  • Observing all driving regulations

Defensive driving: Pros and Cons

The obvious advantage of defensive driving is, of course, road safety. Today, modern fleets tend to incorporate defensive driving programs as one of the core aspects of their business. Not only is it beneficial on the road, but it brings a few business advantages, as well.

Pros

  • It’s easy to learn and adopt
  • It’s a very good way to prevent accidents
  • Leverages fuel economy and savings
  • Keeps maintenance costs as low as possible
  • Keeps insurance costs as low as possible

We have covered this subject more extensively, with 5 key defensive driving behaviors your fleet drivers need to adopt.

And, of course, there is always a flip side to the coin. Sure enough, there are a couple of cons in trying to adopt the defensive driving mindset. Undoubtedly, they’re hard to countermand, as they’re mostly related to some kind of involuntary behavior. But, it’s certainly worth the effort.