Knowledge is Power or Mind over Matter?

 https://cid-b8809c502a75f046.office.live.com/browse.aspx/.QuickDocuments  (Family Update)

Knowledge is Power is a very cliche saying these days. Still, there is something to be said for this statement. The more I educate myself with the technology being used today, the more power I seem to have to manipulate the messages being communicated.
To simply put out a family newsletter on a Blogpage, I had to make several attempts and inquiries as to how to make the media work together. Uploading photos and text boxes together is a whole new world for those who are self taught at computers. click above for Family Update 

Mind over Matter is a concept of self teaching that comes from determination to make something work. To understand it or not let it get the best of you. Determination can be a very powerful leadership tool. If it wasn't for this I wouldn't be where I am today.

I met with my first computer when I needed to make sense of my business. As a new owner of Subway, I felt I should know how to work one. I brought the new, very intimidating, device into my home. I looked everywhere on that thing and for the life of me couldn't find the "on"switch. OMG-they didn't put one on my computer??? Could it be? I did what every self respecting, frustrated, determined woman would do. I called the tech guy. We found the magical button together. What a relief!

From this point on, I had no time to take classes, so while running my store and my household, I learnt how to make this overpriced typewriter become useful to me. I learned,

• Quicken, 
• Quickbooks, 
• Simply Accounting, and then
• Excel and made my own Spreadsheets. 

You see, another major learning key is to know where your money is in business. It's like any good story...always follow the money.

I have now entered the big world of Apple. I recently purchased a Macbook Pro for the Program I am in at the U of W. It has opened an entire world. I am taking an Adobe Photoshop course in this Program. I am learning to manipulate layers of photos. It's not important that I know how to do this as an expert, but it is important that I am empowered with the knowledge of design.

Empowering yourself with any knowledge will always be the determing factor in many vital areas of your life. For example, whether you get that job you want, if you can repair something or whether you can speak intelligently on a particular subject.

When you make a mistake in life, it is always a mistake. We all make them, it's how we learn. (at least most of us) When you don't lean from the mistake it remains a mistake. When you learn from the mistake  it becomes wisdom.

Opinions and Empowerement

Opinions, we all have them.

Some of us keep them to ourselves and some of us express them with no looking back.

Opinions are fine as long as you can back it up with fact or feeling.

I used to watch the Academy Awards with my mom and we would eagerly await the Actors and Actresses (as they were called back then) coming down the Red Carpet or did they come up the Red Carpet? Who’s to say?

Glamour and glitz! It’s a wonderful thing. When I was little, I wanted to be the women in the long gowns with their hair all done high. They were bathed in jewels and exuded such confidence.

Giant ballrooms filled with the elite of Hollywood, masters of their craft, and stars that shine brighter than the chandeliers in the room.

At the Golden Globes this year, it was Austrian Crystal. Curtains and backdrops of crystals were simple yet elegant.  30000 Swarovsky crystals set the stage.

As the curtains pull back and the lights dim, you settle in with popcorn, candy and a pop in hand. The lights go down, it’s finally dark and you’re really there. You pop buttery flavored piece popcorn in your mouth and down some cola. Oh yeah, you’ve got to get this out of the way, as good as it is, its only part.

The coming attractions have come and gone and so has your snack. It’s time, the main attraction, it’s going to start, please let it be all you want it to be. There’s nothing like a movie on the big screen…with Dolby surround sound and it becomes larger than life. It sucks you in and you become one with the screen. You’re part of the action. You feel what the protagonists feel. It’s no longer about the movie…it’s about you.

This year, it’s about a King who had to overcome a speech impediment to lead his country. He had to overcome himself. Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter portray Queen Elizabeth’s parents. It is not only entertaining but also historical.

The other movie is a psycho thriller about a prima ballerina

who wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan, but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like the evil twin sister of the White Swan, the Black Swan.

The Fighter is a look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward played by Mark Wahlberg and his brother portrayed by Christian Bale, who helped train, him before going pro in the mid 1980s. 

The Social Network is the story of the development of Facebook. It’s a chronicle of the founding of Facebook, the social-networking Web site.

"It's not a movie about Facebook," Reznor said. "It's about creativity and consequences. It's about people." http://entertainment.latimes.com/awards/2011/01/golden-globes-trent-reznor-on-social-network-its-about-creativity-and-consequences.html

Inception rounds out the nominee list with Leo as the dream stealer. He’s a master at stealing valuable secrets from the subconscious mind. It’s made him a coveted player in industrial espionage. As a fugitive, he needs to do the impossible…inception, plant an idea rather than steal one.

Key Dates for the 83rd Academy Awards

Nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be announced on

January 25, 2011 at 5:30 a.m. PT. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Will you have an opinion, of course you will. But, will you have the courage to express it? Just like at the movies, you have a fairy godmother…me! “I empower you to be strong and come out of the darkness and let your opinion be heard.”

Have a get-together, have a drink, vote among your friends and have a good time. Remember, the movies are truly about you.