Ebook Table Of Contents Chapter 1 – Painting 101    3 Chapter 2 – Understanding Paints    6 Chapter 3 – Choosing Your Brushes    7 Chapter 4 – Color Your World    8 Chapter 5 – Light Sources in Painting    9 Chapter 6 – What type of painter are you?    10 Chapter 7 – Choosing A Subject    11 Chapter 8 – Setting Up Your Studio    12 Chapter 9 – Art Supply Resources    13 Chapter 10 – Clean Up Time    14 Chapter 11 – Free Art Lessons    15 Chapter 12 – Take Care of Your Creation    16 Chapter 13 – Pay Attention to Detail    17 Chapter 14 – Enjoy Your Subject    18 Chapter 15 – Frequently Asked Questions    20 Chapter 16 – Art Schools    22 Chapter 17 – Museums of Fine Art    23 Chapter 18 – One Final Word    24 PLR Ebook Sample Content Preview Chapter 1 – Painting 101 People have been expressing themselves through painting for thousands of years.  Even the cavemen showed great hunts or other events with paints made from berries and plants. There just seems to be an innate need to show others our thoughts, feelings, and ideas through pictures.  The phrase “ A picture is worth a thousand words” is so very true. With colors and design you can express every emotion you feel.  Whether it is a woman in a garden waiting for her lover or an old barn set in a field of wild flowers, the subject bring memories and feelings to the fore front of the viewer's mind.  All of this being accomplished on a blank canvas with paint. There are some basics the beginning artist should know.  Although you may have been sketching and drawing for years, the first time you pick up a brush it will seem foreign to you. This is fine.  You will become very familiar with each of the brushes and the strokes they can make.  They will soon be as comfortable in your hand as the charcoal pencil you use on the sketch pad. Paints can add style and creativity to an art piece.  A single tear drop on the face can take on a totally new dimension by adding color.  Paints allow you to do this with ease.  The types of paint you use will also allow you to be more creative. Many artists use the oil paints for extend projects.  The oils do not dry as quickly and can be rejuvenated with a little turpentine or mineral spirits. This allows the artist to continue the project another day.  The brushes you use with an oil painting must be cleaned extremely well.  If you allow them to sit in the cleaning solution they can loose their shape.  This means you may not be able to use certain brushes to achieve a particular brush stroke.

PLR Ebook Table Of Contents Chapter 1 – How to Get Started Chapter 2 – Culinary School - Baking and Pastry Degree Chapter 3 – Advertising your Business Chapter 4 – Incorporating Art In Your Cakes Chapter 5 – Wedding Cakes Chapter 6 – Children's Birthday Cakes Chapter 7 – Margie's Cake Business Chapter 8 – Career's Available For Cake Decorators Chapter 9 – Wilton School of Cake Decorating Chapter 10 – Universal Class Online Cake Decorating Chapter 11 – Winbeckler Enterprises Cake Decorating Ebook Sample Content Preview Chapter 1 – How to Get Started For some cake decorating is a hobby, and for others, it is a career.  The amateurs are those who find it fun and gratifying to bake the cakes and then decorate them for their family and friends, thus saving money by doing it themselves.  With expert training along with good decorating tips and ideas, anyone can master this art.  With this art form you will be able to stretch your imagination.  If you continue building your skills, you will experience the joy of making others happy with your expertise. The art of decorating cakes takes place when a man or woman has turned the kitchen into an art studio. When a cake is decorated in an artistic design it is pleasing to both the creator and the recipient.  Creating a cake does not have to be a stressful experience, you just need to get creative.  Don’t be afraid to try new ideas and techniques.  For the amateur, it is the simple cake decorating tips, which are the best ways to help you get started.  Decorating can be as simple as using a stencil and dusting confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder on the top of a cake. Cakes can be iced with butter cream, royal fondant, or cooked icing.  Adding to the icing cakes can be topped with flowers, spun sugar, or candy.  Cakes can be created to look like a hot dog, pizza, or just about anything you have the imagination to create. If you want to be an amateur cake decorator, you will need to learn the basics and pick up as many of the tips you can.  There are many tips and ideas widely available.  You may decide to continue making and decorating cakes as a pastime or you may decide to look into making a career out of decorating and baking cakes. The Wilton schools have several students who have a professional goal in mind.  Wilton schools have classes designed for anyone who loves cake decorating.  Wilton classes are taught at several local retailers throughout the United States and Canada.  Here are some of the Wilton school tips and hints on icing a cake.

Ebook Table Of Contents Chapter 1 – An Introduction To Herbs    3 Chapter 2 – Herbs in the Kitchen    5 Chapter 3 – Growing an Herb Garden      7 Chapter 4 – Collecting Herbs    12 Chapter 6 – Storing Herbs    15 Chapter 7 – Adding Herbs to the Cook Pot    16 Chapter 8 – Homemade Herbal Mixtures    17 Chapter 9 – Great Sources for Seeds and Plants    19 Chapter 10 – Resources For Dried Herbs    20 Chapter 11 – The Herbal Medicine Cabinet    21 Chapter 12 – Summary    23 Chapter 13 – Resources    24 Chapter 14 – Sample Recipes    24 Ebook Sample Content Preview Chapter 1 – An Introduction To Herbs Natural herbs have been in use since the dawn of time.  The Chinese have been using these flavorful weeds for everything from spicing up a favorite dish to curing allergies.  Common herbs are most known for their culinary uses.  There are medicinal applications for herbs as well. The Native Americans knew the value of an herb.  Whether it was to cure a toothache or cure an upset stomach, there was an herb for everything.  Some of the best foods are made to taste that way because of an herb. What would a pumpkin pie be without the herbs.  The most popular sausages get their flavoring from natural herbs.  Most of them can be grown right in the household garden.  People forget the value of an herb until they try to cook without them.  Herbs may be an overlooked little plant in the yard, but it is a plant that can pack a punch.  They have been for centuries. While hiking in the Alps two people came across the body of a man whom the hikers thought had fallen and been injured.  As it turned out, it was the discovery of the century.  The body was that of a man who had lived over 5,000 years ago.  He had been caught in the big freeze with the entrance of the ice age.  What made this so unique were the things he carried with him.  One of these items was a small leather pouch of herbs.  The herbs were reputed to be for medicinal purposes.

PLR Ebook Table Of Contents Introduction    3 From A to Zinc    5 Calories    9 Caloric Intake During Pregnancy    9 Caloric Intake While Nursing    11 Healthy Calories Vs. Unhealthy Calories    11 Recap-Necessary Vitamins and Their Sources    14 How Much is Too Much?    15 Mommy’s No-No List    17 What if You Can’t Eat a Regular Diet?    19 Food Allergies and Intolerance    19 Veganism/Vegetarianism    21 Dislikes    22 Post-Partum Diet-Dropping Those Pounds!    23 Exercise    26 When NOT to Exercise when Pregnant    27 Post-Partum Exercise    28 Conclusion    28 Sample Content Preview Introduction Children grow up too fast. Before too long the almost indistinguishable speck in your womb is going to be flying down a hill on a bike with their hands in the air and driving down the interstate in your new car. Before you know it you’ll be telling them good-bye as they start college, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. You’ll never have the opportunity to nurture them again that you do right now, when they’re safely inside you tucked away from the outside world. This is going to be the last time in your life that it’s a piece of cake to get them to eat their vegetables, so enjoy it! You’re going to spend the next eighteen years (and then some) trying to convince them that spinach is good for them and that the slimy stuff on the outside of their carrots is just pulp, but right now you’re making all the decisions when it comes to what they eat. Proper pregnancy nutrition is a vital factor in proper fetal development because the fetus is physically incapable of providing for itself, nor can it show any visible signs of malnourishment between monthly check-ups as a newborn can. That means that for the next nine months it’s going to be completely up to you to ensure that you are properly eating for two, taking in the vitamins and nutrients that are going to help you give birth to a healthy, happy baby while keeping yourself healthy at the same time. Remember, baby’s going to take what it needs long before those nutrients ever have the opportunity to go through your system.  By not eating properly you’re not only harming your baby, you’re harming yourself as well. That’s why it’s so important that you make sure you get the vitamins and nutrients that you need for the next nine months as well. Lack of attention might still lead to a healthy baby, but baby’s not going to change themselves! Mom needs to be healthy too in order to keep up with her little bundle of joy in the coming months. Giving birth is hard enough on the body. You certainly don’t want to add malnutrition into the mix.

Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION    3 ABOUT JOOMLA! CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM    7 EXTENSIONS    12 BENEFITS    15 COMPARISON WITH OTHER CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS    17 WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE DEVELOPERS?    21 Ebook Sample Content Preview Introduction A decade ago, having a webpage was cool. Today, not having a webpage is almost primitive. Through a blog or a wiki or a webpage, everyone these days is present on the web, one way or the other. There are websites on gossip, websites on politics and websites on sports and so on. Why, there are websites on websites as well! Does that mean everyone who wants to be on the web has to be a geek? No. All you need is a Content Management System. Wait, did I mention CMS? Well, not any CMS would do. What you need is Joomla!. It’s a revolutionary open-source system that is just as cool to work with as it sounds. If you have a webpage that needs some working on all the time, Joomla! is your best friend. Download it and forget about coding, programming, designing. Sit back and let Joomla! do all the hard work. Be it updating your design template or setting up a forum on your website, you can do it all through a browser-based interface. Joomla! is easy to set up and operate. It also provides demo for various extensions helping you understand software better. In this book, I have tried to pack in as much information as I could about Joomla! and the wonders it can work for you. Read on and explore more.

PLR Ebook Table Of Contents The Secrets of the Act of Persuasion    4 Measurement of Influence    6 Different styles of influencing    6 Natural Styles for influencing others    6 The Autocratic Approach    6 The Collaborative Approach    7 The Logical Approach    7 The Emotional Approach    7 The Assertive Approach    8 The Passive Approach    8 The Sales Approach    8 The Bargaining Approach    9 The Influence of Positive Behavior    10 Behaviors That Support the Influencing Process    10 Model Behavior    10 Reciprocity to Influence People    11 Understanding the Needs of People    12 Symbolic Rewards    12 Material Rewards    12 Security    12 How to Exercise Higher Influence    13 Listening is Important to Influence Others    15 How to Make Talking Effective    17 Get the Other Person's Attention    17 Convey your Message Properly    17 Fill Your Message With Benefits.    17 Begin Conversation on Subject of Mutual Understanding.    17 Give Reasons of Your Requests    17 Change of Subject    17 Handling Defensive People    18 Criticize Action Not the Person    18 Don’t Accuse a Person for Defensive Behavior    18 Consider Your Mistakes    18 Solve the Actual Problem    19 Questioning and Listening May Help    19 Leave the Person Alone    19 How to Persuade People through Persistence    20 Make Use of Direct Statement    20 Repeat Request    20 Maintain Your Calm    20 Make a Commitment with Other Person    20 Stick to Commitment    20 How to Make a Compromise while influencing people    21 Place Your Demand Properly    21 Be Strong and Constant    21 Be Sure Before Making Compromise    21 Praise    21 Don't Insult Others    21 Don't Show Concern Yourself Only    22 Share Your Credit    22 Don't Expect Help from Others    22 Show Appreciation    22 Avoid “Showing Up" Others    22 Give Importance to Small Problems    22 Care for Others    22 Criticize Others in Private    23 Give Proper Attention    23 Be Courteous and Tactful    23 Stay Confident    23 How to Convince People to Think like You    24 Criticism    24 Constructive Criticism    24 Don’t Criticize Too Much    24 Avoid Using the Words "Never" Or "Always"    25 Don't Add Fun to Your Criticism    25 Avoid Making Comparison    25 Criticize a Person at Proper Time    25 Begin and End discussion with Sincere Praise    25 Give Positive Expectations to Others    25 Just Maintain Your Calm    26 Avoid Blaming Anyone Directly    26 Listen to the Story of Other Person    26 Try to Understand Actual Problem    26 Tell other Person that is essential    26 Consider Your Mistakes    26 Don’t Blame Anybody Directly    27 Method of Punishment    27 End Your Criticism with Praise    27 Improve Your Actions    27 Criticize Again, If Necessary    27 Make Use of Energy Force for Influencing People    28 How to Handle Useless Criticism    30 Give Consent to the Facts    30 Answering   to the Criticism    30 How to Make Most Out of Criticism    30 Take Feedback    30 Use Assumption to know Your Faults    30 Avoid Being Defensive    31 How to Make Friends    32 Introduce Yourself    32 Leading Questions    32 Tell About Yourself    32 How to Manage Negative Feedback    32 Win the Battle of Friendship    33 Conclusion    33 PLR Ebook Sample Content Preview The Secrets of the Act of Persuasion A journey abroad provides one a great chance to complete the reading of one or two   books. I finished a famous book naming “Influence the Psychology of Persuasion” during my journey. Robert Cialdini has written this book. The reading of this book refreshed the memories of my lectures on social psychology. It is necessary for a manager, sales or marketing professional or a supervisor to read this book. Almost all people attach the words ‘influence’ or ‘persuasion’ to method of marketing. On the other hand, influencing is the main aim of almost all the public functions. All the activities such as marketing, sales or administration are needed to put an effect on others at some occasion. The purpose of activities of marketing, sales or administration may be to persuade consumers, friends or social group to purchase, to act, to admit or to trust.     It generally aims at influencing customers, colleagues or friends to buy, to act, to accept or to believe in any item or any person. It requires a great skill to develop a quality to impress others or ability to influence others in fair way. Cialdini in his book discusses six methods, which can be used to market any item, to persuade someone or to inspire any act. These methods include: reciprocation, consistency, likeability, authority and scarcity, commitment and consistency, social proof. Let’s discuss these methods in brief:...

PLR Ebook Table Of Contents Learning the Art of Getting Acquainted With Strangers    4 1. Observe And Apply:    4 2. Ruthless Strategy And Responsible Strategy:    4 3. BreakingThe Ice    5 Techniques of discarding discomfort:    5 Nametags:    6 Brainstorm:    6 Is It Fiction Or Is It A Fact?    6 Game Of Differences And Similarities    6 Free Association:    7 Desert Island:    7 Line Up:    7 Commonality Plus:    7 Telling Tales Of Firsts And Worsts:    7 Shoe Pile Can Help You In Meeting And Greeting    8 Identifying The Causes Of The Barrier:    8 5. Figuring Out The Required Ice Breaker:    9 Understanding The Crew:    9 Crew Size:    9 Preparation For Breaking The Ice:    9 Identify The Purpose And Plot The Action Course:    9 ETA (Time):    10 Make It Purposeful:    10 Disembarking (Debrief):    10 6. Tips Regarding Activities Related To Breaking The Ice    11 7. Prepare Yourself:    11 8.News Can Help:    12 9.An Agenda Must Be Created:    12 10. Stay Confident:    12 11.Use The Magic Of Smile And Maintain Eye Contact:    13 12.Don’t Drink And Eat Too Much:    13 13. Networking And Not Business Must Be On Your Mind:    13 14. Compliment Someone:    13 15. Finding Commonality:    14 16.Ask Questions:    14 17.Offer Assistance:    14 18.Build Relationships:    15 19. Show Appreciation:    15 20. Avoid Turn-Offs:    15 Miscellaneous Tips:    16 Seminars and Workshops- How to Make them Useful for You    16 21. Show Up    17 22.Take Notes for Each Conversation    17 23. Business Card’s Organization    17 24. Try To Make New Bonds    17 25. Remember Person’s Name    17 Listening is Different than Hearing    18 The Use of Mnemonics    18 Visual Mnemonics:    19 First Letter Mnemonics:    19 Assembly Mnemonics:    19 Unique Secret for Memorizing Names    20 26.The Perfect Handshake    20 Do not miss an opportunity to shake hands.    21 5 Ideas for Focus on Connecting With People    21 27. Use the parking for profit and fun.    21 28. Networking is about them, not you:    21 29. Have several elevator speeches on hand    21 30. Follow it up with an “urge to action”    22 Conclusion    22 31. The Wonders Of Networking-The Best Way To Reach Out    22 32. Public Speaking    23 33.    Deep Resonating Voice:    23 34.    Speak slowly and clearly    23 35.    Bring Variety in Your Voice    23 36.    Clarity in Voice:    24 37.    Adjust Your Voice    24 38.    Correct Pronunciation    24 39.    Wrong Words    24 40.    Make Contact:    24 41.    Gesticulate:    24 42.    Avoid Lectern:    24 43. 5Ways to Work More Effectively on a Virtual Team    25 45.    Be Ready:    26 46.    Be Tactful    26 47.    Be positive    27 48.It’s An Art:    27 49. Key to networking success    27 50. Being a great communicator    27 Have Fun!    28 PLR Ebook Sample Content Preview Learning the Art of Getting Acquainted With Strangers Almost all of us must have gotten into a situation when we would find ourselves in a room full of strangers and new people. It is quite an art to socialize instantly with people. But it’s not a piece of cake for everyone. So, what can be done? Let us take a look at 50 different ways to work a room (networking with strangers). 1. Observe And Apply: Whenever you would be in a situation where all the people in the room in which you are, are strangers to you, begin with observing the room’s environment or rather its layout in terms of the behavioral patterns of groups of people standing together. Try to locate the room’s “power centers” in terms of locating important persons out of the entire room population. This is an important thing to know as if you strike a chord with these guys then it would become extremely easier for you to socialize with other people. Until and unless this art becomes your second nature, keep practicing it till you get the total feel of it. 2. Ruthless Strategy And Responsible Strategy: Two approaches can be undertaken by us at this juncture for socializing with people. You can either adopt a ruthless strategy which involves, “games playing”. This means that you would manipulate the people in a cynical manner to meet your objective. If you are adopting a responsible strategy, it means that you would have to show care, attend to the needs of the people and act in a humble and gentle manner. Hence, this strategy is a bit riskier as it takes a lot of time but undertaking such a strategy would be most suitable for shy persons and also it stands correct on our moral principles.

Table Of Contents Becoming a Parent    2 Factors Affecting the Likelihood of Conceiving:    2 Proper Parenting-The Spiritual Consideration    4 Making the Right Decision:    4 Guided By Your Spirit:    5 The Correct Way:    5 Parenting Teens    6 Every Action Has A Reaction:    6 Psychological Control Is Uncalled For:    7 Managing Your Relationship with Your Teen ager:    8 Parenting a teen ager—needs sincere efforts!    9 Getting The Teenager’s Perspective:    9 Parental Challenges:    10 Identifying Violent Behavior    16 Preventing Violence    18 Things To Be Done During Emergency Situations:    20 Processing Of Juvenile Cases:    22 Importance of Conversing With the Teenager    25 Helping the Teenager Fight Acne Problems    27 Curing a Teenager from Drug Abuse    33 Do Not Blindly Trust Suspicious Things from Teenager    35 Taking Care of an Adopted Teenage Child    37 Putting a Stop to Six Things    38 Sample Content Preview Becoming a Parent Imagine holding your newborn baby in your hands. It’s a feeling which cannot be paralleled by any other joy in this world. It is just fantastic. Here you are with your child in whom you visualize your childhood giving you a chance to live life in that lane once again. There are a lot of things which must be considered whenever a couple plans for a baby, which may or may not be their first child. This is rather an instinctive and natural act, but you can increase your probability of conceiving by taking care of certain things. Parenting is an amazing experience. Factors Affecting the Likelihood of Conceiving: By gaining knowledge of certain things, you can build upon the likelihood of getting pregnant this time. These factors are: • Women should primarily get familiar with their cycle of ovulation. Fertilization only during the journey of egg towards the uterus. Hence, it is extremely important that women get familiar with their ovulation cycle. • Mostly this occurs on the 14th day of the menstrual cycle, supposing that menstruation occurs on day 1. Fertility will be the highest for about 2 weeks from the time your penultimate period begins which lasts for around 3 days. • Male fertility decreases after frequent ejaculations. So, it is advisable for the couple, especially men, to hold and abstain themselves from any sexual activity for some time before ovulation period begins. Due to this, the male ejaculation will have a greater count of sperms and hence the chance of getting pregnant will increase. • Both parents must try to abstain themselves from smoking. Ovary responsiveness to fertility stimulation by medication is reduced by cigarette smoke due to which the likelihood of conceiving decreases. Though there is no effect on sperm count, for reasons of solidarity, even men must quit smoking as this will help in improving the mother’s health in general....

Ebook Table Of Contents What is Dyslexia?    3 What do the adult dyslexic people go through?    3 An Overview Of Those Who Are Dyslexic    4 Anyone Can Suffer From Dyslexic:    4 Root Cause Of Adult Dyslexia    5 Sources of Dyslexia    5 Factors Causing Dyslexia    5 Types Of Dyslexia    7 Literal Dyslexia:    7 Word Dyslexia:    7 Phonological Dyslexia:    8 Neglect Dyslexia:    8 Semantic Dyslexia:    8 Spelling Dyslexia:    8 Pure Dyslexia:    8 Deep Dyslexia:    8 What Is Visual Dyslexia?    9 Build Skills For Word Recognition To Defeat The Problems Of Dyslexia:    9 The Skill Builder Module For Improving Rapid Word Recognition:    10 Symptoms Of Dyslexia    10 Here are some ways to know whether you are suffering from the dyslexia or not:    10 Bias Towards One Side Of A Brain -    10 Direction Confusion –    10 Spelling Difficulties –    11 Sequences And Math Difficulties –    11 Comprehension difficulties –    11 Summary of Adult Dyslexia symptoms    12 Impulsive Perceiving Troubles    14 Having Trouble In Listening:    14 Mutual Mishmash    15 Overcoming Adult Dyslexia    15 Adult Dyslexia Treatment    16 Techniques To Get Rid Of Dyslexia    18 Talent Pays Off    18 Brain Aberrations concerning Dyslexia    19 Inspecting the Brain    19 Adult Dyslexia Assessment    20 Testing For Cure:    20 Uncomplicated Dyslexia Assessment    21 Evaluating Those Who Are Suffering From Dyslexic    22 Comprehensive tests    23 Thorough Assessment through a Psychologist    24 Thorough Assessment Distantly    24 Assessing Dyslexia Online    25 Proper Time To Take Dyslexia Test    26 Close Relationship Between Dyslexia And Fish Oil Supplements    27 Healing From Dyslexia    28 Phonics Based Interpretation Intervention as a Cure for Dyslexia    28 Phonological Alertness Education    28 Getting Help From Skill Builder Kits    29 Reading Achievement Lab    29 The Intervention Kits used by “The Reading Achievement Lab Skill Builder Module”    29 Adult Dyslexia Myths    30 Queries And Doubts:    30 Goals Of Dyslexia Associations:    31 A few words about  ADO:    32 Adult Dyslexia - Conclusion    33 A few pointers to remember    33 PLR Ebook Sample Content Preview What is Dyslexia? Lack of processing facts and figures related to shortage in interim reminiscence and visual harmonization is called Dyslexia. This specific deficiency in interim reminiscence can create difficulties for the patient to find out connection between illustrated representation and the verbal resonance. What do the adult dyslexic people go through? Dyslexic people undergo reading, spelling, numeric, writing, promptness and personal organization tribulations, which differ in range and rigorousness. Nobody is a characteristic dyslexic being and the extent of its effectiveness varies from serene spelling obscurity to relentless managerial tribulations to absolute illiteracy. Several dyslexic individuals are conceivably unacquainted as they are undergoing dyslexia, while until maturity till it is analyzed and found. Not always instantaneously identifiable, this is a dilemma contrasting to some disabilities, which several dyslexic inhabitants try to conceal. Leading to aggravation, anger and distress, a dyslexic individual’s self-confidence is generally low. It leads to undertaking low confidence tasks like taking mobile messages, finishing timesheets or completing application forms. Let us understand what a dyslexic person is. This is tough to reply, since explanations of dyslexia diverge and the complexities linked with the circumstance vary from soft, to restrained, to relentless. It is difficult to neither conclude the cut-off spots (mainly the one linking the meekly dyslexic plus the other population) nor draw closer within the slightest decided approximation. Some research has been completed which has guesstimates about the amount of inhabitants with dyslexia. Except providing anecdotal statistics, there is not much that implies a consistent trial to review the circumstance. In UK and several other nations, there is an inconsistent figure and definitely assessors working on the research come across much to query.

PLR Ebook Table Of Contents Outdoor survival- what is it about?    2 What do you need to carry?    5 Get Your Priorities Straight: Your Life Depends On It!    9 First Aid: It’s Not Just Band Aids, Anymore!    14 You Need More Than Breadcrumbs To Find Your Way Home!    15 What A Grind!    16 Keeping Your Distance is the Best Self Defense    17 Climb Every Mountain!    18 Can You Tie It In A Knot?    19 Ready, Aim…    20 Ebook Sample Content Preview Outdoor survival- what is it about The Law of the Jungle…Survival of the Fittest…everyone has heard these expressions, but have you ever taken the time to examine what they really mean? Nowadays, most of us seem to be happy with just watching a bunch of contestants on television competing to one up each other in a so-called reality wilderness survival show. Unfortunately, the only “survival skill” these people seem to know is how to stab each other in the back so they are eliminated from the competition. With all of our technological advances and creature comforts, we have been lulled into a false sense of security, thinking we will never have to deal with struggling to survive. Seriously, when was the last time you prepared an entire meal from scratch, without using the microwave? Better yet, when was the last time you spent some time with your family, or even just by yourself, without watching television?  If we think that we will always be safe, we really do need to snap out of it! Just look at some of the horrendous storms and “natural” disasters that have occurred just this past decade. Remember the tsunami that caused such devastation and loss in Thailand back in 2004? Or how about Hurricane Katrina and what happened down in New Orleans, Louisiana? If you were there, would you know what you would need to do to survive? Even more importantly, could you actually do what you would have to in order to come through such an ordeal? Why should we be bothered to learn how to build a fire without matches, or how to obtain safe water to drink when all we have to do is get up and go into the kitchen for either?