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steve-olson.com

For People Pursuing Freedom


Beautiful HDR Photos - Big Fork River MinnesotaYesterday

My brother, Paul E Olson, took these HDR photos last weekend in Northern Minnesota at the the Big Fork River 20 miles south of International Falls.

Believe it or not, none of these photos were photoshopped.

Click one to see a larger version. The large ones are spectacular.

Is Fear Keeping You and Others Poor? It Doesn’t Have To.November 20

Fear creates more of the things you fear. Let me explain.

Elisabeth commented on Do Not Fear the Economic Crisis.

Glad to hear you, Dawud Miracle, and the previous two posters are
doing so well, but I must say this is a depressing post to read after
having spent twelve hours every day for the past five days pounding the
pavement looking for a new job. I was recently laid off due to the
“hype,” and If I don’t find something in the next couple of days I
won’t be able to pay rent and will literally be on the street (medical
bills for family and myself have drained my bank account dry, and some
recent deaths in the family have left me stranded in an unfamiliar
city/state).

To whatever degree you choose to believe it, these hardships exist. To REAL people even – people like me.

“Right now you have more opportunity than you may ever see again.” Oh, Mr. Olson… if you could only walk a mile in my shoes…

Continued successes to you and your friends/family.

Take care.

It appears Elisabeth hit an ugly storm of unemployment, poor health, death, while stranded and alone. Elisabeth misunderstood much of what I wrote. That is my fault, I hope she will give me a chance to clarify. In no way, did I mean that hardships do not exist. Suffering exists, no doubt.

Ackn









How to Build ConfidenceNovember 19

What is confidence?

  • It is believeing in yourself
  • It is believing in others
  • It is trust
  • It is faith

How do you build it? By learning to think any way you want to. Let me explain.

Thanks to Lyman Reed, I’ve been listening to The Focus Society of Over Achievers which is hosted by Chuck Bartok. It is a radio talk show format, where people discuss some of the top Personal Development books ever written. A few days ago I started with Episode 1 and I am hooked. Today they were discussing the chapter on faith from Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich. And a thought occurred to me…

Napoleon Hill never mentions confidence, only faith. Faith has gotten a bad rap lately hasn’t it? Then I thought…

What’s the difference? Is there any? You can swap the words ‘have faith’ and ‘am confident’ in any of these sentences, can’t you?

  • I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow.
  • I am confident my car will start when I turn the key.
  • I have faith that my wife will feed the boys in the morning.
  • I am confident my sons will make it to school in the morning.
  • I have faith I will
Do Not Fear the Economic CrisisNovember 18

This is not the time to panic. This is certainly not the time to sell your assets. This is the time seize opportunities.

Dawud Miracle lives in Michigan, and he tells us why we shouldn’t fear the economic situation. Every detail in his article is accurate.

Dawud Writes…

You see, small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy now.
Can we compete with Walmart, Ford or Pepsi - no. But we don’t need to
either.

I have a number of close friends that work for large corporations.
Most of them are scared they’ll loose their job because of the economic
conditions. But the other side of the coin is that I have a large
number friends who are self-employed or own small businesses who are
doing quite well - and plan to continue that way.

Besides, this crisis is nothing new. Most of us have lived through times like these. If you think this is new, take a look at this set of Time Magazine covers from 1974 - 1994. Isn’t it strange how every headline could apply to 2008? Don’t buy the hype. Turn it off, bust your butt, and make something happen.

It is amazing how the media sells the same old stories.

Right now is








Blog Update - ChangesNovember 17

A few changes you’ll see around here.

  • You will see more frequent posts
  • You will see more short posts
  • You will see more posts from Christine
  • We will be posting updates on what’s new at Christine’s Books (formerly Soconik Books).


For the last year or so I’ve struggled with what direction to take this blog. I have a wide variety of interests I want to share and express.

When it comes to social media and blogging I spend much more time trying to gain understanding and knowledge than I do on actual creation of content.

I’m interested in business, finance, writing, philosophy, spirituality, entrepreneurship, education, self-improvement, freedom, parenting, humor, and politics. No more humor, too many misunderstandings. At one point I created a political blog, which was a mistake because I haven’t had the time to maintain it. I am going to close that blog and keep most political content off this blog (as much as I can and still maintain some perspective on education, business, and finance). People get too negative about political stuff, and I have no interest in adding to the negativity out there.

We will be writing about our home business more. They say the economy is soft, but right now Christine is doing well.

I will be posting more short posts with links to content I think you will find interesting.