The Importance of Resilience

Resilience is our ability to adapt and bounce back when things don't go as planned. Resilient people don't wallow or dwell on failures; they acknowledge the situation, learn from their mistakes, and then move forward.

There are three elements that are essential to resilience:

1.   Challenge - Resilient people view a difficulty as a challenge, not as a paralyzing event. They look at their failures and mistakes as lessons to be learned from, and as opportunities for growth. They don't view them as a negative reflection on their abilities or self-worth.

2.   Commitment - Resilient people are committed to their lives and their goals, and they have a compelling reason to get out of bed in the morning. Commitment isn't just restricted to their work - they commit to their relationships, their friendships, the causes they care about, and their religious or spiritual beliefs.

3.   Personal Control - Resilient people spend their time and energy focusing on situations and events that they have control over. Because they put their efforts where they can have the most impact, they feel empowered and confident. Those who spend time worrying about uncontrollable events can often feel lost, helpless, and powerless to take action.

The way that we explain setbacks to ourselves is also important and is made up of a few main elements:

·        Permanence - People who are optimistic (and therefore have more resilience) see the effects of bad events as temporary rather than permanent. For instance, they might say "My boss didn't like the work I did on that project" rather than "My boss never likes my work."

·        Pervasiveness - Resilient people don't let setbacks or bad events affect other unrelated areas of their lives. For instance, they would say "I'm not very good at this" rather than "I'm no good at anything."

·        Personalization - People who have resilience don't blame themselves when bad events occur. Instead, they see other people, or the circumstances, as the cause. For instance, they might say "I didn't get the support I needed to finish that project successfully," rather than "I messed that project up because I can't do my job."

Here are several further attributes that are common in resilient people:

Resilient people have a positive image of the future. That is, they maintain a positive outlook, and envision brighter days ahead.

Resilient people have solid goals, and a desire to achieve those goals.

Resilient people are empathetic and compassionate, however, they don't waste time worrying what others think of them. They maintain healthy relationships, but don't bow to peer pressure.

Resilient people never think of themselves as victims - they focus their time and energy on changing the things that they have control over.

How we view adversity and stress strongly affects how we succeed, and this is one of the most important reasons that having a resilient mindset is so important.

The fact is that we're going to fail from time to time: it's an inevitable part of living that we make mistakes and occasionally fall flat on our faces. The only way to avoid this is to live a shuttered and meager existence, never trying anything new or taking a risk. Few of us want a life like that!

Instead, we should have the courage to go after our dreams, despite the very real risk that we'll fail in some way or other. Being resilient means that when we do fail, we bounce back, we have the strength to learn the lessons we need to learn, and we can move on to bigger and better things.

Overall, resilience gives us the power to overcome setbacks, so that we can live the life we've always imagined.

Achieve your full potential and work with a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 year’s experience empowering individuals, executives and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional and personal lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com  to get the tools you need to excel in life!

Help Others Feel Important

Why should we help others feel important? There are two giant reasons why we should find ways to make others feel important.  The first reason is that people will do more for you and be more willing to interact with you if you make them feel important.  They will want to be your friend, they will want to talk with you, and they will want to help you if they feel you value who they are.

The second major reason why you should make others feel important is because when you are helping others feel important you are helping yourself feel important as well.  Not only will you feel better about yourself when you practice noticing the good in others but the people you help feel important will in turn notice and talk about the good things in you.

So how do we help others feel important?

Here is a list of time-proven methods for helping others feel important.

• Call people by their first name.   People are extremely attached to their name.  It has a certain ring in their ears.  If you call people by their first name in a pleasant, optimistic, and friendly manner they will show you more courtesy, more respect, and they will like you more.

•  Acknowledge and pay attention to the people around you.  It does not take much energy to give the doorman, secretary, or taxi driver a kind and pleasant “good morning sir or mam”, but it will do wonders in the way they treat you.  When you acknowledge the people around you, they will acknowledge you in return.

• Appreciate others.  Show appreciation for the things that others do.  If someone provides you with a quality service make sure you let them know.  If you enjoyed a conversation with a friend be sure to let them know that you appreciate the time and energy they have given you.  Sincere and honest appreciate can go a long way in building relationships as well as making others feel important.

• Compliment others.  If you are paying attention to people you will begin to notice the things they do.  If your co-worker gets her hair done be sure to give her a compliment.  Be sincere and honest.  Pay attention and ask a related question.   Let the taxi driver know you think he is doing a great job driving in the busy streets.  Let your wife know how amazing the dinner she prepared was.

• Be courteous and considerate.  Be considerate to the feelings of those around you.  If your husband is having a tough day and wants some time alone to think make sure you give him a period of quiet time to be with himself.  If your wife had a long day at the office and wants to talk make sure you earnestly listen to what she has to say.

• Encourage others.   A bit of encouragement can help give a person the confidence to keep on.  When you encourage someone you are saying to them that you believe they can do whatever they are trying to do and that makes them feel important.
• Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. This is one of Dale Carnegie’s rules to making friends and influencing people.  The bottom line of this rule is that it helps others feel important.  When you give them a grand reputation they feel good about themselves and they believe in themselves.

Achieve your full potential and work with a Business and Life Management Coach with over 20 years experience empowering individuals, executives and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional & personal lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com to discuss your goals today!

Change Your Focus to the Positive!

The Law of Attraction states that what we focus on becomes our reality so it is very important to be aware of our thoughts. If we continually think about negative or the bad things in our lives then we will attract even more negativity. On the other hand if we focus on the positive we will be more likely to attract the positive. So the key is focus.

People who wish to make changes in their lives tend to do so because they are experiencing pain or bad feelings. This pain can actually lead to positive improvements, but in order to do so the focus must not be on the negative but instead on the positive outcome that is expected.

Remember that what you focus on becomes your reality. Focus on the positive.

Simple Focus Exercise:

1. Write down one of your negative thoughts. (I am not happy at work.)

2. Cross it out.

3. Find something positive about it and write that down.(I am respected and well paid) 

4. Spend some time focusing only on the positive aspect of that new thought.

5. When you feel that negative thought come up again just cross it out in your mind and replace it with the positive one.

Apply this exercise to all negative thoughts throughout your day. Express your mental power and before long you will be able to focus your attention on the positive things in your life and experience personal growth.

Get the tools you need to excel in your personal and professional life. Denise’s passion for personal development is at the core of her business and life philosophy and is committed to helping others achieve their full potential in order to live richer, more fulfilling lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com to get started in reaching your goals today! On-site, phone and e-mail coaching available.

The Art of Conscious Living.....

The benefits of self-awareness lend itself into every aspect of your life. The more you are aware of yourself and others around you, the more choices are available to you that allow you to make better decisions on a daily basis. When you are consciously living, you are present in each moment and experience all that is before you.
 

It is easy to fall into habitual patterns that take you out of the moment. You often will do and see things that are already part of your internal process and lose the ability to be objective. Because life’s conditioning starts very early, your reactions and thoughts become preprogrammed and you tend to be more reactive to daily happenings than proactive toward what serves your life better.

To see things more clearly, take a moment and divide in yourself the mechanical from the conscious; see how little there is of the conscious, how seldom it works, and how strong the mechanical is - mechanical attitudes, mechanical intentions, mechanical thoughts, mechanical desires and actions.  

Change can only be addressed when you become aware and realize how programed your life really is. Continuing in this manor is either because you are not aware of choosing conscious living or because you are afraid to live consciously due to the changes that might happen in your life if you did.

Once you identify your automatic behaviors and responses that are triggered without your will, you can leave the ones intact that serve you and work on the behaviors that are unhealthy so you can break free from the auto pilot mode you have been living with for years.
 

It is important to take the first step to change your mechanical behaviors which have created your daily circumstances and learn to live consciously by making choices that better serve your life. You have the power to change and today can be the start.

Get the tools you need to excel in your life by working with Denise Dema, a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 years’ experience empowering individuals, executives and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional & personal lives. Denise’s passion for personal development is at the core of her business and life philosophy and is committed to helping others achieve their full potential in order to live richer, more fulfilling lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com  to get started in reaching your goals today! On-site, phone and e-mail coaching available.


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Learn How to Reach Your Goals

The New Year is a beginning, so new goals and resolutions, new plans, new dreams and new directions fuel your thoughts.

What is it about this annual “new” that causes us to reflect upon our lives and our accomplishments? I believe each of us has a natural inclination to grow our self-esteem and capability through new accomplishments. Most of us want to make a difference in the world. Most of us want to live life as fully as we can. Thus, we annually draw a new line in the sand and claim a starting point for our next chapter.

It’s been said that everyone has goals, whether we know it or not. We have goals to keep our current job, or to get a different one. Start a new relationship or make an existing one better. We have goals to save for the future, or to travel, take a vacation, or purchase the things we need and want to make our lives more enjoyable. An important distinction, however, is that top achievers are very intentional and focused on their goals, while many of the rest of us are not.

Successful people know that the wording, structure, timing and format of a goal can make its achievement much easier – or far more difficult. Top achievers understand the basic skills for setting and reaching their goals, every time! They know how to design goals that create success. Here are the important steps to set and achieve your goals:

Reachable goals are SPECIFIC. The brain must know exactly, precisely, what it is trying to accomplish. Never word a goal with vague terms like “some” or “a little bit”, or “more”. Be specific! If you want to lose 8 pounds and reach a weight of 175, specify those exact numbers. If you want to save $200 this month, be exact. Your brain can help you accomplish almost anything if it knows precisely what you are aiming for.

Reachable goals are SIMPLE. Many people describe their goals in complex terms of retiring on the beach in Hawaii, with nice cars and lots of money, and…. Their list goes on and on. Any ONE of those things is a great goal, but the combination becomes over whelming and the brain gets confused. If you want to retire in Hawaii, just say so! If you want to increase your sales by 10% this month, say so! Keep your goals simple, clear, and focused.

Reachable goals are SIGNIFICANT. No one can muster the enthusiasm, hard work and courage to reach a goal they don’t really care about. A reachable goal is one you really, really want! You must own your goals. It’s something that will change your life, enhance your health or wealth, and make you proud. It gets your juices flowing, gets you up in the morning, and keeps you going all day long, because it is important! Set goals that are worth achieving and that add value to your life!

Reachable goals are STRATEGIC. The best goals accomplish many great outcomes, all at one time. Running a 10K race will almost certainly: 1) feel great! 2) help you lose weight. 3) lower your cholesterol level 4) strengthen your heart 5) lower you risk of heart disease 6) increase your energy and stamina, and 7) improve your outlook. Design your goals to strategically impact as many areas of your life as possible. You’ll have more reasons to reach your goal and more excitement when you do!

Reachable goals are MEASURABLE. A goal without a measurable outcome is just a pipe-dream. You can’t achieve a pound of “happiness” or 6 inches of “self-esteem”, but you CAN get a new job. You CAN run a mile in under 7 minutes, or do 100 sit-ups. Someone has wisely observed that, “What gets measured, gets done.” Define your goals in terms of height, weight, dollars, inches, or hours. Then measure your progress until you achieve your desired outcome.

Reachable goals are RATIONAL. To reach your goal, you will need a plan, a path, and a vehicle for getting there. Your goals must make sense! When you explain them to friends and family, your goals should create excitement, draw support, and encouragement. Your goals should be just out of reach, but not out of sight! You want to stretch to be your best, not strain after impossible dreams. Set goals you CAN and WILL achieve!

Reachable goals are TANGIBLE. Choose goals that you can see, hear, smell or touch. Go for things you will enjoy and that you can clearly visualize. The brain has hard time going for “financial security”, but it can visualize a bank statement with nice, large numbers on it! Define your goals in terms that excite the senses, and then go for it with all your heart!

Reachable goals are WRITTEN. High achievers always know precisely what they want, because they’ve written it down. Often, they write a short description of their goals every single morning or affirmations as a personal reminder of their priorities and their objectives. The act of writing your goals down vastly increases your chance of success. Write it down! Then, keep your notes where you can see and read them every day.

Reachable goals are SHARED. We are far more likely to stick to our plan and reach our goals if we know our friends and family support us. Being part of a team increases our determination, our stamina, and our courage. Caution: Choose wisely who you surround yourself with. Never share your goals with anyone who may ridicule, tease or discourage you! The world is full of doubters and you have no time for them. But, find a support team, a group of cheerleaders, and a coach who will encourage you every step of the way. High achievers count on and work with other positive people and winners!

Reachable goals are CONSISTENT WITH YOUR VALUES. This is one area that people really need to do some work in in in order to make the rest of the puzzle fit. One of the biggest reasons people fail to achieve their goals is that they have conflict between their behavior and their values. However, when your values and your goals are in agreement, there is no stopping you! Clarify your values first, then set simple, specific, measurable, tangible, written goals that are consistent with those values. You will achieve them, every single time!

Get the tools you need to achieve your goals and excel in your life. Work with Denise Dema, a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 years’ experience empowering individuals, executives and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional & personal lives. Denise’s passion for personal development is at the core of her business and life philosophy and is committed to helping others achieve their full potential in order to live richer, more fulfilling lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com to get started in reaching your personal and professional goals today! On-site, phone, e-mail coaching available.

Keys to Success

Success means different things to different people. For some it means making a lot of money. For others it means being famous or having a loving relationship at home. Or it may mean doing the work you love on a schedule that meets your own needs.

Most people wait for success, thinking it will find them. Usually it doesn't. You have to make space for success to happen. Just as there are many kinds of success, there are many ways to achieve it.

Put another way, there is no one key to success; there are many keys. Here are the most important ones:

Define success: Be clear about what success means to you. Is it getting high marks on your performance? Losing weight or running a marathon? Or perhaps you want to achieve financial independence. Whatever your definition of success, it must be clear to you. You can't hope for success without knowing what you are trying to achieve!

Have a plan of action: A plan of action is concrete and takes you a step closer to achieving success. Whatever your goal, you need a plan that includes focused activities, a schedule, and ongoing support from others. Having a plan helps you get organized. It also gives you a clear sense of purpose. You know exactly what you need to do.

Set milestones: Once you've got a goal, or goals, it's important to break them down into smaller, achievable targets so you don't feel overwhelmed and can measure your progress along the way. Too often people give up too soon. Celebrating wins, no matter how small, will help you keep up momentum. Rewarding yourself gives you the motivation to continue.

Set a timeline: Squandering time is a surefire way to guarantee that you won't succeed. By setting a timeline for your accomplishments, you put yourself under pressure to perform. This increases the pace at which you approach the success you're looking for.

Enjoy yourself: This is perhaps the most crucial key to success. Often the journey is just as much fun or more so than where you finally end up. When you achieve success, you need to be able to look back and feel happy that you chose the path you did. If you look back only to see a trail of wasted opportunities and missed moments then your success has come at too high a price.

Success doesn't depend on wishing or on luck. It requires two things -- a dream and action. If you don't have both, success will always stay just outside your grasp.

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Get the tools you need to excel in your life by working with Denise Dema, a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 years experience empowering individuals, executives and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional & personal lives. Denise’s passion for personal development is at the core of her business and life philosophy and is committed to helping others achieve their full potential in order to live richer, more fulfilling lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com to get started in reaching your personal and professional goals today! On-site, phone, e-mail coaching available.

Decisions are the Building Blocks of Our Lives!

All of our decisions are the building blocks that create our lives. Every day we make many decisions that affect our social and professional life with some having better outcomes than others. Some decisions can be made at the spur of the moment, such as what to eat for breakfast while others may require weeks to evaluate and weigh the pros and cons, such as accepting a new job assignment. Either way, each and every decision will have an impact on your life and in many cases the lives of others around you.

Have you ever noticed how your moods shift when you are caught up in having to make an important decision? How you can go from perfectly balanced one minute to teetering on the edge of ‘the pit of despair’ in the next minute. Decision making is unsettling. It puts one foot in one world and the other foot in a completely different world. We become split between the two as we battle with the right decision to make.
 
How is it possible to make effective decisions that will help you to end up where you want to be? It starts with clarity....

Your decision must be in alignment with your values. If you have not clearly defined what your values are (the things that really matter to you) then you will be making decisions based on the values of others.

Your decision must be in alignment with your long and short-term goals. Many times immediate wants and needs can prevent the achievement of our more important life goals. By writing down your goals you are giving yourself a framework to get yourself where you want to be. Clarify your goals.

Your decision must be made by having the adequate information to support an intelligent choice. You can’t make a good decision if you don’t know all the facts. Consider all perspectives. Where possible seek out the opinions of people whose judgment and character you respect. Clarify the facts.

Your decision must come with a set of actions. Just as you set up step by step plans to achieve your goals. You should take into account the steps that it will take to follow through with your decision to get your end result. Clarify your actions.

Your decision must be made while considering all the consequences. Who has a stake in the decision you are about to make? How is your decision likely to affect them? Clarify your stakeholders.

You must be sure to monitor your decisions to make sure that they continue to line up with all the other decisions you make. Your decisions are the building blocks of your life. Build a solid foundation of good decisions to support future decisions. Clarify your building blocks.

Here is an exercise to measure if you are on track navigating your life with effective decision making:

• List three, of what you believe to presently be, your core values.
• Prioritize three short term goals and three long term goals.
• Reflect on your goals. Do they represent all three of your core values?

Many times we do not take the time to stop and think when under the strain of making a decision. When we are in a hurry or under pressure we tend to make decisions based on the values of others and not our own values. This can result in decisions that will not get you where you want to be and you will end up someplace else. If you never want to be lost, you will need to determine your values, match them with your goals, and build your life one effective decision at a time.

Get the tools you need to excel in your life by working with Denise Dema, a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 years experience empowering individuals, executives and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional and personal lives. Book a complimentary session at http://www.denisedema.com to get started in reaching your goals today!

The Beauty of the Sistine Chapel

As I watch midnight mass at the Sistine Chapel in Italy on Christmas Eve, I am reminded of my trip to Rome. Seeing the Chapel again on TV and its appeal to all ages and races throughout the world has encouraged me to share some interesting information of its inception and history to date.

The Sistine Chapel is not only one of the world’s most significant sites of holy pilgrimage, but contains unparalleled historic artwork by some of Italy’s most celebrated Renaissance artists, including the unparalleled Michelangelo. A period in history when optimism and belief in classical ideas provided artists of that time with the desire and energy to realize their incredible works. Still relevant today as a venue for important religious ceremonies for The Holy Catholic Church, The Sistine Chapel is more than a historical destination. This site still inspires artistic and spiritual awe amongst its millions of visitors each year, and is in fact the very epicenter of the thriving religious community of The Vatican City.

The Apostolic Palace

The Sistine Chapel is part of a 1,000 room network known as the Apostolic Palace, or the Sacred Palace, which is the pope’s sanctioned Vatican residence. In addition to the Sistine Chapel, this massive set of buildings includes the Papal Apartments, the Vatican Library and Museums, various government offices of the Holy Catholic Church, numerous lesser chapels, and Raphael’s Rooms, which are public areas of the papal residence decorated in superb frescos by the legendary renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio.

History and Purpose

The Sistine Chapel was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, and was subsequently constructed by Giovannino de’ Dolci between 1475 and 1483. The finished Sistine Chapel was at first used for regular religious services, the first mass being held on August 9^th, 1483, for The Feast of the Assumption. In more recent times, however, the Chapel has been chiefly used to host The Papal Conclaves, the ceremonies and proceedings that take place to select a new Pope.

Architecture

Much like the interior decorative artwork, the architectural plans of The Sistine Chapel stemmed from biblical inspiration. The measurements of this simple rectangular brick building with its six arched windows correspond exactly with the Temple of Solomon in The Old Testament: 40.93 meters long by 13.41 meters wide by 20.70 meters high. The building is roofed by a flattened barrel vault ceiling. In the interior, the marble transenna, or screen, is divided into two parts: the larger part that includes the altar is used by the priests and clergy for religious ceremonies, and the smaller part is the area that hosts the faithful churchgoers. During significant religious ceremonies, the side walls are covered in lush tapestries designed by Raphael that represent events in the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The Frescoes by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Perugino, and Cosimo Roselli

The walls of the chapel were commissioned to be decorated by some of Italy’s premier artists; including Botticelli, Pinturicchio, Ghirlandaio and Luca Signorelli. Based on the division of world history into three distinct eras, the first division of the walls of the Sistine Chapel were decorated to represent earth in the time prior to The Ten Commandments, the second partition represented the world between the times of Moses and Christ, and the last segment was dedicated to an artistic representation of the modern Christian era.

The Ceiling by Michelangelo

In 1508, Pope Julius II requested that Michelangelo transform the ceiling of the chapel, at the time a plain blue sky decorated with golden stars, into a piece of art featuring the twelve apostles that would correspond with the richly decorated walls of the church. Although he considered himself foremost a sculptor and was from the beginning opposed to the Pope’s commission, Michelangelo not only obeyed the Pope’s wishes but subsequently surpassed them by transforming the ceiling into an awe-inspiring canvas that featured more than three hundred biblical figures. Michelangelo undertook this challenge and painted the frescoes practically unaided on 12,000 square feet of ceiling between the years of 1508 and 1512. The three hundred biblical figures were dispersed between nine frescoed images including God’s Creation of the World, God’s Relationship with Man and Man’s Fall from Grace. This unrivaled artistic achievement is still regarded as one of the foremost examples of pictorial art.

The Last Judgment by Michelangelo

As if his artistic accomplishments on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling weren’t enough, Pope Paul III commissioned Michelangelo some twenty years later to create a mural of the Last Judgment on the altar wall of The Sistine Chapel. This latest artistic work, completed in 1541, differed greatly in style from Michelangelo’s early works, perhaps influenced by the political and religious climate of the times. His earlier work on The Chapel ceiling evoked a feeling of human triumph and aesthetic pleasure, while this newer mural attracted adversity and some criticism because of the menacing, godly wrath depicted in the mural images, as well as the unexpected prevalence of human nudity in his paintings. Despite the controversy surrounding Michelangelo’s latest creation, it is still considered to be one of the world’s greatest religious paintings.

Some interesting facts about the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was built by a Pope named Pope Sixtus the Vl, hence the name Sistine Chapel?

Michelangelo was only 32 years old when he began painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and completed it in only 4 years?


The Sistine Chapel was built to house the Cardinals while they deliberated on who should become the next Pope.

The famous chimney that releases black smoke telling us the Pope has died and white smoke telling us we have a new Pope is set up in the Sistine Chapel? You can see the marks where it sits towards the back right of the chapel?

No artist in history suffered as much as Michelangelo in the 4 years it took him to complete the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He suffered with painful knees, back, neck and almost went totally blind but he still managed to live to be 89 years old.

Michelangelo painted the Last Judgement (the front wall of the Sistine Chapel) 28 years after he finished the Sistine ceiling?


Michelangelo’s enemy, Raphael, was originally asked to paint the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel but refused. He suggested Michelangelo knowing he was a sculpture and not a painter.


The Sistine Chapel was completely cleaned between the years 1980 to 199. It was paid for by the camera company Fuji Film. Fuji Film now own all copyright to the paintings on the ceilings for 20 years, and that is why there is no photography allowed of that artwork..

Pope Julius ll (the Pope that commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel)sold Indulgences in order to pay Michelangelo for his work? Selling Indulgences meant that people could pay money to get time off Purgatory.

There are 3 Botticelli paintings in the Sistine Chapel, painted 24 years before Michelangelo began the Ceiling.

Share your thoughts and experiences if you like and have a wonderful holiday season.....

Places to see Beautiful Christmas Lights in South Florida

I wanted to share a list of places to see beautiful Christmas Lights in South Florida. You can catch a few in some short videos on my youtube channel too to get a preview of my two favorites; the Callahan house and the Hyatt house. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

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The Hyatt house, 11201 NW 14th St., Plantation Acres. 165,000 lights, inflatable displays....

The Callahan house, 11480 NW 26th St. Plantation. 250,000 LED lights synchronized to music, 85 inflatable displays.

1921 SW 56th Ave., Plantation.

5330 SW 14th St., Plantation. First House in the Neighborhood Prize.

9640 NW 32nd Manor, Sunrise. More than 22,000 lights that dance to musical sequences.

The Macek house, 2700 SE Sixth St., Pompano Beach. 150,000 lights.

100 NE 57th St., Fort Lauderdale. 20,000 lights, projector that shows Christmas cartoons and movies.

950 Pina Del Rio, Fort Lauderdale.

10600 NW 32nd St., Fort Lauderdale. 38,000 lights, computerized display.

3056 NE 15th Terrace, Oakland Park. 30,000 lights set to music.

9904 W. Tree Tops Court, Davie. Thousands of lights, Santas, Frostys, trains, elves.

350 SW 32nd Terrace, Deerfield Beach. 40,000 lights.

598 NW 38th Ave., Deerfield Beach. All blue Christmas lights.

7708 NW 40th Court, Coral Springs. 20,000 lights, figurines.

9222 NW 43rd Court, Coral Springs. 40,000 lights.

673 NW 111th Way, Coral Springs. Computer-controlled lights synchronized to music.

1351 NW 63rd Ave., Margate. 10,000 lights, blow ups, 9-foot menorah, reindeer.

7706 NW 25th St., Margate. 60,000 synchronized lights and music.

6984 NW Seventh Court, Margate. Plenty of lights, inflatable figures and music.

4455 Banyan Trails Drive, Coconut Creek. 20,000 lights, 30 inflatables, 42-foot grinch.

8710 NW 46th St., Lauderhill. 12,000 lights set to music, inflatables, animated deer.

NW 113th Ave. and NW 112th Terrace, Pembroke Pines. Cinderella, Sponge Bob and Santa in a hot air balloon.

5200 Thomas St., Hollywood. A show every half hour, lights synchronized to music.

9510 Sun Pointe Drive, Boynton Beach. Realistic reindeer and sleigh on snow; after 7 p.m. get your family pictures in the sleigh for free. You'll need an e-mail address where they can be sent.

3852 Satin Leaf Court, Delray Beach, Both Christmas and Hanukkah are featured in this extravagant display.

Snug Harbor Drive, Palm Beach Gardens. An elf in Santa's workshop using a conveyor belt all made of lights.

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Participate in a Wonderful Charity for Children - Operation Santa Claus

Christmas is a very special time of year filled with laughter, joy and anticipation. Friends and family gather from near and far to share the warmth of the season. The aroma of roasting turkey fills the house, and children’s faces are aglow with wonder and delight.

However, many needy children do not have the same anticipatory glow. Many of these children exhibit a touching belief in the goodness and charity of the Christmas season that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. Their “Dear Santa” letters arrive by the thousands in every Post Office in our country.

Each year kind hearted people bring Operation Santa Claus to life by answering “Dear Santa” letters from needy children who would otherwise have no Christmas at all.

Operation Santa Claus is changing with the times and growing which means that this wonderful volunteer program may now be available at your local post office. Please note that “Dear Santa” letters will no longer sent out by mail from the New York Post Office, so if you would like to participate in this wonderful program, simply call your local post office to see if they offer “Operation Santa Claus”. Please see our “USPS Operation Santa Claus“ information page for more information on how to locate a post office in your area.

Please read the “Operation Santa Claus” articles that inspired this organization. It is our sincere and fervent hope that after reading both stories, that parents, teachers, scouting and civic organizations will band together to form a local chapter of Operation Santa Claus in each and every town in this land.

God Bless and Marry Christmas from Just Ask D!