How to be balanced between routine and novelty.

What is the correct balance in one’s life between routine activities, and those which are new and exciting to us? [Read more…]

What did you expect?

Expectations have an enormous impact on your behavior. Expectations are one of the ways in which your brain organizes and makes sense of contemplation of the future. Your thoughts, the little dialogue which continually operates within your “self”, essentially focus on either the past, the present, the future, or some combination of these three.

Expectations generally deal with thoughts of the future. An expectation may help you set goals and lead you on a path to take action to meet those goals. An expectation can help you as an athlete excel.   An expectation can assist you in healing, as in a belief of the power of medication to cure disease or reduce pain, even in cases where the medication is a placebo. Expectations motivate you to achieve results and meet goals. [Read more…]

The Seven Deadly Sins of entrepreneurship — part one

Mohandas Gandhi created a list of seven traits that he believed to be spiritually detrimental to each and every one of us. Today, and for six articles thereafter, I am going to adapt these seven sins, applying them to the world of the entrepreneur.

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Tranquility now?

A quote to ponder:

“We must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.”

Indira Gandhi

Is a shutdown a good idea?

As I write this, the federal government is shut down. Whether you think that this is a good or bad idea, what if you took this concept and applied it in your personal life?

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Find out how long you will live. . .

Ask anyone how long they think they will live. In most cases, you will get an answer. And the answer will generally be a very specific number. Sometimes this is based on a desire, or a family history, but somehow, imprinted in all of our brains, is a mortality timeframe.

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Annabolic Times-January, 2013 Every Day can be a New Beginning

Happy New Year!

December 26 of last year (2012), my doctor diagnosed me with skin cancer. I scheduled minor surgery for December 31, just five days thereafter. Despite the fact that I was told it was the “good” kind of skin cancer — the type that rarely causes complications — my mind of course catastrophized the outcome.

During those five days, I made all kinds of promises to myself. I was going to eat only raw vegetables and fruits, perhaps even becoming a total vegetarian. I was going to severely restrict my intake of Diet Coke, one of my true vices. It was going to exercise more: not four or five times a week, but every day. I was going to do anything and everything to change my lifestyle into the most healthy one possible.

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Annabolic Times-September, 2012 Forgive & Be Free

Forgiveness and Freedom

“Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.” – Oscar Wilde

CROSS

My old man’s a white old man And my mother’s black.
If I ever cursed my white old man I take my curses back.
If I ever cursed my black old mother And wished she were in hell,
I’m sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.
My old man died in a fine big house My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I’m gonna’ die, Being neither white or black?

LANGSTON HUGHES (1902-1967)
Langston Hughes was an American poet. He also wrote humorous newspaper sketches, a novel, and a short-story collection. He is most widely known for his poems, which use blues and ballad rhythms.

This poem speaks to both the healing effect of forgiveness and the ridiculousness of labeling people on the basis of appearance. The lines “I take my curses back,” and “And I now wish her well” represent Langston Hughes’ expression that he is spiritually mature enough to say to his parent, “I forgive you and I’m sorry for any evil thoughts I’ve ever directed your way.”

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Annabolic Times-August, 2012 Skin Deep/How Much is Enough?

You’re headed out to a night with the girls and you ask if you look okay. The resouding response is, “Yes, that’s exactly how you look.”

What is truly important is how you feel about the way you look. For some, not even makeup is necessary in feeling great about physical appearance. For others, it takes much more to project his/her desired image.

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Annabolic Times-July 2012 #2 The Affordable Self Care Act

A solid self-care foundation is paramount to making any sort of personal progress. How can you put yourself in the top 2%? How do you enjoy your life journey and bring your best to the word? I believe it is by practicing excellent self-care.

Excellent self-care means treating yourself as you would your best friend. It means making choices and decisions that honor your soul in everyday life as well as valuing yourself enough to choose to create your life, rather than be victimized by it.

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