Positivity and Compassion

A very critical part of happiness and contentment is training the mind and, yes, that does take time, but is it ever worth the time you take! The authors of the book, The Art of Happiness, which I talked about last week, have this advice: “Everyday, as soon as you get up, you can develop sincere positive motivation, thinking, ‘I will utilize this day in a more positive way. I should not waste this very day.’ And then, at night before bed, check what you’ve done, asking yourself, ‘Did I utilize this day as I planned?’ If it went wrong, then regret what you did and critique the day and decide what you are going to do to correct the negative stuff of the day. So, through methods such as this, you can gradually strengthen the positive aspects of the mind.”

I think this is why the self-talk that the great Paul J. Meyer of Waco, Texas introduced me to is so very helpful. I have about 10 different mantras that I run through my mind almost every day and many times I say them out loud. Here are a few of those

1. I am strong and worthy.
2. I am upbeat and positive.
3. I am happy and healthy.
4. I live in the present moment.
5. I love people and I am becoming more and more social.
6. I try to live big and give big. I make “to do” lists and carry them out.

It’s amazing how I can feel down and out and how running that self-talk through my mind many times can lift my mood and make me feel so much better. The mind has a lot of plasticity in it according to scientists. The book goes on to say something that I know is true and will work for me and you: “Neuroscientist have documented the fact that the brain can design new patterns, net combinations of nerve cells and neurotransmitters (chemicals that transmit messages between nerve cells) in response to new input. In fact, our brains are malleable, ever changing, re-configuring their wiring according to new thoughts and experiences. And as a result of learning, the function of individual neurons themselves change, allowing electrical signals to travel along them more readily.” Scientist call the brains inherent capacity to change “plasticity”.

The Dalai Lama and Mr. Cutler have so many great and powerful things to say about how to achieve happiness and they are so very effective. So here is one more quote from Mr. Cutler talking about the Dalai Lama: “He can see that if someone treats him with compassion and affection, then it makes him feel happy. So, on the basis of that experience, it would help him to realize that other people also feel good when they are shown warmth and compassion Therefore, recognizing this fact might make him more inclined to give them compassion and warmth. At the same time, he would discover that the more you give warmth, the more warmth you receive”.

And that, my friends, will almost for sure raise both the giver’s and the receiver’s level of happiness!

Adding Years to Your Life

I have been writing this weekly blog now for many years and, as those of you who have followed my blog know, the main theme is me being a coach and a leader directing people to make their own fortune. And, of course, the key or formula to making millions is pretty straight forward, as you no doubt have seen in my writing and, hopefully, have implemented and gained big profits from over the years.

But you may have noticed that I wander off the financial theme from time to time. The issue of “great health” has filled many of my blogs. Maybe it’s just me, but the older I get and the more money I make, the more I can’t help but take a hard look at the health issues. They are so very critically important to all of us.

I mean, think about it … if you make a billion dollars, does that money keep you from kicking the bucket or having terrible health? Oh sure, you can go to the best doctors in the world with all your money but there is a lot more to good health than going to the doctor. So, yes, money is important but without good health money doesn’t mean near as much as when you have millions AND great health.

In my daily planner I have two pages with two lists of good advice and healthy habits that are frequent reminders to me to take the best roads to great health and longevity.  The first list, which I put together back in 2002, has the title “20 Ways to Add 20 Years to Your Life”. Now, I want to share that list with you, hoping that it becomes a good reminder to take great care of your health:

20 Ways to Add 20 Years to Your Life

1. Eat salmon often, not beef, and take one gram of fish oil daily
2. Eat unrefined whole wheat bread.
3. Be wise don’t supersize. Replace protein with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and small salads.
4. Exercise 3 to 5 days a week, even if it’s just taking long walks, but always remember that it’s food that’s the big factor for weight control vs exercise.
5. Scientific studies have proven that mice that are fed a lot fewer calories than the control mice lived much, much longer and had healthier lives. It can and does have a similar effect on humans.
6. Be happy. Smile a lot to other people and even to yourself in the mirror. That smile helps release the good brain chemicals of dopamine and serotonin.
7. Get a good night sleep. Go to bed and get up at consistent times.
8. Learn to love cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and other vegetables.
9. Use olive oil instead of butter.
10. Laugh, dammit. Laughter releases those good brain chemicals which helps you relax and even boosts your immunity.

Okay, I know I said that the title of the list that I have in my planner and I look at several times a week was “20 Ways to Add 20 Years to Your Life ” and I’ve only listed 10. Well, the other 10 will be covered in my next post, plus I’ve got another note on a few signs and habits to give you longevity.

How to Live to be 142!

You no doubt have heard the rumor that all of us humans will die someday. Of course, I don’t believe every rumor I hear and this one sucks. I just don’t want to believe it! So maybe I’ll call for a huge boycott. You know, get a bunch of us older people together with big signs saying “We are boycotting death!” or “We refuse to die!” or “Death sucks and we won’t participate!” Well, it’s a nice thought but it probably won’t work. Oh yes, if we did it in front of a TV station they might put us on the news so everyone could get a big laugh out of it, but I don’t think that will help us avoid death or even prolong our lives by much.

However, there are things we can do to postpone the inevitable and live longer, stronger and in great health. In fact, there are some researchers that are “inching toward the seemingly impossible: a cure for aging,” according to the February 23, 2015 Time Magazine article. Maybe you saw that issue. On the cover was a picture of a cute baby with the headline “This Baby could Live to be 142 Years Old”. That headline certainly grabbed my attention and yes, I read every word of the several stories covering what the researchers have discovered and what we can do right now to postpone our own demise.

The main story was about “Mouse UT2598″ and the discovery of a compound called Rapamycin which seems to dramatically slow aging, at least in certain cells. If this compound works for humans it could increase lifespan to around 142 years. The research going on at the Jackson Laboratory and the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, is in its early stages and researchers don’t recommend that humans start popping Rapamycin pills just yet says David Harrison because there are some down sides they have discovered at this point in their research. But the good news for me at age 71 is that they have seen that, “Rapamycin is also neat because it works even when you start quite late in life”.

So if this compound isn’t for humans just yet what can we do about it now? The obvious answer, at least to me, is to do everything in my power to stay healthy, in hopes that science figures out how humans can safely take Rapamycin. And the most effective and proven ways to do that is by eating the best foods which, according to the researchers in the Time magazine article include fish, fruits, veggies and extra virgin olive oil as well as calorie restriction, periodic fasting and consistent exercise with maybe a bit of yoga and meditation.

Do all that and you will have a significantly better chance to live longer and maybe hang in there until they perfect Rapamycin for humans. If doing all those things that you can do and should do sounds like a tough challenge, then listen to the words of William James. What he said many years ago has helped me to better my life when I could see that I needed to make changes and knew that it was going to be a big challenge. “If you change your mind, you can change your life”. I have that burned into my brain and hope you do the same.