Here comes yet another drug

Isn't it amazing? Scientists have discovered a way to help people lose weight without changing their eating habits:

Australian scientists report weight loss breakthrough

What do you want to bet that in the end these new drugs will not work and may even harm individuals?

How about everyone re-learning to eat properly and to exercise regularly? We all need to look again at Dr. Atkins' teachings to realize that we are eating lots of bad stuff -- it is no wonder we are overweight! Worse yet, the heavier we are, the less we move. The less we move, the more stressed we are because we are overweight, and the more weight we gain. It is a well-documented vicious circle. So, here is my free non-drug recommendation to anyone that wants to lose weight:

1. Get advise from a nutrition expert. There are free websites that will help you with information. You can start with MyPyramid, then search for free nutrition advise. SparkPeople is a great community-based support group that can help immensely.

2. Exercise regularly: four or more times a week, 30 minutes each session. Something as simple as going for a walk will make a big difference. Again, there is plenty of help on and off line. Freetrainers can help with some exercise programs. There are tons of free demos on-line at YouTube. By all means, start slowly and build up a little at a time.

3. Find ways to control stress: Yoga, meditation, and exercise are all great ways of helping with life's strain on our body. In most communities there are free Yoga and other related classes. You can visit your local library and borrow books and/or videos about Yoga and meditation.

Of course, as a smart individual you should consult your family physician before enrolling in a new nutrition or exercise program, especially if you have medical conditions that could be affected by lifestyle changes. By all means, talk to your doctor before wasting money on pills for weight control.

And, just thinking allowed, if scientists are just discovering these new fat-burning enzymes, what are all the "diet" products in the market all about? :-)

Funny Desktop Wallpaper

Windows Wallpaper ID 8160 - Desktop Nexus Technology

Positive Attitude

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!"

"You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'"

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

After all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Joy, Love and Laughter

As promised, here is the first of Andy Dooley's art/inspirational pieces to help you visualize a better today.

The words read:

Joy, love and laughter,
Isn't that what you're after?

You can have it all right now,
But you must stop asking how.

The universe will show you the way,
As soon as you get happy, and start to play.

Paint pictures of possibilities in your mind,
Then joy, love and laughter is what you will find!

Friendship

I just had to share this with you all:

FUNNBEE: True Friendship Between Two Animals (Rhodesian Ridgeback and Lion)

The Ubuntu Family

Anyone that knows me is aware that I am a BIG Linux supporter. But I have rarely mentioned Linux in my blog! If you are looking for a way to free yourself from the problems associated with Windows, then give Ubuntu (or one of the other versions that come from it) a try.

Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

Plant a Tree for Free

Here is a way to help Earth get healthier — and it costs you nothing.

Thumb Up for Trees

Toastmasters, speeches, and coincidences

One of the extra-curricular activities I have been involved with for several years is Toastmasters. I am the founding President of my Club, and now I am serving my second term as President in the last four years. It continues to be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Amongst the many perks of being a Toastmasters is to meet excellent speakers. I recently "met" Andy Dooley via the great service of YouTube. Here is a link to his website:

Andy Dooley - Inspirational Humorist, Actor, Artist.

If you want to have a good laugh and get lots of inspiration on many areas of life I suggest visiting his site.

Andy has given me the OK to reproduce some of his work here, so expect to see some of that in the future.

Creepy?

OK, here is one that could be creepy -- we shall find out in a few years.

DEAD AT 73

cancer

According to the test at OKCupid I will die at age 73 from cancer. My approximate passing date will be December 2032 according to the test. So, you know what my new goal is, right? I will make it to at least December 2035 -- just to beat the odds. More importantly, I shall not worry about this but will work everyday to keep myself healthy and fit.

Attacks on Oil Ships

As if the oil production situation was not bad enough, attacks by terrorists are driving the price of oil even higher. This is an obvious attempt to artificially hike the price of fuels to hurt developed countries that depend on them. Terrorists have everything to gain from these attacks. The immediate effect is to generate even more money for their supporters, thus enabling them to prepare even more terrifying acts of destruction. They are also managing to cripple our economies by affecting every aspect of life. And they are, most importantly, instilling fear and uncertainty into our life. This is, perhaps, potentially their biggest victory -- if we let them. As a global community, we need to speed-up the process of becoming energy-independent. We can no longer afford to be dependent on foreign oil. Individually, however, we must remain strong and show these barbarians that we will not honor their actions with fear -- we will move forward and find solutions that do not involve their oil. In the end, it will be better for the planet and a decisive victory over the forces of evil that simply will not allow peace to succeed.

In case you were wondering: politics

Just in case you were wondering were my political alignment is:

You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (26% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid.com: Free Online Dating Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

The Power of Now

Here's the most important thing to remember whenever you find yourself in a mad rush: what you really want, what you're really
after, is a quiet mind... a peaceable state of self reached only by
realizing there is no place more empowering for you to be than in the
present moment.

Live in the Real Place of Power

Food for Thought: What we earn, what we do

Life always presents us with interesting scenarios and those often provide opportunities for thought and learning. For example, several years ago after we'd moved into our new house, we had a new riding lawn mower delivered with a large attachment that hooks onto it and sucks the grass up and into a container. I think they called it a grass catcher...

Now, you have to know that I have, and I can't stress this enough: ABSOLUTELY NO MECHANICAL ABILITY WHATSOEVER!! So I did what any normal guy like me would do: I paid my then 14-year-old boy to put it together for me. He got ten bucks, I got a grass catcher - we were both happy!

An hour after giving him the task, he came into my office and announced that he was done. I promptly handed him ten bucks and he said, "I can't believe that I just got paid $10 for doing something I like to do." To which I said, "No, you got paid $10 for doing something I don't like to do."

Well, that got me to thinking about who gets paid what in our society. Think about it for a minute:

Doing things that others could do but don't want to do will get you paid very little. Things like garbage collection. That will get you $18-30,000 a year.

Doing things that others could do with a little effort and education but choose not to do will get you paid more. Things like tax preparation. That will get you $60-120,000 a year.

Doing things that others could do, but would require a lot of effort and education and so they choose not to do will get you paid quite a bit. Jobs like being an attorney or a doctor come to mind. That will get you $80-750,000 a year.

Doing things that others can't do but would like to do will get you paid a lot! Things like being able to dunk a basketball, hit a 95 mile an hour fastball over a fence or throw a football 60 yards to a man running a 4.2 forty come to mind. That will get you from $400,000 to $25 million a year.

Have you ever given thought to why you earn what you earn and how it is related to what others are able and/or willing to do? It is insightful because if you want to increase your revenue, you can just tweak what you provide to others based on what they are willing to pay for it.

Chew on that... I know I am.

You Are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

Reproduced with permission from the Chris Widener Ezine. To subscribe to Chris Widener's Ezine, go to http://www.chriswidener.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@chriswidener.com Copyright 2008 Chris Widener International. All rights reserved worldwide.

Chris Widener's EZine for this week

Family News

OK, so some of you may be wondering why I have not posted any family news. And you have a good point!

We are doing quite well here. The kids are doing great in school and getting good grades. I have them both in soccer through Columbia United Football and I am coaching Noah's team this season. MacKenzie is in an all-girl's team. I will post some photos as soon as I can this week.

The kids and I have a nice routine going and it seems to work well. They are awesome at doing their chores to help me with house tasks. Nothing is perfect, but we are making it and having fun at it.

They love going out everyday and playing with friends in the neighborhood. They ride their bikes and play games and appear to be happy most of the time.

I started a new job with the same company and I am working to become an application developer (programmer). This is something I have wanted to do for many years. I confess I had not expected the complexity of programming language and system interactions that I have encountered, but I believe I am beginning to grasp some of the main concepts. The programming I did in the past and what I am going to do in the future are very, very different. Taking on this challenge has given me a very new perspective on the intricacies of the computer world and a humbling appreciation for good programmers everywhere.

First Yoga Class

Yesterday I attended my first Yoga class at the YMCA -- it was awesome! :-) Because I have never done Yoga before, I joined the Gentle Yoga class with Ellen. She is a great instructor that really cares for the well-being of her students. I will be back, that is for sure!

Information Overload

I recently came across this blog entry: Career blogger Toni Bowers cites a new report that claims 2008 to be the year of information overload, and your familiar Reply All button is one of the biggest contributors to lowered productivity. Toni writes, "You should resist the lure of the Reply All siren. Because if you don't, the group then has to read 29 other responses like 'Sure does!' and 'Thanks for sharing!'"

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but "information overload" has been with us for years now! I agree that the "Reply All" button has been misused by many email users. But information overload is not limited to excessive email — it is everywhere! Drive on any road in the USA and you are bombarded by information from billboards and ads on just about every object including other cars. And if you are driving and listening to the radio, then you are being assaulted by commercials there too! And information overload is present in our mail boxes, our web browsers, stores, and nearly everything we do. It is rather maddening if you stop to think about it — and perhaps we should not stop to do just that or risk our mental health!

Freedom and Jeff

I think you will really enjoy this story. I received it from a dear friend in an email, but here is a website showing the information.

Amazing Eagle Story - Freedom & Jeff

Your Tax Rebate Check -- Is It a Loan?

Now that Tax Return filing is over for most of us in the USA, here is some interesting information about the imminent tax rebate promised by Congress.

There is some interesting reading at MSN.com concerning the so-called incentive money coming to most US taxpayers in May. It turns out that this may simply be an advance on your 2008 tax refund (due you in 2009).

Details On Tax Rebates

In other words, the government is robbing Peter to pay Paul – a politically-motivated strategy to improve the economy in an election year.

Just thought you all would like to know.

30+ Useful Websites You Probably Didn't Know About

Here is a nice collection of websites that are actually useful!

30+ Useful Websites You Probably Didn't Know About

Putting the Past Behind Us

Our task, if we want to be free human beings -- if we want a life in which we no longer carry around with us "what he did," "what she didn't do," "what never worked out" -- begins with discovering that there can be no real freedom for us until we understand the nature of the tyranny of the past that still lives within us. And one of the main areas of this unchallenged dictatorship that still holds us captive is... our inability to forgive.

Stop Clinging to the Pain that has Passed!