Stage 4 Thor

  For the folks that follow me on Facebook, they are probably sick and tired of me posting about how much sleep I get and how close it is to 8 hours on the nose most nights.  I originally started doing this to keep myself in line and well-trained in getting sleep.  I was working on my sleep habits because it was generally good advice from any doctor or health specialist, but it wasn't until I dove deeper did I understand why.  I don't know about you but understanding why something works the way it does is a far greater motivator for me to do it than simply being told to do it because "it is good for you" Sleep is important and good for your health.  That's it.  End of blog .   If that is all you need, then I just saved you a lot of time.  If not, here are some interesting ideas and facts: If you consider evolution, sleeping is counterproductive.  We cannot eat, hunt, reproduce, while sleeping, and all of this while completely at the merc...

I can imagine that people are sick of hearing me talk about cancer and dying, but one of the benefits of it is that it leads me to read and research all sorts of information on how to live longer and healthier. I was given a second chance and I am not trying to blow this one. Hopefully, we can learn together before you have to have the same awakening. I was never too badly out of shape in my life, but this journey has really pushed me into seeing how much healthier we can all be, and how long we can all live. Medical technology is improving at such a rapid pace, that it is not unheard of to think that our children will live past 120, and if that isn't shocking...most of those years can be younger healthier years. Someday 80 will be the new 50. So, we are not just looking to live longer, but live longer and better! I was one of the fortunate 22,000 people in the US to receive a successful stem cell transplant. 10 years ago when, my son, Axel was born, we were given the option...

su·per·flu·ous /so͞oˈpərflo͞oəs/ Learn to pronounce adjective unnecessary, especially through being more than enough. I have seen this word begin to pop up more and more in reading and researching, and like I mentioned before, there are no coincidences.  When words and thoughts continue to reoccur, you are receiving a message, and I have to be honest, I had to look it up myself.   Continuing that flow of thinking I came across this quote from Cato the Elder:  "Nothing is cheap...if it is superfluous"  For most of my life, I had a lot of "things".  Not one of which I wouldn't give up again for the experience and understanding I have now.  I was younger and had a much different perception of time vs money.  They say "time is money" but in reality, time is much more valuable than money because time is finite.  Money isn't.  Before I got sick I made different choices based on my different perspective, and while you might not have almost died...

  The words a speaker uses to communicate are only a small part of his overall efforts. The pitch and tone of his voice, the speed and rhythm of his spoken words, and the pauses between those words may communicate more than words alone. Furthermore, his gestures, posture, pose, and expressions typically convey a variety of subtle messages. These nonverbal elements can provide important clues to the speaker's thoughts and feelings, substantiating or contradicting the speaker's words. Prof. Albert Mehrabian of the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted the most frequently and casually cited study on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages in personal communication. His studies in the 1970s suggested that we overwhelmingly deduce our feelings, attitudes, and beliefs about what someone says based on the speaker's body language and tone of voice rather than the actual words were spoken. Prof. Mehrabian calculated that words, tone of voice, and body lan...

e·qua·nim·i·ty /ˌekwəˈnimədē/ Learn to pronounce noun mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation. "she accepted both the good and the bad  with equanimity "  "Between stimulus and response, there is a space.  In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and freedom"   -- Viktor Frankl About a month ago, a friend turned me on to a book called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, and if you haven't heard of it or read it, I strongly suggest you do. I won't get into too many spoilers here, so you are safe. Viktor was a holocaust survivor as well as a psychiatrist, which put him in an interesting position whereby he could study people in the ugliest and most dire of situations. His take on both survivors and offenders is unique. The conditions he was subjected to during the Holocaust provided him with an incredible insight not only into the horrors that hu...

"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." -- Albert Einstein Recently in my house, we have been talking about dreams and what they mean, and while I don't personally consider my dreams to have much meaning outside of being random thought soup, it made me think about the dreams that are really important... The best dreams you have are the ones you have when you are awake. Your imagination and ability to see your future in a positive way can be powerful tools for success, but we've lost touch with that spark over the years. Somewhere along the way of becoming an adult, we stop imagining how life could be different in an exciting way. Sure, we can consider how much worse it could be, but even that should instill some gratitude in you. You can, and should, begin to dream about how much better it can be! The power of this lies in the fact that ou...

My last post got a lot of positive feedback but left a lot of questions as to how... How does one eliminate the noise and distractions in their life? Being overwhelmed might be more of a problem for organized, focused people than you would think. In my case, I started with a focused purpose, but as my resources increased, more opportunities and options came my way, making it harder to stay on task and ultimately diluting me in any one area. The minute you start to be the "go-to" guy for people, the more demand for your time exists. From there, you can easily become distracted from what your priority was or should be. You can see how this can be a slippery slope for people with the best of intentions. How can you begin to discover your priorities and/or get refocused on what is important? I was jettisoned into a desperate situation where I was quickly... continue reading