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Overcoming All Odds: Beating the Obstacles Blocking Achievement

Obstacles come in all shapes and sizes, and can surface in every aspect of life. All of us are fighting a different battle of some kind that is trying to keep us from achieving goals and gaining success. Some are smaller and fixable (communication breakdown with a colleague or a highway closure on the way to work), and some seem impossible to overcome (physical limitations from an accident or rejection from several job interviews). Fortunately, whenever we are struggling with our own demons, we can always look to others who have beat all odds to achievement as a shining example of hope. Sometimes looking at another’s struggles can shed perspective on our current situations, and reassure us that anything is possible.

One of my favorite examples of someone beating all odds is none other than Albert Einstein. Einstein was a globally recognized American scientist who wrote the most profound and complicated scientific theories known to man, and changed the face of science forevermore. Even though he passed away in 1955, Einstein’s theory of relativity is still one of the two pillars of modern physics.

The best part of Einstein’s story is not quite in his successes, but the hurdles he had to conquer to achieve goals. Ironically, family and school professors thought Albert was a stupid and effortless child. Not speaking until the age of 4, Albert’s parents thought he has mentally slow. In school, Albert did not often speak or make effort in his homework, forcing teachers to believe he was lazy and would amount to nothing.

Einstein’s hurdles in education did not end in childhood – he failed an entrance exam into a Swiss polytechnics school the first time around and was accepted only because of an “acceptable” understanding of math and science. After graduation, Einstein searched fervently for a teaching career and did not land a job for two whole years.

Remove self doubt – you CAN do it!

The most amazing testament of Albert Einstein’s story is that for over 20 years he was a misunderstood individual who was deemed as unintelligent, when in reality he was working through equations and theories in his mind since an early age. Einstein later judged the teaching system as it did not allow for creative thinking.

If Albert Einstein had quit and believed he was useless, we would not have Quantum Physics and the Theory of Relativity today. Einstein’s theories changed the world, and fortunately he was alive to experience the fruits of his success in his latter years. His story is a beacon of light for those of us currently facing trials in achieving goals.

I strongly believe that any complicated trial we face means success is just around the corner. For more inspiration of overcoming obstacles and achieving goals in your life, take a look at my book titled Trading Pain for Purpose.

July 21, 2015
Sleep Benefits for the Mind, Body and Spirit
Decades ago, people got more sleep and had fewer health problems. The sleep problem in America has been described as an epidemic by some experts, and it is hard to disagree. In 1900, the average adult slept about nine hours per day, this is mostly because light after dark was scarce and TV was nonexistent. Now fast forward, to when light and electricity are ubiquitous and we have over 1,000 channels with 24 hour-a-day programming. More than 70 percent of Americans are not meeting the average recommended 8 hours of sleep they need. The average American gets about seven hours of sleep per night, much less than the recommended eight hours, which can lead to all sorts of health and psychological problems. Let’s look at the effects on the mind, body and soul.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on the Mind

Lack of sleep and different sleep disorders can cause depression and make depression worse. According to a 2005 Sleep in America poll, people who were clinically diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more likely to sleep less than six hours a night. Sleepiness also makes you forgetful and affects the ability to learn new things, and remember things you have already learned or saw.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on the Body

Chronic sleep loss can lead to many physical problems and diseases. Some of these are cosmetic, some are health related, and none of them are good:
- Obesity/weight gain
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Heart attacks
- Heart failure
- Irregular heartbeat
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Loose, saggy skin
In addition, at night, Melatonin hormones are produced. They are believed to fight off cancer. It may seem like some research is anecdotal, and there could be other factors that lead to higher cancer rates for people who get less sleep – but consider this: blind women get more sleep than women with sight, and blind women have HALF as many cases of breast cancer. That is pretty telling in itself, and should make you want to take steps to get exposed to less light at night, and to go to bed earlier.

Sleep Deprivation Effects on the Soul

Anyone who has went a few days on limited sleep (or even one night) can tell you they are not feeling 100% and are feeling run down. Now imagine that you are not getting enough sleep, every night, for months or years. You will not notice as big of a difference as you would, say notice with getting a lot less sleep one night. This difference would be almost in-perceivable, and this sluggishness may just become a “normal” for you. It can be really draining for the spirit and soul to be mentally and physically tired all the time, even if it is just a little bit.

So, take some time for yourself. If you are getting less than eight hours of sleep a night, go to bed an hour earlier every day for a week; you will feel better and be doing yourself a world of good, for your mind, body and soul.

To your health!
February 22, 2015
Are You Spending Your Time Wisely?
Time is one of the most valuable commodities you have. You can make more money, but you cannot make more time. Don’t waste the time you have on this earth. Your time is precious, your time is valuable. We are not always going to be here. Today is a gift. Are you living it with purpose, passion and pursuing your goals? Or are you distracted, wasting time? Working at a job you do not like? The Scriptures say to redeem the time that we have.

Paul says in Ephesians 5:15-17:
Make the most of every opportunity. Don’t be vague and thoughtless, but live accurately and purposefully.

Time is flying by, it stops for no one. Before you know it months can pass and you can have made no progress whatsoever. It is important to set goals to reach by the end of the month, to reach by the end of the year, and goals to reach within the next five years. Don’t go another two or three years in the exact situation you are in now. When it comes to life, you do not get a do over. You cannot relive parts of your life. You do not get to relive your teens, twenties, thirties or forties.

Time is just like money. You are either investing it or you are wasting it. Be an ‘on purpose’ person. Do not just wait to see what happens in your life, make progress and steps toward your end goals. Don’t be a victim, be a victor. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of your circumstances, past missteps or accidental wastes of time, be a victor through God. We all go through valleys, but the valleys can lead you to higher ground if you continue to move up and move forward.

Here are some of the biggest time wasters:
- Spending hours a day watching TV
- Playing video games
- Spending hours on Facebook
- Talking on the phone for hours
God has given you a present: it is called today. What are you going to do with it? Scripture talks about living well spent lives. When you go to bed at night ask yourself if your day was time well spent. If not, think about how you will better spend time the next day and weeks. Stay focused, it is easy to get distracted with all of the different things we have in the world, it is up to you to make the decision to not let yourself be distracted. You look up at the clock and the day is gone, or the year is gone, or 10 years have gone by.

God put you here for a purpose. You are not just a person here on earth taking up space. You have seeds of greatness in you, you have the power to do great things and the power to make a difference in people’s lives – to be a to good things not only for yourself, but also to be a blessing to others. This is what I feel called to do. This is why I write reach out through blogs and on social media to help people. I hope I am making a difference in your life.

On a regular basis, reevaluate what you are doing. Get rid of distractions, prune things in your life that are a waste of time and move forward.

Do not let people waste your time, do not waste your valuable time trying to convince people to like you or to agree with you. When you realize your days are numbered, you move with a purpose. You don’t let people take your happiness. On a regular basis, reevaluate your friendships, if they are not healthy or a waste of time, prune them off. If people are critical of you, bring you down or are naysayers, prune them off. Are they building you up or are they tearing you down. Do not make a big announcement to the person that you will be spending less time with them, just call them less, return less of their calls and make a point to make new friends, better and more positive friends.

You may hesitant, thinking to yourself, “If I let them go I will be lonely”. You may be lonely for a little while, but remember, you never give up something for God, without him giving you something back greater in return. God will not only give you new friends, he will give you better time. If you have friends that help you become sharper and are positive, great! If not or you need more, find them at networking events – many great, positive and forward thinking people are at professional networking events!

Quit making excuses. Don’t waste any more days. Live with a purpose. Even if you move at a snail’s pace TOWARD your goals, you are still making more progress than if you were on a treadmill, going nowhere. Even crawling is making progress, but do not crawl – RUN! Run towards your goals and progress. Invest your time, redeem your time, and do not waste it.
February 16, 2015
Overcoming Seasonal Affective Disorder
If you are feeling down right now, it may not be because you are unhappy with your life. Every year thousands of Americans (and people from around the world) suffer from the winter blues, because of lower levels of sunlight during the Fall and Winter months. This real condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder is also known as SAD. What a great name right? Overcast days greatly reduce the amount of light that hits your body and eyes. Lux is a measurement of illuminance according to international standards. A bright, sunny day will expose you to 50,000 lux or more, while an overcast day can omit as low 1,000 to 2,000 Lux! The clouds and bad weather are not the only reason for lower levels of sunlight exposure, the days are much shorter, in some cases less than 9 hours a day of daylight is possible. All of this adds up to much lower levels of sunlight over extended periods of sunlight. Talk about depressing!

You may be asking “why is sunlight important?” Sunlight stimulates the retina’s cells, which in turn stimulates cells in the hypothalamus. This part of the brain controls your circadian rhythm which is your internal clock. The less stimulation that your hypothalamus gets the less likely you are to have a normal night’s sleep, either from difficulty falling asleep or tossing and turning throughout the night. Here are some of the most common symptoms of SAD:
- Irritability
- Tiredness or low energy
- Heavy feeling in limbs
- Sleeplessness, insomnia or oversleeping
- Appetite changes (craving for foods high in sugar)
- Weight gain
Natural Remedies
Now don’t run off to the doctor and ask for a magic pill to fix SAD which may cause even more problems. There are several natural remedies that I want to share with you that will work better than any pill can. The first thing you can do is get as much natural light as possible, especially from the hours of 6:30 Am to 8:30 AM. You can sit or walk outside or sit by a brightly lit window. It is best to do this daily or as close to daily as possible.

You could also eat more complex carbohydrates (natural) such as fruit, vegetables and healthy cereal, and limit eating extra simple sugar carbohydrates (unnatural) such as candy, soda or chocolate. You may crave them, but this is just a quick fix and will make you less able to overcome SAD in the long run, by throwing your body even further out of whack. The best thing to do is to eat healthy all the time, even when it seems like a quick fix will give you energy, you will end up paying for it in the long run.

It is also advisable to limit consumption of both caffeine and alcohol. You can have some but it is not good to make it a habit to have a few cups of coffee a day or a few alcoholic drinks in the evening to fall asleep. Your body will become more and more dependent on caffeine and alcohol may help you fall asleep but it really affects your sleep patterns in a very bad way.

Lastly, if you want to help eliminate SAD get outdoors during the day and exercise, whether it is walking, jogging or running any time spent outdoors will greatly help. Not only does getting your body moving help, but even over cast days will still expose you to more natural sunlight than you will get indoors. Natural sunlight has proven to be more effective than regular daylight especially in the morning. So get outdoors and soak up any sun you can.

I hope you found this information helpful.

To your health!
February 1, 2015
Importance of the Digestive Tract
You digestive tract makes up a huge percentage of you immune system. Just how much of your immune system is in your digestive tract? About 80%! The root of many of the different health problems we face are a result of having an imbalance in our intestinal bacteria. Probiotics are a great way to get more of the healthy bacteria back into your digestive tract, but there are several other things to be aware of when it comes to having healthy digestion.

SIBO
What is SIBO? It is Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth and can be a contributing factor to Leaky Gut Syndrome. SIBO is the overgrowth of bacteria, and can even be the result of good bacteria overgrowth. Some of the most common symptoms of SIBO are:
- Excess wind
- Abdominal bloating and distension
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Abdominal pain
There are a few tests to determine if you have SIBO, including blood tests, breath tests (hydrogen breath test, bile acid breath test and D-xylose breath test.) As a last resort, having an Upper GI endoscopy is also an option. If any of these tests indicate a bacteria overgrowth, either pharmaceutical antibiotics or natural antibiotics may be prescribed, the latter being preferred, of course.

Leaky Gut
Seems like one of the last things you want is a leaky gut, and it really is not a good situation. What is leaky gut? It is when gaps develop between the cells that make up the thin membrane that lines your intestinal wall. These little gaps allow undigested or partially digested food to slip into your bloodstream. Sound bad? It is! Your body does not like having food particles floating around inside your blood. Here are some of the symptoms of Leaky Gut Syndrome:
- Abdominal pain (chronic)
- Insomnia
- Bloating
- Excessive flatulence
- Anaphylactoid reactions
- Shortness of breath
- Anxiety
- Fevers of unknown origin
- Gluten intolerance (celiac disease)
- Hemorrhoids
- Heartburn
- Malnutrition
- Migraines
- Muscle cramps
- Multiple chemical sensitivities
- Muscle pain
- Mood swings
- Poor exercise tolerance
- Poor immunity
- Poor memory
- Recurrent bladder infections
- Recurrent vaginal infections
- Recurrent skin rashes
- Brittle nails
- Hair loss
- Swollen lymph glands
- Food allergies
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Liver dysfunction
- Brain fatigue
- Abdominal spasms
- Constant hunger pains
- Depleted appetite
- Sluggishness
- Depression
- Chronic fatigue
Surprisingly, leaking gut often goes unnoticed for years. It is always best to be preventative and to take things that are naturally occurring, that way you are not doing more harm than good. Aloe Vera is a good treatment for Leaky Gut syndrome. It is soothing for the intestinal tract, and can heal inner sores, inflammation and injury. Nature’s Sunshine makes great aloe Vera products of the highest quality, that are very reasonably priced. I highly recommend them to help with any leaky gut symptoms (above) that you are having. once you begin taking Aloe Vera, within a few weeks you will more than likely start feeling better.

I hope that you found this information helpful!
January 25, 2015
How to Stick to New Years Resolutions

Now that we are almost a couple of weeks into the new year, I thought it might be a good time to write a blog on New Year’s Resolutions because a couple of weeks into the year is when most people start to lose interest and motivation in doing their New Year’s Resolutions. This often happens because we tend to be lofty in our goals and bite off more than we can chew by either creating too many goals or creating goals that are a little too ambitious. Or we start strong for a few days then miss a couple or few days and give up on our resolutions altogether, which is a mistake just like the first others. Only eight percent of people actually achieve their resolutions! I wanted to write this blog to help everyone to see their goals become reality.

Modification May Be Needed – And That’s OK
Don’t be afraid to modify your resolutions if you need to modify them in order to make them obtainable. If you set a goal to work out at least one hour per day you may find that you have over committed. Also, when you have not exercised this strenuously in months you will find yourself very sore after a few days, maybe even unable to exercise at all. For this reason it is good to keep in mind that you can modify your goals if the ones that you set at first were a little too ambitious. It is not bad to be so ambitious, but you also have to be realistic. It is also important to realize that Rome was not built in a day, and neither was the Great Wall of China. So if you have to modify your resolution to exercise every other day or to eliminate 50% of your favorite junk food instead of all of it feel free to. Remember every step you take is a step closer to realizing your end goal. Take it one step at a time.

Be Consistent – But Also Be Reasonable
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to break a habit, whether good habit, bad habit, or neutral habit? That is because we are inherently creatures of habit. Our subconscious takes over for us so that we do things automatically. This makes it tough to break a bad habit such as overeating, or smoking, as examples. But the great thing is: you can also use habits for your GOOD! Exercising or eating healthily can become so ingrained in you, you just do in naturally. Vegetarians that I have spoken with are often surprised how after a few months they just automatically order foods without meat, without even thinking about it at all, because it has been ingrained in them.

Research shows that it takes just 21 days for any habit to be deeply formed. In order for a new habit to become engrained in someone, consistency is key! Be as consistent as possible. If your plan is to exercise every day for 20 or 30 minutes, certainly try to do that as much as possible but if you accidentally miss a few days just exercise again the next day. As I mentioned earlier many people give up if they miss doing something for a few days, but don’t do this! Even if you only exercise for four days out of the seven per week, after three weeks (21 days) your new and positive habit of working out consistently will be formed, and all additional daily or at least frequent exercise will enhance your new habit even further!

I hope this information is useful for you, feel free to come back any time to review.

January 11, 2015
Spiritual New Years Resolutions

As the new year approaches, many of think about the year ahead and the new possibilities for the future. We also think about new resolutions that we will make as a way to improve our future. You have probably made a few to yourself over the years, such as only dating good men, perhaps getting in better shape or spending more wisely.

But what many of us seem to forget about is making new year’s resolutions that are spiritual. The spiritual side of things is really the most important. Are there any worldly resolutions that could lead to your eternal life? Before you answer that, I want you to know that I am not talking about making sure that you attend church every Wednesday and Sunday without missing a day. No, I am talking about resolutions that are on a deeper level.

The first thing you should do is wipe the slate clean of all of the other old resolutions, and you should stop beating yourself up for not achieving all of your goals from the year before or at any time in the past. If goals were super easy they would not be goals. Forgive yourself, Jesus died on the cross and God has forgiven you of all of your sins you will ever commit in your entire life. And I hardly think that not meeting any goal is a sin. So you need to forgive yourself for any failures or temporary setbacks before you do anything else.

Now that that is out of the way, the next thing that I want to share with you is something that I think we all should resolve to do more of: prayer. Have you ever heard the saying “You only get what you ask for?” I think it holds very true for prayer. The more that God knows the desires of your heart, the more that he can hear about them and the more that he can answer them. Some people do not pray that much because they do not want to ‘bother’ God. I assure you, you are not bothering God and he loves to hear from you! The more you ask for the more you get, as simple as that. Pray at least once per day, over time more and more blessings will come your way. If you miss a day don’t give up on praying more frequently, God won’t be mad at you and neither should you. The only thing that can come from praying is more and more good things, the sky is the limit and so is this new year with the power of prayer.

Lastly, vow to give more praise this year to God. If you still have air in your lungs and are alive, you have something to be thankful for. Live is beautiful and every day can bring at least a little joy. If you are still breathing, there is still a purpose for you here on earth.

This upcoming year is going to be a great year for us!

I hope you found this information helpful.

December 27, 2014
Traditional Uses of Holiday Herbs

Christmas is the most beautiful time of year. There are so many great stories and so many great traditions such as using herbs and pine around the home. One of the stories that we all know is the story of the three wise men bringing baby Jesus Frankincense and Myrrh. And we all know the tradition of putting pine around the home. Let’s look into these traditions more, and the uses and benefits of the herbs.

Frankincense
This is a resin that comes from a middle eastern tree. Frankincense has a sweet, piercing smell. It smells good and is often used as incense. It traditionally comes in chunks but today we can also get it in convenient Frankincense essential oils, where it can be used in aromatherapy by diffusing it into the air. You can also inhale the essential oil directly from the fingertips or bottle. Research has shown that smoke from burning frankincense contains a compound that is psychoactive, which relieves depression and anxiety. Another use of frankincense is help with common colds. You can put a few drops into boiling water and inhale the steam to help with colds, coughs or pneumonia.

Myrrh
This is a different resin that comes a tree in Africa. Myrrh has a heavy, earthy smell. It is used as an ingredient in Also in available in both chunks and conveniently in a Myrrh essential oil. It is an anti-inflamatory, is antifungal and antiseptic. It is used for fighting infections and can be used for respiratory problems just like Frankincense.

Pine
Christmas almost seems like it would not be the same without pine. Pine is prevalent in many Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, wreaths and garland. Pine has a nice, sweet smell. It can be used as an expectorant and decongestant for colds. It is also available as a Pine essential oil, making it convenient to use in aromatherapy.

Using any of the above essential oils in a diffuser is a great way to get the above mentioned benefits. This will also help your home to smell like Christmas is in the air, sure to get you in the holiday spirit! I hope you found this information useful.

December 21, 2014
Why I Use Nature’s Sunshine
Commitment to Quality
The first – and the most important reason – that I love Nature’s Sunshine is the quality control that they use. Unlike many other supplement and health food manufacturers out there, Nature’s Sunshine tests and retests every single ingredient and product that they make. They do not just test the ingredients that their suppliers send them, they actually go to the suppliers’ facilities and perform audits there. This includes vendors from around the world. This helps to ensure that unhealthy pesticides do not end up in what we consume, it would be nice if all grocery chains guaranteed this! The people at Nature’s Sunshine have a commitment to quality, that is not just a marketing tactic or an afterthought, they do do the right things when no one is looking and go above and beyond what they are required to do. This is they type of quality that I can stand behind.

What Nature’s Sunshine Stands For
This is a company that does not get behind and market over-hyped ingredients. They test and retest for actual benefits and effectiveness before they start selling any product. Because they don’t get behind ‘come-and-go-products’ they have time to make sure the products they do sell are the best they can be.

Selection
Nature’s Sunshine has over 500 different high quality products. The products range from high-quality vitamins to natural energy enhancers, to mood enhancers to natural weight loss products. Here are more of the categories of products that they offer:
- Cellular Health
- Cleansing/Detox
- Digestion
- Energy
- Enzymes
- Essential Oils
- Heart/Cholesterol
- Immune Support
- Memory/Brain
- Mood/Emotional
- Respiratory Support
- Sexual/Intimacy
- Sleep/Relaxation
- Stress/Anxiety
- Weight Management
- Vitamins/Minerals
The above is only a partial list, there are literally hundreds of different products that they offer.

Reasonable Prices
Lastly, the Nature’s Sunshine products are very reasonably priced. At such high quality how can they do this? Most of Nature’s Sunshine products are sold online, so they do not need to have traditional brick and mortar stores in every city like GNC does, for example. This eliminates a lot of their cost, which translates to lower prices for me and you. Secondly they sell their high quality products in large volume, which further lowers their prices for us. I have seen some of their products being sold at half the price of competitors and I know that the quality is high, so it is a win-win.

In Conclusion
Nature’s Sunshine offers very high quality, a diverse product line with many different types of products at very affordable prices. If you haven’t already, check them out: Click here to visit Nature’s Sunshine
December 14, 2014
3 Simple Tips to Reduce Holiday Sugar

I love this time of year! Joy is in the air, spirits are bright and there is a great ‘feeling’ when you are out in public, especially while shopping. I absolutely love the holidays. But I also know that I have to be careful when it comes to what I eat. Sugar is easy to over-indulge on during the holiday season, because it is everywhere. It is out at the office in candy jars and all over the place at holiday parties, in cookies and other delicious treats. The fact that sweet treats are everywhere is the problem for those of us who are in the process of slimming down or watching our weight. It is even a bigger problem for those with sugar issues such as diabetes.

Diabetes is a growing epidemic. And if you do not have it now, it does not mean that you are in the clear to over-indulge, you can develop it at any time in your life. Most people already know this but most also do not think about it until they get the dreaded news that they now have diabetes. If you do not have diabetes you may think “oh that is where you have to inject insulin and check your blook sugar all the time…” But it is much more serious than that. Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States and is affecting an increasingly large portion of the population. Diabetes affects nearly 24 million people in the United States, nearly 8% of the population! Yet another reason to watch your sugar intake around the holidays!

Here are some tips below that I hope you find helpful for lowering sugar intake around the holidays. Notice I said lower, not eliminate. The holidays are meant to be fun and a time for celebration. I don’t want you to elimante the good times and little treats, what fun is that?

Moderation is key, and a simple trick. What is your favorite holiday treat? If it is cookies, for example, select a modest portion and slowly eat them, savoring the texture and taste. Once you are finished with that portion move on to something else, whether it is talking with people eating more healthy snacks. Many people make the mistake of just eating handful after handful of their favorite sugary food, this is the easiest way to over do it!

Alternate between healthy and less health snacks. If you eat some foods from the vegetable tray you will not be as hungry and you will therefore eat less of the ‘unhealthy’ snacks. Makes sense, right? And it is very easy to do!

Don’t just ‘give in’ and ‘let yourself go’ and start eating badly all day or evening, thinking to yourself “Well it’s too late now.” It’s never too late! If you slip up, just stop once you realize it, and move forward – the healthy way. It’s just as easy to eat healthy food as it is unhealthy food, plus it is a lot easier to work off the minimal calories from three pieces of broccoli versus three brownies in the gym.

I hope you found these tips helpful!

December 6, 2014