Acai Berry Diet? Beware of Scams!

You may or may not be one of those people who try all kinds of "miracle" products to help you

lose weight.  If not, you may stop reading this post.  If so, just be sure to read all the fine print before you order that "free" and miraculous product where all you have to do is pay for the shipping and they will send you a free trial.  It's sad that some ads are true to their word while others spoil it for the honest ones.

Here is such a scam:

http://www.acaiberrydetox.com/offer/lp7/?mid=129&subid=18546-

They tell you that you will get a free trial for shipping costs of $4.95 but beware!  If you check your credit card, you will initially be happy to see a $4.95 charge as promised and you will quickly receive your "trial".  What they don't tell you is that the trial actually contains more than the "free 14 days" worth of product, so 14 days later they hit your same credit card with a whopping charge of $89!!!  How would I know?  Duh....  Yep, moi - the one who trusts few and is apparently blinded by the visions of being a slim, trim, voluptuous....well, nevermind....

Trying to find this place online again to write them is a real nightmare.  I'll keep you posted.  Not finished with this one yet! :-( 

Future You University

For the past 6 months, I've read or heard someone recommend the book, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill.  This is a book that was written many years ago but is considered one of the best books to teach you how to succeed and become wealthy.  Wealth is defined in many ways, so it's not just about making more money.  Well, I don't have to be told more than a few times by more than a few people I respect.  So I ordered it the other day.  I'm only through the first chapter but I can't wait to get back to it.  This guy, Napoleon Hill, interviewed 500 of the world's wealthiest people to write this book.   It outlines their secrets and contains some profound true stories about how we think and act to build wealth.

You can get it through a friend of mine, Mike Spillman, who has a blog at http://www.FutureYouUniversity.com   Once you go there, click on "Click for Mike's Blog" on the right menu and you'll see the link for the free ebook.  Well, it's almost free...I think you pay $4 for shipping, but trust me, it's well worth it!  Let me know what you think of it!  Great material.  Oh, and go to iTunes to listen to Mike Spillman's podcast.  They are short and inspirational.  He's talking about the Think and Grow Rich book.  The podcasts are free!  I download them and listen to them while I walk in the mornings.  Have a great day.

The Wise Ones

Have you ever noticed that wise people are the ones who have a lot of life experiences?  Have you ever noticed that they are usually humble?  Often, they are older yet they have young hearts.  Quick to laugh or smile and slow to judge.  Will Rogers once said, "Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."  Those are the people I want to get to know.  It's the really joyful ones who may have likely experienced much sorrow.  These are the people from whom we can learn life's most valuable lessons.  They learned how to take charge of their lives and themselves.  They learned that despite mistakes and in spite of the problems life has hurled at them, no one and nothing can steal their spirit without their permission.  Yes, those are the people we need to surround ourselves with.  They can teach us a lot.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Real Simple Magazine (May 2009)

I read some interesting ideas in Real Simple magazine about recycling.  It seemed like an innovative and fun idea, if you have the time.  It's a "party" concept where you have a get-together at someone's home and trade your stuff.  You ask for clean, gently used goods and hand out color-coded stickers to guests to use when they want to claim an item.  The strategies include drawing straws or some other clever idea to pick who gets to shop first.  You limit the number of items to three per turn to keep it fair.  For every item a guest donates, you provide a poker chip or token of some kind to that person so they can use them to "purchase" the items they want.  I suppose everyone would go home with the same number of items they started with, however, there would have to be some system for exchanging the more pricey items that everyone may want with the items that are less popular.  You'd either have to draw for them, or place them at a higher premium than the other items.  Some of the items the magazine suggested besides clothing and accessories, included:  children's items (grouped by age), books/cds/dvds, housewares, outdoor things, or you could designate what they can bring.  Something like "cleaning out the garage" items.  Sounded like fun...no hassle with a garage sale and you get to bring home things you might more likely use.

Optimist?

A short update about the research source from the post below about Optimism or Pessimism:  The Medical Research Council and Welcome Trust helped support the research.  There have been quite a few studies within the past two years.  One, University of Cambridge Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute said, "Our results suggest that serotonin plays a critical role in social decision-making by normally keeping aggressive social responses in check."  "Serotonin, is a neurotransmitter whose presence or absence predispose us to feel buoyant or depressed."

One of the articles appeared in Science Express in June, 2008.  Authors included:  M.J. Crockett; L. Clark; T. W. Robbins; University of Cambridge, G. Tabibnia; M.D. Lieberman; University of California, Los Angeles.

Michael J. Fox referred in his show to a doctor (didn't catch the name) who identified genetic markers of people who have increased serotonin output and are born optimistic.  He said, "There is a second part where you are given a series of images, one horrific and one benign or sentimental, and depending on how you respond, it is further proof.  I was attracted to positive images."

Eternal Optimist - Are you An Optimist or Pessimist?

I just finished watching the Michael J. Fox special about understanding the eternal optimist, even when faced with obstacles and difficulties in life.  Interestingly, optimists have chemical makeup that point towards there optimism.  In fact, they were born with a predisposition towards being optimistic.  There were some other laboratory computerized tests that quickly flashed two pictures on the screen and then you were instructed to hit the button of the picture you noticed first.  Fox quickly identified the positive pictures more often than the negative ones (example:  a flower or a man holding a butcher knife.)

What I found to be really fascinating was the research study of optimists vs. pessimists.  When the pessimists were given instructions about throwing darts, their instructions included the difficulties of the game, and the worst-case-scenario information.   When optimists were given instructions, they were told how to stay calm, focused, and confident about hitting the target.  Each group did well in the dart game.  However, what was interesting, was that the instructions were switched.  Meaning, the "staying calm and confident" instructions were given to the pessimists and the "difficulties and challenges" instructions were given to the optimists.  Guess what?   Their scores came down.  What is the meaning?  Perhaps that people process information the way they tend to view the world.  Pessimists need to know the risks involved so they can process information before they make good decisions.  Possibly that optimists need to see the bright side of things and opportunities before they can give their best.  It's maybe not so much how we come across to others, optimistic or pessimistic, but how we take the information and use it in the best possible way.  A good way to take charge of our lives.

The show was on Thursday evening, 9 pm, CST.  If you get a chance, it's worth the watch (and I don't even watch television!)

National Prayer Week

It's National Prayer Day on May 7th (Thursday) and we know there's lots of power in prayer.

In fact, God's power is unleashed when we pray!  I am also trying to fast this week so that my prayers will be focused entirely on God.  It has not been as big a struggle as I thought it would be. I heard Donna Partow speak a few weeks ago and her message was very inspiring.  She talked about fasting.  One of the ways she fasts is by drinking lemon water (cut up 3 or 4 lemons in a container of water and add about a tsp. of natural Grade B maple syrup to every 8 ozs. plus a tsp. of cayenne pepper to each glass.  It will cleanse the system and frankly, I've been on it two days and I have more energy than I thought I would by now!  You just have to prepare yourself mentally to do it and be persistent.  I'll keep you posted on the results.  I'm anticipating a wonderful conversation with God...deeply enriching and nourishing to the soul.