The #1 Key to Getting Paid to Do What You Love
The #1 Key to Getting Paid to Do What You Love |
- The #1 Key to Getting Paid to Do What You Love
- Levitation was one professor’s plan to cut crime. And it worked. Sort of.
- Happy 85th birthday, Bhante Gunaratana
- Tomato Compound May Cut Men's Stroke Risk
- Can You Catch Meningitis?
- A Journey Without a Goal
- Early Morning Mindfulness Inspiration - 10/9/2012
- Realizing pure Mind
- 5 Meningitis Facts You Need to Know
- Yoga at Work May Relieve Stress & Back Pain
- 'Supertasters' May Have Stronger Immunity
| The #1 Key to Getting Paid to Do What You Love Posted: 09 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT  Is yours? People are frustrated, angry, and confused. But this is good. Because it's the first step. You have to know what is wrong before you can change it. I've never wanted a job. I couldn't survive in that environment. If you're reading this, you may be able to relate. However, there's a big gap. Everyone keeps talking about going after your dreams and getting paid to do what you love, but there's little information on how to do it. That's one of the reasons I write about this topic. I'm here to do my best to fill that gap, and with this article, I hope to nudge you in the right direction. I promise no magic bullets, and no quick fixes. If you want to get paid to do what you love, you have to be willing to take action despite your fears and excuses. If you do, then you will succeed. It is just a matter of time. What You MUST Do The goal isn't to find your passion. The only goal is to make progress, each and everyday. Some of my readers and clients tell me they can't find their passion, purpose, calling, or whatever you want to call it. If that's you, then eliminate the need to find those things. You don't need to find your passion in order to start. Passion is just a concept I use to point to what's beyond it. If it stops you from taking action, get rid of it. Keep your focus on taking action. Become relentless about making progress and moving forward, because that is what truly matters. When you become relentless, you don't become fearless; instead you embrace the fear and learn to co-exist with it! . I learned this the hard way. I spent years and thousands of dollars trying to find a shortcut or a quick fix that would help me get paid to do what I love. It wasn't until I reclaimed my responsibility that I realized that it wasn't about the tools, programs, or coaches out there, it was about me. The Mistakes Most People Make Most people are afraid that something will go wrong, so they wait for perfection. They wait for themselves to muster up courage and become fearless. They wait because they think they have to have more money, connections, or talent. But all of those things are merely excuses that stop them from taking action right now. Don't let yourself become one of those people who wait for things to happen. Refuse to become a passive observer of your life. You are the only one that can make this happen. You are the only one that can make the conscious choice to start taking action. Why Most People Will Never Make It The truth is that it looks like most would rather stay where they are than take action. It's more comfortable to stay put. In the end, it comes down to how badly you want this. Sometimes losing your job, losing your house, or a dash of suffering is good, because it removes the excuses, and allows you to discover what matters. It's not the paycheck, and it's not the house, it's your life and how you feel inside. This happened to me when I transitioned from playing online poker to building an online business. I had been a professional poker player for almost five years, and it was slowly destroying me from the inside out. I kept playing for several years despite knowing it wasn't for me, because it was comfortable, but after a while I reached a breaking point. I made the switch when it became too painful to continue. I was s! cared. H owever, I quickly learned that it wasn't the actual change I was scared of, just my thoughts about it. We often paint dire scenarios about what's going to happen if we do something new, but we forget that those are projections. Looking back, I'm grateful that I made the switch, because I probably wouldn't be writing this if I hadn't. How to Get Paid to Do What You Love The number one key to getting paid to do what you love is being willing to take action despite your fears and excuses. You have to put yourself out there. You will face obstacles, you will be confused, and you will want to give up, but that's all a part of the game. To help you get started, I've pulled together three simple steps you can use to figure out what to do next. What's important here aren't the questions, but that you take action toward what YOU want. As long as you're doing that, you're on the right path. If you don't know what you want, then start experimenting, because discovering what you don't want is as useful as discovering what you do want. Here are the guidelines:
They want a magic bullet, but the magic bullet is you. You are your own guarantee to success. When you realize that, you can begin your journey, because that's when you allow the excuses to fall away. The excuses were created by you, so they can be let go of by you. Now, I'm curious. What are some of the guidelines and questions you use to take action? The ones I've mentioned above are j! ust a fe w of the ones I know, so drop a comment below and share yours.
Do you have a bucket list? Here are 101 things to do before you die. Includes a tutorial on how you can create your bucket list too!      Read More @ Source 
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| Levitation was one professor’s plan to cut crime. And it worked. Sort of. Posted: 09 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT
Two decades ago, Hagelin and a team of fellow scientists performed a bold experiment. Their aim was to drastically reduce the amount of violent crime in Washington DC – a metropolis then noted for its high incidence of murder, rape and robbery. The Hagelin method was to systematically blanket the city with mental emanations from transcendental meditation … Read the original article » Read More @ Source
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| Happy 85th birthday, Bhante Gunaratana Posted: 09 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT
Via the Sri Lanka Daily News Read More @ Source
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| Tomato Compound May Cut Men's Stroke Risk Posted: 09 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT
Eating tomatoes and other foods rich in the antioxidant lycopene may reduce men's risk of stroke, new research suggests. Men in the study with the highest levels of lycopene in their blood were 55 percent less likely to have a stroke compared with those who had the lowest blood levels of the pigment, researchers found. "The results support the recommendation that people get more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which would likely lead to a major reduction in the number of strokes worldwide," said study researcher Jouni Karppi, of the University of Eastern Finland. Previous research showed that lycopene may decrease the ability of LDL ("bad") cholesterol to form the plaques in arteries that can cause heart attacks and strokes, the researchers said. Lycopene also has other properties that may link it to decreased stroke risk, Karppi said, such as inhibiting cholesterol production and preventing blood clots and the clumping together of blood platelets. The study is published in the Oct. 9 issue of the journal Neurology. Tomatoes and strokes Karppi and colleagues gathered data on 1,031 men in Finland taking part in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. The men were between ages 46 and 65 at the study's start, and over a 12-year period, 67 of the men suffered a stroke. The researchers measured lycopene levels in the men's blood, and divided them into four nearly equivalent groups based on their levels. Of men with the lowest levels, 25 out of 258 had a stroke, whereas 11 out of 259 with the highest levels had a stroke. The link between higher lycopene levels and lower stroke risk held when the researchers accounted for risk factors for stroke such as age, smoking and diabetes. But experts cautioned against overinterpreting the results. The data show an association, not a cause-and-effect link. "This study simply says that people who have higher levels of lycopene have fewer strokes after 12 years," said Dr. David Thomas, professor of medicine at Saint Louis University, who was not involved in the study. The findings don't prove that eating tomatoes reduces the risk of stroke, Thomas said. Findings such as this one "are good for generating hypotheses, that can be tested in prospective trials," Thomas added. Trials looking at lycopene so far have had mixed results, he said. What to eat While tomatoes are a common source of lycopene, the study did not look at which foods in the men's diets were the sources of the antioxidant, Karppi noted. In the future, Karppi said he will continue to research the role lycopene and other carotenoids, which give vegetables their colors, may play in decreasing the risk of chronic vascular diseases. Thomas said that a high intake of fruits and vegetables may be needed to see health benefits. He pointed to an analysis of nine studies that linked fruit and vegetable intake with better health, but the results were only positive when five or more servings per day were consumed. "That's a lot of tomatoes," he said. Pass it on: Eating lycopene-rich tomatoes may reduce men's risk of stroke. FollowMyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+.  Read More @ Source 
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| Posted: 09 Oct 2012 09:00 AM PDT
Some forms of meningitis are contagious, but fungal meningitis — the type responsible for the recent outbreak — is not. So far, 105 people have been affected by the fungal meningitis outbreak, which is linked to contaminated steroid injections. Meningitis is a swelling or inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (which are called the meninges). A number of things can cause meningitis, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. [See: 5 Meningitis Facts You Need to Know] When meningitis is caused by a virus or bacteria — as is most common — it can spread from person to person. Bacterial meningitis can spread through kissing, and viral meningitis can spread when people come in contact with the feces of an infected person, which can happen when changing a diaper, or when a person does not properly wash their hands after using the toilet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other causes of meningitis are not contagious. For example, meningitis can be caused by head injuries, brain surgery and some cancers, the CDC says. Meningitis that is caused by fungi is not contagious. The people sickened in the recent fungal meningitis outbreak are thought to have become infected when they were injected with a steroid drug that was contaminated with fungus. Injections were delivered into their spines — allowing the fungus to enter their spinal fluid and spread to their brain. The types of fungi involved in the outbreak, such as Aspergillus, are common in the environment, and usually don't cause problems in healthy people. The number of cases in the fungal meningitis outbreak is still going up because some people who received the contaminated injections before they were recalled by the manufacturer could still develop symptoms — they can take up to four weeks to appear. In other cases, people may have fallen sick sometime in the past several months after receiving an injection, but doctors are now better able to identify the cause of their illnesses. Pass it on: Fungal meningitis cannot spread from person to person. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Read More @ Source 
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| Posted: 09 Oct 2012 08:00 AM PDT Post written by Leo Babauta.Nearly every activity we do has a purpose, a goal in mind. We drive to get to work, to the store, to a class or party. We walk for fitness, or to get to a specific destination. We work to achieve something, to reach certain numbers. We workout to get healthier, to get a nicer body. But what would happen if we gave up the goal? What would a journey without a goal be like? Imagine setting out for a walk with no particular purpose — you might go in one direction because there's a nice explosion of flowers over there, but then explore a different direction when you see someone playing music, then go in another direction because you're curious about what's there. No destination in mind. Nothing to achieve. Just curiosity, fun, not knowing. What would it be like to work without a goal? You might write something for fun, because you want to get it out of you, without knowing what the effect of the writing would be. You would figure out the work as you go, without knowing what the finished product would look like. What would it be like to live life without a fixed plan? Without knowing where you'll be living in five years, or what you'll be doing, or what you want to achieve? I don't know the answers, but I do know that I've been freer as I've learned to let go of goals, fixed plans, fixed destinations. How to FlowI've long been a planner and a goal setter, but I've been learning a different way over the last few years. It's a radical shift in thinking and doing, to a freer-flowing mode of being. How does it work? Well, to be honest, there's no one way. But it goes a little something like this: You wake up, excited about being alive. You wonder, "What do I feel like doing today?" You aren't constrained to anything at this point, but the question is important. So you get started, doing something you're excited about, having fun doing it. Is that thing you're doing a destination, a goal? Well, in some ways, yes, but it's not fixed. There's no set plan, and the destination doesn't matter as much as the process, the journey. You start, but you might shift as you go, depending on the flow of ideas, on working with others who might have ideas you didn't foresee, on things that happen along the way. You couldn't have predicted these things when you got started, so you have to adapt — no plan can anticipate all of this, no goal would be adequate to the task. You might even completely shift, if something new comes up, if a new opportunity presents itself. You let go of your idea of what today was going to be, because these ideas of what should be are lightly held. They mean nothing, really, and the important thing is the flow. You learn to be flexible instead of set. You learn to be good at change and uncertainty, instead of fearing it. As things arise, you adapt, and let go of your plans and goals. You move with the flow of water, with the changing landscape. You are free to do this because you don't care where you end up — you just want to be present in your journey, be compassionate with each step, have fun each moment along the way. The destination becomes irrelevant. No destination or goal matters if they are all good. Each step along the way, then, becomes the destination, and is exactly where you should be. Read More @ Source
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| Early Morning Mindfulness Inspiration - 10/9/2012 Posted: 09 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT  "The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new." ~Pema Chödrön       Read More @ Source 
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2012 10:00 PM PDT I've decided to do some Q&As based upon my general understanding of what is on the mind of beginners, confused veterans, and the ideal student. The Q&A genre seems very suitable for a blog. At least for me, it allows me to get into the 'high esoteric' which I hope helps the reader to see where Zen Buddhism is really coming from and for that matter Buddhism, itself. Q: I really have a difficult time with understanding Mind as you use it. I know it's transcendent. But how can I see it? We all would like to see it, but when I try, I just can't. A: I understand. When I really got serious about Zen, still nothing made any sense to me. No matter how many books on Zen I read; no matter how many hours I sat—zilch! I knew, at some point I was missing something in the recipe. Like why didn't my bread rise? My former Zen teacher didn't help me in that direction. It was later when I went to a lecture at San Jose State given by Bishop Nippo Shaku that I began to understand what I was missing (One-pointedness of the comic book sky). What I learned from his lecture was almost like a satori. The message became clear to me. I had to look for the Buddha's pure Mind in my confused jungle-like mind. I had to look for it in all the internal chatter, the mental images, the emotions, the physical pains—you name it. Where was it in vision, in hearing, in everything I did? It was a daunting task to search through my turbid, confused mind for the pure Mind. But search I did both day and night. But such a search is not an ordinary search. What you're doing that hinders the search is looking for the bird of pure Mind holding an iron cage of presuppositions; trying to get the little bird to fly in through the tiny door. As strange as it sounds, you have to put down the cage—abandon it! Only then will you see that little bird. But even putting down this heavy cage is a task like no other. Eventually, the search weakens you to such an extent that you drop the cage. And then one night it happens. In what seems like a nano second, the mind you're searching in disappears then reappears. Yet, in that one moment of disappearance you see something incredible. Then something strange begins to happen afterwards, clear light—a mysterious radiancy—begins to engulf you gradually. For me it grew and grew all through the night. I had never, in my whole life, experienced anything like this. Whoa! It is as if I saw a little hole in the fabric of the universe and in that hole was pure light.! Yes, pure Mind. And that was my first encounter with pure Mind. Much later, another encounter happened which made the first one seem like kindergarten stuff. But more on that later. Q: How do you know that you weren't deluding yourself? A: It is like seeing a great illusion with cities and people all around, and you know exactly what this illusion is composed of. Not even Mara the Evil One could find this pure Mind. He can look into my thoughts right now and never see it. But I can see it. Even if somebody thinks I am full of crap, so what? Nothing they say changes the pure Mind. It goes beyond the aggregates of form, feeling, perception, habitual tendencies, and even consciousness, all of which belong to Mara the Evil One. Q: But couldn't this clear light be what I have heard called, makyo? A: First, what is makyo? The term refers to Mara the Evil One's realm. You're entire psycho-physical body consisting of form, feeling, perception, habitual tendencies, and consciousness belongs to Mara—but not clear light Mind. It is not easy to talk about it. It is better to experience this Mind. This is when Buddhism really begins. You're ready for the first grade! Q: It sounds like there is no easy road to awakening. But what about chanting the name of the Buddha or sitting in zazen? Don't they help? A: Mechanically chanting and sitting on a zafu, just performing the physical act is still to be in Mara's realm. Chanting is makyo—zazen is makyo. Until you see the luminous or pure Mind in chanting and zazen you're doing Mara's chanting and zazen. More later ~ 
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| 5 Meningitis Facts You Need to Know Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT
The outbreak of fungalmeningitis tied to steroid shots for back pain has grown to include 91 cases in nine states, health officials said yesterday. Here are five things you should know about meningitis and this outbreak. What causes meningitis? Meningitis is a swelling or inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (which are called the meninges). A number of things can cause meningitis. Usually the swelling is caused by an infection with a virus or bacteria, but it can also be caused by infection with a fungus or parasite. Head injuries, brain surgery and some cancers can also cause meningitis. When meningitis is caused by a virus or bacteria, it can spread from person to person. However, meningitis caused by a fungus is not contagious. People affected by the current outbreak of fungal meningitis became ill after injections of a steroid drug contaminated with fungus were administered into their spines. People who have received a steroid injection shot for back pain since May 21 should talk to their doctor as soon as possible if they have experienced any of the following symptoms: new or worsening headache, fever, sensitivity to light, stiff neck, slurred speech, new weakness or numbness in any part of your body, or increased pain, swelling or redness at the injection site. Why are steroids given for back pain? Steroid shots are sometimes used to treat lower back pain, such as pain caused by swelling (inflammation) around compressed nerves in lower back. The rationale for the therapy is that steroids reduce inflammation, and so they may help with the pain. However, evidence that these injections work to reduce lower back pain has been mixed. A study published last year found the drugs work no better than a placebo. Why is the number of cases still increasing? The rising number of cases in themeningitis outbreak does not mean doctors are still using the tainted drugs. Symptoms take one to four weeks to appear, so some people who received shots prior to the recall may still develop meningitis. In other cases, people may have fallen sick sometime in the past several months after receiving an injection, but doctors are now better able to identify the cause of their illnesses. Are people who received steroid shots to treat something other than back pain affected by the outbreak? So far, the only people who have fallen ill in the meningitis outbreak received the steroid shots in their spine as treatment for lower back pain. However, the recalled steroid drugs were also used in other ways, such as injections into joints to treat joint pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Patients who received other types of injections with the recalled products may also be at risk, the CDC says. How can I find out if the medication I received is part of the recall? All of the facilities that received the potentially contaminated steroid shots, made by the New England Compounding Center (NECC), have been listed by the CDC. In addition to the contaminated steroid shots, all products made by the NECC are also being recalled. A full list of the recalled productswas released by the company. Patients who are concerned they may have been treated with any of the recalled products should speak with their health care provider. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Read More @ Source 
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| Yoga at Work May Relieve Stress & Back Pain Posted: 08 Oct 2012 03:00 PM PDT
If you're stressed at work, a little yoga on your lunch break might just help. A new study from the United Kingdom suggests yoga done at work can reduce stress levels and lower back pain. The study involved 74 British government workers ages 25 to 64 who said they experienced stress and back pain that was somewhat bothersome. Participants were randomly assigned to practice either eight weeks of yoga, or no yoga. People in the yoga group took part in a 50-minute yoga class once a week, either at lunchtime or after work. They could also practice yoga at home twice a week for 20 minutes using a DVD. All participants completed questionnaires designed to assess back pain, stress levels and overall well-being. At the beginning of the study, 10 people in the yoga group and eight in the control group said they had back pain. At the end of the study, just four participants in the yoga group reported back pain, compared to 13 in the control group. In addition, participants in the yoga group had reported lower levels of stress and less sadness at the study's end, compared with those in the control group. The findings agree with previous research showing that yoga can reduce stress levels and back pain. The researchers, from the Bangor University in North Wales, noted that the majority of participants were women, so the findings may not apply to men. Also, the benefits in the yoga group may have been influenced by the placebo effect — the idea that a treatment is beneficial simply because patients believe it will work. Future studies should examine whether yoga at work can reduce the number of sick days workers take, the researchers said. "Integrating yoga into the workplace, at lunchtime or after work, may provide a time-effective, convenient and practical method for reducing the costly effects of stress and back pain," the researchers wrote in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Occupational Medicine. Pass it on: Yoga practiced at work may reduce levels of stress and back pain. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Read More @ Source 
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| 'Supertasters' May Have Stronger Immunity Posted: 08 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT
People who find Brussels sprouts unbearably bitter may also find a health upside to their keen sense of taste. The ability to taste such bitterness may be linked with an increased capacity to fight bacterial respiratory infections. Bitter taste receptors were traditionally thought to be located only on the tongue; however, new research shows these receptors are also found in the linings of the nasal and sinus cavities. Additionally, the study showed these receptors are involved in activating the immune system's protection against common bacterial infections. The receptors work as "an early detection system," which warns the immune system about bacterial invaders and activates the body's defenses, said study author Dr. Noam Cohen, director of rhinology research at the University of Pennsylvania. But not everyone benefits from these receptors: nearly a third of people in Europe and the U.S. do not have the specific version of the bitter taste-receptor gene, called TAS2R38, that activates an immune response. The results could lead to new ways to treat the nearly 1 in 10 people in the U.S. who have chronic rinosinusitis, a condition of constantly inflamed and swollen sinuses, the researchers said. The findings appeared today (Oct. 8) in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. A bittersweet finding In their study, researchers grew cells in lab dishes, forming structures that resembled the multilayered lining of the nose and sinus, to test out how bitter receptors affect the initial stages of the infection process. Results showed that chemicals produced by common bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa activated the TAS2R38 bitter receptor, and caused the hair-like cilia that line the sinuses to start sweeping away microbial intruders. The activation also resulted in the release into the sinuses of nitric oxide, which kills bacteria. The researchers noted that they looked at just one of 25 bitter receptors. It remains unclear if the other receptors affect the immune system, or how many bacteria may tip off the warning system. In the past, researchers have used the chemical phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) to identify people with functional bitter receptors. Those who can taste PTC are classified as supertasters, having functioning bitter receptors, while those who can't taste the chemical are non-tasters, lacking these receptors. People who would say that Brussels sprouts taste bitter are likely to be supertasters, having responsive bitter receptors, the researchers said. The new findings also suggest that supertasters may have a higher risk of chronic sinusitis, and that non-tasters have more upper respiratory infections. Upon testing nasal tissue samples from patients who had undergone surgery related to sinus problems, the researchers found that none of the 11 supertasters had Pseudomonas bacteria in their tissues, whereas seven out of 20 non-tasters had infections. "If you are a supertaster, it's going to be very rare that you're going to get… sinusitis," Cohen said. However, the bitter-tasting ability doesn't protect against all infections, he added. Could a taste test tell how often people get sick? This research could lead to a nearly cost-free test that could distinguish supertasters from the more susceptible non-tasters, said Thomas Finger, co-director of the Rocky Mountain Taste & Smell Center, who was uninvolved in the research. The new findings also suggest that certain bitter compounds could be used to activate the immune system. For example, a bitter nasal spray could be used to ward off an infection in the early stages, Finger said. However, such potential therapies are a long way off, he said. Next, the researchers will look at whether genetics plays a role in people's responses to sinusitis treatments, Cohen said. Pass it on: An ability to bitter foods may be linked with an increased immune system response to certain bacteria. FollowMyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Read More @ Source 
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Marc Abrahams, The Guardian: Prof. John Hagelin's decision not to run against Mitt Romney and Barack Obama left this year's US presidential race without a major candidate who is a scientist and who acknowledges – publicly – his ability to both counteract gravity and prevent crime.
The Venerable Henepola Gunaratana Nayake Thera — often known as "Bhante Gunaratana" or just as "Bhante G" — is 85 years old this week. He's a well-known writer and a highly respected teacher, who has now lived in the US for 50 years. This tribute comes from the Sri Lankan monk and former parliamentarian, Ven. Udawatte Nanda Nayake Thera. (Wikipedia says Bhante G's birthday is in December, but he's such a noted figure that he can have two birthdays if he wishes!)
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