October 2007

Most people, like it or not, stick with being themselves most of the time. They don’t go out trying to be somebody they aren’t nor do they try to change others to become one of them.

Why would you assume an alter ego / persona?

You see this a lot in artists of all types, from Madonna to movie stars, the public (their fans) get tired of seeing the same-old all the time, so to re-invigorate the interest in them (income)… they make a change. Sometimes it’s a drastic one, other times, it’s barely noticeable. It all depends on how the person markets themselves towards others. It isn’t just the rich and famous who change their looks and even mentality, we ALL do it to a certain degree! Sometimes it’s to forget something from the past, other times, it’s to begin anew. You see a lot of this around New Years Resolution time. Change is good!

Halloween: the ultimate excuse to try on a new persona

Today is Halloween, what better time to make a drastic change! People will enjoy the change and then, you can either go back to your old self or keep the new personification of yourself. I am not saying come into the office on a daily basis from now on wearing a “Scream” mask but who knows… for some people, it might be an improvement!

Top 10 Dos and Don’ts of Personification Modification

10: DO include both an attitude and mental state change that matches your new outer look

9: DO make a change you are both comfortable with and can stick to, if you choose to keep the new YOU.

8: DON’T warn others about what you are about to do… new first impressions are important!

7: DON’T allow others to stop you from making a change in your life, you are an individual, act like one!

6: DON’T make a drastic change on a daily or weekly basis, this works against you in the long run. A change every quarter or two is more the adequate.

5: DO spend a little time thinking, planning and studying what you will become… you don’t want to change into something you HATE but others love!

4: DO it all in one shot, migrating from an old persona to a new one will deaden the blow, changing your persona is as much to shake up your life as those around you.

3: DON’T ask others if they like or dislike the new “you”, this kind of defeats the purpose. Make the change for yourself and others just have to accept it, if they don’t, that is their problem, not yours!

2: DO make sure that you truly believe in the new you, commit to it and no matter what, stick with it!

1: DO IT!

The Bottom Line

A new you is always in fashion… have fun with it!

Love him or hate him, Gene Simmons, the KISS front man, has had more success then the average band leader all while keeping his composure, staying away from drugs and successfully creating arguably the biggest merchandising machine of any band.

Who is Gene Simmons?

Gene Simmons is easily the Sir Richard Branson of the merchandising world with thousands of KISS related products from coffins to kids toys and everything in between. He was born in 1949 and raised as an Israeli-American and released his first album with KISS in 1974. He has appeared on a number of films, television shows, published author of three books and even released solo artist albums since his initial success. He doesn’t drink, smoke nor do drugs and that makes him that much more of a role model. By far, his greatest success has been in the field of marketing, first his band, KISS, and now himself. He’s an idea man with the ability of implementation.

Correspondence between a fan and Gene

Erik (Fan)

Dear Gene, I was wondering you policies on pitching a product to you in an untapped market. I have several ideas and would like to collaborate on them with someone . If you would like, I can have a non-disclosure agreement drawn up and we can possibly get started on this. Thank you for your time. Sincerly Erik

Response from Gene Simmons:

Ideas mean less than nothing. Sorry. “Ideas are a dime a dozen.” The only thing that counts is THE ABILITY to make things real. Just thinking about something doesn’t lead very far.

What are ideas?

Ideas are the first step along what can become a very long path towards turning something into reality. Even after an idea is fully implemented and working, that is still no guarantee of any type of success. As Gene Simmons said, ideas are a dime dozen and are the equivalent of nothing unless it follows a plan of implementation.

How to turn an idea into success?

Ask any top entrepreneur, from Sir Richard Branson to Bill Gates and what you will hear time and again is that they fail far more then they succeed. It can be said that the road of entrepreneurship is actually built on the bricks of failure more then success. Even Thomas Edison, Walt Disney and Henry Ford had incredible, mind blowing failures that ruined them many time but they eventually succeeded by shear will towards achievement. Are you willing to spend a decade or more in poverty to implement an idea? If you aren’t, find a 9-5 job and enjoy your life. Success is an incredibly difficult thing to achieve as it requires a mixture of opportunities and luck happening at just the right time.

The Bottom Line

Success is built on a road of failures.

Buzvia Gene Simmons Site

I love weight training, it’s one of those things that no matter how your day is going… it will always be there to give you the ultimate challenge… the one against yourself!

Weight Training: the natural drug (dopamine)

If you don’t follow a weight training regimen, you are missing out on the best natural drug in the world called dopamine. Unlike alcohol, alcohol or other poisons people use to get over their life’s hurdles, those produced by the body as you reach and beat new challenges only provide benefits to your life. It costs nothing to get a rush of adrenaline right before you attempt your first 300 lbs squat or the sense of achievement once you complete your first 20 consecutive chin-ups after having lots of trouble completing only one a few weeks earlier. Dopamine is what is released when Cocaine or other hard drugs are used… so you can imagine the invincibility and absolute power that you feel after an intense yet very rewarding workout.

What does Weight Training Provide?

Weight training helps every aspect of your life!

Self-Esteem

It feels great walking next to a mirror and seeing the body that many WISH they had, there is nothing wrong with vanity when you work so hard on diet and training to achieve the body you want. It also boosts self-esteem when people stare at your arms or a lover comments at how much they enjoy the sight of your body. I am by no means a mass monster but walking into a gym with mass monsters and holding your own, sharing mutual respect feels amazing to me!

Central Nervous System Optimization

Weight training increases the efficiency of your Central Nervous System, making everything you do in life that much more enjoyable. From improving the quality of sleep to being able to eat twice the amount of anybody else around you without having the gut to show feels great! The ability from all these internal efficiencies also allow you to run up a mountain without running out of breath, improve all the senses within your body and, ultimately, get more out of every experience!

Business Relationships

Weight training improves both your mental and physical projection that comes in very handy during any type of business related activities. Nothing shows strength like the ability to give a vice-like grip when shaking hands… there is nothing worse then giving a limp handshake! Sadly, most business people have a gut to match their wealth, when you walk into a meeting with a solid body and mind… you have a large psychological advantage over your client when tough negotiations are needed. People want to be around success and nothing says this as strongly as a powerful physical presence with a mind to match.

Dangers of Weight Training

If you are following an intense, multi-faceted regimen, over training and injury can pop-up anytime. I guess in this way, I am very lucky as I have never been injured in any way during the almost decade and a half I have been working out. Pushing your body to it’s limit just doesn’t cut it if you are trying to go beyond old plateaus, you need to go BEYOND them on a regular basis. The wear and tear on a body caused by this constant progression towards harder and more intense activity requires regular breaks and changes in exercise philosophy, otherwise you end up going backwards instead of forward on the road of health.

Another danger, one not discussed too often, is the simple addiction to very tough physical activity that forms within the mind, at least in my case. Whether your body is capable or not, the mind is a strange being that can temporarily suspend the reality you live within. Your mind says “that’s only 20 extra kg… you can do it!” but your body is yelling “what the heck are you doing to me!”. The problem is when your mind says to the body “you’re right” in the middle of a rep, the power you thought you had evaporates right away and you are screwed if you don’t have spotters. This has happened a few times to me over the years but I always use supports and spotters so no big deal. If you cannot do an exercise safely, don’t do it! Also, I can’t walk next to any type of chin-up bar or exercise related equipment without wanting to jump right on it to see how much weight or reps I can crank out!

I would say the third danger is also psychological, you begin to develop a mentality that you are better then other people (especially those who don’t workout). My entrepreneurial line of work only helps augment these feelings and sometimes my God complex gets the most of me but I must often remind myself that others didn’t have the same opportunities as me, the same will power for achievement or simply have other goals in life then my own.

Bipolarity of Weight Training Challenges

There are two distinct aspects of weight training that seem at odds to one another sometimes start to appear only after years of hitting the weights.

Psychological

Every once in a while, I hit a psychological barrier in my training, sometimes adding just 2 more kg to a bench press feels like I threw on 10x that amount of weight. The mind just cannot fathom lifting anything more then the body had just accomplished. These are tough sometimes, physically, the body has no problem accomplishing these tasks but the mind just gets in the way. Anybody who tells you that the body is stronger then the mind hasn’t pushed themselves hard enough.

Physical

This is the opposite problem of the psychological one. Sometimes, the mind says “no problem” but body just cannot bring itself to find the necessary resources to make the task at hand happen. The bodies engine has run out of gas and there is nothing you can do about it but give in to its demands. These happen more often then the psychological barriers that get set-up within your mind but are just as devastating, sometimes they go away during the next workout, other times, they stay for weeks if not months.

I have found changing your routine when hitting a rut is the best way to blow away these limitations, a new frame of mind and changes in diet will do wonders!

The Bottom Line

The body is a tool of the mind, separating the two is simply impossible.

When you live paycheck to paycheck… there is no style nor life to your lifestyle. I am a student of life, and I wanted to experience first hand what life was like for far too many people on this planet.

Background

Business was slow over the holidays last year and so I figure I might as well use this opportunity to find out what it’s like to work at minimum wage for a change. I tried 3 different jobs, all though different job agencies. I substantially dumbed down my resume, removing anything that would show that I had achieved anything in life, otherwise there is no way I would have ever been considered. People are given minimum wage jobs because the employer knows they need the job, as soon as they are not needed – their power is gone. I wanted to guarantee I got the job, and I got one within 5 minutes of stepping into the first recruiting agency. They needed manpower for a quick project, I was at the right place at the right time… $8.25 was the wage without any negotiations!

The three jobs from hell (Canada)

I worked at 3 different spots, the first was through a temp agency, essentially working in a heavy metal stamping plant. I was paid 9$ per hour, I am sure the agency was sub-contracting me at about 14-15$ per hour based on what the others told me they where getting paid. The other was helping to cap wine bottles, yes, putting on one cap at a time after bottles where filled up with their expensive wine. The last job was doing inventory control with a Wizard.

Observations

• minimum wage jobs seem to be generational, I talked to many of the employees and it wasn’t rare when they stated their father, mother, brother or even husband was doing similar work
• minimum wage jobs are exploitive to the tilt! These job agencies where making a living off my efforts, day in and day out, taking away much needed money and putting it in their pocket. I met people working these jobs that where far smarter then the agencies but due to circumstances, stuck in the minimum wage rut
• people fear loosing their minimum wage jobs, this was the most surprising of discoveries, I told one boss I was heading to the bathrooms (it was a factory) and he told me to wait till break time, I told him “I don’t think so” after a lengthy discussion that was going nowhere then proceeded to the bathroom. When I got back, the employees who overheard me where shocked that I talked back to the boss and where worried my job was on the line as a result (???)
• there is a heck of a lot of turnover in these jobs, even during the short term I was working there, those who where smart where taking studies to get out and others where looking elsewhere
• you don’t know monotony until you have done the same damn thing like a robot day in and out, I don’t know how these people do this for years, after a week I felt myself loosing my sanity
• minimum wage people are among the toughest jobs out there and the people are tough both physically and mentally
• I never saw so many smokers in my life! Seems the rates of obesity, ill health and alcoholism are rampant within this segment of the population.
• I never saw such a bunch of unhappy people, who have lost hope in their lives, you see it in their eyes, they want more but are exploited from ever achieving any worthwhile goal in their lives
• you are not appreciated for your work or your creativity, you are but a body that must perform X task over and over and over again, without complaint, without thought and without hope of getting out as you are easily replaced

After doing the above for a little over a month, I proceeded to walk away from each job without even giving them notice, what is there to say when you no longer need to work for a slave master?

One Great Job from Hell (Australia)

In the above jobs, my average pay rate was $8.25 an hour and then there where government deductions so maybe I was lucky to net $7.00 an hour. Australia… wow… most minimum wage jobs started at $9.00 an hour but I was lucky enough to net a job that was union based for a large printing company. My minimum wage job? $23.00 an hour! I was doing the same monotonous jobs, saw just as many smokers and people who gave up on life but wow… $23.00 an hour was nothing to complain about. This job was incredibly boring, the company (other employees) where, for the most part, quite dull with substance abuse problems but I kept my mouth shut most of the time. Unlike the minimum wage jobs in Canada, this job actually had a way out if you worked long enough. During my short few months there, I received forklift training, was managing production for my manager and was becoming a valued member of the staff. I heard a few people complain behind my back, who had been there for YEARS (some 20+) who where not happy that I leapfrogged over them within the first month there!

Overall Observations

As a person who has no lack of self-esteem and self-confidence, minimum wage jobs and my personality just don’t jive. I have no problem telling somebody that they are wrong, standing my ground and even telling them off if needed. I have a very direct managing method, no bullshit, no stories, good or bad, just tell me what is going on. Office politics aside, if somebody stands in front of me, like they did in the factory in Canada, trying to tell me to go to the bathroom just for their own power trip, the best get out of the way. One more thing I noticed that came to me a few months later, just about everybody who worked minimum wage jobs had HORRIBLE ORAL HYGENE. I don’t mean bad, I mean HORRIBLE. Broken and missing teeth, gingivitis was rampant, my only guess is that alcohol, tobacco and poor diet along with a completely loss of hope of every achieving something in life had been made representational in their mouth. These people where branded for life, good luck getting a corporate job with a mouth that looks like it belongs in that of a wild animal!

The Bottom Line

There are many Hells on this Earth… minimum wage jobs is probably among the worst.

I read these two books a while back… here are a few quotes which stood out while reading them.

Trump! Surviving at the top

What separates the winner from the loosers… is how a person reacts to each twist of fate… life is a series of struggles.

I know that, whatever happens, I’m a survivor, a survivor of success, which is a very rare thing indeed

What’s Luck got to do with it?

If you make a mistake, admit it and it will be OK. If you don’t admit a mistake and try to cover it up… then you’re going to have real problems.
-Ted Waitt, Founder of Gateway 2000

The real key to success is the contact economy. Humans crave connections and anything you do to boost that connection, those units of social intimacy, is going to be wildly successful.
-Jim McCann, Founder of 1-800-FLOWER

…in business you have only 2 ways of surviving: Either your product is better than your competitor’s or it’s cheaper
-Jim Koch, Founder of Boston Beer Company

When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance.
-Jack Stack, Founder of Sprinfield ReManufacturing Corporation

Let’s push for more discussion, not less – everywhere. Let’s seek common ground wherever we can find it.
-Gary Hirshberg, Founder of Stonyfield Farms

As far as an entrepreneur is concerned, I think the successful entrepreneur never feels that the game is over
-Steven Hamerslag, Founder of MTI Technology Corporation

Although a large segment of the worlds population has self-esteem issues, only a fraction of them have enough money to make changes to their physical image in order to try to improve them. Luckily, we also have positive role models in the area of self-esteem.

What is Self-Esteem?

Well, self-esteem is how you view yourself, your accomplishments and overall quality of yourself. Self-esteem peaks when you feel on top of the world without a care in the world and dives when you are worried everybody will see something that hardly anybody will notice about you. Self-esteem is essentially how you perceive the outside world feels about you.

Negative Self-Esteem

Money, fame and even good looks have little to do with how a person feels about themselves, and here are a few examples of the effects of negative self-esteem.

Micheal Jackson

Regardless of his media stunts, he has achieved INCREDIBLE success that I feel is what is leading towards his downfall. He achieved so much at such a young age and, being a perfectionist, has struggled to reach again with little traction compared to his incredibly high stratus at a younger age. He was once worth north of 200 million dollars, with fans all around the world and basically the King of Pop while today, he is relegated to the back pages of the Inquire or People Magazines. For all his accomplishments, he hasn’t been able to master the most important of all, himself. No amount of children, fame, fortune nor media attention has changed the fact that he has a chip on his shoulder that will probably haunt him until his final days. He was once a great role model for millions of aspiring fans around the world but I feel, in his present state, he is unable to fill those shoes even with his own shadow.

Jocelyne Wildenstein

A once very beautiful Swedish woman, Jocelyne was born in a middle class family but upped her way in the social elite by marrying Alec Wildenstein, whose family is worth about 10 billion dollars. She had two great kids, incredibly luxurious houses on just about every continent, a loving husband and more money then she could spend. When the marriage fell apart, it seems, so did she. Her escape was, like Micheal Jacksons, plastic surgery. Sadly, she put so much of her self-esteem deposits in her husbands bank account that she forever changed her look simply to try to win his heart back. It failed… and she has been living with the consequences ever since.

Anna Nicole Smith

She had more beauty then brains but all throughout her short live, she suffered from drug abuse of every kind. She had no personality, self-esteem of her own. She invested all her time and energy into getting the most out of life at the detriment of her own life. From cosmetic surgery to failed relationships, businesses and you name it, she, like the two celebrities above, suffered greatly psychologically. I am sure, before the fame and fortune came, she had some self-esteem within her but it seems as if it evaporated rather quickly.

Positive Self-Esteem

For some, their success seems almost based on the ability to either turn around personal self-esteem issues or simply continually building upon an already strong foundation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

I have to admit, he is one of my many role models in life, he has the almost inhuman ability to write his own script for life, turning his predictions into reality with uncanny accuracy. If you look at Arnold’s life, one thing becomes very clear, his nick name “the Oak” is an impossibly strong foundation for where his self-esteem stands. He wants something, he makes it happen, no matter how impossible, how treacherous the path nor how many people doubt him. He is one of the ultimate go-getters who easily has earned every bit of luck and success he has fought so hard to achieve.

Sylvester Stallone

He isn’t the most handsome, isn’t the tallest (compared to the above two) nor did his speech impediment help him on the road to extreme success… but he did it! Talk about a strong foundation, he was broke in Hollywood but even when a studio exec offered him hundreds of thousands of dollars for his first Rocky movie script, he said no! He so much believed in himself that no matter how much somebody thought he was worth, he knew his value and dreams were worth so much more. Since then, he has achieved one fantastic success after another in various fields such as art, entertainment and even in his entrepreneurial activities.

Anthony Robbins

He began his career broke, obese and feeling like a truck ran him over and over a few years, turned himself around into the foundation that people around the world pay big bucks to try to emulate. He has his own island in Fiji, no lack of money and even though he went through a tough divorce at the peak of his success, was able to overcome those obstacles and re-invent himself. How did he do it? He did it by himself for himself, and that is why he has achieved the incredible success he so well deserves.

Self-Esteem: YOU

So, how do you feel about yourself? Do you feel like shit? Well, if you do, no matter what else is going on in your life, you need to get these issues resolved first and foremost. As you can see from the above examples, fame and fortune only seem to make things WORSE, not better. Self-esteem is the inner relationship with yourself, if you cannot make peace with it, it will quickly spiral into absolute dysfunctionality. Before you seek fame, fortune and the life you feel you deserve, you need to focus on making sure the foundation upon which YOU are built is sturdy enough to weather any earthquake that will come as you pursuit a path of success.

The Bottom Line

Wealth has huge responsibilities attached with it, are your self-esteem able to handle such weight?

I believe to truly become successful, there must be some altruism involved. What is the point of being a billionaire if you cannot enjoy your success helping others achieve their personal goals?

What is Altruism?

Altruism at its core is simply the selfless regard for or devotion for the welfare of others, it usually involves behaviors or decisions that are not beneficial and may even be harmful but it helps the general well-being of those around them. A great example of altruist behavior in the business world is Warren Buffet giving away his billions of dollars to the betterment of humanity through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. How is this altruistic? Well, the selfish response would be to keep that in trusts so that every Buffet for the next thousand years or more can live the life of a GOD, which would dramatically increase their reproductive success in this world given the right circumstances. He could also just cash in all his stocks and build a base on the moon if he so desired! I believe this is also a fantastic act of altruism because he is giving to a cause that will benefit millions of people around the world. His legacy won’t be a moon base but allowing people to get surgeries so they can see again, giving opportunity to those born in the worst of circumstances and best of all, he is still alive to see how his vast wealth benefits others!

Another great example of altruist behavior is Mother Teresa who gave every part of her being to fulfilling her mission to help those less fortunate then her even while she had great doubts about the existence of God throughout her career. She was giving back to the human race even though she suffered severe bouts of depression, gave up on her reproductive success to pass on her genes and lived a rather difficult life.

Are only humans capable of Altruism?

The strict definition of altruism is giving of oneself to better your species (reading between the lines: this is only a human trait) but I believe this is too narrow a definition, as we all share this planet with one another,. Altruism, to me indicates giving of oneself for the betterment of our entire ecosystem. I found this great example to illustrate this case, a baby duck feeding carp! You can’t get more altruist then that… the baby duck is giving food to a fish! I am sure it isn’t a conscious decision to give away food but regardless, putting a human emotion onto non-human species can’t be ignored, even if it’s a big no-no to the scientifically educated.

Altruism as a business model

Of course, there is also non-profit foundations and organizations all around the world where the business model is to HELP mankind instead of trying to derive a profit from it. Great examples are UNICEF (a United Nations Organization), Mozilla Foundation (firefox, thunderbird), Craiglist (run by Craig Newmark who has refused too many buyout opportunities to count), NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations)that work where even governments won’t step foot in. I could list probably hundreds of thousands of these type of organizations but suffice it to say, altruism as a business model is alive and doing very well!

Love of Altruism

If you love to help others, and derive great pleasure from it… is it still altruism? Why the heck not? I say, if you can create a profitable business that help better the lives of those around the world, why not. Just because you derive great pleasure from doing these types of activities doesn’t lessen the selflessness of an act.

The Bottom Line

Altruism is contagious among the right people, why not begin with yourself?

Sudan is Africa’s largest country but has been strife with war for decades as has much of Africa. Muslims use to live side by side with their Arabian friends for centuries within the Darfur region but when great oil wealth was discovered this all changed for the worse. Sadly, Darfur has been characterized as a Rwanda going in slow motion and still, even to this day, little has been done to stem the tide of death and rape.

Background

Sadly, our colonial raping of the continent of Africa continues to this day but slavery has been replaced by something far worse, indifference. We are all responsible for what is occurring as the precious commodity that sparked this tragedy is what goes into your gas tank, is molded into your Barbie Dolls and what powers much of the worlds machinery… we are talking about OIL. So far in the 21st century, from Nigeria to Iraq, OIL has been the catalyst to cause so much misery and death.

Summary

I believe this is worth watching but if you don’t have time, here is a summary of the key points outlined in the documentary:

• Darfur is the first genocide of the 21st century and has gone on pretty much unimpeded over the past 4 years
• camps in Chad (neighboring country where many refuges head to for safety) have a 3 week waiting period
• 200 000 dead, 2.5 million forced to move
• the motto of the UN was “Never Again” after what occurred during the Holocaust but the it has been bogged down by political semantics
• Mia Farrow has given thousands of interviews to push Darfur into he forefront of the worlds consciousness, using her celebrity to spread the word
• Mia has traveled to Darfur (Sudan) 7 times so far
• sudanreeves.org is an influential site to bare witness to the genocide within Darfur
• most attacks begin with an uncoordinated areal attack with a retrofitted cargo plane dropping barrels of explosives onto a village to cause panic followed by the Jajaweed coming into the village by camel, killing the men and raping the woman before moving onto the next village
• in 2003, the security council got together to discuss reports about mass killings happening within Darfur, a province of Sudan
• China partnered with Sudan after oil was discovered in the 21st century and has becoming one of their biggest offshore suppliers
• when oil wealth came into being due to historic agreements in China, the ruling military elite became extremely wealthy as they kept this wealth to themselves with little making its way into the region of Darfur
• Darfur region was comprised of 6 million Muslims use to share scarce water resources with nomadic Arabian herdsmen
• rebel groups formed to claim a share of the countries new found wealth from the ruling elite but instead of sharing, the ruling elite decided to wage war against the rebels by arming militias to do the dirty work, the Janjaweed
• Janjaweed translates to “devil on horseback”
• government arms the Arabs to kill off the Muslims, no more sharing of resources
• government used the Arabs because its a cheap way to wage war, they loot instead of receiving a salary and they reposes land by force
• in 2004 the Muslims thought the UN was coming to rescue them from systematic annihilation but now they have realized that the UN doesn’t care about them
• by 2007, camps in Eastern Chad and Western Sudan comprise of most of the settlements within that region
• the UN provides aid but fails to do anything to prevent the problems causing refuges needing the camps to begin with
• by the end of 2003, 700 000 people in Darfur where forced from their homes
• by 2004, areal photographs showed villages burning to the ground followed by a number of alarming reports
• 200 000 to 500 000 people so far are estimated to have been killed during the conflict so far
• in the book A Problem from Hell – America and the Age of Genocide, Samantha Power shows that world governments have a history of being shy to intervening when genocide is occurring even when faced with overwhelming proof, they want it stopped but don’t want to take risks
• the UN sat idly by as Bosnia and Rwanda occurred, when Sudan began to occur, the lessons learned from past failures regarding genocide where not practiced
• the United Nations security council is the most powerful council within the UN but sadly, it’s also where most of the politics of inaction towards Sudan took place
• Russia couldn’t condemn Sudan because it was doing the same thing in Chechnya, United States wanted action but it lost status due to its carelessness within Iraq, China didn’t want to do anything that would affect its relationship with the Sudanese government providing it with much needed oil
• Sudan ignored security council resolutions and suffered NO REPROCUSIONS
• on September 9th, 2004, Colin Powell told the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee that genocide had occurred within Sudan and the Sudanese government along with the Janjaweed bear responsibility for what was occurring
• war crimes and crimes against humanity where discovered within Darfur by the UN after extensive investigations but still nothing has happened
• woman living in camps within Chad and Sudan risk rape daily simply because they need to leave the camps to gather firewood to feed their family
• Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem, the Sudanese Ambassador to the UN, said much of the genocide occuring is blown out of proportion and made up, they say bad things happen during war and that is basically the way life goes
• in 2005, the UN continued to talk about what is happening within Sudan and the government didn’t do anything while the Security Council was in a stalemate
• the UN doesn’t have the ability to enter a country against the governments wishes
• it took 5 years of Canadian advocacy before the UN passed a resolution allowing it to enter sovereign states without their permission during the world summit in 2005, it now had the authority to enter a country and protect its citizens from their own government
• in 2006, 8 resolutions happened against Sudan (7 in 2005, 4 in 2004) and they where systematically ignored like the previous ones by the Sudanese government
• one of the resolutions allowed the UN to enter by force to protect the populations within Darfur but China added a demand that it must be done with the approval by Sudan, which Sudan then declined
• the problems within Darfur has now spread into Chad, turning the border between the two country into a new killing field
• Chad is the 5th poorest country in the world but now they have the Janjaweed to worry about in addition to abject poverty and malnutrition
• on the United States Mall, in Washington, The worlds largest antigenocide rally occurred in May 2006 with many celebrities trying to highlight the cause including George Clooney
• in 2007, the Janjaweed and Sudanese leader where indited by the International Criminal Court (world court) for crimes against humanity but the Sudanese government said it would not hand over these two criminals
• Olympic Games in China called by some the “Genocide Olympics” to make China personally responsible for the Genocide occurring in Sudan due to its direct investments in Sudanese Oil which was the cause of this genocide to begin with
• on July 31st, 2007, there is an agreement within the UN Security Council to send 26 000 troops to Darfur by the end of the year but there is no mandate to protect the citizens nor disarming the Janjaweed

What can YOU do?

There are a number of websites dedicated towards making genocide a thing of the past, here are a few of the more well known ones.

http://www.darfurgenocide.org

http://www.genocideintervention.net

http://www.sudanreeves.org

The Bottom Line

Todays oil is tomorrow water, hopefully we become more civilized before this transition takes place.

Watch the documentary at:
http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/darfur/video.html

Entrepreneurship is a muscle that must constantly be exercised, otherwise, the sparks stop flying and igniting other fires! As part of this regimen, I am happy to announce that I have launched WoodMarvels.com to the world. I have been reading about product recalls due to lead in childrens toys and I decided to take the initiative to do something about it. Although the idea came to me a few years ago, technology, media attention and lifes circumstances prompted to push this idea a little further along.

You can read more about this by visiting WoodMarvels.com or see visit other i3DS International Corporation properties.

Many people setup goals in their life but once they are achieved, go into free fall with the problem being that they never thought of what happens once a goal is vanquished to the past.

Goals are Important

I believe that a life without goals is a life without meaning. Our species has evolved to the point where, for those of us lucky enough to be born in an affluent country, having a place to live and food to eat is taken for granted. This poses the first problem, there is no longer any motivation to do much of anything as much is given for mediocre performance. The second problem is that we are taught, from a young age, that you need to work you way up the corporate ladder or win the lottery to have any type of happiness or success in life… don’t believe it! This is a problem because most of us will not follow this route, as a result, many give up on the life of their dreams because it doesn’t follow the mold marketed to us by mass society. The third problem with goals is simply a state of balance, if they are too easy, they are meaningless, if they take too long, people give up… that fine middle ground is tough to achieve.

Inspiration + Motivation + Dedication = Goal

Here is my benchmark for solving the third problem outlined above, the first two are up to you to figure out. I have learned that simply giving answers without forcing thought is a futile effort for both involved. How to decide if a goal is worth your time and effort? Easy, first, you need an idea, an “damn, I wish I thought of that years ago” moment, now, if you remember this, without writing it down over several days you have the ambers that may grow into a raging fire. That raging fire? MOTIVATION, you see, it isn’t good enough to simply have a great idea, you need to feel an internal push to spend more and more energy towards making something happen. This can be anything, from trying to loose weight to saving up enough money to purchase your next house. Alright, you got a great idea and motivation but without dedication, the first two will die off. So what is dedication? Dedication is the ability to not only sustain the fires of motivation but also, systemically, develop new ambers. For any fire to remain viable, you need to keep adding more fuel. When is a goal worth while? When you have an idea that becomes ingrained in your head which you cannot stop working on and, most importantly, follow through with even when things don’t look so good.

Now what?

Alright, you are fast approaching your goal, whatever that may be, you need to switch gears now before it’s too late. Remember that overwhelming drive that took over many aspects of your life, well, that is about to come to a screeching halt. You need to run off, yes, stop ALL work on your goal for a few days (good time for a vacation far away) and gain a new perspective on what you are about to accomplish and figure out the “what’s next”. That may be to further elevate your goal or completely change the road you have taken so far as you see it going towards a brick wall.

The Bottom Line

Goals are not a finishing line, they are a market on the road of life.

There are two types of lies in this world, those you tell yourself and those you tell others… smokers seem to be experts in both! Caring about their health while smoking is one of the biggest.

Drug addicts are all the same

So far, I have talked to smokers from Canada, United States, Australia, Malaysia, Japan and Korea over an extended period of time and the excuses are all the same. They seem to relish describing how “addicted” or “hardcore” they are. I was talking to one addict yesterday and they where quite proud to say their breath smelled like that of an ash tray… interesting, another from Australia told me exactly the same thing while I was in that country! Here are some fantastically delusional lies you can expect to hear from a smoker (feel free to add more):

I can quit anytime

If this where true, they could quit right now but just try to get enough guts and throw their pack away in front of them… they will run like a squirrel right into the bin to get them. I know… I have done this several times with the same results.

I don’t smoke that much

Sadly, the effects of smoking both primary and second (onto non-smokers) is cumulative. You won’t die right away from emphysema or COD but I wouldn’t want to be a lung in a smokers body after a few decades of continual self-poisoning.

I feel fine

Next time a drug addict tells you that they feel fine, ask them to join you for a hike up a sizable hill… their tune will change guaranteed. The reason they feel fine is because they are use to living in a marginalized body, not because they are actually “fine”.

It helps me keep my shape (slim)

There are two ways to keep your body in shape, one is to exercise and the other is to under-feed it. Sure, smoking is keeping you slim, but guess what, you can accomplish far more by working out and quitting smoking then otherwise. What you are doing is actually starving your body, making it waste resources trying to clean the crap out of the air you take in instead of improving or optimizing it.

My father/mother/uncle smoked till they where 90 years old!

George Burns also smoked a cigar until he hit 100 years old, sure, there are some people out there with wonder genetics but odds are, you don’t have them. Imagine if George Burns never smoked, he might still be alive today! Regardless of how you cut it, smoking WILL reduce not only your lifespan but the quality of the live you live dramatically with time.

Smokers Facing Death

I had a grandfather who I wish everyday never smoked because he died a painful death over several years, his body was fine but his lungs where shot from a live addicted to cigarettes. Now, this week, I got news that one of my uncles, one who saw what my grandfather went through his final years, has been diagnosed with lunch cancer caused by smoking. My grandfather openly admitted that if he ever got a lung transplant that the first thing he would to is smoke and oddly, my uncle, even while at hospital surrounded by smokers slowly fading away, still had the conscience to go… you guessed it right… smoke in hiding! Each and every smokers has to face up to the fact that one day, guaranteed, they will face their maker far sooner then anticipated due to a slow, selfish, purposeful self-poisoning of the very body they inhabit.

Unfunny Joke

Here is an unfunny joke I seem to repeat to myself just about every time I see somebody smoking. What is the difference between a smoker and a junkie? One uses a legal substance. Sad isn’t it… mentally, a junkie is in the same place as a smoker.

How do I treat smokers?

I take my health very seriously, to the point that if I find out a friend smokes, they are no longer somebody I associate myself with. I would honestly prefer to be alone the rest of my life then to spend it with somebody hell bent on destroying their health. There is no sugar coating things, smokers have a death wish but are too much of a coward to get it over with, instead, they drag the emotions of those around them into the hole they inhabit. My only exception to this “banish them from my sight” rule is family but then I try to spend my time outdoors with them as much as possible, limiting exposure to second-hand smoke. Would I ever hire somebody who smoked? Nope, politically correct or not, why the hell would I want to invest my time and resources into somebody who doesn’t give a damn about themselves?

Spiders on Drugs

To some, alright, many out there, this may seem kinda harsh but I live my life by many simple rules, at the top of my list is that if you don’t care about yourself, then I don’t care about you. I do have a very well developed sense of humor so here is something to lighten up the mood on a serious topic. The effect of drugs on spiders! If you can’t laugh at even the worst of things, then the thoughts that follow them have no way out of your head.

The Bottom Line

Reversing a denial is the first step towards a successful life.

Forbes has released it’s list of the top 400 billionaires and just to join the club, they had to have a net worth above 1.3 billion dollars US.

Interesting Numbers

The top eight spots on the list was made up of entrepreneurs who, they themselves, accounted for 15% of the total value of the top 400 billionaires in the world. That’s a lot of dough considering the net value of all 400 combined is over a trillion dollars which is in excess of many countries GDP!

The Secrets

Here are a few secrets / lessons that the worlds wealthiest had to share with those of us who aren’t so lucky (yes, luck has a heck of a lot to do with this type of extreme success).

• Mr. Kenny Troutt, with a reported value of 1.3 billion dollars, said that he learned money cannot buy happiness.
• Mr. Richard Rainwater, with a value of 3.5 billion dollars, said that he learned leaving too much money to kids (50 million in this case) isn’t a good thing.
• Mr. Kenneth Hendricks, with a value of 3.5 billion dollars stated that he learned the hard way that not everybody is created equal in the world.
• Mr. Sanford Weill, with a value of 1.8 billion dollars, said the biggest lesson he learned while accumulating his wealth was to learn to deal with problems when they where small before they snowball into major headaches.
• Mr. Burton Smith, with a reported value of 1.5 billion dollars, said that hard work can overcome a lot of incompetence and negatives that are pushed upon a person.
• Mr. Ronald Perelman, with a reported vale of 10 billion dollars stated tthat being at the right place at the right time is what lead to his enormous wealth.
• Mr. James Sorenson, with a value of 4.5 billion dollars, said that investing in yourself is the best way to succeed in life.
• Mr. Donald Trump, with a value estimated to be 3 billion dollars stated that he learned to nail people to the wall if they tried to screw him.
• Mr. Michael Heisley, with a value of 1.3 billion dollars stated that simply being wealthy has been the most corrupting influence in his life.
• Mr. Ken Fisher, with a value of 1.8 billion dollars, said the hardest lesson he learned is that others don’t perceive you the same way you perceive you.
• Mr. Eli Broad, with a reported value of 7 billion dollars, said that he believes the harder you work, the luckier you get in life.
• Mr. John Catsimatidis, with a value of 2.1 billion dollars stated that he learned that some people just rub each other the wrong way for no particular reason.
• Mr. Tim Blixseth, with a value of 1.3 billion dollars said he trusted people too much and it got him in trouble sometimes.
• Sir Richard Branson (not on the list?), his best advice for getting super wealthy is saying “screw it” and follow through!

Where is Sir Richard Branson?

What I found odd about this list is that Forbes left out Sir Richard Branson, of all the billionaires who never call me, he is probably the one that this pains me the most! I really look up to this guy, he takes extreme risks with his businesses, fails a lot but his successes more then make up for it. He is incredibly diversified, from sub-orbital flights to renting out his own homes and overall, a fantastic personality who has almost cult status in the UK. His net worth is estimated to be between 2 and 8 billion dollars yet, he is completely absent from the Forbes 400 list which I find puzzling. Another thing as to why I admire him so much is that he is incredibly honest, he says straight-out without an over-inflated ego that luck got him to where he is now.

The Bottom Line

Being a billionaire has as much to do about luck as it does hard work, but who knows… invest in yourself and the world is open to allowing you to join this very exclusive club.

Buzvia: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/09/19/richest-americans-forbes-lists-richlist07-cx_mm_0920rich_land.html

If you take religion out of the equation, evolution is a rather simple and logical method of explaining life on earth.

What is evolution?

Quite simply, evolution is the process by which new species come into being while for others their entire demise. Think of it this way, let’s say I had 3 arms and it made me not only more attractive to woman around the world but it also allowed me double my lifespan… this mean the genetic information that allowed me to grow a third arm will be passed on to thousands of children who would then pass on this trait to thousands more of their children (and so on). Within a few generational cycles, one person (me) with a genetic abnormality would literally have produced the equivalent of a small city with this specific trait. Put another way, I had more sexual success passing on my trait then those poor two armed fellows, as a result, “more” of me was passed on to future generations… making me an evolutionary success story (and very happy in the process).

Is evolution fast or slow?

There is some debate about this, in the example above, I grew a third arm in one shot and was able to pass this trait rather fast geologically speaking where things occur over millions of years. Some evolutionary characteristics happen fast while others, like dolphins loosing their hind legs (yes, they are still there under their skin) over an extended period of time. Regardless of speed, it’s happening right now within all of us.

Why does evolution happen?

Before you think evolution happens for a reason, it really doesn’t, that same roll of the dice that gave me the third arm could have just as likely given me no head! You see, evolution is completely random. Sometimes people are born with fantastic gifts but never have children while others are born with genetic defects and go on to produce too many offspring. Evolution has no rhyme or reason, it just is. There is no superior mind figuring out the endless calculations and ratio dynamics.

Proof of evolution

Although there is proof of evolution all around us, to all those who aren’t sure, here is proof beyond a reasonable doubt!

The Bottom Line

Watch out… evolution may strike at any time!

Buzvia: http://crunchgear.com/2007/10/05/riverdance-monkey-style/

There are 3 types of businesses out there, the “let’s be the best”, the “let’s make a profit” and then the one in the middle “let’s make it good enough”.

Let’s be the BEST!

These are the companies that innovate, profit is not their motivation, their own reputation to simply stand as a beacon of hope and impressiveness on the rest of the industry is what drives them. Companies that in my opinion fall into this category include the likes of Apple Computers, Home Depot, Rona, the Trump Organization, Cosco, Google, Virgin Group and if I may be so bashful, my own company… basically these companies don’t just impress you with their offerings – they blow you away!

To them, simply waking up in the morning isn’t enough, they are out to change the world… inspiration is their middle name and damn the consequences, they will achieve!

Let’s make a PROFIT

These companies have a plan to make money no matter what, their motivation is money – they don’t innovate unless there is profits in it, every action is dictated by one simple question – how much return will doing this give? There is nothing wrong with these kind of companies but they tend, in my opinion, grow at the expense of others, they are like a thick cloud of smog over a city. There is no humanity, just paper. Companies that fall under this category include the likes of Microsoft, Walmart, Banks, Altria, any alcohol company, Venture Capitalist and Mutual Funds… basically penny pinchers who spend way too much time looking at their bank accounts.

To them, they don’t get out of bed unless there is a profit to be made, they are out to help themselves acquire as much as possible.

Let’s make it “Good Enough”

I have no problem with the companies trying to leave a mark and those looking to make a profit but the middle ground to me, the most frustrating, are companies who try to make things just “good enough”. They don’t innovate, they copy – they try to make a profit but its usually underhanded, as a result they usually don’t last very long in the business world BUT they have incredible powers of re-incarnation. They might go under an entire year (or decade) under one name just to switch to another, bankruptcy is their middle name and ripping people off is their game. Companies that fall under this category are black market dealers of all kinds, the likes of Enron, Bre-X and Worldcom.

To them, they are going after who P. T. Barnum use to describe as “a sucker born everyday”.

Very important question

Now, if you are in business – under which category do you think you fall under? I sure hope its under the first or second as if you are the third, don’t expect to be in business very long
The Bottom Line

In my opinion, unless you are in business to innovate and/or make a profit – you shouldn’t bother opening your door.

“This week with George Stephanopoulos” podcast for September 23rd, 2007 had a very interesting interview with Hillary Clinton regarding her scheme to provide affordable health insurance to all Americans.

Health Care Debate

What I find most interesting is that the United States, the worlds richest country, is still debating this while far poorer nations around the world have been providing universal, relatively free health insurance for all their citizens for decades! France has been offering this for a very long time, at relatively no cost to its citizens, same with the United Kingdom and most European Nations… even Cuba, considerably poorer then the United States offers free, basic health care for all its citizens! Their closest neighbor, Canada, has been offering this for decades and you wonder what the hold-up is with the United States in joining the modern world.

Interview Highlights

Politicians aren’t the most interesting during an interview so I will save your ears by listing key points about her proposal, you can pay me back by telling your friends about myfoodcount.com. Starts off good but then goes to shit once direct questions are asked.

• In 1994, her husband tried and failed to pass a universal health care plan in congress
• quality and affordable health care for everybody is an economic necessity for Americans
• believes she must work with congress in order to produce a plan that can pass legislative hurdles
• name of her plan is the “American Health Choices Plan”
• Americans can keep their current plan or migrate to one that better suits their needs and the poor can migrate into a federal plan for their health care needs
• small business tax credits to provide more affordable plans to their employees
• modernizing the health care system with electronic health records
• she believes the country is more receptive now then in 1994 for a universal health care plan
• she never loss her commitment to be smart economically and morally correct in providing health care, she just learned a lot from the 1994 experience which she applied towards this plan
• individuals must buy health insurance under her plan in order to get a job, she believes in shared responsibility between people and their employers
• doesn’t seem sure about how to implement her plan, saying there is a lot of discussions yet to happen to hammer down the details (presumably this will happen after she is elected into office)
• she answers many of George’s direct questions about her plan with basically a “lots of things in the air at the moment, we will see what drops first when I get elected” type vagueness
• oddly enough, she believes the “just say no” answers by the Republicans is unacceptable yet her “let’s talk about it” approach is, as the results from either approach is the same (so far)
• illegal immigrants are not covered under her plan but she will keep working for a basic safety net

My problems with these answers

Firstly, what is it with this vagueness? I would have thought that something that is so dear to her heart (and her husbands), 13 years after the initial failure of passing American National Health Care reforms that the point would be detailed to the max. Answering direct questions with “discussions need to happen” not only regarding implementation but how much can get through congress isn’t very ensuring.

Secondly, universal health care is just that, universal. Forcing the people who cannot afford health insurance on a federal plan while those of means, onto private plans doesn’t scream of universality.

The Bottom Line

Free, universal health care should be a human right, not a battle ground between the private and public sector.

Well, after much thinking - I have decided to take the opportunity that was presented to me when we experienced headache after headache migrating myfoodcount.com to a new home. The opportunity? Well, to shut down memberships on a 4 year old site that was growing in popularity and traffic. I have turned myfoodcount.com into an information only site.

Why?

Five years of patches, rewrites and upgrades have made the entire system increasingly messy. Like an old house, it either needed a major renovation to each and every room or be blown apart. A lot has changed in the past 4 years, and I plan on building something that will take advantage of all this and more. As a result, the entire “dynamic - members only” section will be put to rest, but out of these ashes, a legendary Phoenix will be reborn.

What now?

Well, in the meantime, while I allow myself to absorb the ramifications of this decision not only within myself but also to our membership, my motivation that lead me to build myfoodcount.com hasn’t changed… I will now focus my attention on the blog and rebuilding something that can truly be legendary. To say that lessons where learned from myfoodcount.com over the past years is an understatement… and now each and every one of them will be applied towards making something far more grand than just health… LIFE!

Thanks for the lessons!

I thank all our members for their patronage whom ever they are (the site was completely anonymous, so I don’t know who you are). This is not a time of sadness, but of great opportunity, the more I worked on myfoodcount.com, the more I realized how expansive health really is! Your goals, aspirations and motivations in life have as much to do with your mental outlook as they do physical… trying to separate these two is simply impossible. I am no longer fighting within myself to do this, I see them as one unified “being” that needs to be cross-linked to be made sense of.

The Bottom Line

Don’t fear change, embrace it.