Improve-U

Lazy Consequence

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:33:00 +0000

Between pupils that learn in Aristoteles found a very lazy.

When warned by the teacher, he proposes the reason, "What must i do? I don't have willpower to read, and doesn't has patience towards exhaustion with saturation learn. "

Then, Aristoteles say to the pupil that lazy, "If such, have no other way for you later except you must patient face misery and idiocy."

Dare formerly, skilled new

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:34:00 +0000

"Only they are that dare to fail can reaches success." (Robert F. kennedy)

I the can it only prepare coffee or boil water, but final i can has also restaurant. That is because, i have courage.

Moment i speak in lecture entrepreneurship at faculty of economics a special province yogyakarta private university, i am interrogating student universities, "what a to be that entrepreneur has know-how formerly?"

I am taste, this is good question. Question same ever also descend upon my brain, that is moment i am new begins to be entrepreneur. Moment this question me inverts in them, yata a large part student university says: " necessary skilled formerly, new dare to begin effort. "

i am their answer taste can not be imputed. they are inclined use rational brain. while follow me, to be entrepreneur, we must dare formerly begin effort, new afterwards has know-how. not on the contrary, skilled formerly, new dare to begin effort.

because, i see in indonesia, this is sebenarya a lot of unemployment by dozens has certain know-how. but, they don't have courage begins effort. finally, know-how that has what that memperolehnya moment school or work previous, final a lot is not maked use. That is a pity.

Such as those which i am natural self, moment open king essence field restaurant effort. I say in them, that then bright i can not make delicious field dish. I am getting field dish. But i don't know the flavor everything that make dish delicious. I say in them, "i the can it only prepare coffee or boil water. That mean to what? i can has restaurant effort, because i have courage.

So also, moment i am formerly open guidance effort learns primagama (instution that help student in their study). I am never teach or be tentor in other place. Even i am never be employee at company another person. But, i embolden self to open effort. Because, i have a notion, if we don't have know-how, so many people other skilled at the areas can be our effort partner.

Therefore for me, above all courage formerly open effort. Whatever the kind, whatever the name. Because, actually, to be entrepreneur, know-how is not all. But courage begin effort that's that must we have beforehand.

Many examples, one who successful be manager, but obvious not yet sure successful as entrepreneur. On the contrary, somebody at beginning begin effort without has know-how manajerial, but he has courage begins effort, a lot obvious success. This latest kind person is besides has courage, also want to develop soul entrepreneur. By because that's i guess, soul entrepreneur, must we get up or we are form since beginning.

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 9

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:27:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

Lifestyle and Type 2 Diabetes

You can see now why lifestyle is so important in causing (and potentially preventing) type 2 diabetes. During the same time that our lifestyle has changed, type 2 diabetes has transformed from a disease that was barely recognized to one that affects 8 percent of the entire adult population, 13 percent of those older than forty, and 20 percent of those older than sixty-five. Being obese substantially increases the risk of developing diabetes, but even being a little bit overweight increases the chances of developing diabetes.

Similarly, our sedentary lifestyle, independent of obesity, increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Inactivity leads to imnlin resistance and prediabetes, both of which lead to type 2 diabetes. Some of the pernicious effects of inactivity are secondary to obesity, but inactivity also makes our muscles less sensitive to the effects of insulin.

In addition to advancing age, being overweight or obese, and inactivity, inheritance plays a large role in diabetes. Although all of the specific genes that underlie obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and diabetes have not been identified, it is clear that the risk of developing these conditions and diseases is inherited. But how can we explain the widespread inheritance of diseases, the effects of which are so devastating? How would Darwin explain the natural selection process that leads to diabetes? The widespread inheritance of risk for obesity, diabetes, and the insulin resistance that underlies much of type 2 diabetes does make sense according to a theory called the "thrifty gene hypothesis." Until just a few centuries ago, human beings lived in peril of famine. During times of famine, "thrifty" genes that decreased energy expenditure were highly advantageous to human survival: because the energy people took in was small, and because of difficulty in finding food, burning less energy protected people against starvation.

However, according to the thrifty gene hypothesis, genes that protect us during famine make us vulnerable when food is plentiful. An adaptive response has become maladaptive. Put another way, genes that protected our primate ancestors for nearly a million years have made our species vulnerable in the past few hundred years because, for most of us, food has become readily available and the need to do hard physical work has been reduced. The consequences of this maladaptive response are profound. Obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome-and the cardiovascular disease that accompanies them-represent the major public health problems not only in the Western world but increasingly in Asia, Africa, and South America. The inherited propensity to develop type 2 diabetes emerges when unhealthy hfestyle changes and obesity come into play. If a person with a genetic risk for type 2 diabetes doesn't become obese, the disease may never develop.

We cannot change our "thrifty" genes, but we can change our lifestyle. Moreover, there is now hard data-most notably from the multicenter Diabetes Prevention Program study-showing that lifestyle changes really work. You don't need to eat only certain types of foods or train for a marathon. Very simple changes that nearly anyone can make are clinically proven to protect against the metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and diabetes. The rest of this book will tell you what those changes are and show you how to incorporate them into your life.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 8

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:27:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

How Our Lifestyle Has Made Us Vulnerable to Diabetes

In 1985, an estimated 30 million cases of diabetes existed worldwide. This number increased to 177 million in 2000 and is estimated to rise to at least 370 million by 2030, almost all from type 2 diabetes associated with aging, obesity, and inactivity. In the United States, the numbers of cases of diabetes and obesity have risen in parallel. Diabetes and prediabetes affect IS million and almost 40 million persons, respectively, and the metabolic syndrome affects almost 25 percent of the U.S. population.

It is all too easy to ascribe these alarming statistics to the increased numbers of the very obese and the very old. But only about 2.3 percent of the population is severely obese and only 3.3 percent of the population is older than eighty-small percentages. The major public health problem is not caused by very large or very old people. Most cases of diabetes and prediabetes are caused by the ever-increasing population that is overweight or only modestly obese. The fraction of the U.S. population in 2000 that was overweight (defined as a body mass index, or BMI, between 25 and 30) increased to almost 35 percent, and the fraction that was obese (BMI of 30 or greater) increased from 13 percent in 1960 to almost 31 percent in 2000. (See sidebar on measuring your BMI.) Thus, the fraction of the U.S. population that is either overweight or obese has risen to an astounding 65 percent.

Are You a Healthy Weight? Measuring Your BMI

Body mass index, or BMI, is a convenient measure of whether your weight is appropriate for your height. Because taller people will weigh more than shorter people, the calculation takes your weight (in kilograms), divides it by your height (in meters squared), and comes up with a measure in kg/m2. The calculation can also be performed if you know your weight and height only in pounds and feet and inches, respectively (see Table 1.4).

The BMI provides a measure of weight for height; it does not provide a direct measure of obesity, meaning who has excess body fat. Nevertheless, for the vast majority of people, a high BMI (between 25 and 30 is defined as being overweight, and 30 or above is considered obese) is synonymous with having too much body fat. Rarely, bodybuilders and other trained athletes may have "excess" weight and a high BMI that is composed not of fat but of muscle. For most of us, this is not the case.

Estimating Your Body Mass Index (BMI)

You can use Table 1.4 to estimate your body mass index. First, select your weight (to the nearest ten pounds) in one of the columns across the top. Then move your finger down the column until you come to the row that represents your height. Inside the square where your weight and height meet is a number that is an estimateof your BMI. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and are five feet seven inches, your BMI is 25.

Industrialized Society Disease in the "Third World"

The changes in lifestyle in North America and Europe have occurred slowly over centuries, but today we can see those changes as in time-lapse "photography." Take for example the island of Nauru, in the Central Pacific. Until the 1950s, Nauru island lifestyle consisted of very limited subsistence farming as well as fishing. Diets were largely composed of fish, island vegetables, and plantains. The people were largely cut off from the outside world, and there was little in the way of industry.

Around 1960, investors recognized that Nauru's phosphate-rich soil held great financial potential as fertilizer. By 1976, the small population of Nauru was one of the wealthiest in the world. The toil of farming and fishing disappeared in a single generation. Motorbikes and cars replaced walking as the common mode of transportation, imported food was sold in the grocery stores, and electric appliances and televisions became commonplace.

The impact of this sudden and dramatic change in the lifestyle of the citizens of Nauru was profound. Before industrialization, obesity and diabetes were virtually unknown; however, by 1976, the average Nauruan was obese. The obesity and inactivity were a potent combination: 34.4 percent of the population had developed diabetes.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 7

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:25:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

Why Type 2 Diabetes Is Becoming More Common

If all of human history was represented by a twenty-four-hour day, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries would be the last twelve minutes of that day. Yet in that blink of a geological eye, our lifestyle has changed more than in the previous hundred thousand years. The implications of our current environment are still playing out, but we are already seeing adaptations to out new industrialized lifestyle that aren't necessarily good. Simply put, we're moving our bodies less, eating mote, and eating more of the wrong foods.

We're Moving Less: From Farm Worker to Couch Potato

The industrial revolution changed the type and amount of work we perform. Before the industrial revolution, most of us did labor-intensive, physically taxing work. Increasingly, machines have reduced the hard physical work we have to do. "I'm going to work" has a very different meaning now from the meaning it had one hundred years ago. Fewer and fewer of us perform physical labor, and more and more of us sit at desks for most of the day.

The clearest example of this shift in the work we do is in agriculture. In the 1700s, more than 90 percent of the U.S. workforce finned to grow their own food. Two hundred years later, automated, mechanized manufacturing has reduced the number of people working on farms to about 1 percent of the workforce. Instead of finning, more people became factory workers, building the tractors and other farm equipment that would streamline finning, making it more efficient and a less physically taxing way of life. Not only was a smaller fraction of the population engaged in farming, but farming had changed. The hard-featured, gaunt firmer of the Grant Wood painting was replaced, at least to some extent, by an overweight firmer driving an air-conditioned combine and single-handedly harvesting many acres of com or wheat in a day. Although the fraction of the population working as farmers in the United States has decreased by more than 90 percent since the founding of the nation, these farmers now raise enough food to feed much of the world.

Labor-saving devices-tractors, forklifts, assembly lines, riding mowers, snow blowers, vacuum cleaners, and paint sprayers-have made not only farming but all of our physical activities less demanding. Granted, these advances have left us with more time for leisure activity. But the vast majority of us are not playing more tag football, planting more tulip bulbs, or taking more walks around the block after dinner. Instead, we're watching television, playing video games, and surfing the Internet. Sedentary activities occupy far more hours of the day for most people than physical ones do.

A recent analysis of the National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS) paints a clear but startling picture of our culture. The NHAPS surveyed 7,515 adults between October 1992 and September 1994. Study volunteers were asked to record everything they did and for how long. Not surprisingly, people spent the most hours sleeping or napping (about eight hours per day on average). But during waking hours, the top six activities (based on the number of hours people spent doing them and energy burned) were driving a car, doing office work (filing, typing), witching TV or movies (at home or in a theater), taking care of children (feeding, bathing, dressing), doing activities while sitting quietly, and eating. On any given day, only 14 percent of the population spent any lime performing leisure-time physical activity (for example, swimming or planned "exercise").

While activity levels vary from person to person, it's clear that out world discourages movement. In addition to changes in the workplace and at home, schools have scaled back physical education programs (daily participation in high school physical education classes dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 29 percent in 1999). Americans spend more time at work, albeit in sedentary jobs, when compared to other developed countries, which puts the squeeze on time that could be spent in physical endeavors. And between 1990 and 2000 the number of people who commuted for more than thirty minutes per day increased from roughly 20 percent to nearly 34 percent. Even when we do have free time, we tend to use it passively. According to NHAPS, adults spend nearly three hours per day watching TV or a movie, and nearly an hour and a balf each day on "activities performed by sitting quietly." As a culture, we're growing roots to the sofa.

We're Eating More than We Need to: From Famine to Buffets

What Is a Calorie
The terms no carb, low carb, low fat, end high protein have all but elbowed the word calorie out of our vocabulary. In fact, few people even know what It means. A calorie is a measure of heat and reflects energy quantity or expenditure. The amount of energy contained in food is expressed in calories. Similarly, the amount of heat given off by your body is expressed as calories expended or "burned." Using this common term for heat, or energy allow us to calculate the balance between the amount of energy contained in food we eat and the amount of energy that we expend doing specific activities—or just lying around.

Because of the mechanization of farming, food is more plentiful and more affordable than ever before. For example, fish production and the available supply of vegecables per capita have doubled in the past thirty years, exceeding population growth. Despite the abundance of fresh produce, the fraction of total calories people derive from dietary fat and the consumption of saturated fat, both of which are associated with heart disease, remain highest in North America and Europe.

While the availability of large quantities of food is obviously not in itself a had thing, it has set the stage-or the table-for ovemutrition. That is, most of us take in more calories than we burn. Not only is there plenty to eat, hut we don't have to expend much energy to obtain a meal. The farmer's lifestyle, where every calorie consumed was balanced by a similar expenditure of energy to grow the food, has all but disappeared.

In other words, it isn't just the fast-food burger joint that's die problem. Most of the inconvenience and much of the work required to obtain and prepare food have been reduced. Very few of us hunt or farm for our next meal. Even fewer have to build and maintain a fire to cook, pump water by hand, or even wash dishes by hand. Supermarkets have made grocery shopping easier. One-stop shopping often includes conveyor belts that deliver the food into the trunks of our cars (or home-delivery services that bring food right to our doors). Freezers with large storage capacity decrease the frequency of shopping, microwave cooking makes food preparation faster and easier, and dishwashers make cleaning up nearly effortless. Vending machines and convenience stores also make access to food incredibly easy and require virtually no expenditure of calories. We no longer have to work-meaning to perform physical labor-to obtain or prepare our food.

But that's only half of this story. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans are eating more than ever (see Table 1.2). Where do these excess calories come tram? It's not just what we eat but how much. Serving sizes have increased, both in the home and especially when eating out. Prepared foods such as Hungry-Man-sized TV dinners (a dangerous combination if ever there was one) and "single-serving" portions of prepared foods, such as soups, have almost doubled in size. Over the past twenty years, the size and caloric content of the average egg, bagel, muffin, preformed hamburger patty, and doughnut have grown by 20 to 50 percent. We have become accustomed to giant, economy-size packaging and portions.

On average, Americans eat one in three daily meals out of the home, and competition for customers has resulted in a virtual war to provide large quantities of relatively inexpensive food in fast-food and other restaurants. High-calorie meals abound in fast-food restaurants, an American invention of the 1950s. Hamburgers have become cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, double-bacon cheeseburgers, and "truck burgers" (with a fried egg on top). Steak restaurants offer sixteen-, twenty-four-, and even thirty-two-ounce steaks and prime ribs. A typical restaurant prime rib provides 3,410 calories-2,200 of them (or 65 percent) from fat. That's nearly all the calories you would need to survive nicely for two days. All-you-can-eat buffets, pizzas with cheese injected into the crust that come with a pastry dessert as a freebie on the side, and ninety-six-ounce sodas (which exceed the volume of the normal human stomach) are but a few other examples. (See Table 1.3)

We're Eating the Wrong Foods

Not only are we eating too much food, but too many meals contain the wrong kinds of food. Processed, high-fat, low-fiber foods with refined sugars are inexpensive and easy to quickly grab almost anywhere. Unfortunately, they make up a large part of the American diet and are loaded with saturated and trans fats, both of which are associated with atherosclerosis and heart disease. Even single-serving packages of potato chips, nuts, and cheese crackers routinely have 250 to 400 calories with 35 to 50 percent derived from fat. On a recent four-hour crosscountry flight, I was given a snack box that contained a 0.5-ounce bag of potato chips, 1.35 ounces of cheese crackers, a 0.5-ounce box of raisins, a 0.7-ounce package of cookies, and a chocobte bar. This totaled 500 calories-45 percent from fat (twenty-five grams of fat, six grains of which were saturated) and 48 percent (sixty grams) from carbohydrate. My total energy expenditure during the flight amounted to approximately 350 calories (1 sat in my seat with no physical activity other than the "work" of changing the movie).

Many of us eat fast food at least several times a week. Table 1.3 gives you a hint of what you're really getting for your dollar.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 6

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:25:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

Why Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome Matter

The ultimate impact on health of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome is through cardiovascular disease. The cluster of features associated with type 2 diabetes or the metabolic syndrome is a highly potent recipe for heart disease and stroke. People with type 2 diabetes or the metabolic syndrome have at least a two to fivefold increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The relative risks are even higher in women with diabetes compared with their counterparts who are nondiabetic.

In addition, in the United States, type 2 diabetes is the major cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, and neurological complications, such as impotence. Type 2 diabetes decreases life span by an average of seven to twelve years.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 4

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes: The Twentieth-and Twenty-First-Century Epidemic

For years, type 2 diabetes was called adult-onset diabetes because it usually begins later in life. In recent years, however, as more children have become heavier at earlier ages, type 2 diabetes has increasingly been seen in teenagers and young adults. Of all people with diabetes, more than 90 percent have type 2 diabetes. Unlike type 1 diabetes, the development of type 2 diabetes is strongly influenced by lifestyle.

There are two underlying causes of type 2 diabetes. One is the development of inmlin resistance. This condition causes the tissues of the body to become less sensitive to the effects of inmlin As a result, sugar circulating in the blood does not leave the blood and enter the body's cells as easily. For the blood sugar to be lowered effectively and for the other "jobs" of insulin to be carried out, more inmlin is required. The second cause of type 2 diabetes is the inability to increase insulin to cope with increased demand. Inmlin resistance, decreased insulin secretion, or both can result in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Various factors contribute to insulin resistance: being over weight, advancing age, a sedentary lifestyle, an inherited susceptibility, and certain hormonal conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome. We don't completely understand why insulin resistance develops, and there is probably more than one explanation, but recent research suggests that fat cells produce chemicals that cause tissues to resist the effects of insulin. More fat cells, as in obesity, make more of these chemicals. As a result, sugar can't move into cells and begins to accumulate in the blood, especially after meals. The rising blood-sugar levels drive the beta cells to produce mote and more insulin to help push the sugar into the cells where it is needed. And since rising blood-sugar levels also worsen insulin resistance, a vicious cycle begins.

An estimated forty million people in the United States have insulin resistance or prediabetes. They have minimally elevated sugar levels because the pancreas is able to keep making enough. insulin. However, in 25 to 50 percent, the pancreas, after many years of overwork, slowly loses the ability to maintain these high levels of insulin. It can still make insulin, but not enough to keep blood-sugar levels in the normal range. Over time, blood-sugar levels drift up, resulting in diabetes.

Sometimes, the elevated blood-sugar levels lead to the usual symptoms of diabetes that patients with type 1 diabetes develop: frequent and excessive urination, increased thirst, fatigue, and weight loss. However, in many people who progress from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes, the rise in blood-sugar levels is insidious and may not cause any symptoms. This helps explain why as many as one-third of the people who have type 2 diabetes don't even know that they have it and why the diagnosis is often delayed by as much as nine to twelve years. It is important to identify blood-sugar problems early on so that you can begin a program to prevent diabetes or if you already have it so you can begin to take care of it and prevent its complications. As with type 1 diabetes, tight control of blood-sugar levels is required to prevent serious and even life-threatening complications.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 5

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

Metabolic Syndrome: Diabetes Plus

Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of problems that often includes diabetes or prediabetes. What are the other conditions? Being overweight, especially when extra pounds accumulate around the midsection; having high or borderline-high blood pressure; having high triglyceride levels; and having low HDL (good) cholesterol. Specifically, you have metabolic syndrome if you have diabetes or prediabetes and two or more of the following:

A large waist (forty inches or more for men and thirty-four inches or more for women)

Borderline or high hlood pressure (greater than or equal to 130/85 mmHg}

A high level of triglycerides (greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL)

Low HDL (under 40 mg/dL for men or under 50 mg/dL for women)

It's easy to overlook or brush aside the health implications of a few extra pounds. Or of blood pressure creeping toward the high end of the normal range. Or of slowly rising levels of hlood fats. Ignoring the cluster, though, is a big mistake. Doctors and researchers think that the impact of the metabolic syndrome on health is more than the sum of its parts. Over the years, this collection of health risks has gone by many names. Besides the "deadly quartet," it has also been called syndrome X, insulin-resistance syndrome, diabesity, and the dysmetabohc syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome, although not as flashy or memorable as some of the other names, is the term used by most clinicians and researchers today.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 3

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

The two main forms of diabetes are called type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Although they have different causes and, to a great extent, affect different categories of people, they share three main features.

First, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are both characterized by metabolic abnormalities that include high levels of blood sugar in the circulation, as well as increased levels of other nutrient breakdown products that are released from their storage sites. See Table 1.1. Second, decreased insulin secretion or a decreased sensitivity to inmlin action is the reason for these metabolic abnormalities. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the body makes no or very little insulin because the insulin-secreting islets have been harmed or destroyed. In type 2 diabetes, the body cannot meet the increased insulin demands brought on by a condition called insulin resistance.

Third, both types of diabetes can result in long-term complications that affect the small vessels of the eyes, kidneys, and nervous system. These complications are related to the high levels of blood sugar that ate sustained over time and can result in serious damage such as blindness, kidney failure, foot ulcers and amputations, and the dysfunction of other organs. Both types of diabetes also substantially increase the risk of developing heart disease and stroke. In the short term, very high blood sugars, if not treated, can lead to severe dehydration and can cause confusion, coma, and even death.

Even with their shared features, the two types of diabetes are quite different in many respects. Type 1 diabetes characteristically occurs in children and young adults (it was once called juvenile-onset diabetes) and requires treatment with insulin for survival (type 1 also used to be called insulin-dependent diabetes). In type 1 diabetes, the body's immune system attacks the pancreas. This autoimmune attack destroys the beta cells, leaving them unable to make insulin.

The causes of type 1 diabetes are not fully understood. We don't know what triggers the immune system to start attacking the pancreas, although certain inherited genes can make you more vulnerable. However we do know that type 1 diabetes is not primarily caused by lifestyle, being overweight, or obesity; however, controlling body weight and exercising regularly are important parts of the treatment. Maintaining; blood-sugar levels as close to the nondiabetic range as possible is critical to avoid long-term complications.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:48:00 +0000

Blood Sugar and Insulin: The Basics

You need to know a little about normal metabolism to understand how so many of us are developing prediabetes and then diabetes. Metabolism represents the body's processes that direct energy into storage, such as in fat, or into fueling normal growth, development, and physical activity. Carbohydrates (including complex starches and simple sugars), fat, and protein are the three nutrient groups in our diet that provide the energy and building blocks for metabolism and growth. Carbohydrates and fat provide most of the energy to keep our body's machinery working, including our muscles for locomotion and our vital organs such as brain, liver, heart, lungs, and kidneys.

Carbohydrates are broken down in the intestine into smaller sugars that can be absorbed into the circulation. {See Figure 1.1.) Sugar or glucose is then transported from the blood across the cell wall and into the cell where it is broken down further, providing a major source of energy. Alternatively, sugar may be stored in the liver or muscle as glycogen, which is a complex carbohydrate that serves as an energy reservoir in tunes of energy need. Fatty acids, a breakdown product of dietary fat, are the other major sources of energy. Like glucose, they may provide instant energy for cells or may be stored as fat for later energy release

For sugar to gain entry to most cells, it must be carried across the cell wall by glucose transporters. This is where insulin first comes into play.

Insulin is a hormone, which means it is a protein that is made and secreted by specialized cells and then circulates in the bloodstream and affects other organs and their function. Insulin is made in the pancreas, an organ located in the back of the abdomen. Most of the pancreas makes digestive chemicals that help break down nutrients from your food so that they can be absorbed in the intestine. The pancreas also contains small clusters of cells called "islets." Although different types of specialized cells are in the islets, the most important are the beta cells chat make insulin.

These beta cells can sense the level of sugar in the blood, for example after a meal. When blood-sugar level starts to rise, the beta cells make and secrete insulin, which increases the transport of sugar into the cells and keeps the blood-sugar level from rising too high. But the work of insulin has only just started at that paint. Insulin also stimulates the processes in the cells that direct the storage of sugar as glycogen, the storage of fatty adds as fat, and the use of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. In addition, insulin prevents protein breakdown, fat breakdown, and glycogen breakdown. Therefore, insulin directs the storage of energy and stimulates the building of tissue and growth. (See Fig-ure 1.2.)

When blood-sugar levels fall, insulin production and secretion shut down and all of the processes are reversed: sugar is released from the storage depot instead of stored in muscle and liver; fat is broken down and fatty acids released; and proteins are broken down rather than synthesized. Insulin is like a traffic cop, directing nutrients into storage and growth. When insulin levels are low, the traffic moves in the opposite direction with energy released from its storage sites.

This is what happens in a healthy person. When something disrupts any part of this finely tuned system, there is trouble. Diabetes is by far the most common disease of abnormal metabolism.

Under Beating Diabetes

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating Diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

The Basics: Diabetes and Prediabetes and Why They Are on the Rise - 1

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:53:00 +0000

Under Beating Diabetes

The number of people suffering from type 2 diabetes and related conditions has skyrocketed over the past fifty years. And more and more people have blood-sugar levels that, while not high enough to qualify as diabetes, are too high for good health. This condition goes by the name glucose intolerance, or prediabetes.

If you have normal blood sugars or prediabetes, the program in this book will help you protect your health and perhaps stave off diabetes and its serious long-term complications completely. And if you already have type 2 diabetes, this program can help you take control of your condition, improve your blood-sugar levels, and perhaps enable you to cut back on some of your medications. What you're about to learn is a program for living. It isn't based on drastic changes or extreme recommendations for diet and exercise. Tt is about reversing lifestyle history.

This chapter will begin by explaining what diabetes is, we normally handle the nutrients in our food, and how disturbances in metabolism can affect your overall health. Then we'll discuss why we're facing an epidemic of obesity, prediabetes and diabetes, and heart disease. When you understand how pivotal lifestyle is to these conditions, you'll understand how and why this program can make a difference.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

Beating Diabetes

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:48:00 +0000

Introduction

Like many diseases, diabetes is caused by our genes and our personal environment, which is created by our lifesyle. We cannot yett modify our genes, bu we can modify our lifesyle. Here at Harvard and in medical centers around the world, we and many colleagues have conduced studies involving housands of people who were a risk for developing diabetes or who had diabetes. Tha research proved ha changes in lifesyle-changes ha anyone can make-have enormous power both to prevent and to help treat diabetes.

That is why we wrote this book. We want to share the information from scientific studies with you so that you can make the best choices for your health, whether you have already been diagnosed with diabetes, have been told that you are at risk for it, or simply want to be as healthy as you can be. You are probably bombarded on a daily basis with advertisements, infbmercials, and other advice regarding your health. Our message is based on the most up-to-date scientific data available.

Enormous changes in lifestyles have occurred in the past century. For much of the world's population, subsistence lifestyles, characterized by farming, hunting, and other occupations in which substantial energy had to be expended to obtain food-or the currency to obtain food-have given way to lifestyles in which little physical effort is needed to obtain nutrition. Farming, hunting, and fishing have been replaced by efficient mass production of food with near unlimited quantities available in most places in the world for little effort or expenditure of energy.

As machines and automation have improved, physical labor in factories and trades has been progressively replaced by white-collar jobs. Travel has been made increasingly effortless, threatening to make our feet vestigial organs, except for the need to operate the gas pedals of our cars.

Obviously, the industrial revolution and the technological-computer revolution that followed it have had spectacular benefits for much of the world. However, the changes in lifestyle accompanying these revolutions have a dark side that has spawned epidemics of obesity and diabetes. The consequences of these conditions, including the increasing occurrence of hypertension, abnormal lipid metabolism, and cardiovascular disease, have become the major health problems for much of the world's population in the twenty-first century. These chronic, degenerative diseases have replaced, to a great extent, the infectious diseases of the past two thousand years-such as tuberculosis, cholera, malaria, and the plague-as [he major causes of illness and death in North Ameiica and Europe and, increasingly, in Asia, Africa, and South America. The pandemic of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, based on changes in lifestyle, poses the greatest threat to out survival for the foreseeable future.

The major goals of this book are to provide you with a practical understanding of how today's typical lifestyle has led to these problems and to give you strategies that have been proved in clinical studies to improve health for people with diabetes or at risk for it. We will focus on practical changes you can make in how you shop for food, how you plan your meals and snacks, how you cook your food, and even how you look at eating, as well as changes in physical activity that have been shown to decrease weight and make a real difference in diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. In addition, we will discuss the complex interactions between lifestyle and diabetes, and the adjustments of lifestyle and medical treatment that should be made if you or someone you care about has type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

We hare both spent our careers developing, studying, and teaching the lifestyle changes that are discussed here. We believe fervently that the program we offer works and can be one of the best things you can do to preserve and even improve your health. All of our recommendations are based on scientific evidence and practical experience and are the choices that ate most likely to improve your prospects for long-term health.

The battle against the damaging effects of our current lifestyle is often framed as a cultural war against the manufacturers and sellers of processed foods, drive-through nutrition, all-you-can-eat buffets, supeisized meals, and processed meals that are high in fat and calories. Similarly, television and computer games are often blamed for our lack of exercise.

There is a measure of truth to this. Marketing can be quite powerful. However, in the end, we are responsible for the lifestyle choices we make. In this book, we will provide you with proven strategies that you can use to prevent and help treat diabetes-specific approaches to shopping, cooking, eating, and activity and exercise. The strategies do not require superhuman willpower, an unreasonable amount of rime, or more money. They require only that you make a conscious commitment to your health and to the health of your family.

Source: David M. Nathan, M.D. and Linda M. Delahanty, M.S., R.D, Beating diabetes: The First Complete Program Clinically Proven to Dramatically Improve Your Glucose Tolerance, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005)

Summary The Laws of Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:44:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Leaders are made, not born. They are usually self-made, as the result of long, hard work on themselves. And everyone has leadership qualities waiting to be developed.

Leadership emerges in response to situations that require the very best you have to offer. When you think like a leader and behave like a leader, when you accept the mantle of responsibility without making excuses, blaming, looking to others, or running for cover, you become the leader.

And the whole world opens up to you.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

45. The Law of Foresight

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:44:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders have the ability to predict and anticipate the future.

You should give a lot of thought to the future because that is where you are going to be spending the rest of your life. Your ability to accurately anticipate the future largely determines the success or failure of yourself and your organization.

Foresight is the ability to analyze the current situation and to accurately predict what is likely to happen as a result. The best leaders are those who continually look down the road and prepare carefully for possible reversals well in advance of them taking place.

Leaders know that potential successes have often been turned into disasters because of the failure of the leader to anticipate a setback in some area. Even if there is only a small probability that a serious problem or reversal could occur, you should seriously consider it and plan against it.

Leaders also have the ability to anticipate opportunities before anyone else sees them. They can then move quickly to assemble the resources necessary to take advantage of the situation when the opportunity presents itself.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Look into the future and imagine the most exciting opportunities that could occur for you in the next few years. How could you begin preparing today to take advantage of them?

2. Identify the greatest difficulties or reversals that could take place in the next one, two, or three years. What could you do today to make sure they don’t happen?

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

44. The Law of Superb Execution

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:43:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders are committed to excellent performance of the business task at hand
and to continuous improvement.

A leader is the person who chooses the area of excellence for his or her team. A leader knows that excellence is a journey, not a destination. Leaders are committed to being the best in everything they do. They constantly strive to be better in their key result areas. They compare themselves with people, organizations, and products or services that are better than they are, and they are continually improving.

Leaders set standards of excellence for everyone who reports to them. They are ruthless about weeding out incompetence and poor performance. Leaders demand quality work and insist that
people do their jobs well.

The leader sets the standard of excellence. No one, or no part of the organization, can be any better than the standard that the leader represents and enforces. For this reason, leaders are committed to personal excellence in everything they do.

Leaders are learners, continually striving to be better in their work and personal lives. They read, take additional courses and seminars, and listen to audio programs in their cars. They attend conventions and association meetings, go to the important sessions, and take good notes. They are committed to learning and growing in every area where they feel they can make an even more valuable contribution to their work.

People are most inspired when they feel that they are working for an organization in which excellence is expected. The very best way to motivate and inspire others is for you to announce your commitment to being the best in your field or industry. Then, continually benchmark your performance and the performance of your organization against the very "best in class" in your business.

Leaders identify their core competencies, the vital tasks they do that are responsible for them being in business. They continually look for ways to upgrade these core competencies to assure that they maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Leaders think about the future and identify the core competencies that will be required for success in the years ahead. They then develop plans to acquire those core competencies well before they will be needed to compete effectively in the marketplace of tomorrow.

Above all, leaders think about winning all the time. They are committed to victory, to being the best in their chosen area. They are personally and emotionally bothered when they see their competitors doing well or better than they are in their businesses. They are continually looking for ways to improve and achieve superiority over other companies in their industry.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Identify your personal "area of excellence." What is it that you do exceptionally well that makes you uniquely valuable to your organization? What should it be? What could it be?

2. Identify your personal core competencies. What are the essential skills of your job, the abilities that make you valuable, if not indispensable? What core competencies do you need to acquire if you want to be the best in your field in the years ahead? Make a plan today to develop the key skills and core competencies you will need tomorrow.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

43. The Law of Emotional Maturity

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:39:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders are calm, cool, and controlled in the face of problems, difficulties, and adversity.

Emotional maturity is one of the most important and respected qualities of leadership. It requires, first, that you are at peace with yourself and, second, that you remain calm in the face of adversity and difficulty.

Emotional maturity enables you to live with uncertainty and ambiguity without becoming nervous or angry. Rather than fearing conflict or avoiding change, you accept them as essential and unavoidable parts of the leadership role. You embrace change and look for the opportunities that are contained in every change.

Leaders recognize that all you can do is your best. If a situation doesn’t work out, then so be it. You do not go into fits of anger or recrimination when things go against you. You have a calm, healthy view of yourself. You can strive for higher goals and objectives, yet accept failure along the way.

Emotional maturity requires that you like and respect yourself. You have a positive self-image. You are able to endure the criticism and disapproval of other people without being bothered too much. You are able to do without either appreciation or rewards if they don’t come immediately.

Emotionally mature people set their own standards and goals. They recognize that they are the only true judges of their own performance, no matter what anyone else says.

Emotionally mature people know when to make a decision and when not to. They have inner strength and personal security. They are predictable and steady.

Emotional maturity enables you to stay centered and balanced, to be calmer, more creative, and more effective in everything you do.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Think of the biggest challenges or difficulties facing you today. ask questions to keep control, both of your emotions and of the situation. Some of the best questions are: What exactly has happened? What is the true situation? How did it occur? What do you think we should do? What is the next step?

2. Refuse to criticize, condemn, or complain, no matter what happens. Imagine that this difficult situation has been artificially created to test you, to see what you are truly made of. Act as if everyone is watching to see how you handle the problem and as if your future prospects are going to be determined by how calmly and relaxed you behave.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

42. The Law of Independence

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:36:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders know who they are and what they believe in, and they think for themselves.

Leaders tend to be independent in their thinking. They are very clear about their values, their goals, and their personal missions. They are clear about what they stand for and believe in.
They don’t deviate from their values for any reason, especially the core values of integrity and responsibility.

Leaders have a reasonable concern for the feelings and opinions of others, but they are neither hypersensitive nor preoccupied with possible disapproval or disagreement. They invite input and ideas from others, but then they make their own decisions. They go their own ways.

Leaders tend to be nondefensive. They accept responsibility and refuse to make excuses. They don’t rationalize, justify, or blame others. They don’t get upset about criticism, disagreements, or unexpected reversals.

Leaders know their own strengths and weaknesses, and they accept them. As a result, they largely accept other people and do not try to change them. They avoid judging or condemning others. They accept that people are who they are and that they are not likely to change.

Above all, leaders set high standards for themselves and continually strive to live up to their own standards. They don’t compare their character with others’. Instead, they compare themselves only against themselves and measure themselves against the very best that they can be personally.

Leaders have clear goals and objectives for themselves, and they work on their own schedules, at their own time, at their own pace. They look to themselves for the reasons for both their successes and their failures. They realize that they are not perfect, and they continually strive to improve in the important areas of their lives.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Decide for yourself what you really like and enjoy. What activities make you feel the very best about yourself? How could you organize your work so that you are doing more of these
activities more often?

2. Be clear about your most important values and beliefs. Decide exactly what you believe in and what you stand for. Then make sure that everything you do is consistent with your highest values and your innermost convictions.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

41. The Law of Resilience

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:36:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders bounce back from the inevitable setbacks, disappointments, and temporary
failures experienced in the attainment of any worthwhile goal.

The one thing that is inevitable in business and in leadership is the crisis. If you are actively involved in your life and your work, you will move in and out of crises on a regular basis. Your ability to respond effectively to a setback or crisis is the true mark of leadership, the true test.

When something goes wrong, everyone watches the leader to see how he or she is going to respond. The leader’s behavior in a difficult situation sets the tone for the whole organization.

Life is a continuous succession of problems and difficulties. There is no success without temporary failure. Setbacks and disappointments are inevitable and unavoidable. Your ability to respond positively and constructively to adversity will prove how far you have come as a person. Keep reminding yourself, "It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce, that counts!"

Your ability to solve problems and make the right decisions prior to taking action will determine your success as much as any other factor. When things go wrong, calm yourself, take a deep breath, and immediately begin gathering the facts of the situation so that you can make a good decision.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Identify the three worst things that could go wrong in your business life, your job, or your career. Develop a contingency plan for each one. Imagine that what can go wrong, will go wrong and begin making provisions against possible problems immediately.

2. Engage in "crisis anticipation" regularly, looking down the road and imagining the problems that could occur. Discuss the subject with others. Brainstorm different countermeasures you could take in the case of any eventuality.

3. Identify the major source of worry or stress in your life today. What is it? Now, ask, What is the worst possible outcome of this situation? Once you have determined the worst possible outcome, begin immediately to make sure that it does not happen.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

40. The Law of Empathy

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:32:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders are sensitive to and aware of the needs, feelings, and motivations of those they lead.

Leaders have high levels of "interpersonal intelligence." They are constantly aware of the thoughts, feelings, and possible reactions of others to the things they do and say. They take time to think about the effects of their decisions on their people before they make them. They recognize that how people feel will largely determine how well they perform.

Leaders are good listeners. They listen carefully to what others say and they seek to understand what is being said between the lines. They are open to feedback from their people, and they are willing to change their decisions based on new information. They are flexible rather than rigid.

As a leader, you realize that different people require different things from each leadership situation. Sometimes, they require that you be clear and direct. Other times, they require that you be more relaxed and participatory. The required leadership behavior will vary from person to person and from situation to situation.

Leaders vary their approaches to people depending on what different people need to perform at their best. Leaders recognize that their own personal behaviors of consideration, courtesy, caring, and kindness toward their people are critical determinants of individual performance.

For people to perform at their best, they need to know exactly what is expected of them. Leaders take time to make job assignments and responsibilities clear. They make sure everyone knows exactly what he or she is expected to do, how important it is, and when it is supposed to be completed.

Everyone wants to feel good about himself or herself. Leaders continually look for ways to use praise, approval, and positive reinforcement to elicit the very best from their people. Leaders continually create situations that empower people, that make people feel stronger and more confident. They lead by encouragement and commitment rather than by fear and threats. Leaders encourage people to speak freely and openly about their real thoughts and concerns. They realize that the quality of a relationship between two people can be measured by how freely
each feels to speak honestly to the other and to express their true opinions.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1.Make a list of the people who report to you and then consider the kind of direction and supervision they need from you to perform at their best. How could you adjust your leadership style to be more effective with each of them?

2. Be a good listener. Practice asking more questions of your people and then listening quietly and attentively to the answers. Remember that you do not need to comment or to reply to everything that people say. You only need to listen well.

3. Ask the people around you for their advice, ideas, and input. Encourage people to be open and direct with you. Think of how you could improve your relationships with your people by being more relaxed and receptive to the different ideas and viewpoints they might have.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

39. The Law of Optimism

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:32:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

The true leader radiates the confidence that all difficulties can be overcome and all goals can be attained.

Optimism in a leader inspires and empowers people to believe that they can do more and be better than they ever have before. It is one of the most powerful of all qualities for leadership and success in personal and business life. And you learn to become an optimist by practicing the behaviors of other positive, optimistic, future-oriented people.

You become an irrepressible optimist by practicing the habits of optimism whenever they are called for. Optimism is the foundation of a positive mental attitude. Optimism is the ability to find something worthwhile in every situation. It has been best defined as "a generally positive and constructive response to stress."

The only things you can control in your life are your responses to the inevitable problems and difficulties you face each day. How you respond to a situation, or how you interpret the situation, determines how you feel about it. Your feelings, your emotions, then determine the clarity and effectiveness of your thoughts and your responses. The more optimistic and positive you are, the calmer, more positive, and more creative you will be.

Optimists are "Can do!" people. They look for the good in every situation. When something goes wrong, they say, "That’s good!" and then look for something that is good within the problem or difficulty. And they always find it.

Optimists seek the valuable lesson in every setback or disappointment. As Napoleon Hill wrote, "They look for the seed of an equal or greater benefit or advantage in every setback or obstacle." They operate on the principle that "Difficulties come not to obstruct, but to instruct."

Optimists focus on the future rather than the past. They look for the opportunity in every difficulty. They think about what can be done now rather than focusing on what has happened in the past and who is to blame for it.

Above all, optimists are solution oriented rather than problem oriented. They focus on the solution, on the next step, rather than the problem. They think in terms of what can be done now rather than what has happened or who is to blame.

You can change your mind from negative to positive in one second by taking your mind off the problem and focusing exclusively on the solution to whatever challenge is facing you. Make it a habit. Whenever you are faced with a problem of any kind, immediately stop and ask, Okay, what do we do now? What’s the next step? Where do we go from here?

Imagine that your biggest problem, whatever it is, has been sent to you at this time to teach you something valuable that you need to learn. It is exactly what you need for your ongoing growth and development. It contains a gift of wisdom that has been designed just for you, at this moment in your life.

What could be the most important lesson or insight contained in the biggest problem or difficulty you are wrestling with today? Thomas Edison became the greatest inventor in America and one of the richest people in the world by following a simple philosophy. He believed that success consisted of, first, defining the desired invention or product and then, second, experimenting until he had eliminated every way that would not work. Edison believed that success was merely a process of elimination, of repeated failures, of continuing to experiment until the correct method was found.

When you begin to look upon each temporary failure or set-back as a stepping-stone on the road to the success that must inevitably come, you will become a completely optimistic, positive, highly creative, and effective person and leader.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. List your three most important goals in life, right now. Then, write down one step that you can take immediately to move you in the direction of each of those goals. This simple exercise will give you an increased sense of control and personal power.

2. List your three biggest worries or concerns today. Decide on at least one specific action you can take in each case to begin solving the problem or resolving the worry or concern.

3. Identify the most valuable lesson that could be contained in the biggest single problem you are wrestling with right now. When you begin to identify and capitalize on the lessons contained in every difficulty you face, you will begin to move ahead at a more rapid rate than ever before.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

38. The Law of Ambition

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:30:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders have an intense desire to lead; they have a clear vision of a better future, which they are determined to realize.

Vision is the one common quality that separates leaders from
nonleaders. Leaders have a clear picture of the kind of future they
want to create, and they have the ability to communicate this
vision to others in an exciting and inspiring way.

People may work steadily for a paycheck, but they will perform at high levels only when they are inspired by a vision of some kind. The development and articulation of this vision is a key responsibility of leadership.

Leaders have the ability to visualize, to see the big picture and then to inspire others to work together to make it a reality. The true leader sees leadership as a tool he or she can use to bring about a result that is bigger and more important than any single individual.

You become a leader when you set a goal, make a plan, and then throw your whole heart into making it a reality. You become a leader when you develop an inspiring vision for yourself and others. You become a leader when you know exactly where you want to go, why you want to get there, and what you have to do to achieve it.

Leaders can explain clearly to other people what it is they are trying to accomplish, why they are trying to accomplish it, and how they are going to bring it about. They are eager to get results and they are impatient with delays. They are excited about what they are doing, and as a result, they get other people excited as well. Leaders have goals, plans, and strategies that they are working to implement every day. They are in a hurry. They have a lot to do and they feel that they have too little time.

Perhaps the most important part of ambition is clarity on the part of the leader. The leader has a clear vision, clear values, a clear mission, and clear, written goals, plans, and strategies for his or her department or organization.

Most of all, leaders want to lead, to be in charge, to be responsible, to make things happen. They are willing to endure the risks and the sacrifices that are required to make a real difference in their worlds.

The very act of setting clear goals for yourself and for your team moves you up in the ranks of leadership. It pushes you toward the front of the line. To be a leader, you must be leading others in a specific direction toward a specific goal for the accomplishment of a specific result. The clearer you are about your vision, your values, your mission, and your goals, the more effectively you will lead, guide, direct, and inspire others.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Determine a clear vision for yourself and your organization. Where would you ideally like to be in three to five years? Define it clearly. Write it down. Share it with others. The more clear and specific you are about your future vision for yourself and your company, the more you will accomplish and the better and more effective leader you will become.

2. Decide what it is that you really want to do with your life. This is the great question of leadership. If you had no limits what-soever in terms of time, money, and resources, what would you be the most excited about achieving for yourself and your organization? Begin today to think in terms of how you can accomplish it, and then take action on it immediately.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

37. The Law of Power

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:29:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Power gravitates to the person who can use it most effectively to get the desired results.

Power is the ability to influence the allocation of people, money, and resources. It exists in all human relationships and situations. It is essential for the effective functioning of human life and society. It is neither good nor bad. It just is.

Power can be used in business in two ways: (1) to advance the interests of the organization or (2) to advance the interests of the individual. When power is used skillfully to advance the interests of the organization, it is a positive force. It can improve the situation of all the people who are affected by it.

If power is used, or abused, to advance the interests of the individual to the detriment of the organization, then power becomes a negative and destructive force that can harm the organization and the people in it.

Any given organization or system has a fixed quantity of power. If one person has more power, then another person will have less. All power struggles are aimed at getting a larger part of this fixed quantity of power.

The only way that the total amount of power can be increased is by increasing the size of the company, the quantity of activities, and the number of people in the organization.

The leader tends to be the person who is the most capable of seizing the reins of power and holding onto them. But ultimately, true and lasting power in an organization comes from the consent of the followers. Leaders become leaders and acquire power because other people want them to have that power. This is especially true in an open system where people are free to leave and take their support away if they are not satisfied with the way the power is being used.

The only way to keep power once you have acquired it is to prove yourself to be the most effective at getting results by utilizing that power.

Power is invariably the "power to do." What are you tasked to do with the power you have? When you demonstrate your ability to get results with the power you have, you will attract to yourself opportunities to expand your power. As your power expands, you will get more and more opportunities to get ever greater and more important results. Your power and influence will continue to grow as long as you demonstrate that you can deploy it more effectively than someone else.

Four Kinds of Power You Can Develop

There are four major types of power you can develop. The first is expert power. This is where you start. You concentrate on doing your job in an excellent fashion. When you are recognized as being very good at what you do, you acquire greater power and influence than people who are only average or mediocre. With expert power, you attract the respect and attention of the important people in your organization. You receive more opportunities to do what you do well. Doors open for you.

The second type of power you can develop is personal power. This form of power comes from being liked and respected by the people around you. The more people like you, the greater influence you have with them. People listen to you and are open to your suggestions and ideas. This type of power is often called "social intelligence" or "emotional intelligence." It is the most helpful and ultimately the highest paid ability in our society.

The third type of power, position power, is the power that goes with the job title. Position power includes the ability to hire and fire, to reward and punish. Position power can be separate from ability or personality. There are many unpleasant and incompetent people with position power who got it for reasons other than their ability to get the job done quickly and well or their ability to get along well with others.

Perhaps the best type of power, the fourth, is ascribed power. This is the power you have when the people around you willingly grant you authority and influence over them because of the person you are. You attract this power to yourself by being very good at what you do and, at the same time, by being liked and respected by the people around you.

Building a Power Structure

Power in business and society is based on a network of man-aged dependencies. A "dependency" is defined as someone who is willing to help you when you ask, even though you cannot order that person to do anything. Power is often dependent upon your ability to influence people over whom you have no direct control or authority.

You build a network of managed dependencies by continually looking for ways to help other people in some way-in advance. The more favors you do for others, without direct expectation of repayment, the more power and influence you acquire. The most powerful people in any organization or community seem to be those who have helped, or who can help, the greatest number of other people achieve their own goals and objectives.

How to Gain and Keep Power

The first step in acquiring power and influence is for you to
become valuable, and then indispensable, to your organization. In the final analysis, results are all that matter. Keep yourself focused by always asking, What results are expected of me?

This is the starting point. The focus on results has always been the high road to personal power and greater influence. When you develop a reputation for doing your job well, you cannot help but be paid more and promoted faster.

The second step in securing your power is for you to make yourself more valuable and helpful to more and more people. Continually look for ways to go the extra mile, to do things that are beyond what others might expect.

The third way for you to expand your power is for you to continually seek opportunities to help and to add value both to your organization and to the people in it. Take additional courses, upgrade your knowledge and skills, and look for new ways to increase sales or cut costs.

Come to work a little earlier and stay a little later. Volunteer for additional responsibilities. Always do more than you are paid for and you will always end up being paid more than you are receiving today.

For you to acquire and keep power and influence, you will require supporters both inside and outside of your organization. You should give this subject a lot of thought. Who are, or could be, your most important supporters, and what can you do to strengthen your relationships with them?

Almost everyone in an organization has power of some kind. Everyone has the power to help or hurt in some way. Everyone has the power to do or to refrain from doing something that needs to be done. Each person is in a position to advance a cause or to hinder it, to help move things ahead or to block them. What are your powers in your organization? What are the powers of the people around you?

An important principle of power is that "power always arises to fill a vacuum." You can create power for yourself by stepping into a new and undefined situation where a power vacuum exists and assuming responsibility for results. You can acquire power in the most positive sense of the word by taking charge of a new project and committing yourself wholeheartedly to the success of the venture.

The more capable and competent you prove yourself to be at getting specific and important results for your organization, the more power, influence, and authority will flow to you, and the more valuable you will become.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Identify the individuals in your organization who have power of one kind or another-expert power, position power, personal power, or ascribed power. What are some of the things that you could do personally to develop your power in one or more of these areas?

2. Define the most important results expected of you in your position. How could you increase the quality and quantity of your results? Identify one thing that you could do differently right now to be more effective.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

36. The Law of Realism

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:27:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Leaders deal with the world as it is, not as they wish it would be.

Your ability and your willingness to be completely realistic in your life and work are among the most important qualities of leadership. The measure of how realistic you really are is demonstrated by your willingness to deal straightforwardly with the truth of your life and business, whatever it may be.

Peter Drucker refers to this quality of realism in a leader as "intellectual honesty." Jack Welch, president of General Electric, calls it the "Reality Principle." He approaches every problem or difficulty with the question, What’s the reality?

Concentrate on getting the facts. Facts don’t lie. The more facts you gather, the better will be the picture of reality that you can develop. The quality of your decisions will be largely determined by the quality of the information on which those decisions are based.

As you gather the facts, discipline yourself to remain objective, to avoid jumping to conclusions. Seek the truth above all, rather than reinforcement or justification. Imagine, as an exercise, that this situation is happening to someone else and you have been called in as an outside observer to advise and comment. Standing back from a situation, or stepping outside of it, can give you a more honest and objective perspective that enables you to make better decisions.

One of the marks of "self-actualizing" people, according to Abraham Maslow, is that they are extremely honest and objective about themselves. They have no illusions. They are nondefensive and do not feel compelled to explain themselves to others. They accept themselves, as Oliver Cromwell said, "warts and all."

They know they are not perfect and they do not try to be. They do not feel it necessary to be someone they are not. They admit their weaknesses and adjust their behavior to compensate for them. They do not demand perfection of themselves and do not feel guilty when they make mistakes.

The fact is that most people, including very effective people have more weaknesses than strengths. Organizations are built to maximize strengths and make weaknesses unimportant. Weaknesses are to be dealt with and compensated for, not avoided, rationalized away, or ignored.

Analyze yourself honestly. What are your greatest strengths? What are your areas of weakness? Your strengths are what have gotten you to where you are today. Your weaknesses are determining the speed at which you move ahead in your career. In what areas could your weaknesses be holding you back or limiting your effectiveness in your current situation?

Your weakest important skill sets the height at which you can use all of your other skills. The more honest you are with yourself and the more willing you are to deal straightforwardly with your life, the more effective you will be in dealing with the continually changing business situation around you.

What are the strengths and weaknesses in your business today? Ask questions continually, of everyone, to develop a better picture of your current reality. Read, study, attend courses, and get other viewpoints to build your picture of reality with greater clarity. Always be willing to face the weaknesses and imperfections in your company, whatever they are, and then resolve to do something about them.

If you are not happy with the way things are, think about the way you would like them to be and then get busy creating the reality you desire. Focus on the future rather than the past. Focus on the solution rather than the problem. Concentrate on where you are going rather than where you are coming from.

Refuse to allow yourself to get upset about things that have already happened and that cannot be changed. Something that has already happened is a fact. It is a part of reality. Sometimes the only thing that you can do about a fact is to control your attitude toward it. The way you react to an unalterable situation will often determine your effectiveness in the short term and your success in the long term.

Never trust to luck or hope that something unexpected will turn up to solve a problem or save a situation. Never allow yourself to wish, hope, or trust that anyone else will do it for you. You are the leader. You are in charge. Deal with your world as it is, not as you wish it would be.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Identify your major weaknesses, in terms of either personality traits or specific skills. What is your weakest personal quality? What is your weakest important skill? Whatever they are, identify them clearly and then make a plan to correct them.

2. Identify and analyze the realities of your company, your products, your services, and your methods of operation, as they are today. What are the weaknesses or areas of vulnerability in your business? Whatever they are, decide today to take some specific action to compensate for your weaknesses and to maximize your strengths.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

35. The Law of Courage

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:27:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

The ability to make decisions and act boldly in the face of setbacks and adversity is the key to greatness in leadership.

Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend." Leaders have the courage to make decisions and to take action in the face of doubt and uncertainty, with no guarantees of success. Your ability to launch, to step out in faith, even when there is a chance of loss or failure, is the mark of leadership. Leadership is not lack of fear or absence of fear. Leadership is control of fear-mastery of fear.

Everyone is afraid; leaders are simply those who face their fears and take action in spite of their fears. And you develop the habit of courage by acting courageously whenever courage is called for. The natural reaction of most people is to avoid or to back away from the things they fear. But when you force yourself to resist this natural tendency and do the opposite, when you instead move toward the thing you fear, your fear shrinks and loses its power over you.

Glenn Ford, the actor, once said, "If you do not do the thing you fear, then the fear controls your life."

The two greatest obstacles to success and personal effectiveness are the fear of failure and the fear of criticism. But every great success is preceded by many failures and accompanied by countless criticisms. It is the lessons you learn from these failures and your ability to rise above those criticisms that make your success possible in the long run.

Thomas J. Watson Sr., founder of IBM, once said, "If you want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure."

Make a habit of confronting your fears. If there is anything in your life that causes you anxiety, treat it as a personal challenge and resolve to deal with it. As Emerson wrote, "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain."

The leader in any group or organization is the person who accepts the responsibility to turn and face whatever danger or threat is facing the group. Frederick the Great’s motto was
"L’audace, l’audace et toujours l’audace!" ("Audacity, audacity and always audacity!")

Audacity is often the best policy when decisions are demanded and action is necessary. Audacity may get you into trouble on occasion, but then, even more audacity will get you out. An old Zulu saying is "When faced with two dangers, one behind you and one in front of you, it is always better to go forward."

Resolve today to move out of your comfort zone, whatever it is. Great business success comes from taking risks, from going boldly where no one has ever gone before. Expand your envelope. Set what are called "BHAGs" (big hairy audacious goals) for yourself and your organization. Never be satisfied with the status quo.

Peter Drucker says, "Whenever you see a great business success, someone once took a big chance."

Remember, no matter how well you plan, your life will be a continuous succession of problems, difficulties, disappointments, setbacks, and obstacles that can easily discourage you and cause you to lose heart. The mark of a leader, however, is that the leader never allows himself or herself the luxury of discouragement or self-pity. The leader does not complain, make excuses, or wish that somehow things could be easier or different. Just keep reminding yourself, as Henry Ford once said, "Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again."

Resolve today to develop the habit of courage by behaving courageously, by doing the things you fear, and by dealing boldly and straightforwardly with the difficult people and situations in your life. As Mark Twain wrote, "Courage is not lack of fear, absence of fear, but control of fear, mastery of fear."

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and achieve any goal you set for yourself. What actions would you take in your business, what changes would you make, if you had no fear of failure at all? What goals would you set if you were guaranteed success? Whatever the answers to these questions, begin acting today as though your success were guaranteed.

2. Identify a specific fear in your life, such as public speaking or confronting others, that may be holding you back from realizing your full potential. Whatever it is, resolve today to deal with it and overcome it. As Dorothea Brande wrote, "Act as if it were impossible to fail, and it shall be!"

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).

34. The Law of Integrity

noreply@blogger.com (Improve-U) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:24:00 +0000

The Laws of Business Success

Under the Laws of Leadership

Great business leadership is characterized by honesty, truthfulness, and straight dealing with every person, under all circumstances.

This law requires that you be impeccably honest with yourself and others. As Emerson said, "Guard your integrity as a sacred thing. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

Integrity lies at the core of leadership, at the heart of the leader. Everything you do revolves around the person you really are inside. And the person you really are inside is always demonstrated by your actions, the things you do and say.

Leadership has been defined as "the ability to get followers." For people to follow you, to subordinate their interests to yours, they must be able to believe in you and be willing to commit their time, money, and energy to you.

Leadership is therefore a trust conferred upon you by others. To earn this trust, to deserve this trust, you must be true to yourself. You must live in truth with yourself. Only then can you live in truth with everyone else in your life and work.

Perhaps the most important thing you do as a leader is to be a good role model. Lead by example. Walk the talk. Live the life. Always carry yourself as though everyone is watching, even when no one is watching.

Good leaders are completely reliable. People can take them at their word and trust that they will do what they say. They make promises carefully, and then they always keep their word.

A key mark of integrity in human relations is consistency, both internal and external. The best leaders are consistent from one day to the next, from one situation to the next. Because of this internal consistency, these leaders are trusted. People know what to expect. There are no surprises.

Being consistent also means that you treat everyone the same. You do not have one persona for an important client and another for a subordinate. As Thomas Carlyle wrote, "You can tell a big person by the way he treats little people."

There are two basic types of leadership in business today, transactional and transformational. Transactional leadership is the ability to direct people, manage resources, and get the job done. But transformational leadership, the most important form of leadership today, is the ability to motivate, inspire, and bring people to higher levels of performance.

Transformational leadership is the ability to touch people emotionally, to empower them to be more and to contribute more than they ever have before. This ability enables transformational leaders to elicit extraordinary performance from ordinary people.

Leaders think about the future. They think long term. They think about how they want to be viewed by others, now and later in life. Because of this long time perspective, they never sacrifice their integrity or their reputations for short-term gain or profit.

There is a direct relationship between your feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem on the one hand and your levels of integrity and truthfulness on the other. The more you live your life according to your values, the better and happier you feel about yourself, no matter what happens around you.

How you can apply this law immediately:

1. Resolve to live in truth with yourself and with every person and situation in your life. Listen to your body and trust your intuition. Identify the main stress points and people problems in your life and then ask yourself, What is the right thing to do in this situation to resolve this problem and alleviate this stress?

2. Ask yourself: What kind of a company would my company be if everyone in it was just like me? What personal habits or behaviors would you need to change to answer this question in the affirmative? Whatever they are, do something today toward becoming the very best person you can be.

Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).