Medical Student Blog

Gosh so much to do, so little time

2011-09-13T08:41:00.000+02:00

I'm sorry for neglecting you dear readers. But I kind of feel overwhelmed. I guess I took on a lot of more projects then I could handle.

- 4 blogs that needs to be updated
- 2 photography courses at the university
- I have a lot of pics that needs to be photoshoped
- A lot of books that needs to be read
- Facebook
- Twitter
- And I'm at med-school which in it self is overwhelming

I'm trying to take away less important projects from my life so hopefully I'll be able to update this blog more regular. Take care for now / M

Elissa Khoury

2011-08-25T00:30:00.001+02:00

Another beautiful Lebanese Lady. She’s talented, respectable and lovable =)

Do you feel depressed when the season change?

2011-08-24T14:11:00.001+02:00

Since the fall is approaching I thought I could blog a bit about the seasonal depression, since a remarkable amount of people are affected by it.

SAD or just sad?

Everyone feels a little melancholy when the days are short and cold. For some people, seasonal change brings with it something more serious than the blues: seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of depression that can be debilitating.

And daylight savings time may not help, since darker mornings—in the fall or spring—are particularly difficult for those with SAD.

Mild forms of SAD are believed to affect as many as 20% of people.

Here's the symtoms:

Sadness

SAD is a form of depression, and it shares most of the same symptoms. The two most common symptoms of depression are feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and losing interest in activities—such as socializing—that you normally find pleasurable.

If you experience these symptoms every day for at least two weeks, it’s a sign of depression. If you feel this way only during the fall and winter, and if these symptoms disappear during the rest of the year, it may be a sign of SAD.

Sleepiness and fatigue

People with SAD tend to feel the need to sleep more during the wintertime—sometimes a lot more. In one study, published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 1994, patients at a SAD clinic averaged about 7.5 hours of sleep in the summer, 8.5 hours in the spring and fall, and nearly 10 hours in the winter.

Just because you’re sleeping more doesn’t mean you'll feel rested, however. Other research has shown that people with SAD experience more insomnia and sleep disturbances, and are more prone to nodding off at work

Irritability

Anger and irritability are common—yet often overlooked—symptoms of depression and SAD. Research suggests that people with SAD are significantly more irritable than healthy individuals. They may also be more prone to anger than people with regular (nonseasonal) depression.

A 2006 study that compared groups of people with active SAD and regular depression found that more than 40% of the people in the SAD group experienced sudden fits of inappropriate anger, compared to just 29% in the other group. Those with SAD experienced 19 of these "anger attacks" a month, on average.

Increased appetite

Like depression in general, SAD can increase appetite in some people. Sixty-five percent of people with the disorder report being hungrier during the colder, darker months.

The voracious appetite that sometimes accompanies SAD may be a biological response to a seasonal drop in serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s associated with mood and helps to control hunger.

Though it can help you feel better temporarily, eating more—and being cooped up—during the winter can really pack on the pounds: Nearly 75% of people with SAD gain weight.

Difficulty concentrating

Depression can make you feel sad and alone, but it also compromises how well your brain works. The condition has been shown to affect a range of mental processes, including concentration, speaking ability, and memory.

A 2007 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry showed that this so-called cognitive impairment can be every bit as bad in people with SAD as it is in people with nonseasonal depression. One woman who participated in the study—whose symptoms qualified for SAD, but not major depression—reported that she was having difficulty remembering names and appointments, and was easily distracted.

Loss of interest in sex

Depression doesn’t exactly make you feel sexy. A loss of interest in sex is a common symptom among people with SAD and depression alike.

But this only tends to be true among people who experience SAD in the fall and winter. If the disorder appears in the spring and summer—a much rarer condition sometimes called “summer depression” or “reverse SAD”—some of the symptoms tend to be the opposite of winter SAD. And one of the hallmarks of summer depression is anincreased sex drive

To kiss or not to kiss, that is the question..

2011-08-24T12:23:00.001+02:00

Well since when ?! kissing is ought to be one of the granted things in life nothing else.

And yet..

Lebanon is a peculiar little thing. A small island yet inland in the middle east, progressive yet tribal underneath.

There are some things many of us take for granted and just don’t question.

Such as shooting migrating birds on sight with automatic machine guns, believing any stupid thing coming from holy tvs, and of course almost no kissing another person on the street.

I’m not sure what it is exactly that drives us to act so magically. Is it an overly conservative mentally yet where people think Haifa Wehbe constantly playing the underage lolita girl to be a proper sex symbol queen..

Or is it our respect for female ‘dignity’ where guys honk in passing cars daily when seeing them , proudly locking in mental chastity belts their own family girls while going out planting their seed in everything that moves around on two feet..

Or is it perhaps that sensitive creature in guys that likes to keep romantic passions private while that other behemoth bhim in them allow them to constantly act like angry rabid dogs fighting each other daily on the streets..

There is something a tad bit unhinged about this society truth be said.

Sexually pent up with people walking and acting around like hyper sex gods in the streets, yet pretty much almost no one can find it in him to just grab his girl in his arms and kiss her lips passionately publicly cuz he simply likes her sweetness as simple as abc. Heck even a small peck of a kiss would do.

Queerer still, no one thinks about this lack of normal behavior and show of affection. Its like most people are conditioned to what this and that are supposed to be publicly. Like expecting crazy fucking drivers trying to run you over daily when you walk the streets. So god forbid two people kiss publicly, the crowd of mentally unstable emotional folk around them might take offense you see..

Last i checked there wasn’t a law against kissing someone publicly, but this country does host a wealthy chest of old retarded laws from the enlightened days of the cavemen. So i’m pretty confident some wise crack asshole somewhere can whip out a lost and found law from the modern days circa 1790 that states that public kissing is a form of indicent exposure right next to the law banning evil black cats from prowling the streets and allowing weddings with suspiciously sexy pure breed sheep.

As i said, it’s a great country of wonders indeed.

The moment you hold someone in your arms and forget for a second that you live in a modern day backwater wonderland as you kiss her, someone will likely poke you and say something sweet like “dear sir excuse us but this is a family beach/restaurant/street here”

Oh my bad, i forgot for a second there that family babies came from loveless seaguls carrying them in white dangling sacks across the seas.

Ya great example of paradoxical behavior we are setting for our kids indeed here.

“You know son, i remember the first time i kissed your mother, we had 3 kids already and you were almost 16 !”

Admit It, You Hear Voices

2011-08-24T11:50:00.000+02:00

How to Win the War Between Your Ears

It's all right to admit it. You hear voices. We all do. The little voice inside your head is a voice you have created—and it's one that you can change. "You may have been conditioned to be what you are, but that means you can also condition yourself to be who you want to be," says Blair Singer, author of Little Voice Mastery.

If your voice is telling you why you're not good enough or smart enough, then it's time for some daily affirmations. Negative voices put limits on your life and change who you really are.

"The biggest reason to learn little-voice mastery is to get back to being who you really are," Singer says. "Change those little voices, and you are on the road to freedom."

Here are several techniques to reprogram the chatter in your head to uplifting words and energetic thoughts.

Live consciously. Become aware of what you are saying to yourself throughout the day.
Don't try to eliminate the voice, but reprogram it. Admit your shortcomings, but realize we all have them.
Build your confidence through experience and action.
When there is a problem, don't automatically take the blame and attribute it to youpersonally. It's business, not personal.
Accept compliments. Celebrate your wins and see the things you do really well.

Develop the ability to take action

2011-08-23T11:34:00.001+02:00

You don’t need to be hasty if it isn’t required, but you don’t want to lose much time either. Here’s the time to act: when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong.

Let’s say you would like to build your library. If that is a strong desire for you, what you’ve got to do is get the first book. Then get the second book. Take action as soon as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea dims. If you don’t, here’s what happens…

You fall prey to the law of diminishing intent.

We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we don’t translate that intention into action fairly soon, the urgency starts to diminish. A month from now the passion is cold. A year from now it can’t be found.

There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect. Neglect starts as an infection. If you don’t take care of it, it becomes a disease. And one neglect leads to another. Worst of all, when neglect starts, it diminishes our self-worth.

Make the commitment: “I will discipline myself to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can celebrate my successes.”

I heart Photoshop

2011-08-22T17:15:00.000+02:00

So I'm gonna begin a photography and editing course soon at the university, and I thought I could prepare a bit. I got myself photoshop CS5 software and a big book about all it's functions. Here's a couple of pictures that I've played with so far :) Press for larger pics

Do Less But Do It Better‏

2011-08-22T16:24:00.001+02:00

When you’re not successful, when you’re struggling or having problems, do LESS, don’t do MORE.

Your human nature tells you that you have to look at one more film, add one new play. But that’s not the answer. Just doing what we do a little bit better is the answer.

• Have hope for here and hereafter. “When a game ends, win or lose, it’s time to prepare for the next one.”

• It’s the journey that matters. “Learning is more important than the test.”

• Use faith to encourage and lift people up.

It’s about the lives we touch

the legacy we can leave

and the world we can change for the better

So lets talk about smoking

2011-08-22T15:47:00.000+02:00

Normal lungs vs Smoking lungs

Smoking kills is a common sentence that is often used nowadays. People don't even seem to react to it anymore, as if it's only an empty threat. But the sad truth is that more deaths are caused each year by tobacco use that all death från HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders COMBINED!!

It's estimated to cause 1 of every 5 death in the United States annually.

Remember these numbers are only from the United States, it's much worse worldwide!

443,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke)

49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure

269,655 deaths annually among men

173,940 deaths annually among women

It's so sad that people don't even take this seriously, but I guess when one of the multiple diseases hits them they'll realize what they have done to their health. It's kind of tragic.

Here's a couple of pictures of what smoking does to you:

Hello miss beautiful

2011-08-19T19:58:00.001+02:00

What a classical beauty!

- Posted using iPad

Now You're Speaking My Language

2011-08-16T12:21:00.000+02:00

In his best-selling book The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, Gary Chapman defines love languages as the "five ways people speak and understand emotional love." Take a look at the abbreviated definitions, and see if you can identify your love language.

Words of Affirmation: Words matter. This person treasures hearing, "I love you." Honest compliments and praise mean a great deal, and insults or harsh words are taken to heart.

Quality Time: This person wants your undivided attention. The gift of your time is worth more than any material present you could give.

Receiving Gifts: From trinkets and flowers to diamond rings and season tickets, this person feels loved when you present them with a token of your affection.

Acts of Service: Doing household chores or helping out in the home office is, to this person, the equivalent of saying, "I adore you."

Physical Touch: A gentle hand on the shoulder, a peck on the cheek, a warm embrace or simply sitting beside this person makes them feel loved.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

2011-08-16T08:55:00.000+02:00

What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?

- Jean Jacques Rousseau

I pity you

2011-08-15T20:13:00.000+02:00

My Favorite Author Paulo Coelho

Pity the man who has a favorite restaurant, but not a favorite author. He's picked out a favorite place to feed his body, but he doesn't have a favorite place to feed his mind!

Master Fear

2011-08-15T09:09:00.001+02:00

Perhaps the greatest challenge you will ever face in life is the conquest of fear and the development of courage. Fear is, and always has been, the greatest enemy of mankind. When Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” he was saying that the emotion of fear, rather than the realty of what we fear, is what causes us anxiety, stress, and unhappiness. When you develop the habit of courage and unshakeable self-confidence, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for you. Just imagine-what would you dare to dream or be or do if you weren't afraid of anything in the whole world?

- Posted using iPad

Makes Me Think

2011-08-14T16:59:00.001+02:00

A picture I took at the cemetery this spring, its copyrighted

I came across a website yesterday that I thought I could share with you. It's a site where people write down events that has happened in their life that made them think twice.

I can honestly tell you that a couple of tears fell down my cheeks as I read some of the stories. It really does make you think... Press the link below

101-short-stories-that-will-leave-you-smiling-crying-and-thinking

Pay Attention to Detail

2011-08-13T23:58:00.001+02:00

Napoleon's courage was legendary but it was not vain or impetuous. Napoleon was famous for his fastidious attention to detail, for taking pains to study and thoroughly understand every military situation he ever faced. He led the French army in hundreds of minor and major engagements and lost only three, the last one being Waterloo. The more you know about what you face, the lower your level of ignorance, the more courage and confidence you will have naturally. The more time you take to think through a situation, the more capable you will be of dealing with it when it arises. Napoleon planned for every contingency.

- Posted using iPad

Lets Quote This

2011-08-13T11:13:00.001+02:00

Good morning my dear readers. As you might now I also have a twitter account where I store all the quotes that I like. Press on "follow me on twitter to get there"

I thought I could list the ones that I absolutely love here =) Enjoy!

If you’re not driven to perfection, you’ll never reach excellence.

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is what you really are while your reputation is what others think you are

Good luck is often with the man who doesn't include it in his plans.

To quote a friend:"We see the world not as it is, but as we are."

I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can

He who fears something gives it power over him.

Haifa Wehbe Pictures

2011-08-12T16:08:00.000+02:00

Beauty Inspiration for Today is the charming Haifa Wehbe. Here's her lates pictures from Sayidatii magazine.
Enjoy

Good Teaching

2011-08-12T15:02:00.001+02:00

They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them ~Ghandi

50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First

2011-08-12T12:13:00.000+02:00

I just came across this article that lists up 50 famous people and how they all struggled at first. It gave me some motivation to keep pushing through, even though it seems hard at times. I know, the list is very long and honestly I read only about those people that I recognized =) There's a link incorporated in the names of the individuals for further information about them.

Not everyone who's on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others. Next time you're feeling down about your failures in college or in a career, keep these fifty famous people in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success.

Business Gurus

These businessmen and the companies they founded are today known around the world, but as these stories show, their beginnings weren't always smooth.

Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn't an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five time before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
R. H. Macy: Most people are familiar with this large department store chain, but Macy didn't always have it easy. Macy started seven failed business before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.
F. W. Woolworth: Some may not know this name today, but Woolworth was once one of the biggest names in department stores in the U.S. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a dry goods store and was not allowed to wait on customers because his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so.
Soichiro Honda: The billion-dollar business that is Honda began with a series of failures and fortunate turns of luck. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job after interviewing for a job as an engineer, leaving him jobless for quite some time. He started making scooters of his own at home, and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business.
Akio Morita: You may not have heard of Morita but you've undoubtedly heard of his company, Sony. Sony's first product was a rice cooker that unfortunately didn't cook rice so much as burn it, selling less than 100 units. This first setback didn't stop Morita and his partners as they pushed forward to create a multi-billion dollar company.
Bill Gates: Gates didn't seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn't work, Gates' later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft.
Harland David Sanders: Perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it.
Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.

Scientists and Thinkers

These people are often regarded as some of the greatest minds of our century, but they often had to face great obstacles, the ridicule of their peers and the animosity of society.

Albert Einstein: Most of us take Einstein's name as synonymous with genius, but he didn't always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics.
Charles Darwin: In his early years, Darwin gave up on having a medical career and was often chastised by his father for being lazy and too dreamy. Darwin himself wrote, "I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect." Perhaps they judged too soon, as Darwin today is well-known for his scientific studies.
Robert Goddard: Goddard today is hailed for his research and experimentation with liquid-fueled rockets, but during his lifetime his ideas were often rejected and mocked by his scientific peers who thought they were outrageous and impossible. Today rockets and space travel don't seem far-fetched at all, due largely in part to the work of this scientist who worked against the feelings of the time.
Isaac Newton: Newton was undoubtedly a genius when it came to math, but he had some failings early on. He never did particularly well in school and when put in charge of running the family farm, he failed miserably, so poorly in fact that an uncle took charge and sent him off to Cambridge where he finally blossomed into the scholar we know today.
Socrates: Despite leaving no written records behind, Socrates is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the Classical era. Because of his new ideas, in his own time he was called "an immoral corrupter of youth" and was sentenced to death. Socrates didn't let this stop him and kept right on, teaching up until he was forced to poison himself.
Robert Sternberg: This big name in psychology received a C in his first college introductory psychology class with his teacher telling him that, "there was already a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another." Sternberg showed him, however, graduating from Stanford with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa and eventually becoming the President of the American Psychological Association.

Inventors

These inventors changed the face of the modern world, but not without a few failed prototypes along the way.

Thomas Edison: In his early years, teachers told Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked.
Orville and Wilbur Wright: These brothers battled depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane that could get airborne and stay there.

Public Figures

From politicians to talk show hosts, these figures had a few failures before they came out on top.

Winston Churchill: This Nobel Prize-winning, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom wasn't always as well regarded as he is today. Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After school he faced many years of political failures, as he was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62.
Abraham Lincoln: While today he is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln's life wasn't so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you're not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn't stop failing there, however. He started numerous failed business and was defeated in numerous runs he made for public office.
Oprah Winfrey: Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, however, enduring a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was "unfit for tv."
Harry S. Truman: This WWI vet, Senator, Vice President and eventual President eventually found success in his life, but not without a few missteps along the way. Truman started a store that sold silk shirts and other clothing–seemingly a success at first–only go bankrupt a few years later.
Dick Cheney: This recent Vice President and businessman made his way to the White House but managed to flunk out of Yale University, not once, but twice. Former President George W. Bush joked with Cheney about this fact, stating, "So now we know –if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president."

Hollywood Types

These faces ought to be familiar from the big screen, but these actors, actresses and directors saw their fair share of rejection and failure before they made it big.

Jerry Seinfeld: Just about everybody knows who Seinfeld is, but the first time the young comedian walked on stage at a comedy club, he looked out at the audience, froze and was eventually jeered and booed off of the stage. Seinfeld knew he could do it, so he went back the next night, completed his set to laughter and applause, and the rest is history.
Fred Astaire: In his first screen test, the testing director of MGM noted that Astaire, "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little." Astaire went on to become an incredibly successful actor, singer and dancer and kept that note in his Beverly Hills home to remind him of where he came from.
Sidney Poitier: After his first audition, Poitier was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" Poitier vowed to show him that he could make it, going on to win an Oscar and become one of the most well-regarded actors in the business.
Jeanne Moreau: As a young actress just starting out, this French actress was told by a casting director that she was simply not pretty enough to make it in films. He couldn't have been more wrong as Moreau when on to star in nearly 100 films and win numerous awards for her performances.
Charlie Chaplin: It's hard to imagine film without the iconic Charlie Chaplin, but his act was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because they felt it was a little too nonsensical to ever sell.
Lucille Ball: During her career, Ball had thirteen Emmy nominations and four wins, also earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors. Before starring in I Love Lucy, Ball was widely regarded as a failed actress and a B movie star. Even her drama instructors didn't feel she could make it, telling her to try another profession. She, of course, proved them all wrong.
Harrison Ford: In his first film, Ford was told by the movie execs that he simply didn't have what it takes to be a star. Today, with numerous hits under his belt, iconic portrayals of characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and a career that stretches decades, Ford can proudly show that he does, in fact, have what it takes.
Marilyn Monroe: While Monroe's star burned out early, she did have a period of great success in her life. Despite a rough upbringing and being told by modeling agents that she should instead consider being a secretary, Monroe became a pin-up, model and actress that still strikes a chord with people today.
Oliver Stone: This Oscar-winning filmmaker began his first novel while at Yale, a project that eventually caused him to fail out of school. This would turn out to be a poor decision as the the text was rejected by publishers and was not published until 1998, at which time it was not well-received. After dropping out of school, Stone moved to Vietnam to teach English, later enlisting in the army and fighting in the war, a battle that earning two Purple Hearts and helped him find the inspiration for his later work that often center around war.

Writers and Artists

We've all heard about starving artists and struggling writers, but these stories show that sometimes all that work really does pay off with success in the long run.

Vincent Van Gogh: During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting, sometimes starving to complete his over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions.
Emily Dickinson: Recluse and poet Emily Dickinson is a commonly read and loved writer. Yet in her lifetime she was all but ignored, having fewer than a dozen poems published out of her almost 1,800 completed works.
Theodor Seuss Giesel: Today nearly every child has read The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham, yet 27 different publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
Charles Schultz: Schultz's Peanuts comic strip has had enduring fame, yet this cartoonist had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Even after high school, Schultz didn't have it easy, applying and being rejected for a position working with Walt Disney.
Steven Spielberg: While today Spielberg's name is synonymous with big budget, he was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA.
Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time.
Zane Grey: Incredibly popular in the early 20th century, this adventure book writer began his career as a dentist, something he quickly began to hate. So, he began to write, only to see rejection after rejection for his works, being told eventually that he had no business being a writer and should given up. It took him years, but at 40, Zane finally got his first work published, leaving him with almost 90 books to his name and selling over 50 million copies worldwide.
J. K. Rowling: Rowling may be rolling in a lot of Harry Potter dough today, but before she published the series of novels she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. Rowling went from depending on welfare to survive to being one of the richest women in the world in a span of only five years through her hard work and determination.
Monet: Today Monet's work sells for millions of dollars and hangs in some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Yet during his own time, it was mocked and rejected by the artistic elite, the Paris Salon. Monet kept at his impressionist style, which caught on and in many ways was a starting point for some major changes to art that ushered in the modern era.
Jack London: This well-known American author wasn't always such a success. While he would go on to publish popular novels like White Fang and The Call of the Wild, his first story received six hundred rejection slips before finally being accepted.
Louisa May Alcott: Most people are familiar with Alcott's most famous work, Little Women. Yet Alcott faced a bit of a battle to get her work out there and was was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family to make ends meet. It was her letters back home during her experience as a nurse in the Civil War that gave her the first big break she needed.

Musicians

While their music is some of the best selling, best loved and most popular around the world today, these musicians show that it takes a whole lot of determination to achieve success.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart began composing at the age of five, writing over 600 pieces of music that today are lauded as some of the best ever created. Yet during his lifetime, Mozart didn't have such an easy time, and was often restless, leading to his dismissal from a position as a court musician in Salzberg. He struggled to keep the support of the aristocracy and died with little to his name.
Elvis Presley: As one of the best-selling artists of all time, Elvis has become a household name even years after his death. But back in 1954, Elvis was still a nobody, and Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after just one performance telling him, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck."
Igor Stravinsky: In 1913 when Stravinsky debuted his now famous Rite of Spring, audiences rioted, running the composer out of town. Yet it was this very work that changed the way composers in the 19th century thought about music and cemented his place in musical history.
The Beatles: Few people can deny the lasting power of this super group, still popular with listeners around the world today. Yet when they were just starting out, a recording company told them no. The were told "we don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out," two things the rest of the world couldn't have disagreed with more.
Ludwig van Beethoven: In his formative years, young Beethoven was incredibly awkward on the violin and was often so busy working on his own compositions that he neglected to practice. Despite his love of composing, his teachers felt he was hopeless at it and would never succeed with the violin or in composing. Beethoven kept plugging along, however, and composed some of the best-loved symphonies of all time–five of them while he was completely deaf.

Athletes

While some athletes rocket to fame, others endure a path fraught with a little more adversity, like those listed here.

Michael Jordan: Most people wouldn't believe that a man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Luckily, Jordan didn't let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Stan Smith: This tennis player was rejected from even being a lowly ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because event organizers felt he was too clumsy and uncoordinated. Smith went on to prove them wrong, showcasing his not-so-clumsy skills by winning Wimbledon, U. S. Open and eight Davis Cups.
Babe Ruth: You probably know Babe Ruth because of his home run record (714 during his career), but along with all those home runs came a pretty hefty amount of strikeouts as well (1,330 in all). In fact, for decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he simply said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."
Tom Landry: As the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Landry brought the team two Super Bowl victories, five NFC Championship victories and holds the records for the record for the most career wins. He also has the distinction of having one of the worst first seasons on record (winning no games) and winning five or fewer over the next four seasons.

From: onlinecollege.org

InSpiRaTioN

2011-08-11T19:53:00.000+02:00

Overcome Sleepiness

2011-08-11T11:32:00.001+02:00

I'm currently experiencing painful sleepiness with a inability to concentrate so I searched the web about different way to overcome sleepiness and here's what I've learned.

1. Try to sleep without worries (or else you'll get restless mind activity during your sleep)
2. Hard workout at the gym early in he day so that you get your adrenaline pumping - just do it!
3. Eat a lot of fruit in the morning. It's easily digested & will leave you with a great boost of mental energy
4. Drink coffee
5. Don't worry, it's an energy vampire
6. Create a healthy diet. Don't eat all the time cause the food digestion will drain your energy. Cigarettes, alcohol and junk food are energy vampires as well.

Good Luck, I'll have the fruit breakfast and the coffee for now...

Lets Kim Kardash this

2011-08-10T20:21:00.000+02:00

I've always loved Kim Kardashians style. It's so feminine. Truly a makeup inspiration.

Brain power

2011-08-03T14:33:00.001+02:00

Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought. Your behavior and environment can cause substantial rewiring of your brain or a reorganization of its functions.

Studies have shown that exercise can improve the brain’s executive skills, which include planning, organizing and multitasking. What you eat can also influence how effectively your brain operates.

Activities such as listening to music, playing video games and meditating may boost cognitive performance as well.

- Posted using iPad

Be the Best at What You Do

2011-07-28T10:18:00.001+02:00

You should get up every morning and give a silent prayer of thanks that your job is so difficult. If it was easy, the field would be flooded by amateurs and the amount you could earn would be greatly reduced. But because it is hellishly hard, by becoming very good at it, your future can be unlimited!