Lose weight! Boost immunity! Improve your love life!

If there were a pharmaceutical drug that did all three, there’d be a stampede to the pharmacy, but for now, no such pill exists.

My advice? Build your own—not a pill, but a plan—an eating strategy that packs power, nutritional value, and a host of benefits into every bite. Where to start?

Simply load up on the Super 7—the seven most nutritionally valuable foods you can buy. What makes them super? Few calories, little sugar or salt, plus lots of soluble fiber, nutrients, and health-boosting phytochemicals—and not a drop of guilt, should you over-indulge! So, if you want to weigh less, look and feel great, the magic pill you’ve been looking for is in the organic produce aisle and at the seafood counter. Here are the Super 7—the building blocks of excellent nutrition and sustainable wellness:

1. AVOCADO

Avocados contain myriad nutrients—oleic acid, lutein, folate, vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, and glutathione among them—which can help protect your body from heart disease, cancer, and degenerative eye disease. Avocados taste great and are easily integrated into any meal—or even a fruit smoothie. Add a half an avocado to smoothies to add creamy texture and a powerful nutritional boost.

2. BEANS

Dense and delicious, beans help raise levels of the hormone leptin which curbs appetite, and they deliver a powerful combination of B vitamins, calcium, potassium, and folate. All of this will help maintain healthy brain, cell, and skin function—and even helps to reduce blood pressure and stroke risk. Pretty amazing, eh? To increase your intake, trying eating them as a filling side-dish instead of bread or potatoes. Beans will help keep you feeling fuller longer and deliver an excellent source of sugar-free energy through much of your day.

3. BLUEBERRIES

Tasty, sweet, and packed with disease-fighting phytochemicals, flavinoids, and soluble fiber—all of which can help prevent serious diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stomach ulcers, and high blood-pressure. In sum, blueberries are nearly miraculous! They also help tame inflammation throughout the body and can reduce “bad” cholesterol—so dig in for better health. While most of us are used to enjoying blueberries at breakfast, they’re also perfect for dessert. Having a snack attack? Instead of ice cream, curl up with a small bowl of frozen blueberries and pop ‘em in your mouth, one by one.

4. CRUCIFEROUS VEGGIES

Want to lower your cancer risk? Put the cruciferous on your list, namely broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and bok choy. Research suggests cruciferous veggies have the ability to inhibit the growth of some types of cancer cells, and even stop others, by reducing the production of free radicals. How to stuff more cruciferous veggies into your diet? Don’t wait ‘til dinner—start your day with them—add cruciferous veggies at breakfast to bulk up your morning meal, add more color to your plate and pack more nutrients into your day.

5. SPINACH

If you remember the old-time the cartoon character Popeye, you’ll recall that he practically lived on spinach. Now granted, he was eating the canned stuff and I’ll bet his spinach wasn’t organic, but the message was clear—spinach was a superfood even back then, long before we knew much about what it could actually do. So what makes spinach super? It’s a treasure trove of vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients, loaded with nutritional goodies like vitamin A, B2, B6, C, K, and E. There’s also protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and potassium. In other words, spinach is incredibly nutrient-dense and I’d suggest including it in just about every meal to help protect and support health from head-to-toe.

6. WALNUTS

Walnuts—you don’t need to eat a lot of them to tap into their power. Just a few a day will deliver a healthy dose of omega-3s, alpha-linolenic acid, melatonin, copper, manganese, and the hard-to-find gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E which helps protect your heart. Walnuts on your plate may also protect your brain and help slow the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Not a nut fan? Crush or chop walnuts to add to cereal or fruit, or blend in two tablespoons of organic walnut butter to your fruit smoothies to reap the benefits of the mighty walnut.

7. WILD SALMON

Wild salmon is a rich source of protein, vitamin D, selenium, B2, B3, B6, B12, and those all-important omega-3 fatty acids. So exactly what can wild salmon do for you? Quite a bit, including protection from cancer, cardiovascular problems, macular degeneration, depression, and cognitive decline—that’s a lot of pluses in a pretty compact package. The best salmon to buy? Wild caught, Alaskan salmon, which routinely ranks low in contaminants and high in nutrients. Wild salmon’s benefits start to kick in at about 2 servings a week, so there’s no need to overdo it.

Dr. Frank Lipman is an acclaimed Integrative Physician and the founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City. For over 20 years his personal brand of healing has helped thousands of people reclaim their vitality and recover their zest for life. Focused on sustainable wellness—instead of quick fixes—he offers patients a customized blend of Western medicine with acupuncture, nutritional counseling, vitamins and herbs, relaxation techniques, physical therapy, and bodywork. In 2010 he developed Be Well by Dr. Frank Lipman, a line of leading-edge supplements and health programs. He is the author of Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again and Total Renewal: 7 Key Steps to Resilience, Vitality and Long-Term Health.

For more on Dr. Lipman, please visit his resourceful WEBSITE or on FACEBOOK or TWITTER.

I am an inspiration junkie. I love the feeling of being deeply inspired. Who in your life arouses these feelings in you?

Inspiration is a whacky singular thing. No two people could ever possibly be inspired by all the same greats, though there are of course mass overlaps when it comes to the luminescent icons of our time, the visionaries who inspire the world. Still, some inspirations are so close and intimate that no one else might ever see or imagine their incredible power to open the heart of another.

Years ago someone said to me,“There’s no right or wrong to your feelings.” There’s equally no right or wrong to who inspires you. They might simply be solid people, or huge walking hearts, or amazing talents, or wise teachers. There is no hard-and-fast rule—anyone can inspire. What’s important is that you are more open and awed and awake when in their midst; that these inspirations not only deeply touch you, but move you to emanate your own magnificence.

Dorothy Whipple, one of my favorite British writers, wrote in her novel Greenbanks:

“Mmmm,” said Charles. “The French have an expression ‘Bon comme le pain.’ When I heard it, I thought of you. You’re good, like bread; you’re essential, you know, Mother. The world couldn’t get on without people like you.”

Don’t this son’s words to his mother capture, to a tee, the feelings that our own inspirations elicit?

It is so vital to take the time once in a while to appreciate these lights; these beacons that have palpably made our lives, and often many other lives around them, better. Why not make a list? Then some calls? Or why not send out emails and tweets? Or post something on the Facebook pages of your personal inspirations? Let them know that they have inspired pivotal moments in your life, and that the world wouldn’t be the same without them. Now’s as good a time as any.

My grandmother, Sylvia, though she’s been gone now for nine years, is my essential inspiration, the “good like bread” beam of glorious hope that will always see me through. I know she feels how safely nested she is in my heart, that she lives on eternally in spirit. And that she will forever float alongside me in all my endeavors, triumphant or failed, because she, of all people, taught me about love; and love is, after all, the marrow of life.

Sylvia, brightest light of them all, this one’s for you.

My beautiful and inspiring grandmother, Sylvia.

Maggie Lyon is a writer on wellness and spirituality, a motivational speaker, and a holistic lifestyle consultant. A practitioner of Zen Buddhism and Iyengar yoga for the past twenty years, Maggie is committed to guiding others on their individual quests to awaken to the sweetness in life. For more on Maggie, check out her blog LyonLifestyle.com or on FACEBOOK or TWITTER.

I can’t say I’m totally Linsane, but my faith that I live in the land of “anything is possible” has been renewed and rejuvenated. The New York Knicks’ unlikely savior, Jeremy Lin, has me tuned in to the shortened NBA season, and turned on for three reasons:

1. Living just north of NYC, it is extremely cool to see the New York Knickerbockers bringing respect and dignity back to Madison Square Garden and making new fans of all ages and backgrounds.
2. I am always happy to see someone succeed, especially after overcoming adversity.
3. As a Jamaican bobsledder, I am super stoked to see someone break the stereotypical mold. As a Taiwanese-American born basketball player, Jeremy Lin doesn’t break the mold, HE OBLITERATES IT!

Stepping out of the bleachers and up to the lectern, I’d like to highlight Lin’s greatest attributes. I’m not talking jump shot, cross-over dribble or court vision—I’m talking about attributes we can use in all our endeavors.

Believe in yourself

Despite being a high school standout, Jeremy received not one scholarship offer. Poor guy had to slum it at Harvard instead of Kansas, UConn or the ‘Cuse. With the Crimson, he managed to handle his studies, and while leading Harvard’s ballers to unprecedented heights. Still he was overlooked by “those in the know.” Earning All-Ivy First Team honors multiple years did not even get Jeremy Lin a look in the 2010 NBA Draft.

He  had to settle for a partially guaranteed contract with the Golden State Warriors. He spent more time in the D-League than with the Warriors. He eventually got picked up by the Houston Rockets. Total court time with the Rockets through the pre-season:  seven minutes. After Houston released him, the guard-hungry Knicks signed him, then sent him back to the D-League.  Injuries to the Knicks’ already rice-paper-thin guard corps, gave Jeremy Lin another chance—to sit the bench. He totaled fifty-five minutes in the first twenty-three games—then it happened.  Due to injuries and other issues, those ahead of him on the roster started dropping like flies. Finally, when the coach looked down the bench and he was just about the only one there, Jeremy Lin got his chance—literally a last resort.

Could you imagine, after all those signs indicating you’re not even good enough for a an athletic scholarship—never mind the NBA—to walk onto the Madison Square Garden court under the hottest microscope in the world and perform?  Imagine the genuine self-confidence; his unshakeable belief in himself. The fact that others did not believe in him did not discourage him. In fact, it may have made him stronger. He had something to prove!

Persistence Pays

No scholarships, no draft, bench sores on his butt, racial slurs—Jeremy Lin faced it all.  Even before the NBA, opposing teams discounted him, coaches and scouts ignored him, and fans jeered him. His response?  PERSIST! Persevere. Now that Lin is an emerging phenom he will no doubt sign a guaranteed contract worth more than ten times what he is currently earning. Let me put Jeremy Lin’s story into a simple mathematical equation for you bottom-liners: Persistence + Perseverance = PAYOFF.

Get Lucky

My friend and fellow Jamaican bobsledder Jason Morris says luck enters when preparation meets opportunity. Jeremy Lin can be the poster boy for that kind of luck. First glance, we see an “overnight success.” But a thorough examination reveals a lifetime of preparation and patience. Jeremy’s father taught him everything he knew about basketball. And as a kid Jeremy was either at school, at church, or in the gym working on his game. While other NBA-ers view the D-League as a D-motion, Jeremy used the time to truly “D-velop” mid- and long-range jumpers.  Here’s another equation of sorts:  If you hope to be half as lucky as Jeremy Lin, prepare twice as hard as Jeremy Lin.

Take your shots when you get them

No pun intended, you have to take your shots when you get them. In elementary school, I learned that the one thing that never comes back is a missed opportunity. The Knicks were off to a terrible start, but even with that, Jeremy Lin would not have gotten off the bench if injuries and other issues hadn’t depleted the roster. So yeah, fate entered, but he was more than ready.  The average off the bench point guard comes in shaky and shies away from taking shots because he’s afraid to make mistakes. Only one in a million dare to take over games; dare to take the last-second game-winning shot. Jeremy Lin is clearly not the run-of-the-mill fill-in. He hasn’t just risen to the occasion, he’s raised the bar for all young players who will have to follow. He’s the first NBA player to put up at least twenty points and seven assists in his first six starts. He went from unknown to the Eastern Conference Player of the Week in his FIRST week. Most importantly, as of this writing, the Lin-led Knicks are undefeated in seven games. He hasn’t just taken his shot, he has given his team, the league, and the entire world a shot of adrenaLIN. So the next time, you think you can’t, get YOUR adrenaLIN pumping! With it, you have the potential to be LINvincible!

Keep on Pushing!

As an original member of the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team and captain of the 1992 and 1998 teams, three-time Olympian, Devon Harris achieved his grand dream. His current dream is to inspire others to achieve theirs. Tapping the same energy, determination, and skills that enabled him to bobsled with the best in the world. Devon, as a motivational speaker, is now sparking audiences of all ages to dream big and take their “game” to the next level. For more inspiration from Devon, visit his WEBSITE or check him out on FACEBOOK.

by Craig Newmark as told to Elise Ballard

Most of our lives are based on daily minutiae. We do what we need to do; then we do a little bit more of it; then we do a little bit more of it. And we get through our lives pretty successfully that way. Now and then if we’re lucky, we do have some big realization about ourselves—an epiphany that changes things or maybe reinforces what we’re about—and if we’re smart, we follow it. When I had my epiphany, I know I focused on it pretty quickly, and started thinking about what I should really do. How I should act.

I had a very strong realization that has caused me to take action in very specific ways. I guess I’ve done well enough in business that I can think about what is most satisfying for me—which has to do with making a difference, changing things a bit. I have been working with a lot of people lately in public service, thinking about what they do and what I’ve been doing for craigslist. I reminded myself that customer service, which is how I make a living, is a kind of public service.

I work in craigslist customer service half-time, seven days a week. That gives me a lot of other time that I could use. I do need some time for watching TV—I’m a couch potato. But the rest of that time, I realized that there are a lot of people in public service for whom it’s more than just a paycheck. It wasn’t enough, just doing craigslist customer service. I realized that I needed to take action—I needed to stop just thinking about public service and start taking action. It was time to go all in.

What is it in your life that is waiting for you to go “all in”?

So I’m in the process of doing that. I’m interested in helping people and groups in public service, supporting them in getting the job done. In some cases I’m just giving advice on social media, trying to help them get the word out. In other cases, I’m getting more seriously involved on a personal ongoing basis.

For instance, I’m working with groups in support of veterans, such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, involving genuine support for the troops rather than just words. I’m also supporting and working with government workers on multiple levels to use the Net for superior public service and with the Sunlight Foundation on government accountability and transparency. I also am involved with large-scale efforts like Wikipedia. People may or may not realize this, but Wikipedia is a really big deal. It is a great example of the balance between professional work and mass collaboration. It is a history of our times that is always being written, and is one of the biggest resources we have reflecting how we think of ourselves and how things happen. It’s imperative that bad guys don’t go in, put disinformation in there, and screw things up for everyone. A lot of what I will do for Wikipedia will deal with information quality and control, and the ethics of updating content.

How do you deal with groups that practice disinformation on a professional basis? How do you prevent them from hurting everyone? There are people that do that kind of thing for profit. They do a lot of bad stuff everywhere, and we’ve got to do something about it. Wikipedia needs a little help, a little protection. People of goodwill need to work together to do that, and I’m ready for service. Even a couch potato like me needs to stand up.

People keep asking me questions, which kind of forces me to think, and then think again, about what I’m doing. That’s good because the more I think about it, the more I realize, the more I act. The thrust of my work is that I help enable people to help other people—that’s what we do as a team at craigslist. Apparently, so far we’ve impacted tens of millions of people, and as I expand the scope of my personal public service, my target over twenty years is to reach billions.

But I have very informal targets. My goal is that the work I do with craigslist—enabling people to help other people—and what I can do to support the Internet and sites like DonorsChoose.org (an online charity that makes it easy to donate to students and classrooms in need), Kiva.org (an international microfinance organization), and Wikipedia will influence the human species in really good ways.

I’ve just really started. I may not know for ten years, maybe twenty years. But it’s setting the direction for my life, and it has helped me understand what I’ve been doing up till now without consciously realizing it: I’ve been doing public service through customer service. Realizing this tells me that I need to go all in for all sorts of public service, in the ways I think about that. That feels right to me. But it’s very individual. Whatever works for a person as an individual, hey, that works for me. The deal is, it’s a matter of shared values—treat people like you want to be treated; live and let live; and also give the other person a break now and then.

HERE IS A VIDEO CLIP OF THE INTERVIEW WITH CRAIG:

Craig Newmark is the founder of craigslist.org. One of the direct results of this epiphany is his non-profit organization, craigconnects. He is involved in numerous charitable organizations and is a proponent for keeping the internet free. He became a member of the Wikimedia Foundation advisory board, is a member of the New America Foundation Leadership Council and serves on the board of the Sunlight Foundation. In 2009, Newmark was named an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin. 

About the Epiphany Series:
This is an excerpt from my book, Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage, and Transform. A heartfelt journey full of amazing stories of fascinating people, from world-renowned figures, thought leaders, and performers—such as Maya Angelou, Dr. Oz, Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra and Barry Manilow—to former inmates, leading psychologists, teachers, homemakers, and many more. These stories contain great wisdom and insight that will inspire—or cause you to remember—your own epiphanies. You can also visit my website, EpiphanyChannel.com, to learn more about the project and share your epiphanies. To buy the book or read more, please CLICK HERE.

As a child, everything is new and exciting. The colors, sounds, and crowds at an amusement park are designed to overwhelm a kid’s senses, but a place as seemingly mundane as a grocery store can inspire the same wonder. Imagine being a child in the produce aisle for the first time. You’d hear the screech of shopping-cart wheels along the tile floor, the squish of a shoe stepping on a fallen grape, the shine of a green apple, the specs of dirt on an organic mushroom, or the crinkle of a Brussels sprout’s leaves. Should mom permit it, you might have even reached out to feel that bumpy cucumber or fuzzy peach.

But what do you see in the produce aisle?

As adults, do we stop to look at the vibrant color of a strawberry? Or feel the smooth texture of a papaya? Do we stop to enjoy the sites and sounds of simple happiness?

Generally as adults, we no longer see the world through a child’s lens. Lost in the daily grind, we lose the sense of excitement for simple things. We could easily go through each day seeing work as no more than a paycheck, a neighbor as just “that guy next door,” or a special holiday as any other day. This type of thinking can put us on the fast track to a muted life, where fun screams of adventurous roller coaster riders become dull background noise. When we lose the spark of interest for being present in our own life, it leads us to apathy, which doesn’t get us too far in our personal happiness.

How To Build Your Own Amusement Park

Luckily for us, apathy can be changed. As humans, we have the skills to train our brains for positive change. We don’t control everything in our environment, but we do control how we respond to the events that happen to us. It’s not easy to change our knee-jerk reactions. Altering the view of our job, for instance, can be difficult if we’ve always seen it as a burden. Positive retraining takes time, and occurs precept upon precept, but if we can begin to shrug off a boss’s rudeness or distance ourselves from gossiping coworkers, we will find that the office seems a bit more enjoyable. Learning to manage our “perception personality” through positive energy begins with small steps. Making an initial effort to notice the positive experiences helps us to more actively seek them out. Soon, a much brighter picture of our situation begins to emerge, and with the right outlook, there’s no telling where we will begin to discover happiness. We can find an adventure in the morning errands, or turn a rainy day into an excuse for some relaxation. Once we’ve honed the skill of positive perception, there’s no real limit to the world we can build. Through the right lens, our daily life experience can become a custom-built amusement park.

Interactive Strategies:

Goal: Engage in positive conditioning (repeated patterns of behavior) designed to alter an apathetic appetite for life with improved happiness.

Exercise: Remember, that you only have immediate control over what you can change—your perceived outlook and attitude of a situation and environment.

Here are some keys to enjoying the roller coaster ride in the amusement park of life, instead of watching it pass you by:

• Express verbal or written gratitude daily for one thing you have recognized brings you joy.
• Attempt to help another see a positive where a negative could be.
• Visit a boardwalk, a mall, a city center, or an amusement park and walk around for a few minutes, paying close attention to how your mind and body respond to the sights, sounds, and reactions of the people surrounding you.
• Pay close attention to any increase in your energy level and write down the triggers that sparked a positive reaction. Written records of positive thoughts, and gratitude for them, help to retrain our brains more effectively.
• As you go through your daily routine, try to apply this spark of positivity to every situation—especially those that seem mundane or uninspiring. Practice this ritual often enough, and the energy you infuse into those parts of your life will begin to prompt a lens of happiness, rather than one of complacency or boredom.

Lisa Cypers Kamen is acclaimed for her engaging blend of positive and spiritual psychology coaching, workshops, and philanthropic projects. Through her books, radio show, media appearances, and inspiring documentary films, such as “H Factor: Where Is Your Heart?,” Lisa recently launched Harvesting Happiness for Heroes, a non-profit corporation dedicated to bringing integrated psychology coaching tools and mindfulness training to Veterans and their loved ones. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, ABC and CBS television, Yahoo News, and Money Watch. You can visit Lisa on her website, Facebook or Twitter.

Photo courtesy Julie B. Handler

Everything that happens to us starts with a choice.

Where did our attitude come from? How did we end up feeling this way? Why aren’t things working out? Why are things working out?

There are choices behind everything going on in your life.

Choose your words

It starts with our choice of words. The human mind, in some ways, acts like the memory inside a computer. It simply records whatever it hears, sees, touches, tastes, or smells. When we tell ourselves that we can’t do something, that gets recorded in our mind. Say it enough times and our mind will believe it’s true. Choose the words and phrases you say to yourself carefully. Program your mind with thoughts that will help you to be the best you can be, and achieve your full potential.

Choose your thoughts

The choices don’t stop there. Words alone won’t create the type of change we want or make our dreams come true. Too often, the forks in the road that could lead us where we really want to go don’t even appear because we have blocked them with our own thoughts. Our choice of the thoughts we dwell on and thoughts we accept have the power to create opportunities and alternatives we didn’t even know existed. Once again, it all starts with a choice.

Choose your responses

We have a choice as to how we react to everything that happens to us. Our life’s journey will not always be smooth sailing. Everyone experiences rough spots, struggles, pain, and hurt—some more than others. But we do have a choice as to how we respond to these events in our life. While we can’t control all the things that come our way, we can control the thoughts that shape our attitudes. Even in the worst of times, we can find the light at the end of the tunnel and move with resolve toward it.

Choose wisely

At the same time, it’s wise to realize that not every choice, even a positive goal, is a good one for us. Some people have thought that if they just think positively, repeat positive affirmations and visualize what they want, it will come true. That is only true if you first choose a path that is consistent with who you really are. If you don’t have the DNA to be a star basketball player, concert violinist, or leading scientist, all the positive thinking in the world may not make it happen for you.

Choose YOU

It all starts with a choice that is consistent with our journey in life—with who we really are. Each of us is given a multitude of gifts at birth. We all possess extraordinary talents and capabilities. There are no exceptions. Our gifts are unique to us.

Our first choice is to live our life as our authentic self, as the person we really are deep down inside. When we do that, we can access a grand library of all that is possible for us—the journeys through life that are right for us. This allows us to make choices that flow from who we are and what we can be. That’s when life works. That’s when a positive outlook can make all the difference in the world.

Don’t try to paddle up raging rapids, then give up on positive thought because it doesn’t seem to be working for you. First, discover who you really are, so you can make choices that will align you with the current on a smooth river. Go with the flow of your unique life and you’ll get in the zone of fulfillment. It all starts with a choice. Now might be a good time to make that choice.

Don Shapiro is the author of the book in the making Life Is A Fork In The Road about how we make choices and use our inner wisdom to guide our life’s journey. He is conducting research for the book by collecting stories from people around the world on the book’s Facebook page and the book project’s website.

There are friendships imprinted in our hearts that will never be diminished by time and distance.

Dodinsky is the author of the upcoming book THE GARDEN OF THOUGHTS, scheduled to be released Spring of 2013. Visit him on Facebook or Twitter.