What is Needed

Posted on 12 December 2015 by Wayne Cook

Too often it is much easier to “go with the flow” cropped-portrait-copy.jpgthan to sit down and do what needs to be done. This includes the mundane (dishes) to the health issues (I don’t feel like taking that walk today), to the current job needs (can’t the tests just grade themselves), to the financial needs of the family (the medical bills have piled up, what can I do to pay them off), to the outright emergencies (hate to say it, but for each of us this could be different).

How do you decide what is needed? Do you have a long term strategy with specific goals or is it more of a day-to-day thing? All of us fall into the day-to-day survival mode from time to time. The question is, how long do we allow ourselves to stay there. Everyone has long-term goals. They may not be fully fleshed out, but they are there.  I know for me, if I am not improving in some area, then I can too easily slip into a dangerous rut where I accomplish nothing important that will improve my life and the lives of others.

Each of us needs to decide what is the most important to us. For me, what I am working on is maintaining my health and encouraging each of my family members to do the same. Matthew is doing so much better since he received a pacemaker. It has taken awhile to get used to, sometimes he can feel it working. At other times, I can hear it. But he is doing fine with the new device. He is planning out his future well. He will be graduating with a business management and accounting degree from IBMC College (where I teach). We are also working together to build our business. It is good working with him. He is a good young man. We have a lot of work to do to make our business successful. The only way I know how to make that to work is to have a plan and execute it well. So he and I have a lot to do. We know what is needed. What is needed in your life to help you be as successful as you would like to be?

Posted in Financial Health, Health and Wellness, Northern Colorado, Planning, Thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Convergent verse Divergent Thinking

Posted on 11 October 2015 by Wayne Cook

Convergent Thinking – where ideas coalesce around one way of cropped-portrait-copy.jpgthinking that can produce a common goal or guidance. This is important for a group to eventually move forward and achieve greatness.

Divergent Thinking – brainstorming, coming up with many possible solutions to problems that need to be solved. This is often called “thinking outside of the box.” If organizations or individuals do not do this, then the best solution is often never even discovered.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking are both vitally important to any success. Too often we have only been taught Convergent Thinking in school, study for the test, know the answers the teacher wants to see. There have been several studies of the way people think. Given problems, a pre-Kindergarten student is excellent at both ways of thinking. By the time we graduate from high school, Divergent Thinking has been reduced to about 2% of the population. Industry wants people who can do both. Microsoft has devised several questions, some of which have become fairly famous, that test how (and if) a person can come up with a solution to a problem that uses divergent thinking instead of the way most of us have been taught to solve a problem. The most famous one is “Why is a manhole cover round?” If you have not heard of that, I will leave you to figure that one out. Good luck!

From my experience, if you are doing brainstorming never discourage outlandish answers because they often lead to break-through ideas. Once you have come up with a sufficient number of ideas, maybe it is time to do a little convergent thinking. Start looking for common patterns in the ideas that have been expressed. They will emerge. Always ask “What if” to flesh out these ideas. The “What If” questions will often find holes in the ideas being presented. They will sometimes lead to a whole new way of thinking about the problem. There is a limit on how late in the game new ideas can be introduced, but that is fairly late and is definitely not in the fleshing out of the idea and goal phase. Enjoy, be as creative as possible.

Once a project goes into the actual design phase, it should be gaining some structure. The team should be happy with the goals and plans being generated. The team should all be willing and able to buy into the proposed solutions. If each member feels that they are part of the solution, they will work hard at implementing the plan. If the decisions are made by one or two people, the rest will not be too happy and may not work as hard in brining the ideas to fruition. As a project transitions from design to implementation, this is where the thinking often switches from Divergent to Convergent Thinking. However, always be asking the “What If” questions so that no design problems end up in the final product.

Where Convergent Thinking works best is when the product or process has been developed and is working well. This is especially true for processes, where new people are being brought into the process. If the new people, who were not present for the Divergent Thinking part of the development of the process, want to succeed, it is best to have each new member assigned a coach or mentor to help them through the best way to implement the process. People still need to personalize the process so that it is part of them, but processes that work should be carefully taught. The new people need to internalize the process and make it work for themselves as so many people before them have done.

Understand what works and what does not. Converge on what works, Diverge on suggesting solutions to problems, whether they are new problems or problems that are starting to emerge with regard to older products or past solutions. Once you have come up with some workable solutions, then converge on a solution and start looking for ways to verify that it does work.

In case you are wondering, the reason why manhole covers are round is so that they will not fall into the manhole. Think of other possible shapes, can you turn them in such a way that they could fall in?

Posted in Divergent Thinking, Financial Health, Health and Wellness, Northern Colorado, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Health and Wealth: How Do You Enjoy Both?

Posted on 17 July 2014 by Wayne Cook

Without health, all the wealth in the world cannot be truly enjoyed. cropped-portrait-copy.jpgWithout enough wealth to take care of your basic needs, the health you do have may be hard to keep. Most of my posts have been about health. However, I am blessed with a good wife, a good family, a job I enjoy, and a business that allows me to help others with their health and wealth. I am truly blessed.

However, the economy in the United States is not the best it has ever been. For example, Microsoft has just announced 18,000 layoffs.  That is 14% of their work force. Being work-force-reduced from a good-paying hi-tech job is not fun. But it does happen. Being downsized from any other jobs is not fun either, but that also happens. Are you prepared for just such an occurrence? What are your other plans? Do you have an alternate stream of income? It is hard, especially if you are older worker. Having your own business is an important part of financial survival. But you want a business that doesn’t require a lot of overhead. You want a business that will free up your time and not take away the precious time you do have. The best businesses for this are in building relationships, not necessarily having your own business that you must be overseeing all hours of the day. Working with others, where you can earn from your work and the work of others is the best solution. The key to this type of business is one where you can help others become wealthy, and from that effort you can generate a nice income for yourself also. Find a company that encourages teamwork and rewards all in the organization in a fair compensation plan.

If you are looking at relationship (network) marketing companies, take a close look at their compensation plans. The two most common are multi-level and binary. From my experience, in a multilevel company, you need to build wide. You try to get as many people directly below you as possible. In a binary marketing plan, you have two legs. Once you fill those two legs, you build on these two legs and help those you introduce to the company to do the same. Often the multi-level compensation plans has a depth limit, so if a person comes in one level beyond that limit you will have no benefit for the work they do. In the binary compensation plan, there is usually no limit to the depth from where the income can flow up to you. In both plans, the key to success is to have about 20 members in your organization.  In the multi-level plan, you need to recruit all twenty by yourself. In most binary plans you need to recruit two to four new associates and then help them do the same. You can see with the binary plan, you will be working with others to build your businesses, while in the multi-level plan you are often forced to compete with each other for new associates. It is good to work together.

The best wishes to all those who are struggling with regard to work and income. Find multiple ways to bring in income and you will be the most secure. <ay you all have good health and sufficient wealth for the desires of your heart.

 

Posted in Financial Health, Health and Wellness, Northern Colorado, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

NoCo Chamber of Commerce Jobs Summit

Posted on 31 July 2013 by Wayne Cook

Income (and jobs) are important to individuals. cropped-portrait-copy.jpg Good financial health is almost as important as good physical health. I decided to take a break from writing about physical health and post some notes from a meeting I attended today.

Future of jobs in NoCo (Northern Colorado) – (31 July 2013) Presented by the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce

I will include each of the speakers and have a point summary of my thoughts on what each of them said.

Technology Job Trends in Northern Colorado

Martin Shields, CSU Regional Economist

  • Tech sector has lost more jobs.
  • 600 layoffs at Center Partners yesterday.
  • Efficiency and productivity up, so job growth slower.
  • Region has added about 5,000 jobs in health care, consumption sector, manufacturing.
  • All other areas are stagnate.  Computer manufacturing on steep decline.
  • With Affordable Care act and aging population, driving healthcare growth.
  • In 40 years Fort Collins has grown from a small cow town to a sophisticated metropolis.
  • Advanced technology industries hard to define, so based on qualifications of the work force.
  • Dot com bubble easily seen in Colorado economy. In last ten years the US.tech sector growth is much better than Colorado.
    25% decline in high tech jobs in Colorado since 2000. Back at level (7.3% of overall job) it was in 1980.
  • Most high tech venture capital going to coastal cities and not to Colorado. Over time the concentration on the coast of venture capital is getting stronger.
  • Presentation slides will be on line later.
  • In 2001 tech workforce 73% higher than national average, now only 53%.
  • HP will continue to be an important partner, but life science much larger growth area.
  • With international competition so strong, it is hurting local economy, we need to have clusters of a particular industry to have a growth area. Example: microbreweries.
  • Need to move forward, or we will be another Detroit.

Economic Development: ignite style
– 15 seconds per slide, 5 minute presentations

Josh Birks City of Fort Collins Health Director

  • Several companies have invested in Fort Collins, as well as the city investments. Fort Collins investments are just seed money to private investments. Midtown corridor is a hopeful new example.
  • Unemployment is about 5.3%.
  • By 2015 we should have a robust economy, new mall, Max buses, new Woodward Governor HQ, etc.
  • Fly wheel, series of Small Steps to make momentous changes in the community.

Walt Elish, CEO of Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation

  • Opportunities best for 24-35 age group. We are still not at the pre Great Recession level.
  • Has information on demographics. Works with existing and desired companies for NoCo. Works closely with various government units to make sure that the two are in agreement with regard to the companies wanted for this region.
  • The Quality of Life of the residents of this are dependent on Primary Job (salary and benefits so that people can afford the life style they want).

Aging and the Labor Force in Colorado and Larimer County

Cindy DeGroen, Projections Demographer at Colorado Department of Local Affairs

  • Aging of the Baby Boomers will have a major factor in Colorado.
  • Before the Baby Boom population that moved to Colorado in the 1980s-2000s, Colorado had a very low 65 and older population.
  • With Baby Boomers deciding to stay in Colorado, the 65+ demographics is rapidly shifting.
  • Rural counties are losing population, but the percentage of 65+ people is increasing, because they are not leaving like the younger generations are.
  • Front Range and Western Slope are showing increases in population and in those 65+.
  • People over 65 growing faster throughout Colorado than any other age groups.
  • Currently, 10% of population of Colorado are 65+, but lower than most other states. We are just catching up with other states.
  • Colorado not an attractive place for people 65+. Very few of this age group move to Colorado, most growth due to aging population (people who choose not to move as they grow older).
  • In 1980s Colorado was attractive to Baby Boomers.
  • In general, 65 and over spending on services and not on goods.
  • Colorado usually attracts people between 25 and 40. Rarely attracts older people. Larimer County not a destination for retirees.
  • Before now, Colorado has never had an older population. Consumption of health care increases with older population. For each person 65+, it creates at least 0.1 jobs in health industry.
  • In this decade growth in households lead by someone over 65 will increase by 80% in this decade. About one-third of households will be lead by someone 65+.
  • 69% of those 65+ will have a disability.
  • People 55+ are staying in work force longer. Younger people getting more schooling so are staying out of the labor force longer.
  • Labor force is aging. Diversity is lager for younger population.
    In time of transition because of baby boomers, after they mature, later generations will keep proportions about the same.

Jacob Castillo, Larimer County Workforce Economic Development Manager

  • Education now preschool through death and is more technical than it used to be.
  • Employers want people who are productive in 30-90 days.
  • Workforce Center can help businesses as well as individuals.
  • Side note – The Larimer County Workforce Center has great classes. If their employer classes are as good as their future employee classes, then they are a big help to the community.

Jerry Thurber Larimer County, Workforce Investment Board Member

  • A skill you learn today will be obsolete in 3 years.
  • New employment economy driven by technology and statelessness.
  • As needed skills change, current (and sometimes future) employees have a tremendous skills mismatch for a new position.
  • Finding technical workers who either live or are willing to move to this area is critical to our success.
  • We need to strengthen math skills for K-12 education
  • The areas that we need to emphasize in schools are expressed by the acronym STEAM:
    • Science
    • Technology
    • Engineering
    • Arts (design)
    • Mathematics
  • These areas are critical to improve in our education system, otherwise we will not be able to compete in the world marketplace. Side Note: I agree strongly with this point, after earning my Colorado Principal license from CSU I applied for the PhD program in order to help the schools improve on the math, technology, and science curriculum. CSU said that they had no one in the department who could help in this area, so could not help me earn a PhD emphasizing STEAM area improvements in education.

Success Snapshot: Woodward Governor

Rocky Scott from Woodward Governor on Why Woodward Governor Chose Fort Collins for Their New Headquarters

  • In the next few years, Rocky expects 10% growth expected in Woodward Governor market share, 3% growth in jobs.
  • What does a community need to do to get large companies like Woodward Governor?
    • Speed
    • Highly educated workforce
    • Attractive location that will attract strong talent
    • Right to work state
    • Reduced life cycle costs
    • Amenities
    • These requirements can be divided into Hard and Soft requirements
    • Effective/efficient government
    • Low risk
    • Low conflict
    • Transportation
  • 60% of population in Fort Collins has college degrees
  • People want to be where there is a good quality of life.
  • Pouder River in Lincoln Triangle was ideal location for Woodward Governor. They love the river and its potential for Fort Collins
  • Side Note: They bought the old Link-N-Greens Golf Course at 777 E Lincoln Ave., Fort Collins, which was first settled as a farm.
  • Woodward Governor is planning to preserve the old barn and grain towers
  • They like the fact that the new sight is close to library, museum, and river. They plan to develop the property next to the river as a park for city residents.
  • Plan to build out over next 40-50 years. Headquarters will be the first building built. Photovoltaic energy to be used.
  • Occupancy is planned for 2015. Six months later they will be able to ship product from the site.
  • Want rail transportation around downtown like the old Birney street car system that used to be in Fort Collins
  • Side Note In order to achieve the latter goal, I would highly recommend that Woodward Governor works with the Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society.

(When) will the Economy Pickup?

JD Foster – US Chamber of Commerce

  • The economy is not there yet!
  • What is holding the economy back?
  • If the economy is to withstand hits, it needs full employment.
  • Recovery started in 2009, but we have been falling behind ever since. We have not gotten back to where we were before the Great Recession.
  • All data says the economy is recovering, but no where near what the recoveries have been in the past.
  • Slow growth is the new normal, people argue that thesis as good as it gets and India and China will overtake us.
  • Use rubber band, top is 0% unemployment, bottom is full employment (about4%-5% unemployment). When unemployment goes above this level, it is like a rubber band being stretched, it wants to return to normal. This is the first time this has to happened.
    Uncertainty includes tax policy, Dodd-Frank, and Obamacare. Some companies have huge committees to try to figure out what the effects these will haven’t heir businesses.
  • All the uncertainties from Washington has increased unemployment by at least 1.3%.
  • High taxes proposed by government has slowed growth.
  • Household wealth was crushed in 2008-2009. Start-ups usually funded by household wealth. Recovery will take off when household wealth fully recovers.
  • Recovery fueled by moving capital and other resources to high productive activities. Capital adjusts quickly, but labor does not adjust as quickly. In past, our strength was the flexibility of our workforce. American workers usually have been willing to move to find the opportunities availability.
  • Companies need to be more easily hire and fire and workers need to be able to move. Housing bubble not only ruined housing market, it also made many people “under wat” and they could not sell their home so could not move.
  • Housing prices are now starting to increase, so people will be better able to sell their homes and move.
  • When our economy is doing well,shocks do not  affect the economy.
  • Quantitative easing is like pushing on a string. Can buy at a low rate, but reversing it will be very expensive, pushing up interest rates.
  • Fed chooses words very carefully. Foreign investments in the US have also kept the interest rates down. But the interest rates will move rapidly when the Fed starts to change. US debt has increased by 30% compared to the economy. This is the first time in history.
  • No budget in US is a problem.
  • Europe has half it’s countries in recession, rest in worse shape. Many countries have high levels of unemployment. They try to solve this by increasing taxes, which worsens they employment picture.
  • China is in a big growth bubble. How much of their growth is real?
  • China is not adequately auditing local government rates.
  • If US interests rise, dollar will increase in value, Chinese Yuan tied to dollar,will this hurt them.
  • Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid do not serve anyone very well.we need to understand we have and entitlement problem. We need to address these entitlement programs, if we possibly can. When will we do it.
  • Winston Churchill said that “The Americans will choose the correct solution, after they have exhausted all other possibilities”

Emily Wilson – Rocky Mountain Innosphere Director of Communications

  • Works with start ups and entrepreneurs.
  • Incubators for Bioscience, tech, and clean tech.
  • Pipeline development – use education and other resources to start up ideas that may eventually a turn into companies..
    NetZeroCities.?
  • After Hours presentations can keep you up-to-date on innovations in NoCo.
  • Text to 22828 to keep informed.

David May, CEO Fort Collins Area Chamber President

  • Stay focused on job creation.
  • Read Coming Job Wars
  • FC residents hungry for good jobs.
  • FortCollinsWorks.com
  • Lobby various levels of government. Work closely with city of Fort Collins to recruit companies.
  • Polls people who run for City Council, make sure they help the people and companies of Fort Collins.
  • Have great partners who supported this meeting.
  • Adjourned Meeting
Posted in Chamber of Commerce, Financial Health, Northern Colorado, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Know What You Are Taking

Posted on 31 July 2013 by Wayne Cook

In 2011, when I had my physical, the blood-work came back great.  I was happy for that.  The doctor commented on how few prescription meds I am taking.  I prefer to know all about a medication before I even consider taking a new med.  I need to know how it works, what organs it affects, how it affects those organs, what side effects does it have, and are the potential risks worse than the problem.

For example, in 2010 my doctor mentioned that my cholesterol was up (268+) and that he would like me to take a cholesterol medication.  In 2011 I was able to drop my total choloesterol to 193 with the HDL being 63 (these are my results and no guarantee is implied).  In 2012, I dropped my total cholesterol to 168. If these numbers were not so good and he recommended that I take a statin (or similar) drug, I would ask him a series of questions, which could probably be applied to many other medicines.

  1. How is cholesterol produced?  What organ produces it?
  2. How does the medication reduce the production of cholesterol?
  3. Does cholesterol really cause the problem or is it oxidized cholesterol and homocysteine levels that causes the problem?
  4. What other substances does this organ produce?
  5. How does the body use these other substances?
  6. What would be the effect on the body if these substances were lacking?
  7. Where would the body get these substances if they were truly needed? Or would the body have to do without these substances?
  8. Is there a better, more natural alternative?

These are just a start to the questions you can ask. Please create your own list of questions.

Also, find out if there are any of your friends who have been on the medication which your health care specialist is recommending for awhile and ask what side effects they have experienced.  Some that are listed on some cholesterol medications are muscle weakness and gastric reflux.  Will you need another medication if you are affected by any of these side effects?

The bottom line is to know your body, know the facts, and ask lots of questions. Always consult your health care specialist, but be a working partner with him/her because it is your body and you are the best person to take care of you.

Posted in Health and Wellness, Medications, older Americans, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Medications on which older Americans are placed

Posted on 27 April 2013 by Wayne Cook

I made the mistake of cutting back on my top quality supplements to save a bit of money. Big mistake! As a reminder of the importance of keeping each cell at its most healthy level, I  came down with shingles. I had cut out the evening dose, but when I was feeling a little under the weather, added back in Essentials, Biomega, Hepasil (for alpha liopic acid), and Proflavinol at night. I am still taking the entire amount I want to take in the morning. If anyone has ever had shingles, especially in the TMJ area, it is not fun! The sad part is that we have a brand new granddaughter in Provo who we were supposed to see the first weekend in May. We have postponed that to the last weekend in May, since the doctor said I would not have a problem by that time. The nice thing, was the headache basically went away two days after it started and I was able to go to work on Tuesday after being in bed most of the weekend. I am stating no correlation, I am just relaying what has happened.

On Sunday, I went to the Urgent Care Center because a rash had developed. I have been washing my face regularly and using Serum Intensive to help heal the rash.  Basically, the rash was scabbed over by Wednesday and it is starting to heal nicely. I am grateful. Again, I am not stating that there is a correlation, I am just stating what has happened.

The main reason for writing this is the reaction I received when I started answering questions at the Urgent Care Center. It is amazing on how many medications people my age are taking. When I went into an urgent care office and they asked what medications are you taking. I mentioned only two and the nurse looked at me as if I was from Mars. Apparently most people my age are on far more. My attitude is that I am on two too many. I am grateful to my doctor, who is retiring this year (but that is another story), that he allowed me to find other means of producing the results he would like instead of insisting that I take certain medications. We are all responsible for our own health and need to take care of it the best we can. The only concern I have is with drug interactions. I have a friend who receives his health care through the Veterans Administration. Since he can see various doctors in the same office for various reasons, he is aware of the potential of drug interactions and makes sure the doctors check for all possible side effects from the combination of drugs. I have also heard that the doctors are not always sure of the interaction of three or more prescription medications, let alone foods or anything else. If it can be hard to determine drug interactions, then why are people routinely prescribed so many different medications?

I have been able to get back down to 230 pounds, but I still have 40 pounds to go. As I have lost weight, I have been able to reduce the strength of the medication. In the next year, my goal (and I am publicly stating it so that others can hold me accountable) is to get back down to 190, my marriage weight and totally get off of all medications. I hope all of you will be able to set and meet any health goals you may have.

Wayne

Posted in Health and Wellness, Medications, older Americans, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Can You Eat Your Skin Care Products?

Posted on 3 February 2013 by Wayne Cook

This is a quick question for you, can you eat your skin care products? Check the label, if it says “Do not ingest” then you should not. Think about the ramifications. Your skin is your bodies largest organ and absorbs whatever you may put on it. Think about when you put your skin care on your skin, does it stay on top or does it absorb into your body. If you are not supposed to ingest your skin care product, where do the ingredients go that you are not supposed to ingest? Protect your skin, but be careful about what you put on it.

Think about your skin as a great absorption pad. Whatever you put on it goes into your body. Capillaries are just under the skin. If it absorbs into your skin, it goes into your capillaries and then into the rest of your blood system. If something goes into your mouth, at least it has to go through your digestive system before it is moved around the body by the blood system. Think about that the next time you put something on your skin.

The best skin care products have no formaldehyde and no added parabens. You should be able to taste the skin care product with no ill effects. Preferably, the product will have a shelf life of at least two years with no refrigeration. Check out your skin care, if it does not meet these criteria, contact the person who referred you to this article, or contact me if you found this on your own. I would love to talk with you about the benefits of good skin care, especially if you are like me and had way too much sun when you were younger.

Posted in Health and Wellness, Skin Care, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Prosperity, and Attitudes that Make It Possible

Posted on 14 October 2012 by Wayne Cook

To stay healthy, one needs to have the income to afford general health care needs.  This includes good health care and products that may help in that regard. I was asked by a friend to read The Science of Getting Rich by Walter D. Wattles, a Timeless wisdom and a practical step-by-step prosperity program from a forgotten 1910 classic.  It is a short read, and being a slow reader that was nice. The article I read has an introduction by Rebecca Fine and can be found at https://www.scienceofgettingrich.net.

There are many good insights in this short read.  The main one is that God wants us to be happy and that there is an abundance in the universe that will allow all to be so, if we choose to act on what is presented.  The first key is gratitude for all that we have and to “embrace and practice what we all know as the Golden Rule.” If we want more out of our life, including prosperity, we need to help others so that they will also receive what they want and need. There is an abundance of everything needed by each person and when we strive to have that attitude, we will become prosperous in all the ways that are important to us.

Mr. W. D. Wattles wanted his book to be “PRAGMATICAL, NOT PHILOSOPHICAL — a practical manual, not a treatise upon theories. It is intended for the men and women whose most pressing need is for money, who wish to get rich first, and philosophize afterwards. It is for those who want results and who are willing to take the conclusions of science as a basis for action, without going into all the process by which those conclusions were reached.” As a devout Christian, I like the mention of Jesus Christ and God in the article, along with some the the fundamental precepts of Christianity.

First of all, we all have the right to be rich.  There is an abundance in the universe that provides a way for all of us to become so.  We all have a right to have “mental, spiritual, and physical” fulfillment, as long as it does not diminish the same right of others. In order to live life in the fullest and to be able to serve others, we need to have the resources to do so.  On a side note, we have a son who has already had three open heart surgeries.  Because of my education and jobs at the time, we were able to afford these surgeries and the means to help with his recovery.  We have had a good life, but we realize that in order to do all that we would like to do, especially to be able to help others, we need to step up our  activity to succeed.  Poverty does not allow each of us to fully develop our mental, spiritual, and physical capabilities. God wants the best for each of us, as long as we use those resources for good.

I think that everyone can agree that actions produce results.  If we are standing in the batters  box and hit a pitch, the ball will change directions.  If we hit the ball within the foul lines, there is a far better chance that something good will happen.  If we hit the ball where no one can catch it, positive results will occur.  The same can be said for our actions with regard to our health and our wealth.  Doing things “in a certain way” will be beneficial.

We need to look at our talents and what we like to do.  Having passion for what you do is a big part of the battle.  What are our strengths?  What are our weaknesses?  Do our weaknesses affect what we want to do? If so, what can we do to improve in these areas? The business we choose is not as important as the the attitude we have and the way we go about building the business.

The book talks about all things being constructed from a universal material, of which there is an inexhaustible supply.  In a free society, no one can keep any of us from using this inexhaustible supply to create wealth for ourselves. All substance in the universe is a creation of God and God wants us to have what we need and to share and teach these principals with others.  According to the book, “nature is formed for the advancement of life.” Our universe is “a great living presence, always moving inherently toward more life and fuller functioning.”  God wants us to be like Him, as best we can.  All things are His, and he wants us to share that abundance with Him.

As we think, so are we.  If we think about what we need and want, it will be created somewhere in the universe.  The items are created through growth of the universal substance, but we cannot attract what we have thought to be created without taking action ourselves.  All things created by mankind had to initially be created by a man’s or woman’s thoughts. There is enough substance in the universe to help all of us to lead a prosperous life.  We must have faith and a willingness to “do”  to bring all things to pass.

God wants each of us to become rich, to be able to better serve Him through serving others. In order to know and do more, we must have more so that we need not worry about our future.  There have been books written about what we need. We first worry about survival, and then progress through being able to serve others.  God wants us to serve, so He wants us to have the means to do so. In many ways, we can think of everything created by God as a living substance that wants to “live more.”  With this desire of the universal substance created by God, if we have faith and do what is needed, we can create our own wealth.  God wants each of us to make the most of ourselves.  Only through us can others be served.  If we cannot serve others because of our own poverty, we cannot fully do His will in our lives.

Creation is the key to becoming truly wealthy.  There is an abundance of the building material of all material things in the universe. Competition, or the thought that there is a limited amount that must be divided between all the inhabitants of the world, does not work in the long run.  Sure, there are people who succeed building their wealth through competition. However, the best way to become wealthy is to help others receive what they need or want. The creative path is the true way to happiness. There is a joy in helping others that does not come from taking away from others what they have.

The way to acquire true wealth is to give others something of value for what they are giving to you.  Franklin Covey talks about WIN-WIN scenarios where both parties receive what they need or want. This is the only way to create real wealth.

God wants all of us to have joy. As such, we need to have gratitude for all that He has given to us. Gratitude makes us realize that there is an abundance in the universe that is available to everyone.  There is no limited supply, there is only an abundance of all that is needed for us to live well and serve others. We all must do our part and we can all succeed.  We do not need to share a limited wealth, we can each help ourselves and others achieve our dreams. Just because one person is successful, does not mean we should bring that person down. It just means that it is possible for each of us to succeed.  Let us all go out and learn to do and be our best.  Prosperity will follow.

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Formaldehyde and Baby Shampoos

Posted on 3 June 2012 by Wayne Cook

A student where I teach told me about formaldehyde in baby shampoos.  I personally could not believe a company would put formaldehyde or a formaldehyde producing ingredient in any product, so I decided to research the subject.  Apparently there are baby shampoos that still use these ingredients.  For an article on the subject, please see the article on Contaminated Baby Products by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.  In answer to this concern, the Chemical Institute of Canada had an interesting article entitled Crunch the Numbers.  My concern about this article is that they talk about the intake of formaldehyde particles for average individuals.  Let us say that a woman weighs 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and a man weighs 150 pounds (68 kilograms).  What happens to that math if you are talking about a baby that weighs 1/10th that amount.  For example, when our son came out of his second open heart surgery, he was 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and received a prescription for a 200 pound (90 kilogram) man.  What would be the effect of that if my wife had not caught the mistake?  I believe that the weight of the individual needs to be taken into consideration on any calculation that involves toxicity to an individual.  Please keep your child/children safe and choose products wisely.  We all are effecting the health of our children and grandchildren by the choices we make when they are young.

I would commend any company to remove any formaldehyde producing ingredients.  Products that are self preserving (no harmful chemicals added to preserve the product) are even better.  There is a line of products I do use that meets this criteria.  If you have a friend who has a product that meets this criteria, ask them about it.  Otherwise, send me an e-mail at waynec@cookhealthalliance.com and I will tell you what I use.

Have a great day and take good care of yourself and your children.

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A Load, a Load, we have an Index to a Load!

Posted on 15 December 2011 by Wayne Cook

I am grateful for the labels that now appear on food products.  There is a lot of helpful information on these food labels.  However, I would like to see two more on all products.  It would be really nice if the labels included glycemic index and glycemic load as two of the listed items.  It would be much easier to make healthy choices in the food we eat, if these labels did appear on all food products.  What can we do to start a campaign to add these items to all food labels?

What are Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load?  Glycemic Index is more commonly used than Glycemic Load.  Glycemic Index is how fast the carbohydrates in each serving of food turn to glucose in the blood (“blood sugar”).  The Glycemic Load is a combination of how much of these carbohydrates are present in the food and how fast they transform into blood sugar (glycemic index).  The example I like to use is that Glycemic Index is equivalent to the height of a waterfall and the Glycemic Load takes into account that height and the amount of water actually coming over the falls.  The more water, the more dangerous, no matter how high or low the drop is.  However, even a high waterfall with very little water going over the edge is not nearly as dangerous as the Mississippi River in flood stage.  So the quantity we eat is just as important as the low or high GI and GL foods that we do eat.

Glycemic Index is not enough to judge a food.  For example, carrots have a GI of 42, but a GL of only 3.  The sugars/carbohydrates they have turn into blood sugar quite quickly.  However, they do not contain that many carbohydrates.  In comparison, Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake has a GI of only 38, but a GL of 20.  Just going on the GI of each item, it would appear that Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake is better for us than carrots.  Our intuition would said “That’s not right!”  However, until we look at the GL it appears that our intuition may be wrong.  If you would like to look up this information, it is from Dr. Ray Strand’s Healthy for Life book.  It is the book we are currently using in our classes.

Looking at the current food labels, they do have a lot of information.  However, they can be misleading.  For example, we can look at oatmeal.  There are four types that are on the grocery shelves:  steel cut, Old Fashion (takes about five minutes to cook),  Quick (takes about 1 minute to cook), and Instant (just add hot water).  The current labels on all four products are identical (minus any sugars that are added to the Instant Oatmeal).  However, the Glycemic Index and Load start off reasonably low with the steel cut, are medium with the Old Fashion, are high with the Quick Oatmeal, and are extremely high with the Instant Oatmeal.  It is impossible to tell the difference with the current label.

I believe that all foods should be labelled with both a Glycemic Index and a Glycemic Load.  I am looking at what options we do have to add such information.  If you agree, do you have suggestions on how to have these two items added?

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