Live a Fulfilling Life

Posted on 27 September 2016 by Wayne Cook

cropped-portrait-copy.jpgLife is too short. I am not sure where the time has gone, but it flies by so quickly. There is an old saying that one should live with no regrets. Unfortunately, you think about what you say even to yourself. My new motto is to “Live a Fulfilled Life.” Each day we are faced with decisions. Each of us have only 24 hours in a day, unless we are travelling east (with the exception of crossing the international date line). What do we do with those hours? Do we do what is urgent and unimportant or do we try to take care of the tasks that are important first. I strive to take the long-term approach, but sometimes that is hard. Today, I am writing this post, working with my son on reviewing some of the lessons that Jim Rohn gave, cleaning up the rotten apples under our tree and figuring out what to do with those that are still good, reading with my family, and teaching a math class tonight in Greeley. There is quite a bit to do, but it will get done if I use my time wisely.

Yesterday, I met with a friend and the CSU Computer Science department. It made me realize how much I enjoy Working with computers, as long as I can work with people also. He told me that another good friend who started the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania with me is now retiring from his Professorship. There are two major times in my life that I just let life happen and I did not make the right decision for me. Since I did allow those times to happen, I cannot regret what happened. I can only learn from them and not make the same mistake again. Those who are still young, I would highly recommend looking at where you are right now, looking at your options, weigh the good and bad of each path, and choose very wisely, Life will happen and time will pass, decisions will be made for you if you do not make them for yourself.

The question is, who is in charge of your own life. Are you in charge and make the best decisions for yourself or do you let circumstances and others make those decisions for you. There are some circumstances that require specific decisions, but even then you always have some leeway in which to make life better for yourself and all around you. It has been an interesting few months. On 1 April, I was downsized where I teach. This has given me the opportunity to refresh my computer skills. I have received a C# certification and am now a Certified SCRUM Master. I am currently reviewing LINUX, Python, and JAVA. I have reviewed JavaScript and C++ and have been creating a Computers  tab on those subjects on this website. It has been fun. Then in August, Matthew came down with vertigo. This means that he cannot continue his job for now. In order to make sure we have money coming into the house to continue living here, we have started a SUCCESS magazine course on the teachings of Jim Rohn. It is a group of videos that feature his teachings, along with commentaries by the motivational speakers of today that were mentored by him. It is well worth the time.

Also, in “The Leadership Experience” [1] book I am using to teach Leadership in our college, there is a Consider This list that has some interesting thoughts on how to treat life:

  1. You will receive a body. You may like it or not, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.
  2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
  3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error, experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works.”
  4. A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it; then you can go on to the next lesson[2]
  5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
  6. “There” is no better than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here,” you will simply obtain another “there” that will, again, look better than “here.”
  7. Others are merely mirror of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or have about yourself.
  8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need; what you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
  9. The answers lie inside you. The answers to life’s questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.[3]
  10. Whether you think you can or can’t, in either case you’ll be right. Think about it.

One of the main lessons we have learned from this is to give freely. What we give to the world will come back to us. In conjunction with this, Matthew and I have set up a free e-mail list where interesting articles on health and life are sent on a regular basis.  I really enjoy reading the articles that it posts and have learned quite a bit.

Please lead a fulfilling life and do good to/for yourself and all those around you.

[1] “The Leadership Experience, Richard L. Daft, Cengage Learning, 2015, ISBN-13: 978-1-4354-6285-4

[2] My NOTE: this has been the toughest one for me.

[3] My NOTE: we are all born with a special light that will guide us if we but listen.

Posted in Attitude, Computers, Financial Health, Fulfilling Life, Goals, Health and Wellness, Mentor, Northern Colorado, Planning, Self-Worth, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

FEAR – False Evidence – Action Required

Posted on 14 September 2016 by Wayne Cook

I have an old enough vehicle that all it has is a cassette tape player, so I took out a groupportrait WW Cook of motivation tapes and started listening to them on a long drive. One side was by Jeremy Stansfield talking about the effects of fear. His definition of fear was the basis of the title of this article. His definition was “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Things in our lives may appear to be more difficult than they really are or we are frozen in our own steps so that we cannot achieve what we truly desire. How many times in our lives have we really wanted something, but were afraid to do what was needed to achieve that goal? If we want to overcome our own fear, we need to plan and do what it takes to overcome that fear. It could be talking in front of large groups of people, it could be being alone with someone we like a lot (before we were married). There are all sorts of triggers to our fears. It could be as simple as forgetting what we wanted to say at a 2nd grade show-and-tell, or it could be a big presentation we tried to give at a major event. Either way can build in a fear that we might fail again. Unfortunately, too often, the fear comes from trying to do something we have never done before. The way I overcome this is thinking back on a time when I tried something new and succeeded. Jeremy talks about learning how to waterski. For me, it was just deciding to go out and learn how to ride a bicycle in one day. When I think about doing something new that is hard in my field, I think about the first three days of my Masters program in Computer Science. I had only written assembler and FORTRAN code on paper tape and punch cards. On Monday we were give an assignment to write five LISP programs and use a terminal to store them and turn them into the professor via a drop-box by Wednesday. That was a fun three (actually two) days. It is amazing how even related experiences might leave us a bit afraid. For example, I have talked at technical conferences in front of 1,000 engineers. I really did enjoy that experience. But presenting my business to a friend and new acquaintances can give me quite a few butterflies.

The only way I have learned to get over my fears is to take action. Practice is one of the keys. Another is listening to people we admire in order to improve ourselves. There are a few people that everyone knows that are excellent motivators. The more I read, the more I realize that Jim Rohn is one person whom most of the motivational speakers I know truly admire. I am listening to his tapes as much as possible. He would be the first person to point out that action is the only way to overcome fear. Jim is a big advocate of keeping a journal and setting goals with measuring techniques to track how you are achieving those goals. I am working with my son to build our business. We will have daily meetings where we can discuss daily goals and hold each other accountable. Good luck (and skill) with all that you do.

Fear and Faith

At Church today, the talk was about Fear and Fair. A long time ago, I remember thinking that fear and faith are mutually exclusive. They are like a teeter-tauter. When our faith increases, our fear will decrease. As we let fear influence us more, then our faith will suffer. Rachel at our Sunday School said that she saw a quote on her school bulletin board: “Faith and Fear both require us to believe in something we cannot see.” Both do, it is up to us to decide which we will choose?

Posted in Attitude, Financial Health, Goals, Health and Wellness, Mentor, Planning, Self-Worth, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 170 Comments

What Are You Worth?

Posted on 6 July 2016 by Wayne Cook

Too often we consider our own worth based on our income, health, appearance, companions, occupation, ethnic heritage, age, gender, or any other number of items and thoughts. These might have some influence on us, but none of them are who we truly are. As a Child of God, we each have infinite worth. Deep inside, it is our own thoughts that give or take away our value. Each of us only has 24 hours per day. What are our thoughts when we are awake? What are our dreams when we are asleep? Are we living in the past; are we living in the future; or are we planning for the future, learning from the past, and living in the present? For me, only one of these three options makes any sense. But sometimes it is the most difficult to do. We have all made mistakes, otherwise we have never tried. Some mistakes may be more haunting than others, but this should be used for learning since it is impossible to go back and change what we have done or not done in the past. I personally feel that too many of my mistakes have been mistakes of omission and not commission. Not making a decision or doing something I knew was the right thing to do is more devastating that trying something and failing. Through  failure, we do learn, without trying, there can be no success or failure and thus no learning. The lack of a decision is often tied to the self-worth we have for ourselves. “The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized – never knowing.” ― Jim Rohn[1]

There are some key words that have been floating around about how to improve our own self-worth. What is my passion (what do I truly love to do), what is my purpose (we all have a higher purpose for our lives, how do we find and implement that), intent (we must decide on what we need to do and know why this action is important to us), and having long term and shorter term SMART goals. Daily goals that fit into our weekly, monthly, yearly, and long term goals are important. Our self-worth increases when we set and measure those goals. If we share those goals and have ourselves and others hold ourselves accountable, there is no real limit on what we can achieve. Just as a reminder SMART Goals are:

SMART Goals
Initial
Meaning
S Specific – state exactly what you want to accomplish.
M Measurable – state exactly how you will be able to measure when the task is accomplished.
A Attainable – set a target that is a stretch goal but is physically attainable.
R Realistic – is it based on what you know and what you can and want to learn? Is it something that will help you grow in an important area to you?
T Time Bound – set an exact date for when this goal will be met.

We are paid what we are worth to others, we earn what we are worth to ourselves. What is your self-worth? If any of us believe we can do better, then we need to follow Jim Rohn’s advice: “You cannot change your destination overnight. You can change your direction.” A railcar being switched in Chicago only changes direction slightly, but can end up in New York City or in New Orleans. We each need to know where we want to be and change our direction enough each day to reach that destination. Best wishes on achieving your dreams.

Footnotes

[1] – All Jim Rohn quotes are from Good Reads’ Jim Rohn Quotes page.

Posted in Computers, Financial Health, Goals, Health and Wellness, https://cookhealthalliance.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1263&action=edit#category-add, Mentor, older Americans, Planning, Self-Wirth, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 60 Comments

We are each a Human Becoming

Posted on 22 May 2016 by Wayne Cook

John Addison, of Success Magazine, used this phrase in a video he created that portrait WW Cookadvertises one of his courses. The phrase really stuck with me. How many times do we say to ourselves “I would like to become…” and then acted on that thought? John’s thoughts revolve around becoming a good (great) leader. When we are young, we often have thoughts about becoming a good reader, a bicycle rider, a good driver, a graduate. Why do we sometimes let that thought go when we grow older. Are we too busy? Are we too involved with the day to day events of our lives? What is sad is when we just seem to be biding our time before something else happens. We each have 24 hours per day. There are several books I want to read. If I have some “down time” between obligations, it would be good to have one of those books with me to read, or have it on CD to be able to listen while waiting in a vehicle. Some goals take longer than others. I have a goal to be the best father I can be, the boys are already fully grown, one has a family of his own, does that mean I can stop or am I still becoming a good father. When I was seven, I wanted to become a bicycle rider. My parents were planning all sorts of strategies, that would take some time. But I wanted to become a bicycle rider, so I just borrowed a friends bicycle and went down to the end of the street and started practicing. It took me several hours, but by that afternoon I was able to ride a bike. The same goes for learning how to program, I had designed and written several FORTRAN programs when I went back for my Masters in Computer Science. On the first day of class I was assigned five LISP programs to complete by Wednesday. LISP, unlike FORTRAN, is a recursive language (a routine can call itself without any ill side-effects). This was all on a terminal instead of Hollerith cards. It was fun two days, but since I had a specific goal, I did manage to complete the assignment.

Becoming takes a life-time. There are intermediate becoming(s), but they all add up to a lifetime of progress. One area that sidetracks us is our own thoughts. Sometimes we have a fear of failure, other times we have a fear of success, at other times we want to be perfect the first time we do something. Like when I learned how to ride a bicycle, being perfect the first time you try something is just about impossible. As a quote from the Get the Healthy Edge Program, for whom my wife is a coach, “progress not perfection” says that we need to make progress in order to eventually become the person we want to be. As we progress, there are tasks at which we can be perfect, but once we have mastered one goal, we need to move on to the next to keep learning and progressing.

As I talked about in my last post, in is always good to learn in as many ways as possible, including having a mentor. It is never too late to find a mentor who has become what you would like to become. Read, learn, listen. There are many ways to become the person you want to be. Keep learning and loving it. I know that when I have become the person I want to be, then I will truly become an human being. Best wishes for all the success you deserve.

Posted in Computers, Health and Wellness, Mentor, Northern Colorado, Planning, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Some Days You Feel Lucky, But….

Posted on 7 May 2016 by Wayne Cook

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CATERS_Great_White_Shark_Seal_Sequence_11-1024x682Are there some days where you just say: “Boy, do I feel lucky to only be in a precarious position but what is the best way to move forward.”  This could be for all sorts of reasons, from loss of a job through loss of health.  Most cases do have a way out, but we need to use our heads (and hearts) to determine the best way forward.  Asking a good friend for help or advice is a good way to help us determine a good path. They may have been through a similar situation before.  They may be aware of options that of which we may not be aware. Use all the resources available to make the best possible decision in the time you have allotted. Most the time, there is enough time to do things right.  But in certain circumstances a quick decision is required.  What got me thinking about this was a picture I saw on Bing that was credited back to CNN.

Being a mentor is a good way of helping others, but at various points in each of our careers we each will need a good mentor who has done what we are just starting. Choose wisely.  If I am starting a completely new path, then I will gather around some people I trust and bounce ideas off of them.  Most likely, a good mentor has already traveled a similar path.  However, what their skill is, is to know how to find a good path forward.  In the picture, there are probably three directions the seal could jump that are a lot safer than the fourth.  Using a mentor before any of us gets in a position like this, will help each of us determine the best path forward to power us toward success. There are times when each of us get in a situation that requires good decision making skills.  Hopefully, though we lay out a way that removes such dire situations.  However, health problems and job layoffs do occur and we need to have plans to deal with such situations.  Having a mentor, or at lease someone with whom we can exchange ideas, is critical to our future success.

I personally have a few people at Northern Colorado Networking that I trust. I also have several students who have graduated who trust me. When we learn new material, the best way to retain what we have learned is to teach others. Be generous. Knowledge is to be shared. The world is much richer when we both accept and provide thoughtful mentoring.

Posted in Computers, Health and Wellness, Mentor, Northern Colorado, older Americans, Planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Posted on 29 April 2016 by Wayne Cook

cropped-portrait-copy.jpgHave you ever had the feeling, I have been through this before? What am I supposed to learn? Since I was just downsized where I teach, I am now searching for other opportunities. I have my home based business. Contact me if you would like more information about this opportunity. I am partnering with Westgate to help friends obtain inexpensive 2-3 night stays at a nice Resort. I am also honing my Computer Skills to be able to find a position in the software/firmware industry. Our son is doing much better, but after two open-heart surgeries and a pace-maker in the last three years, it has been expensive. In doing this blog, I am relearning HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language). It is all good. I am also learning more about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), fascinating subject. My goal on this website is to have more specific comments that relate to the topic being discussed. Too often, the comments are nice, but they are generic. Sometimes I include the generic comments, but if they are identical to ones I have seen before, I do not post them. Getting back to the title, some of the generic comments are the same as they were when I first started this blog. I find that fascinating.

I feel that I have been through this effort before. As Albert Einstein says: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” What have I done in the past that has worked and what have I done that has not worked? Unfortunately, I am older now than I was the last time. Even then, it is amazing the questions HR can ask that will help determine a applicants age. That is a key reason to have our own business and to start creating it while we are young (NOW!). Which reminds me of the first They Must Be Giants song I heard, Older. I know I do not discriminate against myself just because of my age. That definitely would not be too wise. We all gain experience, at least we should, as we grow older. One of the many keys to success is to use the knowledge we have gained over the years. analyze our successes and failures, learn from them and grow from them.

The purpose of life is to learn and to have joy. Sometimes it seems a bit harder than other times, but those tough times are when we learn the most.

I wish you all the best in all that you do.

Posted in Computers, Divergent Thinking, Financial Health, Health and Wellness, Northern Colorado, older Americans, Planning, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Intent is Necessary, but not Sufficient

Posted on 21 February 2016 by Wayne Cook

cropped-portrait-copy.jpgIntent is just desire. To live a full life you must be doing, or living an intentional life. I have been looking into some of the writing of John C Maxwell and like what I have been able to gather so far. I like the fact that he uses the word “Intentional” instead of just “Intent.” It is amazing the difference the two letters “al” can give to the meaning of a word. There are so many people from whom I am learning, but unless I apply what I learn it does me no good at all. I may have more knowledge, but unless I create a plan and put that plan (based on my accumulated knowledge) into action I will be no better off and will have helped no other person succeed. To not be my best and help others to be their best would be a waste of tremendous potential. All of us have God given potential into which we need to tap. From now on, these articles will be a bit more personal. The best way I know of how to help others succeed is to first help myself.

One thing I do on a regular basis is to look for people who are going out and doing in order to inspire me to do better. There are people who inspire, like Tom Houck who made a sufficient amount of money as an accountant, especially after forming his own company. Creating his own company he became an excellent presenter (from what I have seen, this is a necessary part of being a great entrepreneur). Tom then used those skills to tackle “his dream of building a wrestling academy.” It is essential to have dreams, but what are each of us doing to clarify those dreams and make them a reality.

My background is as a teaching and a software engineer. I am good at both. Both can be very rewarding. When I see a student finally understand the concepts I am trying to share is a fantastic experience. There is nothing more rewarding than that. Writing software that is useful to lots of people is good also, but unless I can see a person using the software and being really excited about what it can do for him/her it is not the same. The programs I have designed and written for which I am most grateful are:

  1. High School registration system – George Washington High School, Guam – This was quite a bit of fun. It was old school technology, using FORTRAN and punch cards. Each class was given the cards needed to fill each class. The students then went around with their master card and collected cards for each of the classes they needed. An overnight run was done and all the teachers had a roster for each class the next day. The councilors were also given a list of each student who did not have 6 cards. If they were supposed to be off campus for some work training, there were cards for those periods also. Where the students surprised when they were called into the office to explain the missing classes. I learned a tremendous amount about sorting and search algorithms designing and writing this program. This all came in very useful later.
  2. Vietnamese Refugee Locator System for the Red Cross – What I learned from the High School registration system came in very handy. Again, it was card based. Because of the search algorithms I had learned, it was very quick at finding specific people and where they were located (down to the tent and cot). The Army also had a system, but mine was so much faster (even though they had much better equipment), the people taking care of the refugees usually used the Red Cross system. To this day, if I meet a person from Viet Nam, I usually asked if they or their parents came through Guam on their way to the mainland. The Vietnamese I met were all fantastic people. The ones I know here are hard working. One owns a great Cafe here in Fort Collins, Little Saigon Cafe.
  3. Internal Diagnostics for the Tektronix 4100 series terminals and one of Tektronix’s original workstations.  Most of the programming had to initially be written in assembler based on the Intel and Motorola processors that were used in the products. I really appreciate the chips with more registers so that I could keep needed information in each so that the checks would run faster. Manufacturing was originally writing their own manufacturing diagnostics, but when they saw what mine did they soon adapted my process. One of the features they liked was the ability to plug in a set of PROMs (Programmable Read Only Memory) into a space set of sockets and my program would detect those PROMs, do a checksum on the PROMs, and then jump to a specified location. I had the privilege of going back to the International Test Conference in Cherry Creek and then Philadelphia to present papers on this program. It was a lot of fun and I met several good people.
  4. SoftBench library development – Hewlett Packard – developed the C++ library interface to the SoftBench development library. Consulted with developers in Switzerland to create a traffic control system. Unfortunately, I was a little late in this process and was not able to help them create a more object-oriented approach so they could have used their modules to develop air traffic control systems for other airports. It was a fun project and was able to travel to Sweden to help this group and other users in Europe  better use the SoftBench development libraries.

Unfortunately, live goes on the companies downsize. As I grow older I realize that most employers are looking for younger employees. This is the way the world is changing, so I do try to keep up with technical development, but I realize that I must reinvent myself and find other ways to support a family. One of the main things I have learned from all of this is that what I do must involve helping others.

Posted in Computers, Financial Health, Health and Wellness, Northern Colorado, older Americans, Planning, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Have you learned something new today?

Posted on 18 January 2016 by Wayne Cook

portrait WW Cook

I have always enjoyed learning and am interested in several areas. The three main areas in which I am interested are my health (and healthy living), computers, and education. I guess the latter can combine the first two. I fee, I am combining the three in this blog. It is a very basic blog, but I am learning some new aspects of creating a better blog.

One area of interest is how search engines work. Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) is a fascinating subject. One site I have found useful is: https://www.reliablesoft.net/category/search-engine-optimization/, a blog written by Alex Chris. There are some good ideas here, some I can use and some I cannot (like my blogs for now are strictly in English).  For now, I am adding more relevant tags and categories to my pages. As I learn more, I will do more.

The latest area of interest in health is something called “Leaky Gut.” It is usually caused about an excess amount of yeast in the intestines. The main symptom that is first to be noticed is a bloated belly. The place I am reading about this is at the website of Karen Langston. I am learning, but I do not know as much as a person who was the nutrition specialist at Sanoviv Medical Center. There are some interesting articles there. One thing I do like about her page is that she does recommend a specific supplement to help with this problem (along with many lifestyle changes). I am using the same supplements that she recommends, which is good.  Her nickname is the “poop queen” and is an expert on the digestive system. This is one part of getting yourself in overall good health. My wife is a coach of a great program that helps in a overall complete way. Her site is Diana Cook, RN.

Enjoy life and keep on learning!

Posted in Computers, Planning, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 66 Comments

The Best Way to Grow is to Serve

Posted on 4 January 2016 by Wayne Cook

I know for me, the way I enjoy life the most is to serve others. There is something special cropped-portrait-copy.jpgabout that. I am sure each of us can think of people who have touched our lives through their service. This person may be our next store neighbor, a relative, an ancestor, or someone who lived a long time ago. Most likely, it includes all of these and more. If we all have a service attitude, then we each can contribute to a wonderful solution that will lift all of us. At the start of a new year is the perfect time to find others that have similar goals and help each other reach our goals and desires. As we serve each other, we will succeed as individuals and as a larger community.

As an example of service is the fig tree. It is created to grow and serve figs. If you are familiar with the New Testament, you are aware of what happens to a fig tree that looks beautiful but does not grow and serve figs. We each have God-given talents that might be our own unique gift to our friends and others. It takes a life-time to know what our gifts are, but as each of us discovers the gifts and talents we have and begins to use them we each will become more aware of how to better use these gifts and to discover the other talents with which we have been blessed. If we do this, we will be like the fig tree that grows and serves beautiful figs.

I know the people with whom I enjoy doing business the most are those who are willing to serve me, find out what I need and why I need it, then offer something that will fill my needs. This is done without using high pressure techniques to sell me something I do not truly need. Certain industries are more noted for this type of selling, but even when I am looking for those products I prefer dealing with a person who gives me the facts and then lets me decide. How do you like to be treated when you are looking for something? I do have products to offer, but I much prefer telling the benefits of these product in relationship to the needs of the individual and then letting them decide. I may not have as many purchases as others, but I find that I have a better opportunity to have a repeat customer. I would much rather serve a repeat customer than to pressure someone to buy a product they do not want. Through service and truly understanding what the other person needs, I can be of much greater benefit to the other person. The side benefit is that I can sleep better at night knowing I helped someone with something they truly needed and wanted. in the long run, there is always great gratitude for those who serve.

Serving others is so enjoyable. I wish you all the best for a joyous and prosperous New Year.

 

Posted in Financial Health, Northern Colorado, Planning, Serving, Thinking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Choose your Supplements Wisely

Posted on 25 December 2015 by Wayne Cook

There are approximately 1500 multivitamins and multiminerals available in North America. cropped-portrait-copy.jpg It is easy just to go to the store and choose the cheapest brand available. This may not be the best approach. I would advise looking at independent testing labs to narrow down your choices a bit. Consumer Labs goes through and regular tests various supplements. They also have a yearly ranking of supplements in various categories. Their customer satisfaction rankings were put out recently. The results were interesting.

Note: After finding out some additional information, I am rewriting this paragraph. When I am satisfied with the results I have, then I will write a more comprehensive study of where to find some good information. Look for independent testing, what guarantees the company has for world class athletes, and any other criteria you think is important.

For now, I will recommend two independent sites for checking out the quality of supplements. The first is NSF International.  I have looked into the NSF program and the standards they use for testing supplements. They do quite a bit of testing for athletic products.

The other site I use frequently and would highly recommend is NutriSearch, a Canadian company founded by Lyle MacWilliam, MSc, FP, a former member of Parliament who developed the standards by which Canada judges supplements.

My best wishes for finding the best supplements available. Have a joyous, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

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