You and Wii Against the World

Point of fact:

There seems to be a direct correlation between the increasing circumference of my thighs and the increased hours of television I've logged in over the past few months.

Not good. Maybe that's why I need a Wii.

With gas prices going through the roof, my entertainment and travel budgets have tightened up and I've found myself spending more time in front of the ever convenient luxury of my Sony Bravia HD than I did just 4 months ago. Is this happening to you?

I remember when there were only 3 major television networks, and get this -- television broadcasts would actually end at 2 a.m. The days broadcast would come to a close with the play of the National Anthem, the screen would actually darken or go snowy until the morning news started at around 6 a.m. AMAZING!

Those days are so over. Television is the most pervasive entity in our homes. No need to go into all of the health related evils of being lured into television's non-stop 24 hour 200 channels plus addiction.

If you're looking for a way to curb back or finally kick your plug-in drug addiction, then put down that remote, and CLICK HERE NOW.

Stop and Smell the.....Moss Phlox

Whoa!

This is a photo of a naturally grown and bountiful field of what's known as moss phlox in a Japanese park. I just had to share.

Seeing something as beautiful as this should remind us on many a less than perfect day that there remain simple wonders in the world that at their very sight, can lift our spirits.

I don't know about you, but I am now inspired that someday I'd like to be able to walk among the moss phlox in Japan. I'll just put that on my list of 150 things to do before I die. Whether or not I actually make it to the swirling fields of pink to purple to lavender phlox, I will remain optimistic at the prospect. Against all odds concerning the effects of global warning, I will remain optimistic that the moss phlox fields will be attended to and cared for by caregivers while I make my way there.

Optimism is important to our health and well-being. Cynics lead us to believe that optimism is nothing more than denying the brutal realities of life. To cynics, the glass is always half-empty. To the optimist, the glass is not only half full, but nearly spilling over with endless possibilities!

What are you truly optimistic about? What motivates you to stop and smell the moss phlox?

Get Up from Under Peer Pressure

With gasoline at $4.00 a gallon these days, the pressure to make ends meet is enough to deal with day in and day out for most of us.

The day to day pressures of managing work, careers, family can be consuming. But, dealing with peer pressure is an unnecessary burden that most adults could do without.

When we think of peer pressure we often think of it as a childhood into adolescent issue. Few of us like to think of grown up selves as still dealing with peer pressure.

The pressure to consume unneeded goods, the pressure to vote a certain way, the pressure to go against your better instincts to go along to get along -- these are adult pressures that can really wear you down and drain energy you could be using on more productive areas of living your life to the fullest.

Relieving yourself from the unhealthy pressure of peer relationships can be the best adult decision you'll ever make for yourself.

No pressure, but the choice is yours.

Life Turns On A Dime

A penny saved is a penny earned.
- Benjamin Franklin


Each morning, it gets a little harder to turn on the morning news to hear more about our worsening economy. A gallon of gas is now over $4.00 in San Francisco, and more people are getting laid off from work. The economy is in the tank, and it just doesn't seem to be anywhere near a rebound anytime soon.


Few of us are Rockefellers when it comes to making and growing money. Aside from our relationships to those we've loved and/or lost along the way, many of life's regrets are about money -- money making opportunities missed, money ill invested, money lost, or money wasted.

Life events can turn on a dime. Learning to save money for not only a rainy day, but for a brighter future takes planning, and a change of mindset. Many of us wrestle with our mindsets and habits about making money, investing money, and saving money for the better parts of our adult lives. I know I do.

In hard times and good times, that penny saved earns you so much more than interest: it earns you peace of mind.

And, peace of mind is truly priceless.

Getting into the Perfect Swing of Things

Every Tiger has his day...or not.

Today wasn't Mr. Woods' day. He missed the Masters Title by three strokes. Oh, say it isn't so, Joe.

That's okay. We know he'll get his stroke back soon enough. Afterall, he is Tiger Woods!


So, what about you, tiger? Do you have a little Tiger Woods in you? How's that perfect stroke coming along?

Okay, so not everyone is keen on golf. It might not be your thing. But you gotta at least appreciate the meditative power of golf. Mastering that perfect swing to get that tiny ball into a tiny hole 50 yards away takes a hypnotic concentration of mind and body that few truly master.

I dare you - just pick up a club, and start swinging. Just know that once you do, there might not be any turning back. So, swing out sister!

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

Hubba, hubba, hubba!

Global warming has somewhat fouled up our internal seasonal clock, but we do know that since Spring is here, Summer will soon be around the corner. This is about the time we start getting more self-conscious about how we plan to look in those new pair of $200 jeans we bought a few months ago as an 'incentive', and are still working off those Thanksgiving through New Year's feasts to have them fit like a glove.

We all want to -- and dare I say need to --- feel attractive. I personally believe it is a human right to feel attractive. That's what great hair cuts and cool sunglasses are for.

Feeling attractive is integral to our sense of greater esteem, and adds to our greater sense of life. With so many media and celebrity images that suggest the perfect face, the perfect body, etc. it's hard for some of us to ever feel that we'll ever look as attractive as the face on a magazine. So what to do? First of all, stop looking at those magazines! Most of those images are doctored up anyway to make nearly perfectly looking models look impossibly perfect. So, put the magazine down, and back away.

Look, attractiveness is more than about feeling 'physically' attractive to your species. It's about the whole package -- feeling good about who you are, your values, your goals, your achievements, your potential. Some of the less than physically ideal people I know are some of the more attractive people I've ever met simply because they beam with confidence and assuredness about themselves -- their inner beauty literally shines through.

Attractiveness is not about perfection. It's about feeling good about the best of who you are now.

Start feeling attractive NOW. Stop waiting for those extra pounds to drop, or to have your teeth whitened 10 shades, or whatever. Stop waiting to finally be 'perfect' enough to feel attractive.

You're more attractive than you think.

Give the Best Best Man's Speech EVER!

It's spring time, fellas. It's not only time to start gearing up for major league baseball spring training, but it's also time to get a jump start on that Best Man's speech your buddy is counting on you to hit a real home run at his reception.


Saturday Night Live has a volume of sketches of worst things that can happen in a best man's speech. Perhaps one of the most memorable movie scenes of best man speeches gone terribly wrong is Steve Buscemi in "The Wedding Singer." Talk about the worst of the worst.

If you are already breaking into a cold sweat just thinking about standing before the wedding party to give that send-off speech of a lifetime, then here is a self-hypnosis session just for you: Best Man's Speech. Yes, that's right -- there's actually a self-hypnosis program to help you or your buddy deliver the best best man's speech ever with cool, collected confidence. It works.

So, here's a toast to the best man -- the wedding receptions' unsung heroes.

Impulse Control in an iTunes World

Some say it all started with the proliferation of ATM's. Some say it started years before with the introduction of the microwave oven. Others, with the invention of the automobile. Who knows when it all started, but with the introduction of more and more consumer oriented conveniences, impulse control against wasteful spending seems to get a little harder every day.

There are worse, more life changing decisions that can be made in the heat of a moment. Pulling into that Drive Thru Wedding Chapel in Vegas to marry someone you just met 2 days ago at the Belagio craps table might feel just dandy, but is probably not the best policy. Or, worse yet, how about hooking up with someone without using the appropriate protections against potentially contracting a sexually transmitted infection. Thankfully, some impulsive actions can be reversed or corrected with minor impact. Unfortunately, others can result in serious consequences.

Some impulses are better than others. Checking out how to get your impulses under control is one of the better ones to act on.

Taking the Fun out of Functioning Alcoholics

Happy St. Patrick's Day! There is much to honor and celebrate on this great Saint's day, so please enjoy.

If you haven't yet had your fill of green beer, parades, and corn beef and cabbage, then you're sober enough to take in this bit in today's Huffington Post about Functioning Alcoholics. Just some food for thought.

Get Naked!

I'm not much of a card player or gambler. I play at playing poker with a few friends every now and then. We indulge our parody of the high stakes poker tournaments suddenly proliferating the television airwaves. Plus, it's an excuse to wear dark sunglasses indoors as do some of the big time champs.

It's been through sheer luck of the draw that I tend to win a good share of hands against my equally not ready for prime time competitors. So, it is because of my rather infrequent, passing flirtation with gambling, I can't for the life of me figure out how I once 1) let myself get talked into a game of strip poker, and 2) managed to lose to the point I had to strip down to my Victoria's Secrets.

I was amongst my best buddies. Nonetheless, the fun and games became a little less funny and a little less game playing when sitting near bare bottomed at the card table wishing I had held 'em and folded 'em about three hands back.

But, you know what? As the game went on, I never laughed more freely and heartily than in that moment with my friends, with the bad cards that were dealt to me, and just how great it was to see each of us lose a little of our shyness, shame and/or vanity about being naked as we each shed one more article of threads as the chips fell.

For so many, the fear of being seen naked ranks right up there with public speaking, death and taxes. We even advise people with public speaking jitters to imagine the audience stripped to their undies or just plain naked as a way of elevating the speakers esteem over a cast of naked observers. Maybe this makes the idea of nakedness worse than public speaking on the hierarchy of top ten fears.

Feeling comfortable in one's own bare skin is a struggle that many Americans deal with as a residual of Puritanical notions about sin, sex, and nakedness. Today, it's the increased pressure to have the ideal physique -- thin, athletic, toned -- that makes 95% of the population afraid to show any skin at all, even when alone.

How you feel about your body is essential to living a life of emotional balance and well-being. Hang-ups about your shape, physique, or just unhealthy shame about sexually related notions about nakedness can keep you from a greater sense of esteem, fully enjoying intimacy, and a healthy sense of humor.

You get one body is this life. Most of us will never have supermodel or Olympian physiques, so get over it! Learn to love the body you have. Take better care of it. Get everything you can out of it.

Go ahead, get naked. Your body is more beautiful than you think. I'd bet on it.

Smoked Out

This will be a quick entry, mostly because the subject matter just makes me crazy. Do you smoke? If you've been a smoker for at least 10 years, you've probably tried to quit at least 20 times.

Attempts to stop smoking can become a second career. But it can be done.

Look, I believe in an adults right to do with his/her body as they wish, as long as it doesn't cause me or others either physical or economic harm. This isn't one of those 'truth' about the tobacco industry ads promos. Forget the industry for a moment.

I understand how hard it is to stop smoking. I was never a pack a day smoker, but smoked on and off for 10 years. When I started losing long term smoker loved ones and friends to cancer, I got on the good foot and extinguished that fire once and for all.

If you or someone you care about is trying to kick the habit once and for all, hypnosis is one of the most effective, proven methods for cessation. So, if you're tired of standing out in the rain huddled with your co-tokers, then hypnosis could be the powerful way to gain control and move on to a smoke-free life you've been looking for.

Dream-Works

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

The flying, the falling, the being chased, the talking monkey. We've all awaken from dreams bewildered and freaked out. We know that the oddities we encounter in our sleep must mean something, but are at a loss of making heads or tails of it all.

For several years, I had a recurring dream about getting lost in a endless maze of hallways in my grade school while trying to catch up to my best friends. I'd wake up feeling relieved that it was only a dream but frustrated and at a loss for what it all meant well into my 20's. Once I discovered the dream's meaning, it stopped. Thankfully, I've not had that dream in 15 years.

What do our dreams tell us about ourselves? Why are some dream sensations and visions like flying or falling so universal? Are dreams premonitions? Do we really need Freudian psychoanalysis to help us interpret our dreams?

Unlock the key to your own dreams. Find out what your dreams mean, and most importantly how they can enhance your self-awareness and better your quality of life.

You Are Getting Very Sleepy

Pssst. Wake up, sleepy head. No falling asleep at your desk! Newsflash: according to a recent report, Americans are running on empty when it comes to getting enough sleep.

If you haven't been consistently getting in your textbook 8 hours a night of deep, restful slumber since the Clinton Administration, then this news probably comes as little surprise to you.

"At night, we're doing everything except for sleeping -- we're on the Internet, we may be watching TV. With these new lifestyles we have kind of taken sleep for granted as something that we can do when we have time or we can catch up on it on the weekends," CDC behavioral scientist Lela McKnight-Eily, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

"We don't realize that sleep is a vital part of overall health and that chronic sleep loss is related to both physical and mental health issues," she added. "It's getting worse."

With a steady diet of Starbuck's mocha latte's, PDA's, iPhones, other electronic gadgets, and constant exposure to info and more info it's no wonder we're short on shut eye. Our brains are switched on for work well past quitting time at work, and well into the late evenings. Even if we are not still involved in work related chatter on our PDA's, we're constantly text messaging, surfing the net, and playing with our Wii's. Plus, we still have human interactions to attend to in our relationships, parenting, social networks, etc. We're under pressure to perform, produce, and just plain put up with more disruptions that can keep us from enjoying a good night's sleep.

Resisting the temptation to post this blog from my wireless MacBook from the coziness of my warm bed is part of my own campaign to not invade my space for rest (and cuddling) with my space for production. I require a good night's sleep. Trust me - you don't want to see me on caffeine or without a good night's sleep. It ain't pretty.

Eat your vegetables, put down the gadgets, and get your rest!

You are getting very sleepy. Very sleepy.

To Scott Baio & Other New Daddies

Yep, I admit it. I had a tiny crush on Scott Baio many moons ago when he was Chacchi on "Happy Days". That was way back in the seventies! Life was simple and easy and uncomplicated, years away from the demands of full fledged adulthood. To a 10 year-old, 30 years of age might as well had been as ancient as King Tut. I'm loving my 40's now, but to be 30 again doesn't sound like such a bad proposition on many a day. Neither does being 10.

It's a bit strange to see your contemporary matinee and television idols as adults or still working on becoming adults. I suppose we think they'll stay forever young as syndication suggests they are. As we often see, not all child stars mature gracefully like a Ron Howard, Jodi Foster, or Brooke Shields. Print, television, and now internet tabloids subsist on former child star gone wrong stories. For instance, if they haven't made it to rehab, then they're probably on your way. But, there are a few stories along the way of teen idols facing the music about having to grow up.

If you're into any kind of 'where are they now' trivia, then you'll know that Mr. Baio has resurfaced as the star of his own VH-1 reality series called "Scott Baio is 46 and Pregnant". A sequel to the first season of "Scott Baio is 45 and Single", it follows Mr. Baio's anxiety ridden journey as he works to accept his new responsibilities as a new dad.

I'm not very trusting of the reality on many reality shows. It's always obvious to me that many scenes and encounters are forced and contrived for dramatic effect or comic relief . So, to me there is little that's real about much of reality T.V. However, I have to hand it to Mr. Baio - I really don't think that even he could fake his way through the very real anxieties about facing his new life as a new dad. You can really empathize with his his honesty about his fears, doubts, and anxieties about embarking on the greatest of great milestones in adulthood: becoming a papa. This will clearly put a real cramp in his longtime lifestyle of centerfold girl chasing, cigar smoking, golf playing, and other male bonding activities with his cronies. Chacchi must now grow up.

Becoming a new parent can certainly be full of all the glory and wonder of what life is all about. Becoming a parent can also feel like the earth falling from beneath your feet just when you need to be as grounded as possible. If you haven't noticed, there seems to be tons of resources for soon to be mommies, but not as much for soon to be dads. Hypnosis programs are available for both soon to be mothers and fathers. Today, in honor of Mr. Baio's fantastic journey, and perhaps your own, check out what hypnosis can do to help anxious new dad's to calm down, relax, and really enjoy the journey of a lifetime.

I, Decider: Taking the Pain out of Making Big Decisions

Decisions, decisions, decisions. With the 2008 Presidential races underway, expectedly there's plenty of debate about decisions candidates made in the past on this issue or that. This is par for the course as key decisions are at the heart of democratic debate: was this or that the best decision? What are the consequences of said decision? Can we trust this candidate to make good decisions in the Oval Office if he or she made a singularly 'bad' decision in the past? Should that decision from the past be a deciding factor now among the electorate as we move forward? It's enough to make your head spin!

In high stakes politics, it can be awfully hard to live down an arguably 'bad' decision one might have made years ago on any issue. Politics can be very unforgiving.

We all remember the now infamous statement by our current Commander in Chief when he so sternly declared, "I am the decider." For one, most of us weren't too sure if 'decider' was in fact a real word. Bush is notably our least articulate U.S. President, but the use of the word 'decider' threw both laymen and experienced wordsmiths for a loop. As it turns out, decider is an actual word. Still, the use of it by our President sounded so elementary. Second, declaring oneself 'the decider' without any hint of apology amidst a torrent of criticisms took the idea of Presidential decision making to a whole new level.

Democracy is a complex business in that we can actually vote for the persons we trust to eventually make the tougher, more complex decisions about resources, policies, war and peace that most of us would not want the personal burden of having to make. Basically, we just hope that our elected officials make the better choices that keep us safe, healthy, and prosperous.

When it comes to making major decisions in your own life, fearing that we will make choice that might come back to bite you in the butt can send anyone into a tailspin or a complete standstill. As the saying goes, 'deciding not to decide is a decision in itself'. Comfort with and practice in making difficult decisions can ultimately determine many factors in our lives, i.e., our choice in careers, our salary and mobility, our choice in partners or mates, our ability to stand for what we feel is right, how to follow our dreams, etc.

Is paralysis through analysis keeping you from moving forward on making difficult decisions in your work or personal life? What kind of decider are you when it comes to the more challenging matters in your life? Do you avoid making difficult decisions in the hopes that they'll eventually go away or somehow be resolved on their own? Or do you wait to make decisions (procrastinate) until your back is against the wall and you have no choice but to make an urgent decision?

CLICK HERE NOW to learn how self-hypnosis can help you take the pain out of making big decisions, and start living your life with greater ease and confidence in your choices.

Self-Hypnosis Synopsis

Still checking out what all the buzz about self-hypnosis is about? Look no further. Here is a friendly video introduction by one of my favorite self-hypnosis teachers and clinical experts, Wendi Friesen. Wendi is an internationally renowned and respected certified clinical hypnotherapists. She provides a full range of products and programs that can you to tackle issues from stopping smoking to improving your golf game to dealing with alcoholism.

And, she just has a great personality to boot!

Also, if you are interested in learning hypnosis and hypnotherapy Wendi has one of the very best programs on the internet. Check out more self-hypnosis programs from Wendi on the side of this blog.

Finish What You Start

Today's theme: Finish What You Start. I'm one of those people who has 20-30 new great ideas a year for inventions, products, and new solutions to solve old problems. Man, do I LOVE a fresh idea! I get so excited about some of those ideas I can't help but start sketching out how to make the idea come to be, start researching, gathering resources, and putting my plans into motion. Some ideas work out just dandy, some fizzle away, some just come to a great big thud, and others - I just didn't finish what I started. Sigh.

When you don't finish what you start you can't help but wonder about what might have been had you just kept your nose to the grindstone. More great ideas die in the woulda-coulda-shoulda zone than they do in Washington, D.C.

True, you can't always follow every single idea that pops into your head to it's absolute conclusion. If this were the case, 1/2 of the population would be either rock stars, firemen, basketball stars, and/or U.S. Presidents. We should always keep dreaming, but lighten up knowing that some ideas are just not meant to be. Still, just think how many really great ideas could actually change your life and others for the better if just followed through from the start. That's a lot to wrap your head around, but really think about it:

what ideas or projects do you tinker with in your head, but just never seem to get it together to follow through to their conclusion?

One of my favorite ideas for invention is the ever elusive Jet Pack. Where is my jet pack?! As a kid, I just knew that by the turn of the 21st Century, we'd all be buzzing about the airwaves with our ultra cool jet packs. Wonderful idea, just never seemed to quite get off the ground (pun intended). In the meantime, I remain grateful that even greater ideas were, in fact, followed through and continue to make immense contributions to humankind. For example, the inventions of the polio vaccine, the airplane, the telephone, the computer; the U.S. Constitution, abolishment of slavery in the U.S., and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Are you on the verge of changing your life -- or the world -- with a great idea or project that you've started but just can't seem to finish?

CLICK HERE NOW for a self-hypnosis program that will help you to start finishing what you start.

Escape from the Planet Hilton

I have these friends who are head over heels in love with all things Maserati. They've even formed something of a fraternal order - which actually includes a few women for balance. They call themselves the Alpha Maserati 7 Order of MojoRizing, a.k.a. Groove Masters of the Digital Universe. Okay, so they're a wee bit on the eccentric side of the go get 'em spectrum. But you know what I like about these guys and gals? They remain true to their highest standards, and what it takes to make their true dreams come true.

To them, Maserati embodies excellence and a passion for excellence. I know as much about what goes into the makings of an exquisite Maserati as I do about putting together a NASA Space Shuttle. It's all rocket science to me. But as I listen to them go on about the mastery of Maserati I can't help but enjoy them enjoying their passion for excellence. These are folks that are passionate about many things in life. It just happens that Maserati is their initial communal tie.

Maserati inspires them to pursue the very best in every area of their lives. The craftsmanship, the engineering, the feeling of the ride of the Maserati or the very idea of Maserati represents their Gold Standard.

A Gold Standard to which I aspire to realize? Necker Island. Necker Island is a caribbean spot owned by Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Records and Airlines. Why? To me it represents the pinnacle of a serene, incredibly beautiful, pamper-filled Shangri-La. A vacation getaway could not get any better than spending two weeks on Necker Island. The Hilton it ain't.

The pursuit to afford a 5+ star visit to Necker Island is half the fun. Planning and working my plan to actualize my visualization of a soon well deserved break on Necker Island keeps me focused on what I really want, and what I must do to make it happen. Not a day goes by without me seeing myself bathing in the sun, then enjoying a 90 minute full body massage on Necker Island. I can smell the sea salt kissed balmy air. I can taste the tropical meals. I can feel the soft touch of the fresh linens on my bed against my skin as I lay asleep in the most beautiful room overlooking the beach.

Owning a Maserati or a lounging about in a suite on Necker Island is not the end all, be all in life. There are more personally meaningful pursuits that I and the members of the Maserati Order hold. It is our active pursuit of our dreams and ideals as absolutely attainable that is most important.

Having a Gold Standard keeps you from settling for less than you want or deserve.

Visualizing your yourself attaining your own highest ideals is essential for living your life on purpose.

The Groove Masters of the Digital Universe have a special motto:

See it. Achieve it. Drive it on Home. Rinse. Repeat.

CLICK HERE NOW for the most advanced Dream Manifestation Program that will help you see it, achieve it, and drive it on home.

Toying with Your Brain

Some news flashes are just too interesting (read: weird) not to share. This is from my archives of tid bits featuring research from around the world on improving concentration and other brain functions. I have to admit that I was initially drawn in by the rather sleek, mod contraption affixed to the crown of the shown subject. Once I started reading the article, I quickly realized this was one for the Bookmarks.

What does this thing do? Well, for starters its a brain wave reader:

Behind the mask is a sensor that touches the user's forehead and reads the brain's electrical signals, then sends them to a wireless receiver inside the saber, which lights up when the user is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling thoughts on any fixed mental image, or thinking specifically about keeping the light sword on. When the mind wanders, the wand goes dark.

To learn more about how the science fiction future is now, click here to read on about this amazing experiment.

Improved concentration and focus are essentials that most of us could really use more of these days. In our constant text messaging + 355 digital channels + entertainment tricked out vehicles + internet surfing + more and more daily living it's getting harder to maintain 1 or 2 minutes of real focus on what's in front of us. If you're under 50, who isn't experiencing some degree of attention deficit disorder? The acquisition of and toying with more and more gadgets seems to be the central focus of life itself instead of the more organic enjoyment of real live direct contact with other human beings. Even the thought of picking up the phone just to have a conversation without a dozen pre-text messages beforehand seems out of protocol (rude) and just plain anxiety provoking to others. When did this happen?

Of course it's not just the numerous electronic attention splitters that disrupt our focus. The inability to concentrate and focus can be derived from biological and environmental factors as well. What we feed our bellies is the same stuff we feed our brain stems. Here's some brain food for thought: high fructose corn syrup, mercury (in fish), chemical pesticides, and artificial colorings are not on the food pyramid. There's only so many scoops of fresh blue berries one can consume in a day for brain power. So, use your head and be careful out there.

Improving concentration and focus has been a long time staple of the best self-hypnosis programs. If I've kept your attention throughout this brief blog entry, then that's a decent start re-energizing your brain waves.

CLICK HERE NOW to check out the mp3 download that is helping thousands gain laser concentration and focus.

Taking Home Your Own Oscar Gold

Congratulations to all of the 80th Anniversary Oscar Winners! There were a few surprises -- I thought veteran dames Julie Christie and Ruby Dee would win for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in "American Gangster" respectfully. Most predictable wins went to Daniel Day Lewis as Best Actor for "There Will Be Blood", and the Cohen Brothers' "No Country for Old Men" as the odds on shoo in for Best Picture.

The best speech (read prior post)? The "Once" stars and winners for Best Song, hands down. Sadly, the female half of the singing duo did not initially get to make her remarks before an awkward rush off the stage by the orchestra. Great save by Jon Stewart by bringing her back on stage after the commercial break, giving her her due spotlight for the most real, candid, authentic speech of the evening. It was well worth it. That was the best!

Why do we love Oscar night so much? Even if you haven't seen all of the nominated movies, you still find yourself drawn to this yearly spectacular from the red carpet entrances to the opening monologue to the after party commentaries (for real junkies). We love Oscar not just for the glamour and gawking at some of the most impossibly beautiful faces on earth, but because it allows us moments of empathy for the winners...and losers. We enjoy identifying with greatness, but we also identify with bittersweet defeat. Even if our favorites weren't called to the stage, we respect the winners: they achieved the highest standard in excellence in their field, and the greatest props from their peers.

So Oscar isn't the Noble Prize. But it's still that anticipation and ultimate recognition for achievement in excellence that really turns us on. To stand before the world as the BEST.

For the real dreamers, it is just one in a potentially endless series of perfect moments.

The Oscars also inspire us to achieve our own dreams, experience excellence in our own right. We may not be recognized by our co-workers, employers, friends or loved ones with a trophy or plaque, but awards should never be the reason why we choose to become our best. It's the higher sense of truly living life to its fullest that's the real turn on, the knowing that you're giving it your all, and getting all that you can from one breath to the next.

Living to live your life to your own absolute potential is its own truest reward.

What's your Oscar Gold standard of excellence at work, at home, in love?

What's holding you back from living your potential and taking home your own Oscar gold?

CLICK HERE NOW to start achieving your full potential.

Public Speaking vs. the Apocalypse

"And the Oscar goes to...."

Tonight is the night that almost didn't happened. With the writer's strike now in the Hollywood history books, the world can now resume one of its few universal rituals shared through the miracle of world-wide broadcast: The Oscars.

Who hasn't dreamed at least once of hearing their name called at the opening of the sealed envelope. Whoa! Looking absolutely surprised, then kissing and hugging your significant other, hearing the uproarious applause of the envious crowd of your peers as you gain way to the stage to accept the most coveted golden idol on earth from last year's Best this or that, and then looking into the bright lights, cameras, and now dim sea of your peers, and saying....

"Um....um...."

As you've probably noticed, even Oscar's best performers can suddenly be struck speechless or public speech challenged when it comes to graciously delivering some big time gratitude before the orchestra starts to drown them out.

(It's also a case in point why actors do need good writers.)

While most of us will never ever have to speak confidently in front of billions of viewers, making presentations in front of your work mates, colleagues, church, team, potential voters, or social group can be trigger enough anxiety to make us start sweating buckets. I once saw a guy so anxious about giving a 1 minute brief introduction to the introducer to the real keynote speaker, he dug his finger nails into his right thigh as he sat there counting down the half hour before he had to get up and go to the podium. His nails were pretty short, so he was digging pretty hard to break through his trousers and skin. Scary.

There's a reason why people fear public speaking as a fate worse than death: public speaking can feel like how we imagine a slow, painful death to actually feel.

Click here to find the hypnosis program that many actors, CEOs, athlete's and maybe even world leaders use (or should use) to get rid of their public speaking anxieties and jitters.

Again, while you're not likely to have to speak before billions, you certainly don't want to be scratching through thigh skin to get a grip on your biggest fear ahead of the apocalypse.

You are not alone in your public speaking fears. In this category, you are definitely among world renown nominees.

No Zombie or Jedi Mind Tricks Allowed

Perhaps an inherent challenge in writing a blog that suggests hypnosis for self-improvement and peak performance is that potentially interested readers might wonder:

"Are you writing this blog because you are under hypnosis to do so. And, if you were under hypnosis, how would you know?"

"By reading this blog, am I being exposed to some hypnotic or subliminal messages as I read along?"

First, please be assured that the writer of this blog is NOT under any form of hypnosis directed towards producing these entries. I am presenting this information of my own free will and under no undue influence. No one has hypnotized me -- including myself -- to write this blog.

Second, please be assured that there are NO subliminal or hypnotic devices being used in this blog to persuade your interests in hypnosis.

Not only do I believe in free will, I believe in ethics. The fact that you are here and exploring the use of hypnosis as a tool to improve some area of your performance and quality of life demonstrates that you are open to the subject matter. Tampering with your ability to make your own decision as to whether or not hypnosis is for you would not be in either of our interests.

I strongly respect and support your right to make up your own mind.

My strong belief in free will is one of the key reasons why this blog was started. Contrary to some popular notions, hypnosis is not about placing people under a Zombie or Jedi-like mind control. Under hypnosis, people are actually acting within their own free will. Confused?

Click here NOW for frequently asked questions about hypnosis I thought might be helpful in explaining how hypnosis actually works. Just click the F.A.Q. at the top of the linked page.

And, not to worry - this information will not place you under hypnosis.

Going Out of My Head

Call it an existential crisis if you will, but a couple of years ago an awakening poured over me like a big ice cold Gatorade Dunk. However, I didn't necessarily feel like a championship winning coach pacing the sidelines as the game clock ticks down the final 15 seconds of the Super Bowl.


Don't get me wrong. I've had my share of winning moments throughout my life. This just wasn't one of those times.

I felt like a dog tired player who had been running up and down thousands of yardage, huddling and executing the plays I'd been trained to eventually lead me to record scores and titles. But the plays just didn't seem to be panning out the way the coach or the play book had promised. Either I was following the wrong play book, listening to the wrong coaches, or was in the wrong game.

The reality or simple truth of life that somehow eluded me after years of friendships, relationships, work, travel, meditation, and studying numerous personal and leadership development programs:

Twenty Four.

Twenty four point seven to be more exact. No matter our trials and tribulations in life, all things being equal, each of us above ground has 24 hours each new day to make the most of our talents, our connections, our lives each day. Whether you are Bill Gates, Oprah, or the guy at the deli, we each have 24 hours. How we each decide to spend our time is what ultimately shapes our destinies. Sounds so simple, huh?

As it turns out, time is the stuff of which life is made. This simple fact of life became painfully clear to me when I lost my father to cancer. He was just 56.

The impossible had now happened. I wasn't ready for that. Can you ever really be ready for that?

Naturally, I began to take an elevated and renewed interest in this awesome concept of time. I began to take full inventory of the product of me, asking myself a series of tough questions:

Are you getting everything you want out of your gift of every twenty four hours?

Are you giving all that you've got to your twenty four hours to get all that you really want from life?

At the end of each day, can you honestly say that you've lived your best day that day? That you were fully present?

Did you take action TODAY to break through barriers that you have allowed to delay you from living life as vibrantly as possible? If not, what are you waiting for?

What did I learn today to lift my spirit, and elevate my mind over matter?

Starting this blog is an exercise in a renewed effort, a campaign of sorts: live each day a little better, a little fuller than the last.

It's a new play book for a new game plan.