I was curious about that. Strange huh?, we save for needing this for retirement yet if we just eat right, exercise moderately, and live stress free (stay outa debt y'all), we will need alot less medical attention.
I grew up in an Italian household, man were my relatives unhealthy. Obese, smokers, drinkers, most of them died off in their 50's. They didn't need healthcare, weird huh? But I dont wanna die in my 50's, i want to see my daughter walk down the aisle, see my grandchildre, know who they are....the things in life that are important....
But modern medicine just saved my 7 year old nephew's life.....

Absolutely, they work some serious miracles. :yes:

This may surprise you, it did me.

So, here in the tri-valley, we had a couple of restraunts called "Stacey's", they were owned by the wife of the Dilbert comic creator and he wrote the menu. So there were comments next to each entree, on the spinach salad he commented, "yes, this is the same one Popeye ordered, and dont ever ask him why his forearms were so large" :lmao:

The China Study continued.......

It's common American philosophy not to trust our government to manage our economy, but have you ever considered that they may not have your best interest in mind in regards to NUTRITION?

What if I was to tell you that the individuals picked for the boards to make nutritional standards weren't highly educated on nutrition and had their pockets lined with special interest money?

It all comes back to greed. Huge players like the American Dairy Council/Beef Council/etc. hire scientists to come to conclusions that fit their business model. They influence boards with money and members.

Bottom line, what we have been programmed to believe is due to special interest, NOT what's best for your long term health.

Don't believe me, look around at the American public. The average American spends double of any other country on health care.

Which leads me to my next point. The medical field and it's problems. Has it ever occurred to you that the health care industry and pharmaceutical companies don't want you to be healthy? How do they earn a paycheck?

Have you considered that your doctor and a majority likely has less knowledge on nutrition than me? Nutrition is a very small part of their education. They are trained to diagnose and fix the problem, not prevent it. Has your doctor every mentioned nutrition? Very few practice this way. I suggest you find one that does.

As always, you have to accept 100% responsibility for your life. Never assume that the government or anybody else for that matter has your best interest in mind. Educate yourself and come to your own conclusion. I can tell you that I spent 35 years eating the typical American diet. I've spent just over a year constantly improving my nutrition. The difference I've experienced is monumental.

Garlic and onions for the win!

Thanks for sharing Todd. Sounds like a GREAT book, all true too, in my research. The western diet is down right horrible for you. Industrialized, genetically modified all for addiction and profit.

And that is why nutrition is just like politics. There is so much special interest propaganda directed at you purely for the profit motive. What better way to get that done by going directly to the top, the federal govt to facilitate the process.

Got Milk? I'm very bothered by all of this propaganda in my kids' schools. Posters everywhere in the gym with milk mustaches. Give me a break! That crap was giving my kids chronic sinus and ear infections for years. Screw the dairy industry and pretty much any and all factory farming industry.

Also noted about healthcare being a huge killer. This is why buying organic is money well spent. Pay a little now, or a whole lot more later.

I'm still wheat/gluten free and dairy free and loving it. I'm down to 152 lbs. At 39 years old this is the best I've felt since high school.

Here's an interview done with the author of Wheat Belly.... let him tell you how bad modern wheat is for you.



BTW, I hope your father in law has a speedy recovery!

Tony, thanks for sharing that video. While I don't agree with it being the real cause of weight gain in America(Definite Contributor), the talk of the opiates derived from the amino acids in modern wheat is an eye opener! I have you to thank for changing my wheat intake. I've found a couple sources that I get a majority of my wheat from these days and they are both non GMO.

We eat Dave's killer bread: http://www.daveskillerbread.com/kill...omparison.html

For cereal and granola which I enjoy with fruits or almond milk I eat Nature's Path: http://us.naturespath.com/our-produc..._new_value=All

When I eat at whole foods which is almost daily at lunch, I'll choose a rice or quinoa most days and avoid corn in my salad.

You nailed it with it's like politics. I always say it's just like religion and politics. Many, many wrong voices influenced by money or shooting from the hip. I was listening to a personal development CD today and he gave some good advice. You can listen to someone that has lost the weight and kept it off or professionals with the right ideals, but you need to ignore the fad dieters and those influenced by special interests. It has taken some serious study to get my nutrition and health on this level. This thread has some real life changing information.

Today, my financial advisor called to let me know that my results were back from my blood test and examination. The required it for the recent increase to my life insurance policy. He said I'm top tier. So high in fact, they wanted to offer me an additional $150,000. He said it's about 2% or 2 out of 100 that gets this offer from Northwestern mutual. :thumbsup:

Kelli's dad is out of the hospital and back to a pretty normal life. They ended up putting in a permanent shunt that drains to his abdomen. Thanks for asking...

According to him, it's the Gliadin in the Wheat Gluten that's causing all the problems.

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/0...liadin-effect/

So if Glidadin is still in "non-GMO" wheat, which I think it is, then it would still effect your body.

But, if I can remember correctly, GMO wheat has not been approved by the USDA. (like GMO corn has) So marketing a "GMO free" wheat might be sort of deceptive.

Just a couple of thoughts on the issue..

Great news on the blood work and life insurance Todd. Nice when healthy decisions can literally reward you financially.

And yeah, thanks for the reminder... I"m about to start biking to work so I better get my policy back in place! LOL

That's a true statement and it goes well beyond life insurance. Energy is a major factor in success. So is image. Without sounding like a pompous asshole:lol: , I've had a bunch of clients tell me how good I look over the last year. My mentor Jim Rohn said, "Success is like butterflies, what you chase often eludes you. Success is attracted by the person you become." I didn't really have a firm grasp on this philosophy until I lived it. When you improve yourself mentally and physically, people take notice. They feel your energy, attitude, and intelligence.


Tony, I'll have to dig deeper into the wheat. My understanding was that the GMO wheat has different Amino Acids that cause depression and multiple other problems. Wheat may contribute to obesity but I can tell you for a fact, it doesn't effect my weight negatively.

Yes the Gliadin in wheat is said to bind to the opiate receptors and cause all kinds of problems for autistic kids, or people with depression, bi-polar or other chemical imbalances.

My suspicion is all of that is an unintended side effect from the modification designed to increase appetite, much like high fructose corn syrup does. The more you eat it, more you crave those processed wheat/sugar foods.

When I stopped drinking soda, I stopped being hungry all the time. When I stopped eating wheat, I stop craving sweets. My wife did the same and we both had these results.

-----

Regarding processed foods, yes I agree they're very bad. But I'm not ready to throw meat under the bus. The meat our ancestors ate was very healthy because it was natural. Now there are all sorts of toxins involved in factory farming. This is where we are getting the disease, not the meat itself. The same goes with dairy.

This is very dry but explains what Weston Price discovered many years ago...he studied the diets of isolated tribes and villages from many cultured and noted what they ate. The healthiest ones ate natural meat, dairy and fermented grains. The others had a processed western diet and suffered from rotten teeth and disease.

52 Years of Age

Is said to be the age when the average man cements his own personal philosophy. What does that really mean? It's a sum of everything we've absorbed throughout our lives. The influences of our parents, teachers, friends, church, government, experiences, etc. Ultimately, it's what we decide to employ in our daily lives and accept as right or wrong.

One of the greatest challenges of life is determining who we really want to be and having the guts to puff out our chest and live that life. From the day we were born until today, all those external sources have tried to influence us to have their philosophy. In many cases, we had no choice but to accept that fate. While we rebelled at the start, over time it became a habit and part of our personal philosophy. Engrained in the way we think and act.

Self-abuse comes from self-rejection, and self-rejection comes from having and image of what it means to be perfect and never measuring up to that ideal. -Don Miguel Ruiz

Look around, how many are living their lives by comparing themselves to some imaginary American yard stick? For example, buying the biggest house, nicest car, designer clothes, that they can't afford.

Are the standards you've set for yourself from your own education and experience or is your current philosophy based on negative influence from the past?

My previous example was based on image but it runs much deeper. For example, one of my weaknesses is judging people and being way to critical of them and making assumptions. I know for a fact that it was ground into my brain through my childhood by my parents and society. While I pinpointed the problem say 6 months ago, I've spent 35 years thinking this way. It's certainly not who I WANT to be but the way we think takes time to change.

Just being ourselves is the biggest fear of humans-Don Miguel Ruiz

It's my opinion that we must welcome new experiences and continually feed our mind with new positive influence through education to cement our TRUE personal philosophy.

How many people do you know that graduated from high school and then college and thought they knew enough so they stopped learning?

What I've found on my personal development crusade(Estimating over 600 hours of study in just over a year) is that the things I once Hated I now Love, and what I once Loved I now Hate. Until you allow yourself to go outside your comfort zone through new experiences and study the wisdom of some of the pasts most influential and successful, maybe your life made up of standards set by society and past influences, GOOD or BAD.

The way we judge ourselves is the worst judge that ever existed-Don Miguel Ruiz

My mentor Jim Rohn said, "The way we feel about ourselves is one of the greatest challenges of life".

If you are living your life based on somebody else's standards, (Whether it's societies or personal influences) it could be one of your greatest sources of unhappiness.

It's crucial that we pinpoint our weaknesses and work on improving them. They are energy and attitude suckers.

I have an accountability partner that I meat with every month. Last month we decided to have those closest to us (Spouse, Parent, Employee, Eachother) make a list of our 3 greatest strengths and two constructive criticisms. It was very interesting to see myself from outside the picture frame. I can honestly say that there were positive and negatives that I wouldn't have thought in a million years. However, once I thought about it I realized that they had me nailed. I never saw myself as having a great attitude. On the flip side, I didn't see myself as rigid either. I highly recommend this exercise.

Bottom line, weave the greatest personal philosophy you can create. Pinpoint your weaknesses and work on them constantly. It will have a great effect on the trajectory of your life and ultimately, how happy you can be.

My weakness is being negative. It's as simple as that. When I just made a conscious effort to discover silver linings, and just focus on positive aspects of my life, it made a difference in my happiness. It also showed me how negative some others were around me, that I had never noticed, because I was in that same mindset. It's so cliche, but since it's always been my biggest weakness, it was hard to see that.

My new favorite response to negativity? First world problems. We have it pretty good here, and most of our stress is nothing compared to how other people live in the world, or how our ancestors lived.

That's a big one Tony. As Jim Rohn said, There has never been a better wind in 6,000 years than we have today. It's all perception.

That's why philosophy is so important. It dictates how you think. How you think is the biggest factor in how your life turns out. It's also a huge challenge to beat negativity into a small corner. Pinpointing your weaknesses through personal development and developing new philosophies is how you become a better person. It's made a HUGE difference in my life.

Your taste and desire for food changes with diet.

I can tell you this is a fact. When I originally changed my nutrition, good foods actually started to taste, good. As I progressed the foods I used to crave now gave way to healthier options. I've now went off the deep end. :lol:

The key is to give it a chance. A few weeks minimum. It also takes time to learn how to prepare healthier options. One of the best ways to prepare vegetables is on a cookie sheet with olive oil and spices. 45-60 minutes and you have great vegetables. Onions, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Cauliflower, etc.

Yup. Junk food is like an addictive drug..once you get off, you crave real food.

I went to super Walmart last night..it was like stepping into the Matrix...all the wheat/sugar/processed oil products. Everywhere was just the same combination of a wheat/sugar product in different packaging.

I understand why the markets are stuffed full of processed foods and there is a fast food restaurant on every corner. Americans are short on time and there is serious demand for food with our world population. Health has moved down the line in order of importance. "I don't have time to educate myself, eat healthy, or exercise."

You can't afford not to MAKE the time to take care of yourself. There is nothing more important. Without your health you can't take care of yourself, let alone your family.

I tend to get a little aggressive with these posts but I'm trying to motivate people to buy what I'm selling. I know what a profound difference it's made in my life. I'm very passionate about it.

Tony, I know it has in your life as well.

If we motivate one to change their lives, it will be worth the effort.

I've read this thread several times and not responded, but now might be a good time too...

I'm 47, 5'11", and recently weighed in at an all time high of 275 pounds. I have been blessed with and enjoyed excellent health all my life despite being a smoker and being overweight. Things needed to change and I started on both issues 2 weeks ago.

I immediately cut out sodas, I'm feeling a dramatic change from that already. I'm down to 8-10 smokes a day, I should be completely free of them late next week. I've cut out the starches, fructose, and processed foods out of my diet and feel far better already and I've already lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks.

When I was a Marine 20 years ago I was in great shape but a GSW to my right knee made running long distance (my favorite exercise) almost impossible. I tried to counter the loss of running with weight training but it never seemed to maintain my condition like running did so I started gaining weight. By 2000 I had gone from 175 when discharged to 210 and I continued to slowly gain weight until 2008 when my wife passed away. I had stayed around 240 for the 2 years prior but dropped back to 225 after her loss, mostly because I didn't have a beautiful Italian woman pushing pasta on me all the time.

Moving to Minnesota, the land of starches, and having 2 teen-age boys in the house has made the weight come rushing back in a "big" way until I hit the shocking number - 275!

Several things have motivated me recently - health in general, wanting to see these boys grow up, wanting to be healthy and energetic again, and wanting to look at pictures of myself without being shocked. Another motivator that I didn't expect was driving a road course. I hadn't done so in 6-7 years and when I did I realized just how much more strain it put on my body with the extra weight. Holy crap, it wore me out after 5-6 laps!

My Firebird is going to take about 2 years to complete and now as I build it I'm going to rebuild my body so I can enjoy it once complete! Getting down to 175-180 is where I want to be and of course, smoke free. I will post updates as I go along!

Russ, I'm glad you woke up and smelled the coffee.:) Life's greatest motivator is WHY. I can't think of a better reason that for your kids. One of the best things you can do for them is to improve yourself. After all, you lead by example.

Do yourself a favor and start studying nutrition as it makes the biggest difference. You can workout 10 hours a week and blow it with your diet. The key is a lifestyle change. Embrace new healthy foods and learn how to prepare them properly. Grab a vegetarian cookbook to help. Get your family on board. If your Wife wants to lose a few pounds, set goals together and reward each other at milestones.

These are my two favorite books:
http://www.amazon.com/Live-Young-For...s=jack+lalanne
http://www.amazon.com/The-China-Stud...ds=china+study

Remember, it won't be easy to break the chains of those old habits. A bad habit must be replaced with a good habit. An alcoholic that went to the bar every night for 20 years can't suddenly stay home and do nothing. It will lead back to the same old road.

You can count on us to be your accountability partner. Check in and let us know your progression and what you've learned.

The subject of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) really gets my blood boiling. Greed has changed the foods we all consume by genetically modifying the seed that is used by a majority of farmers. It's a real problem because it's far more wide spread than you think. For instance, the livestock eats the GMO corn or hay and now your meat is genetically modified. How about the milk or cheese from the cows? How about the oil you use to cook with? Think you are doing yourself a favor eating Soy? The farm raised salmon is fed GMO feed. The salad dressing you eat is made from GMO oils. It's in 80% of processed foods!

Bottom line for me, I'll eat my food how GOD created it. Not how some greedy corporations and their puppets decided to make it. The more I learn about nutrition, the scarier it gets.

To avoid GMO's, buy food with these two labels. http://gmoawareness.org/buy-non-gmo/

Do your family a favor and watch this video.

Ever read the book they made the movie from? The Informant by journalist Kurt Eichenwald.:wow:

While they poison you they also gouge you at the cash register.

:cheers:

Todd, did we discuss here about "farm fed" salmon? How they contain NO omega 3...only the wild ones do.....

Mike

I haven't but it looks interesting. I'm not sure I even want to know. :lol:

Mike, I'm not seeing that they have NO Omega 3's, just reduced levels. Recently, I've heard that the nuclear spill in Japan has polluted some of the Pacific fish including Salmon. From the bottom of the food chain all the way to the top.

I take an Omega 3 everyday and it has increased my HDL(Good Cholesterol) over the last 6-8 months.

I must say that it's nearly impossible to avoid consuming foods with misc. ingredients that are not in our best interest if you eat out or don't watch labels really closely.

We aren't going to get out of this life alive, the whole premise is to make better nutritional decisions daily based on education. Nutrition is a complicated maze of information.

It goes back to one basic fundamental. A whole food, plant based diet that man hasn't meddled with in a laboratory. If you can't pronounce it or have no clue what it is, that's your first clue that it's not ideal for consumption. I'm certainly not against eating meat, I do now believe that it should be a minority of the diet, not majority.

My best advice to anyone is to eat single ingredient foods. But even that has it's disclaimers. *corn, GMO, etc. So we really have to wake up to all this modified stuff. The long term dangers aren't known, but we do know that the way wheat has been modified is that it's not in the consumers best interests. I think we can deduct the same reasoning from all GMOs.

Personal update for me. I've put away all my 34" pants. Too big. I broke out my 32" ones from almost 10 years ago and they are loose. I'm down to 149lbs just on eating a healthy diet.

Any new food/products people want to share? I've heard good things about Hemp protein/oil/seeds etc.

Welcome Russ... good luck on your journey. Let us know how it goes. Forget excercise (for now) and get your diet in check. You will loose lbs fast. My advice is to stop eating any and all wheat and sugar based products.

Way to go Tony! You better start pumping some weights. :D

Heart disease has always been thought to be a mid to late life problem in American society. The truth is that it starts in childhood. It simply catches up to people in mid to late life in most cases.

The good news is that our kids don't have to suffer the same fate by changing their habits while they are impressionable. It's also been proven that the body can actually clean out it's own arteries after 2-3 years of a plant based diet.

I was waaaaay to into lifting... had a pic of Ahhhnold up on my mirror. LOL.

I would ride my bike to work but I have to drop my daughter off and haul stuff. That's my excuse. I may try some crossfit one day....

Re: Heart disease, I'm convinced it's all the process hydrogenated oils in our body..yes kids get plenty of that. Increase in heart disease took off with margarine use... no coincidence there. We never had that problem in our history when ate real butter. Butter is said to be an antioxidant and cleanser too... butter and olive oil.

On another note we started washing all our fruits and veggies in a sink of water and white or apple cider vinegar. You should see the water after they soak.. yuck! But we are eating clean foods..no pesticides if we can help it.

So Tony, thats interesting about "what to wash them with" , water or vinegar? cause i've never heard of the vinegar one before.....

Vinegar is amazing..... take the worst rusted piece of metal you can find, let it soak in apple cider vinegar for 24hrs and you will be amazed at how clean the parts come out.

Soak all your produce in a sink full of water and 1 cup of vinegar, apple cider or white and they'll be super clean and ready to eat in an 15 mins.

http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/0...cider-vinegar/

I always talk about how great healthy food can taste. Kelli knocked it clean out of the park tonight. It may surprise you.

Quinoa Concoction

1/2 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 head of broccoli
1 can of kidney beans
1/2 white onion
1 tomato
Garlic powder
Chives
Marjoram(Seasoning)
Basil
Thyme
Celery salt
Kosher salt
Black Pepper

I'm estimating 600 calories and a nice balance of protein and carbs. Fiber is off the charts. I'll eat a healthy desert to get my calories closer to 900 tonight.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc86890ba.jpg

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps75fb1f51.jpg

I enjoy some tasty quinoa occasionally... you married well. :D

You're damn right. :lol:

I just survived a house full of strep throat..not sure HOW I managed to do that, but I think a few things helped.

One being I supplemented zinc twice a day after breakfast and dinner and 2nd, I ate raw onions, which pretty much will kill any living thing in my throat and sinuses. Not sure if those were the silver bullets, but coming out clean of a house filled with 2 snotty kids and wife is something I have to brag about.

:relax:

Winter regimen: Onions, vinegar and zinc. The kids love to bring home germs from public school.

Yesterday was quite possibly the best I've felt in my entire life. Just buzzing with energy from bell to bell. I've been working on my health constantly for over a year now and want to share all the major factors I feel contributed.

Education-I've read well over 1,000 pages on health and nutrition.

Drastic weight loss-Over 30 lbs

Alcohol intake-Drastic reduction

Consistent exercise-At least 4 times per week/high intensity

Medical-Supplemented to fix B12 deficiency and low HDL(Confirmed results through blood test) Take oral B12 and fish oil daily.

Went to my 3rd ENT and finally have a nose spray that works. Breathing better than I have in a looong time. Helping with sleep and exercise. Had 90% blockage upon seeing my current ENT. Down to 70% and improving. Looks like I will avoid surgery.

Probiotics-Take 50 billion good bacteria per day. I have suffered from chronic constipation most of my life. I haven't needed a laxative since I started a real probiotic. (Foods don't contain enough)

Nutrition-I started out with Jack Lalanne ideals and have branched off based on research and how I feel. I stay away from dairy as much as possible. I eat no high fructose corn syrup if I can help it. I stay away from GMO's if at all possible. I eat very little meat. Two to three times a week.

To sum it up, it's been a constant progression towards a whole food, plant based diet. (Lot's of vegetable, fruits, beans, Non gmo wheat, nuts, quinoa, hummus)

My Wife is on board and shops with these ideals and cooks meals that will knock your socks off.

Supplements-(In addition to above)All I take is a green drink called Green Vibrance. It's loaded with vegetables and herbs. My body really reacts well to it. http://www.amazon.com/Vibrant-Health...green+vibrance

I've fought really hard to get to this point. There has been a bunch of trial and error along the way. I think it's important to point out that there is health AND fitness. You can be fit and not feel great and vice versus. I speak from experience.

Then, you can be fit and healthy and have a rotten mind. To be honest, I'm not sure how healthy you can really be if you aren't mentally fit. The mind and body work in unison. I've worked harder on my mind than I have my health and fitness. Over 30 books, dozens of cd's, two journals, notebook full of ideas, accountability meetings, coaching, and on down the line. I've quit watching news and made new positive friendships. I've went outside my comfort zone and tried new things that I thoroughly enjoyed. I've nailed down my inherit weaknesses that effect my attitude and continually work on them. I set real goals at work and home and Kelli and I have combined goals. (Where we want to travel, how much retirement income/net worth, where we want to live, etc) Nailed down what really pulls me to get out of bed and suck it up everyday. WHY Come up with your 5 most important reasons.

I'm sure you are thinking, that's a hell of a lot of work and I don't need to change this much. We can all improve and it really all starts with a new habit like an apple a day or reading before bed, listening to a cd on the way to work. You keep adding bricks to the stack every day. Doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. I've probably done 10 years worth of changing in a little over a year.

What I once loved, I now hate, what I once hated, I now love. My old bad habits have been replaced by good disciplines that have now become like brushing me teeth. It's been a fun ride and I'm not looking back. I've got a lot to learn and places to go.

I'm a firm believer that if you want a better life, you must become a better person.

Thanks buddy. :cheers: I feel like I have built a solid foundation for the new plane my life is on.

If I had to pick the top 5 for each category right now:

Health:
1. Education
2. Whole Food/Plant Based Diet
3. Work out routine
4. Probiotics
5. Green Drink

Mental:
1. Realizing I had to take 100% responsibility for my future and circumstances. That I had to improve myself to improve my life and my life would improve to the degree I improved myself. (Not wait for external influences to change like the economy, friends, taxes, president, market, etc)
2. Spending 1 hour a day on personal development. Feeding my mind with positive influence. (Books, CD's, Positive Friends, Etc)
3. Setting long term goals that pull me into the future. Nailing down the 5 top reasons to get out of bed and fight adversity everyday.
4. Real reflection and realizing where I wasn't doing my best and making the adjustments. Your subconscience has a way of knowing when you can't put your finger on it. (I was lacking in many areas but my business was the major)
5. How I feel about myself and others. Not being so critical of myself and not making negative judgments and assumptions on others.

I could go on for days on the Mental side but these come to mind right now. It all comes down to a change of perspective and a refined positive attitude. The personal development gives your mind new information to process which leads to better attitudes, then focused action that leads to desired results and ultimately, great lifestyle.

The three cornerstones of an Ambitious life:

Focus:
Be wherever you are. If you are at work, work and vice versa. Scheme and have a game plan for success. Do your best. Grow, adapt, and change with progression.

Resilience:
Once you've found your focus, there will be off days and unanticipated challenges. How bad do you want it? What's pulling you? These are the days where personal development makes the greatest difference. How fast can you turn your attitude around and get back on plane working towards your goals?

Integrity:
The other two mean little and will blow up in your face if you aren't living a life of service to others. Don't sell your soul to get what you want. Living a life of integrity means doing the right thing at the right time. Not making promises you don't intend to keep. Always doing more than you get paid for.

Have a great day....

Very well said Todd.

Thanks

Thanks Mike....:flag2:

Winning the war between your ears

I think it's life's greatest challenge. It's certainly one of the biggest factors in leading a life of prosperity. No matter how great your faith may be or how positive your influences become, negativity will creep in and fight for territory.

To a certain degree, you must experience the bad to appreciate the good. Without failure, would there be success? Without night, would there be light? Without heartbreak, would there be jubilee? It's the twin scenario of life. You must drink from both cups.

A book I'm currently reading based on the Toltec philosophy states that the highest conscience is being your true self and finding inner peace. A place where nothing nudges you off course. Where negativity is virtually extinct. You WIN the war in your head.

It's an interesting perspective on life. I'm just not sure it's realistic. What I do think is realistic is the amount of time you spend on the downside of the slope and how effectively you can win the battle between your ears.

There are countless variables that effect the way we think. Having purpose and faith are certainly high on the list. The way you feel about yourself and everybody around you rank high as well. The food you feed your mind on a daily basis through positive influence makes a great difference. Doing your best no matter what the circumstance. Helping others achieve success and growth ultimately leaves you as the greatest benefactor. Achieving the greatest health certainly makes a great difference. I could go on for days but you catch my drift.

At the end of the day, it's an accumulation of new perspective and consciousness progressing towards the strongest mind you can achieve in your lifetime. Maybe I'm wrong and I hope I am, maybe you can achieve inner peace and what the Toltec consider Heaven on Earth.