Of course it makes sense to identify our personal hardships and fight them. But we are what we are, and plenty of our characteristics display both a positive and a negative side. If we are bold by nature, we must learn to control and harness such boldness, not to supress it. If we are obsessed with control, we must learn to take things easy and to relax, but not give up our liking for control. The main traits of our personality almost always are a double-edged sword. The secret lies into harnessing our traits for our benefit, not against us.

Knowing ourselves involves to be conscious about both our strenghts and weaknesses. When we accept that the pros and cons often stem from the same nature, we stop thinking so persistently of ourselves and we start to work with the virtues we really have.

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“The job is yours, but don’t dare touch a single leaf of this quaint tree with your axe… this is a lovely tree, whose shade gives shelter to my kids and peace to my family. You’ve passed the test.”

And so the years passed by, and the landowner never regretted of hiring the woodcutter. During all those years of strenuous work the woodcutter had not returned to his village, and had not seen his family. That’s why the landowner decided it was time for the woodcutter to rest and to return to his village. As a token of gratitude, a big farewell party was held for the woodcutter. It was a prize to the woodcutter’s fidelity and good performance. On that day, the woodcutter recalled many joyful things he had lived in the estate. His boss’ family presented him with a lot of objects and gold as gifts. He received plenty of gifts. Collected so many that he required one horse and two mules to carry his gifts. When he departed, he was accompanied to the outskirts of the estate by two pawns. They were talking about the best path that our woodcutter should take to reach his destination faster. The two pawns were of the view that the trail was the shortest path.

“But I don’t know the trail” the woodcutter said, “On the contrary, I know the road well, and won’t get lost.”

Talking about that, they almost reached the last gate of the ranch. However, suddenly, they heard the sound of a horse’s hooves behind them. Other pawn on horseback came galloping up. He said to the woodcutter that the boss wanted him back in the house. The woodcutter worried a bit. “Why is he calling me? I already said goodbye to him… If he changed his mind, and wants me to continue working, he should know that I’m exhausted… I can’t work anymore. Or it’s that they want the gifts back?” He came up with many conjectures and questions. At last, he was in the house again, and the boss was waiting for him. The boss smiled up at him and said “Don’t be frightened. It’s just that I forgot to present you with something that is worth more than all the gold you are carrying with you. Please, accept these three gifts:

1) Never take the trail instead of the main road.

2) Don’t ask about things that don’t pertain to you.

3) Never succumb to hasty judgment.

Now you can go. May God bless you exceedingly.”

Our woodchopper left, thinking of the things his boss had just said. Again, he arrived to the last gate of the estate. He had two options: to follow the trail that the pawns had recommended, or to take the main road. He thought over his decision, and recalled the first gift of his boss: “Never take the trail instead of the main road.” And so he followed the road. Fate was graceful to him, as the pawns were awaiting for him on the trail in order to kill him and rob his gold.

He resumed his journey, but when the sun began to hide his face, fatigue lambasted him, and he had to look for shelter in an inn. The inn was attended by an elderly gentleman who offered him a room to stay overnight. Our woodcutter realized that the only people in the inn were the innkeeper, a parrot, and a woman dressed in rags, locked up in a quite small room. From time to time the woman was broking the silence of the inn with her loud and desperate cries, asking for clemency. Our friend was exhausted, and for the next few hours, he fell sleep. The next day, he woke up early, and went looking for the innkeeper to pay for his stay. He was kind of surprised when he noticed that the innkeeper was already waiting for him, with the breakfast served. After eating, and seeing and hearing the woman’s woes, he told the innkeeper: “Let me ask you something…” The man quickly replied: “I know what you are going to ask!” Suddenly, the woodcutter remembered the second gift the landowner presented him: “Don’t ask about things that don’t pertain to you,” and changed the question in his mind. “Yes? Do you know what I’m about to ask? Well, better yet… I just want to know how much do I owe you for the stay and the meal.” A bit perplexed, the innkeeper answered “Well, my good Lord, you owe me nothing… And I will be always glad to serve you, because you have been the first person that did not ask about that woman and the reason behind her enclosure.” He then added “She is my wife, and she will be locked up there, forever, as atonement for betraying me… for she is an unfaithful woman… I’m waiting for her lover to come to her rescue to complete my vengeance… Meanwhile, I kill every man that ask about her!” Again, our woodcutter was alive thanks to the 3 gifts. He left with a sense of wisdom in his head, which he could afterwards explain as the gifts’ blessing. He immediately departed towards his home, where his wife and sons should be waiting for him… his boys should have grown up very healthy, he thought.

After crossing rivers, plains, mountains and an inclement sun, the woodchopper finally arrived to his village, and took the road leading to his house. He decided not to enter through the front door of the house, though, as he wanted to surprise his wife. However, after approaching to his home, the one in shock was him: he realized that his wife was hugging and kissing a young priest. At that time, his blood boiled… He thought that vision to be an hallucination resulting from his long trip… But no, it was real: his wife was hugging other guy. He thought of the innkeeper and the argument he wielded to punish his wife… He could not stand that sight. But the third gift of the landowner emerged in his mind: “Never succumb to hasty judgment.” He recovered his calmness, and walked towards them. His wife, surprised, took her hand to her forehead, and then shouted for joy to God, and burst into happiness: God, thank you! This is such a great day! And she ran to meet with her husband… he did not understand what was going on. She hugged him and said: “Dear, you have returned… at last!… and today, coincidentally, our eldest son has just returned from the monastery, where he was ordained as a priest.” Finally, the woodcutter realized. He hugged and kissed both his wife and his son, and full of joy, thanked sincerely in his heart to his boss for the wisdom of the three gifts.

This story is purely fictional, and was based on an american folktale.

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Previously, we presented an article about the basic elements of a successful approach to blogging (we called such approach the Samurai approach.) Nevertheless, universal strategies don’t apply to blogging. Each blogger has to discover, hone, innovate her own approach to blogging. Our Samurai approach should only be taken as a starting point. By no means it’s a general strategy, universally valid. As suggested, blogging success can only be achieved through evolution. Don’t take for granted that once you have a solid reader-base, those readers will follow you forever if your blog is a static one. People devour content, including images, layout, ideas, and above all, approaches to problems and concepts. Successful bloggers calm such hunger. Summarizing, to grow our blogs we have to discover an approach we can apply to blogging, hone and refine such approach continually, and keep adding new, interesting features to our blog (including layout and content.)

I recommend two basic activities for evolution of our blogs:

• Observation: We have to observe and critically analyze what are doing the successful bloggers (not necessarily in our niche.) Perhaps by following some of their tactics and methods we can accomplish a bigger and more satisfied reader-base.
• Experimentation: The only way to verify that some tactics and methods would work for your blog is to test them out. Fortunately, blogs are very dynamic structures, and hence it’s relatively easy to essay new things and modify the approach continually. And if something is not working for you, remove or restructure it as soon as possible. Don’t let bad strategies to kill your blog.

Now, let’s conquer the blogosphere

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1 The Laptop

Albeit my experience with the Toshiba has been good, I think it’s time to go Apple. The problem with the Toshiba is that one is forcefully restricted to Windows environment; we may also install Linux but it would be too cumbersome for my needs. On the contrary, by using an Apple machine I have access to the powerful Mac OS X operating system, and besides I can compile and test some applications originally targeted at Linux, without doing separated installations. The Mac runs all the software I need. Someone may also add that the Mac is stylish, but that really is not my motivation as I prefer functionality over appearance. For example, it is evident that the relatively new Mac Air is very stylish, but it is also evident that it relinquishes an important quota of computing power. Therefore, I think I will choose the Apple MacBook Pro MB133LL/A, which boosts a display of 15.4″, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, and DVD SuperDrive. Just all I need. I’m aware about the direct relation between big displays and laptop weight (this MacBook weighs 5.4 pounds), but I prefer to reduce any strain on my eyes.

I also like the DVI video output, which would allow connections with the digital projectors I use in meetings and seminars. Additionally, it includes a DVI to VGA adapter to connect with legacy equipment. It also includes many facilities for video conferencing with built-in iSight camera and the required software. The only thing that worries me a bit is the battery life. According to its technical specifications, this MacBook Pro’s battery is able to provide up to 6 hours of untethered work… but with so many add-ons and functions that number is hard to believe.

Overall, I think this is the right laptop. If you have had some experience with it, please share.

2 The Camera

I mostly shoot films, but a good digital camera is nice to have. And I’ve always believed that photos integrate with blogs better than videos do. However, regarding digital cameras I don’t have much experience. Nevertheless, I prefer a photo-quality of at least 7 Megapixels (MP.) A friend of mine has recommended the Canon PowerShot SD750 which, although is somewhat pricey (200 US$), has 7.1-MP quality, 3x zoom, and works fine for both expert and novice photographers (like me.) Besides, she says that the 3″ LCD screen of the camera is very crisp. I’ve had no good experiences with Canon products in the past, but I’ll give this a chance… let’s hope I can find a good discount, though… 200 US$ for a camera… yikes!

3 The Disc Burner

I think it’s also time to replace my DVD burner for a higher storage, modern and HD unit. This time my choice is firmer. I’ll be purchasing the LG GGW-H20L Super Multi Blue, which can burn and read Blu-ray, and also read HD DVD, DVD and CD. Great. I have a lot of things in my hard drive, and it would be nice to backup them in Blu-ray discs, which can hold up to 50 Gb. Finally I can have all my seminars in one disc… one disc to rule them all

4 The Projector

Mandatory tool for meetings and conferences. I love the Viewsonic brand, and of course, I will pick up a projector by Viewsonic. As the budget is already restricted by the above items, I will focus on the ViewSonic PJ503DB DLP projector.

I’ve already used this projector, and its setup is pretty easy and is relatively lightweight. It’s HD compatible, and has a good selection of video input ports. It also boosts excellent display, colors and clarity. The only cons, however are its inability for XGA resolution, and the lack of a zoom lens… things that I really, really don’t need.

I think these 4 items are reasonable companions for the tasks I’m currently developing, and for my upcoming plans. What do you think about my choices?

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According to duration of memory retention, we can classify this faculty into three types:

1. Short-term Memory: This type of memory allows one to recall a few items (3-5) in a short time, from several seconds to as long as 1 minute. An interesting fact about short-term memory is that information is better recalled if it’s organized in chunks. For example, it’s easier to put in short-term memory the sequence 415-353-525, than it’s to remember 415353525. Therefore, we could benefit enormously if we approach memorization by organizing the information into chunks.
2. Long-term Memory: Unlike short-term memory, rehearsal is often required for long-term memory. By means of this type of memory, we can store much larger quantities of information for potentially unlimited duration. However, the motto “use it or lose it” applies here nicely. Things that impact us tend to enter long-term memory without excessive barriers. But other, mere facts must be reinforced through repetition. This type of memory stores facts like memories of childhood, for example.
3. Sensory Memory: It’s the memory that allows one to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has faded. It’s a very short lived memory, and is outside of conscious control.

Physiology of Memory

Physiologically, memory is related to activity of several brain areas, such as hippocampus, the striatum, and the amygdala, for example. Nevertheless, it’s believed that memory and its counterpart, learning, are linked to changes in neuronal synapses. Neurons are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information. The brain is a highly complex, nonlinear and parallel information processing system. It has the capability of organizing neurons so as to perform certain computations (e.g., pattern recognition, perception, and motor control.) Neurons are the structural constituents of the brain, massively interconnected between them, forming an enormously efficient and resilient structure.

The brain is constantly restructuring the stored information. In this sense, one of the primary functions of sleep is improving consolidation of such information.

Memory Loss

Starting from 20s, we begin to lose brain cells. The body also starts to make less of the chemicals that the neurons need to function properly. The older we are, the more these changes may affect our memory. This is a natural path our cells follow. However, stressful modern lifestyle is known to accelerate this process of cellular degradation. That’s the rationale behind the rising of memory loss as frequent mental problem nowadays. Forgetting some word, a name, the details of a history, where we put the keys… that’s not necessarily a problem: it may be due to a temporal glitch in memory, and we normally recall that word, that name, etc., with time. Troubles begin when oblivion occurs too often, we cannot remember what we want (even after time elapses), and we feel that our memory is not responding the same as before.

Excluding other causes (such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, side effect of drugs, and alcoholism), most of the memory problems stem from states of stress, anxiety and depression. Therefore, children and teenagers may also be susceptible to degrading their memorization abilities if they are under huge pressure. Furthermore, in families in which a member has memory problems, typically other member is dedicated to attending the ill familiar (and more often that not, that role is assumed or assigned to a woman.) That may be an excessive burden for the caretaker, and might ultimately lead to her getting sick. In ideal scenarios, the role of caretaker must be rotated among the family members.

Reverting and Preventing Memory Loss

However, in plenty of cases memory loss may be reverted by introducing the right changes to the lifestyle, and by doing some exercises for strengthening memory. The broad idea is to keep memory active in order to reinforce synaptic connections. Additionally, we want to keep brain cells as healthy as possible, without stressing them exceedingly. With regards to this matter, a previous post here in Life, Money & Development presented a collection of short tips for keeping a young mind. The following recommendations expand or complement the contents of the referred post:

• Oxygenation: For memory, it’s vital to provide sufficient oxygen to the brain cells. We can increase the supply of oxygen by means of aerobic exercises, walking, swimming, etc. Oxygenation could help to accomplish a better concentration too.
• Nutrition: By following a right and balanced diet is very important to keep the electrochemical balance of the brain. Free your brain from dangerous toxins which may harm neurons and block oxygenation.
• Activity: We should strive to keep our minds active and stimulated. Activity fortifies memory encoding and retrieval of information. Mental activities such as reading, brain games, crosswords, sudoku, and some videogames help to exercise the brain, slowing down its aging process. This type of mental activity increases the number of connections between neurons, which is responsible for improved memory. Stay intellectually active through learning (e.g., languages and music), reading and composing (e.g., an essay or a brief narration.)
• Reinforcement: To remember things and facts, try to link them with other things and concepts. Learn by associating one concept or word with another. To associate is what neurons do best. Keep lists. Follow a routine for those tasks which require a perfect recall (but don’t be too “mechanic” as such robotic approaches truncate innovation.)
• Sleep: Rest the amount of hours your body requires, and keep sleep time regular.
• Reduce stress: Breathe. Calm. Go step by step. Socialize. Lowering stress may jog our memory.

A closing advice. Let’s do our best for getting to know ourselves. Each day brings a new lesson. Let’s learn to distinguish our abilities, frailties, and virtues. That way, our brain will organize our memory caring the most for the actually important things.

And remember to be happy.

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Who are the Winners?

Winners are fortunate people, indeed. But except for rare cases, most of their fortune stems from hard work, and more importantly, from a sound and clear mindset. Winners have no time (nor wish) to be moaning about the “harshness of life.” Winners don’t complain about such things, because they understand that life, like a river, exhibits turbulent episodes in some parts, but caress and nourish the surrounding nature, all the way.

Positive Attitude in The Winners’ Mind

Nevertheless, all these years I’ve known a lot of people who are frequently bitching about their lack of money or general misfortune, but what they are indeed lacking is a positive attitude toward their money. Now, what does this “positive attitude” notion mean? Let’s start by answering a few questions:

• What really are the kind of thoughts that flood our minds when we think of our money?
• Which are the words we utter when speaking about our money and related things (such as mortgage, bank, expenses, etc.)?
• In the past, how much success have we attained by spending and investing our money?

For me,

Positive Attitude = Positive Thoughts + Positive Words

Note that the above equation simply states that a positive attitude amounts to a positive mental production. Most often that not, our past success (or lack of it) determines our mental precondition for new ventures. In this sense, experience acts as a conditioning for the new undertakings, which may be a good thing (or not.) It really depends on our ability to use positive attitude to fuel the success of the past, or to improve our performance with respect to a previous unsatisfactory experience. For new things, Winners always combine their positive attitude and their past (bad and good) experiences. A point here is that past experiences should never be a fear factor for money issues.

An important thing we have to notice is that if we are always complaining about our financial problems, and thinking that nothing can be done, our minds will be devoured by the negative thoughts. Worse yet, with time, our minds will get used to this mental state, and such mental states only attract more debt and despair. There is a huge difference between facing financial problems at a given stage of our lives (we all face or have faced this type of problems,) and thinking that no action can be done to improve the situation. Winners think different, and that’s why they are the winners. It’s just that simple.

Money Problems should be Faced through Positive Thinking

Our minds are a theater of thoughts, flowing and reshaping, every day. Some actors of such theater are excellent, but other are fairly mediocre. And what is the nature of mediocre thoughts? Short answer: our view on some aspects of reality. If some aspect of current reality bothers us, our minds will tend to create thoughts of angst. Mediocre thoughts have some noxious effects:

• First, they block any risky action linked to the problem (even though the outcome of such action may solve the problem!)
• Moreover, they activate the body’s defense system, sometimes uneccessarily stressing it.
• And finally, they are a waste of time and energy. Worrying achieves nothing. Why? Because worries change nothing; solutions and goals require (imply) change.

Now, most of problems we see in life are related to money, and therefore, money tends to become into a source of mediocre and harmful thoughts. That’s what we have to change. In order to attain wealth, winners introduce important changes in their thinking style. Remember what I said about thoughts being actors of the (mental) theater. Who is the director of the theater and of the play? You.

Let’s start by replacing negative thoughts by positive ones. If we are thinking of our limitations for dealing with debts and mortgage crisis, we have to replace the constraining thoughts by effective assertions: “I can overcome this problem“, “A lot of people have also faced debt and have solved it“, “I can be a winner.” The more diverse your positive thoughts, the better off you are.

Why do I also insist in that money is a thing, and that we are of much more valor than such material things? It’s because a lot of people like to think of money as being the ultimate goal, the everything, and when financial mess arises, they crumble. It’s a logical consequence: they have trained their minds (unconsciously, perhaps) to consider money as a the main pillar of life. Of course, when such people face troubles related to money, they may consider such problems as a “failure at life.” Winners cannot be like such people. We are assertive beings, which recognize any problem and face it. Life is wonderful, and it’s a providential gift no money can replace.

Winners Believe in Themselves

I’ll close the article with a few useful remarks for building the positive attitude of Winners:

• We have to learn to compose thoughts and words in order to be better. This is the first step towards success. True greatness starts out with true thinkings of greatness.
• When we start to think that we are able to achieve things (we can!), your thoughts acquire power, and your actions turn effective.
• When we say “I can“, we start feeling more powerful. Richness stems from positive thoughts and words. I can is an enrichment tool to support life success. More importantly, by saying “I can” we are speaking truth. Things we thought of as being impossible, should now be regarded as inevitable.
• When we feel the self-confidence stemming from “I can“, we attain the required clarity for doing things right.
• How could we know if we are thinking the right way? It’s easy, indeed. If we are having thoughts and words that steadily lead us to actions, then we are on the right track. It’s very important that you can verify that your thoughts and words are right.
• Every time we follow the way of thought -> actions, and succeed, our self-confidence is reinforced. And this improved self-confidence will be the nourisher for future paths and further (and harder) goals. Go step by step, and don’t set unrealistic goals (if you’ve read my previous post, you should be already aware of my insistence on not setting unrealistic goals.)
• Keep your attitude positive and keep at it. You will get there.
• We have to look forward. The future always brings new opportunities.
• Think BIG: Think further, think different, you’re not alone. Think of the people you love and care for. Learn to look the broad world, from both material and spiritual standpoints. Winners look for abundance in order to enjoy it, and share it.
• Being a Winner requires courage. Are you ready for this? If we act with courage, rewards of life will be even greater.
• Enjoy the little treasures of life.

Remember, the potential to achieve your goals resides in you. Look nowhere else.

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Now, after the germane disclaimer, you may be asking, why the Money in the title? Because shrewd teachers are always defiant in their proposals and methods. Were you taught that material goods are evil? Certainly, you cannot live for buying merchandise and propaganda. You are soul, true. But you are body, too. So, in part, you also belong to this material world. You feel hunger everyday. That’s your proof of being a material creature. So, let’s face it. Food is necessary. Money is necessary. Pleasure is necessary. I have no problem understanding that. And you?

The problem is that some people frequently forget that such material things shoud NOT be the keel of your life. You are also a spiritual being. And the spirit requires its things too. You are an integral being. Give the spirit its love and its health. Good synchronization of your body and soul is required to achieve success in life. If you have a powerful mind but an unhappy body, you’ll not harness your ideas at their maximum, and viceversa. I like to recur to short tales and notes in order to bring order to the mess. Future posts will present such stories, ideas and recommendations.

Finally, a tiny disclaimer: please remember that these posts will reflect strictly my personal views on the involved subjects, and by no means represent a professional opinion applicable to other people, other circumstances. In this sense, these are very particular notes I’ll be sharing with my students, and with you, my beloved reader. You may find some notes helpful, but it’s up to you to decide that. After all, life is the power to decide. Welcome.

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