TipsForSuccess: The Power of Simple Solutions

The Power of Simple Solutions Before 1859, thousands of children and adults were dying from drinking milk all around the world. Diseases, such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, polio and scarlet fever, seemed to appear from nowhere. In U.S. cities, the death rate of children was 50%. No one realized the diseases came from the milk because milk was produced in filthy conditions. Desperate and useless cures were spreading around the world. For example, chanting, breathing through the clothes someone who had died, drinking potions of opium or silver, moving to the mountains and so on. But then Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, discovered a simple remedy for the problem. Heat the milk to 161 degrees for 15 seconds to kill the germs that cause the diseases, and then quickly cool the milk so it is not ruined. Pasteurization stopped people from dying from the diseases in milk. Perhaps the most complicated problems in the world can be solved with this idea: "THE WORSE THE CONDITION THE LIGHTER THE REMEDY REQUIRED." -- L. Ron Hubbard For example, you feel depressed and consider dramatic solutions. "I feel so bad, maybe I should just stay in bed forever. Maybe I need to drink more vodka. Maybe suicide would solve things." However, if you use a light remedy, such as treating yourself to a delicious meal or listening to your favorite music, you feel better. As another example, children who are energetic, inattentive or difficult to control are given powerful psychiatric drugs to make them calm down. Certainly not a light remedy! Yet when smart teachers or doctors check if the child is actually brilliant, but bored, the condition is often solved. They simply give the child school work that is more interesting or more challenging to the child. A light remedy prevents a lifetime of prescription drugs. Many of the world's most successful people began their journeys from humble beginnings. None of them used desperate solutions, like complicated loan deals, government programs or stock market investments. Instead, their paths to the top started with simple solutions. For example, Apple began in a simple garage. Amazon.com also started in a garage with the simple idea of selling books online. Microsoft started with a simple program for controlling a computer disk. Wal-Mart's success began with the simple strategy of always charging a little less than all the other stores in town. Five Ways For Using Light Remedies for Bad Conditions 1. You get into a big argument with your spouse. You consider your options: ignore him or her for a few weeks; go argue with more force than ever; hire a marriage counselor to referee the fight. You then think, "What is the lightest remedy I can use?" and come up with a light solution. You apologize. All is well. 2. You do not have enough time. You are extremely busy and fall behind. You can't seem to get things done. You consider screaming and throwing things or just giving up. But then you consider light solutions and have a bright idea. "I'll keep a time log to see where I spend my time." You discover three people are wasting dozens of your hours each week. You gently remove them from your life and you suddenly have enough time to do what you want to do. 3. Your boss is angry with you, but you don't know why. Your work has not gotten worse, you show up on time and you have not caused any problems. You think of getting angry at your boss or getting your coworkers to hate him. Instead, you think of a simple remedy. You ask your boss, "Are you angry with me?" He says, "No, sorry I snapped at you. My darn car won't start." You feel relieved. 4. You are drowning in debt. You made too many financial commitments and are now unable to pay everything you agreed to pay. You think of robbing a bank, going into hiding or ruining your credit reputation with bankruptcy. You ask yourself, "What is the lightest remedy I can use to solve my money problems?" You realize, "I just need to focus on making more money, all day long." Or "I just need to sell some stuff." Or "Starting now, I will spend less than I make for the rest of my life." 5. You are frustrated and confused by a government regulation concerning your business. You consider hiring an expensive attorney, bribing a politician or going underground to avoid the rule. But then you remember a simple remedy and get out your dictionary. You carefully read the government regulation and look up each word you do not understand. You suddenly understand the regulation and realize you are already complying with it. Recommendation Whenever you feel frustrated by a condition that is getting worse and worse, do not look for desperate, heavy or complicated solutions. Instead, ask yourself questions like these: 1. "What light remedy can I use for this bad condition?" 2. "What is the simplest, most obvious solution?" 3. "How could I solve this with the least amount of time, work or money?" 4. "What solution, if it worked, would make me laugh?" 5. "What is the lightest way to handle this problem?" You might be pleasantly surprised to find your worst conditions can be solved with the lightest solutions.     Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you. www.tipsforsuccess.org    Copyright © 2012 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard.

 

 

TipsForSuccess: How to Improve Your Lifestyle

How to Improve Your Lifestyle Do you want a new car, a more comfortable house, better clothes? If so, do all of the exercises in this article. What is the ideal lifestyle for you? If everything went well this year, how would you be living? Take a minute to write down the lifestyle you want. Next, take this quiz. Quiz Check the items below that determine your standard of living: ❒ The economy ❐ Your employer ❒ Thinking good thoughts ❐ Your parents ❐ Luck, fate, destiny ❐ Big business ❐ Chanting, hoping, meditating ❐ The government ❒ Rich people ❐ Your productivity If you selected the last factor, you can do something to improve your lifestyle. "Products are the basis of a standard of living. They don't appear from midair. They come from work truly done." -- L. Ron Hubbard That's right. Your products determine your lifestyle. When you produce enough valuable products, you earn the standard of living you want. So What Is Your Product? What do you produce? What is the end result of your hard work? What do you get paid for? If you build houses, your product is a "house." If you publish books, your product is a "book." If you cook food, your product is "a meal." If you produce a service, such as a hotel clerk, your product is "a happy hotel guest." If you are a physician, your product is "a healthy patient." If you sing operas, your product is "an emotionally moved audience." A manager's product is "a highly-productive staff." A painter's product is a "painted house." A airplane pilot's product is "an airplane moved from one location to another." As L. Ron Hubbard writes, the work must be truly done. For example, you will not improve your lifestyle if you take the credit for someone else's work, if you live on government checks or if you are a criminal. You need to work and produce something of value. Three Factors "Factually one normally has to work fast and expertly and in high volume to bring about any acceptable standard of living for himself and his group."  -- L. Ron Hubbard These three production factors determine your standard of living: 1. Speed: how quickly can you produce your product? 2. Expertise: do you know what you are doing? 3. Volume: how many products can you produce? Working fast is important. For example, an auto mechanic who can replace an engine in six hours enjoys a better standard of living than a mechanic who needs 20 hours to do the same job. A store clerk who rings up $1000 of groceries per hour will eventually earn a better standard of living than a clerk who talks all day, moves slowly and only rings up $500 of groceries per hour. Your expertise determines the quality of your product. If a computer programmer writes programs that make computers crash, he will not enjoy a better standard of living. A horse trainer who produces a calm, friendly obedient horse earns an improved lifestyle because of her expertise. Becoming an expert allows you to produce a higher quality product than others. For example, instead of producing "a house," an expert builder produces "a beautiful, efficient house under budget." Instead of "a meal," an expert chef produces a "exceptionally delicious, healthy meal." Instead of "a moved airplane," an expert pilot produces "an airplane that safely departs on time, safely arrives on time with maximal comfort for the passengers." And of course, the more products you produce, the better your standard of living. For example, if you are a school teacher, you might decide your product is "an educated student." So to produce more products, you might write books, produce documentaries or create e-learning websites. Instead of producing 30 educated students each week, you produce thousands of educated students. You will improve your lifestyle if you become an expert in your field, work as fast as you can and produce as many products as possible. Five Tips for Improving Your Standard of Living Because you control your standard of living, you can improve it with these steps. 1. Identify your product. What is the final result of your work? What will people pay you for? 2. Find three ways to increase your production speed. Use your ideas until your speed has increased. 3. Find three ways to increase your expertise. Use these ideas to increase the quality or value of your product. 4. Find three ways to increase the amount of production you get done per week. Use these ideas until your production volume increases. 5. Continue to increase the speed, quality and volume of your production until you have more than enough money to raise your standard of living. Once you have earned the money, go buy that new car. Move to that new house. Eat at those nicer restaurants. You earned it. You deserve it. Enjoy it!   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.     Copyright © 2012 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org at www.tipsforsuccess.org

 

 

TipsForSuccess: No One Wins the Blame Game

Who Do You Blame? No one wins the blame game. For example, you make a mistake or something goes wrong. So you blame someone or something. "I crashed the car because you played the radio too loud!" "It's not my fault the soup is too salty! It's your recipe." "If we had a newer computer, I would do better in school." Blame is frequently used to explain poor job performance. "My boss is such a jerk, I can't get my work done." "I closed my painting shop and went bankrupt because of the economy." "You don't pay me enough to be nice to EVERY customer." Blame is also used for personal problems. "I'm depressed because of the tragedies in the news." "I can't be faithful to my wife because I have a chemical imbalance." "I can't stop smoking because my father used to spank me." Why You Can't Win the Blame Game When you blame someone or something else, you actually make yourself weak and ineffective. You make yourself "at effect" instead of being "at cause" of the situation. You give power to the person or thing you blame.      "Blaming something else makes that something else cause; and as that cause takes on power, the individual in the same act loses control and becomes effect." -- L. Ron Hubbard For example, your business is failing and you blame your assistant. You say, "My assistant messed up my business," which is just another way of saying, "My assistant controls me and the success of my business." If you take responsibility for your business, you would say, "I need to train my assistant better." As another example, you might blame your parents for your stress and anxiety. You might say, "My parents ruined my life," which is the same as saying, "My parents are so powerful, they control my mood and my emotions." Stopping the blame game and accepting responsibility for yourself gives you new hope. "My parents didn't ruin my life. I ruined my life by being lazy and unemployed. I need to improve my opinion about myself and get busy." While blaming people for your problems is silly, blaming physical objects is even worse. "My house is so ugly, I feel depressed." "Hot weather makes me go crazy!" "My body has a disorder which makes me fat." In these cases, you are actually saying, "My life is controlled by _______." If you wish to succeed, you have to end the blame game. You only get ahead when you become "cause" over the situation. " I'll stop watching TV and paint my house a nice color." "I'll stay inside so the hot weather doesn't bother me." "I'm only fat because I eat too much and don't exercise." Five Steps for Ending the Blame Game 1. Make four columns on a sheet of paper. 2. In the first column, list all of the problems or conditions you blame on others or things. Example: "I can't stop smoking because I'm addicted to nicotine." 3. In the next column, write how you are responsible for each problem or condition. Example: "I am the one who decided to become a smoker." 4. Write how you can take more responsibility for each. Example: "I could be more determined to quit smoking." 5. In the last column, write down an action step you can take for each problem or condition. Example: "Each time I want a cigarette this week, I will first take a 15-minute walk." Five Benefits of Taking More Responsibility * Other people and things have less control over your destiny. * Poor conditions in your life start to improve. * You make better decisions and do the right things. * No matter how some people try, they cannot stop you. * You become the most powerful force in your life.     Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.     Copyright © 2011 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org at www.tipsforsuccess.org

 

 

TipsForSuccess: Sugar, Pep and Energy

Sugar, Pep and Energy The US Department of Agriculture estimates the average US Citizen consumes 152 pounds of sugar per year -- almost three pounds of sugar each week! Sugar comes in many forms: soft drinks, candy, desserts, manufactured food and so on. Because sugar is inexpensive, tastes good and is habit-forming, food companies and fast-food restaurants are happy to add sugar to our food, without restraint. Sugar, like any addictive substance, makes you crave more sugar. For example, a piece of chocolate gives you a little extra energy for an hour or so. As soon as the effect wears off, you feel tired and maybe a little depressed. So to feel perky again, you want another piece of chocolate. You use sugar to solve problems caused by sugar. Every diet book, group or system has one thing in common: YOU MUST STOP EATING SUGAR. Hundreds of scientific studies prove that sugar makes your body store fat. Excessive fat increases your chance of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and death. In 1972, L. Ron Hubbard wrote the following: "Sugar is a deceptive thing." "Sugar, that is supposed 'to produce energy' does so only at the expense of physical health for sugar does not build up a body, it only burns it up." "The result of a heavy intake of sugar and carbohydrates* is to feel tired all the time -- no pep." "If one is going to run a car, he has to feed it the right fuel and oil. If one is going to run a body it has to be fed the right food and that has to include protein." "By eating your hamburger and vegetables and leaving alone the candy bars and cokes, you will begin to build up a head of steam." -- L. Ron Hubbard (*carbohydrates: a food group that includes potatoes, rice, bread and sugar) Benefits of Not Eating Sugar When you stop eating sugar, you lose weight. Other foods smell and taste better. You feel more alive. Kicking the sugar habit helps you sleep better. The energy boost you get from sugar OR the depression that follows can keep you awake at night. With no sugar in your system, you can relax. Sugar alters your digestion fluids so the good food cannot digest properly. You can get heartburn, gas or stomach pain. Without sugar, your stomach quickly recovers. Your body also needs less food because you digest it better. Without sugar, you get energy that lasts longer. You no longer have brief peaks of energy that require a constant flow of sugar to maintain. Hyperactive children, who are candidates for Ritalin or Prozac, are often calmer and saner when they no longer eat sugar. After you cut off their sugar supply, they will probably demand sweet snacks for a few days, but they eventually relax. They may also lose their mood swings, tantrums and craziness. Fortunately, anyone can break the sugar habit. Ten Tips for Breaking the Sugar Habit Like children, after you stop eating sugar, you might feel irritable and tired for 3-6 days. You may have headaches and feel foggy. You will most certainly crave foods that contain sugar. However, the cravings and symptoms pass. Kicking a sugar addiction is tough, but not as tough as handling other addictions, such as tobacco, drugs or alcohol. You just control your hand so it does not put sugar in your mouth. These suggestions may help you. 1. Recognize that sugar is addicting and therefore, controlling you to a degree. For example, if you cannot work or relax without eating sugar, you are addicted. Ask yourself, "Do I like being addicted to a substance?" If not, make the decision to break the habit. You have the power to control your craving for sugar. No temptation is stronger than your personal willpower and self-determinism. 2. Get creative with your food. For example, buy a yogurt maker, ice cream maker or a juicer to prepare your own sugar-free snacks and drinks. Explore a health-food store. Try a natural foods restaurant. Buy a sugar-free cook book. Find substitutes to satisfy the sugar urge. For example, fresh fruits and vegetables can stop the craving for sugar and fruit juice is a great sweetener. 3. Prepare your own food instead of eating prepared foods. Foods that usually contain sugar include canned soup, store bread, fast-food restaurant food, salad dressing, sauces, gravy, cough drops, sushi rice, protein bars, flavored yogurt, frozen meals and breakfast cereals. 4. Read the ingredients label on the foods you buy. Sugar comes in many forms and is called many names including corn syrup, maltose, dextrose, fructose, lactose and glucose. You can also read how many grams of sugar are in the food. For example, one protein bar may have 29 grams of sugar while another has 3 grams of sugar. 5. Try healthy foods you have never tried to add variety and interest to your diet. For example, a new type of fish, exotic vegetables or tasty cheeses. 6. Exercise. Stretch out your muscles, get your heart pumping and fill your lungs with fresh air every day. Strengthen your ability to control your body. 7. Use a gradual approach. If you make too many changes to your diet at once, the shock may force you to give up on your decision. You may get better long-term results if you make one change, get used to the change, make another change, get used to it and so on. For example, start by eating no sugar in your lunches. 8. Get educated. Several excellent books, written by doctors and scientists, explain the effects of sugar on all types of health conditions. The more you know, the more control you can take. 9. Try different combinations of vitamins until they help stop sugar cravings and make you feel healthier. For example, 500 milligrams of vitamin C might calm you down or might pep you up. 10. Work out your own program and to start, change or stop your eating habits with the free TipsForSuccess coaching website: www.tipsforsuccesscoaching.org. Taking control of your food is satisfying by itself. You are no longer controlled by the need for sugar. You burn off the fat and move closer to your ideal weight. Even if you just cut your weekly sugar intake from three pounds to three ounces, you will enjoy long-lasting energy, fewer mood swings and better health.   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.     Copyright © 2011 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org at www.tipsforsuccess.org

 

 

TipsForSuccess: Your Unlimited Potential

Your Unlimited Potential       Question: What does the word "potentiality" mean? Answer: The capacity for growth or improvement; a possibility; a power. For example, if you sit on a box of dynamite, you are sitting on a potentiality. The dynamite isn't exploding . . . but it could. Fact: You ARE sitting on a box of dynamite, and it's big! "Your potentialities are a great deal better than anyone ever permitted you to believe." -- L. Ron Hubbard Right now, you are capable of making improvements in your career, your finances and your life that are more significant and satisfying than anything you have ever done. You can potentially shatter your past achievement records, eliminate your worst problems and feel absolutely great. Everything you have done in the past becomes minor compared to what you can do in the future. Most people have the wrong idea about success. They believe "you can only do so much," or "you just need to keep on trying" or "success takes time." Such thinking slows you down and limits your lifetime achievements. Instead, simply take a new view of yourself, your habits and your thinking. And then ACT! To make a significant, instant improvement in your career and life, you must jump out of your rut. Overcome your addiction to safe, conservative plans. Break out of old patterns and find new attitudes. Don't settle for small improvements. Do something bold and exciting. Find a destination you passionately want and make it happen! Your Destination When you plan a vacation, you don't start by examining the route. You start by choosing a destination. The route becomes obvious when you focus on the goal. And the bigger the destination, the more exciting the trip. What is the most exciting destination you can imagine for yourself? What objective makes your heart pound? What goal lifts your mood? These are your potentialities. These are your dreams. These are what you can believe in! To get there, start by concentrating on the end result. Put yourself in the picture of your dreams. Create a vision of you reaching your goals. Then act. Take a small step, a large step or a leap. Any progress will lead to more progress, as long as you remember to think of your ultimate success. The time to start is now. Focus on a goal and light the fuse!   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.     Copyright © 2012 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org at www.tipsforsuccess.org