Steve Pavlina Blog :: Channel 1

A terrific health book I'm reading now is The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. This book is currently one of the top 500 selling books at Amazon, with a 4.5 star rating. According to the New York Times, this book is based on "... findings from the most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease." In my opinion it's one of the most important books on diet ever written.

Here's a simple but powerful meditation exercise you may enjoy.

Relationships are among of the most complex aspects of our lives, particularly long-term relationships such as marriage. Your relationships can elevate you to new heights or drag you down into the dumps. But what if you're somewhere in the middle?

This article provides a basic method for cleaning up clutter and organizing any physical space, such as an office, kitchen, or garage.

Having played a fair amount of blackjack (I learned card counting when I was 21), I've noticed some interesting patterns in the way people play the game that seem to reflect larger life patterns.

What Is Persistence? Persistence is the ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting. When you work on any big goal, your motivation will wax and wane like waves hitting the shore. Sometimes you'll feel motivated; sometimes you won't. But it's not your motivation that will produce results - it's your action.

My definition of hard work is that which challenges you. And why is challenge important? Why not just do what's easiest? Most people will do what's easiest and avoid hard work - and that's precisely why you should do the opposite. The superficial opportunities of life will be attacked by hordes of people seeking what's easy. The much tougher challenges will usually see a lot less competition and a lot more opportunity.

What Is Willpower? Willpower is your ability to set a course of action and say, "Engage!" Willpower provides an intensely powerful yet temporary boost. Think of it as a one-shot thruster. It burns out quickly, but if directed intelligently, it can provide the burst you need to overcome inertia and create momentum.

The first of the five pillars of self-discipline is acceptance. Acceptance means that you perceive reality accurately and consciously acknowledge what you perceive. This may sound simple and obvious, but in practice it's extremely difficult. If you experience chronic difficulties in a particular area of your life, there's a strong chance that the root of the problem is a failure to accept reality as it is.

What Is Self-Discipline? Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state. Imagine what you could accomplish if you could simply get yourself to follow through on your best intentions no matter what. Picture yourself saying to your body, "You're overweight. Lose 20 pounds."

Last Monday's post How to Become an Early Riser obviously struck a chord with many people. That post has generated more links than I can count, sending more new traffic to this site than any other post or article I've written. Since this appears to be a topic of interest, I figured I'd do a follow up post to add some more detail.

Caffeine is the modern drug of choice in the work world, easily accessible, socially acceptable, readily affordable, and of course perfectly legal. As for the health effects, I've read evidence both for good and ill, so right now I don't fall strongly on either side. One thing is clear though - caffeine is addictive. And this addictive nature is what leans me towards the negative side.

How important is passion as a success factor? Some people believe it's the single most important factor, painting passion as the fuel that drives success.I disagree. Passion is simply an emotional state, and a temporary and unstable one at that. The reason passion gets so much credit is that it helps motivate action. And action is what generates results.

Are morning people born or made? In my case it was definitely made. In my early 20s, I rarely went to bed before midnight, and I'd almost always sleep in late. I usually didn't start hitting my stride each day until late afternoon.

A simple yet powerful idea I learned from Earl Nightingale is to grab a blank piece of paper (or a blank computer screen) and brainstorm a list of 20 ways to improve. You can write down anything - ways to increase your income, improve your health, better your relationships, etc. The focus is on generating ideas to make your life better.