Gentle Three Day Mini Cleanse

This is for those of you....who have that feeling and acknowledge that your body is carrying around some material in the midsection that needs to be gently eliminated from your system.
It's not about some tidal wave powered high cost process that is going to leave you simply lying on the couch for seven days unable to function and carry on your daily activities.

I like health tips that I can incorporate into a busy day, and keep on focusing on my goals while refining my physique and enhancing both my energy levels, resistance to disease and appearance of vibrancy.

So, today I just want to talk about a quick mini cleanse that only requires two items:
B  Complex with Vit C added vitamin capsules, and three chubby cloves of raw garlic.

Basically for three nights in a row you take one chubby clove of raw garlic at bedtime, along with a capsule or two of B complex that has added Vit C in it. Consume a cup or two of room temperature water at the same time. Do this for three nights in a row. In order to get the clove of garlic down, you will need to chop it or crush it into smaller bits, but be sure to consume it raw and use only water to wash it down with.
 ( Vitamin B capsules without Vit C are also good too)
Vitamin B complex capsules can be found in any health store of the vitamin section of any major grocery store.) (for dosages of the vitamin B , consult your doctor)

What might happen? Maybe nothing....or maybe you may begin to see some of the following detoxification symptoms which although maybe be inconvenient, are actually a good sign that your body is eliminating stored toxins:
-loosening of the stools and a general relief from constipation. Unfortunately for some, this may have some urgency to it, so you may want to make sure you have a washroom nearby. But for others, they may find that they can continue on in their regular work/daily schedule without any too frequent bathroom breaks.
-Adult acne: your skin may erupt as the toxins start releasing from deep in your body.Your skin is part of the pathways through which our bodies shed toxins.This type of occasional adult acne is a good sign of detoxification and will clear up as your body becomes cleaner inside.
-More peaceful energy: Remember that raw garlic actually has been proven to lower blood pressure as long as it is in the body, so you may well notice a discern-able change in your mood...a kind of inner "slowness" that some may call peacefulness.

THat's It! Simple eh? Remember, I wasn't talking about a major health renovation, but rather a quick mini-cleanse that may just help tweak your body's inner's sytems into staying on track, help strengthen bowel function, as well as strengthening the immune system. Whenever our bodies become sluggish, it's often because we are lugging around stuff in our digestive system that should have been eliminated several weeks ago.

Why do our bodies store up unprocessed stuff  and clog up our mid sections?
It can be due to some of the following reasons:
*Too little water in the diet.... our bodies need water daily in order to maintain a healthy digestive system.
*Allergies to certain foods create reactions in our gut that slow down or halt proper digestion.
*Too little physical activity. Remember that we were created to move about, even slowly, but surely every day we do need to do something . Even a gentle slow walk around the block is going to help our digestion.
When we stop moving , it isn't just our leg muscles that atrophy, but also our digestive muscles. Walking helps to stimulate the digestive system in a healthy way.

I hope this discussion has been helpful. It's not always about massive change....but a tiny step in the right direction.

Carla

Disclaimer: This blog is intended for conversational purposes only.Note that this blog is not intended as medical advice. This author and publisher of this blog does not accept any liability for the ideas discussed in this post or any other post on this blog. Medical advice should be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner.


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Gweneth Paltrow....You Go Girl

This Morning I was listening to a bunch of radio commentators lament the fact that Gweneth Paltrow has opened a new art Studio to which folks can pay to become members. According to the radio chatter, it's entry fee is a cool $1000 bucks plus another $1000 per year in membership fees plus more money if you want to attend one of the art classes.

I wish I could recall, the actual name of the radio show, as that would be all good and proper to give credit...but alas, I wasn't really paying attention as to precisely which radio show I was listening to.

Anywho, the only reason I am talking about this idea at all, is because I wanted to respond to the flow of resentment that seemed to be gushing onto the airwaves from such an eye rolling (yawn) commentary.
There seemed to be the thought by the commentators that Gweneth Paltrow is "out of touch" with the common man, and the, attitude of "how dare Gweneth start up a collective that isn't aimed at the lower or middle classes of humanity." type to 'tude.  To which, I must start to sigh and do a little bit of eye rolling myself.

Why is it, whenever a wealthy person sets up something that is marketed only to the wealthy, that it seems to upset those who clearly wouldn't buy such a product or service in the first place? Must every product be priced according to what "every human" can afford? Can't the rich just enjoy their wealth once in a while? Must they always hide it and act like we are all the same?

Now don't get your socks in a knot just yet. Yes, I believe we are all equal in the eyes of God. However,we are all at different stages in terms of where we fall on a financial scale. That's neither good nor bad....it just IS. Therefore, our ability and freedom to spend is influenced by where we are located on that financial scale. And again...that, in my humble opinion, is neither good nor bad....it just IS.

So let me just vent for a second. If someone has the means and social celebrity to build an ART collective that caters to those with high discretionary incomes....why is that wrong? Don't we want the wealthy to spread their money around? Don't we celebrate when folks don't hoard their wealth but prefer to spend it well?

I am all about personal freedom of choice, when it comes to wealth and it's expenditure. If someone can afford to spend millions of dollars on a private jet and hire personal assistants across the globe, well that's cool with me. When the wealthy spend their money it's better for all of us. Money is intended to circulate, to be spent, invested, lent and poured forth upon the earth....and if you're in Richard Branson's club,....you might even be spending/sending your good cash into space.. I get a good chuckle out of how a lot of folks spend their money. I don't resent it in the least when someone spends their fortune on some product or club to which I don't belong.

Yes, freedom of speech still rocks and folks are taking full advantage of it now-a-days on the radio and inter net, but there is also a time to just let things go and let freedom reign. When you decide to overspend on
eye cream and gold plated lint rollers.... I promise not to roll my eyes. ;)

In Peacful productivity,
Carla




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Fave Sharpies and a Pencil..

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This is my latest experiment with my fave Sharpies and a regular pencil on paper.Thirty minutes later Voila.....I call him Pierre.

When you get a hankering to doodle...what are your tools of choice?

Peaceful Productivity,

Carla

Kinda Disappointing.... Mr. Ferriss

 The writings, books and podcasts, and blogs of Tim Ferris have been nothing short of an adventurous inspiration for me for many years. How many of us, after having read "The Four Hour Work Week" thought to ourselves.....well if Tim Ferris can figure out how to do it....then why not me?

But this week, I was saddened to receive an email from Tim's people alerting me to a new podcast that Tim had published on his blog.....It featured a guest speaker who advocated the use of psychedelic drugs....for non-medicinal purposes.

Why must one of the most adventurous Thinkers on the planet delve into the dark side of foolish humanity?
There's more than enough drug abuse occurring all over the world..... We really don't need people to start considering taking drugs for even more uses and abuses. Really Tim what are you thinking?
Your teachings are read and "followed" by so many humans across the world....do you really want to be leading your vulnerable readers/students down that slippery slope?

Tim, I hope you realize that when you hold a position in the world as a "leader", you carry a greater responsibility for what you suggest to folks. Tim Ferriss' status brings about an undeniable influence that many thousands of people will blindly follow his suggestions, whether they have clearly thought through the pros and cons of it all or not.

It is a fortunate or unfortunate result of fame (depending on how you look at it) that folks will follow the ideas and suggestions of anyone who has achieved a certain level of celebrity and/or financial success. Therefore it is essential for those who find themselves in such a powerful position in the world to tread more carefully in terms of what they advocate as an acceptable pursuit or lifestyle.

Fortunately I don't require all those whose "stuff" I read to abide by my own set of expectations. Whenever I search for mentors or inspiring writers/thinkers I meander about...... I pick and choose the nuggets that I can really chew on and then literally spit out the rest. I can't use what I don't believe in. So actually, yes, I will continue to read Tim's blog and/or podcast but it is not without my cautionary flag waving.


Peacefully productive
Carla

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So You Wanna Prevent A Stock Market Crash?

Just a quick thought. This week as I was pondering the philosophy of the stock market and how modern man interacts with it, it came to my attention that many.....too many humans act like the stock market is operating beyond their scope of influence. Most humans wrongly assume that the stock market is controlled by some outword entity....some wall street big wigs.
But what I have noticed is that THE most powerful influence on the stock market is actually YOU and I....ordinary small time investors who either decide to stick with it or jump ship and sell when the going gets tough. The "crashes" that so many investors fear and loathe are created by US.....not some mysterious entity.
Stock market crashes occur when the majority of folks give in to fear and try to all sell their shares at the same time, thus driving the stock prices down to next to nothing.

So, in a quick summary, what can you and I do to prevent another stock market crash? Don't panic!!!
Stay in the market for the long haul. Don't be reactionary and pull your money out when you see some doom and gloom on the news channels. Stewart your money with intelligence and  prayer and accurate and up to date information.....just don't be hasty to abandon ship during rolling waves. Prices will always go up and down.

And yes, finally, yes oil prices will come back up in North America....it won't be overnight...but it will come to pass. Just wait and see.

Peacefully productive,
Carla

Is your DEBT Compounding FASTER than your INVESTMENTS?

I'm sure most of you already know what "compounding" interest means right?

Basically, just in case you need a bit of a reminder, it's the way in which, if a chunk of money that earns a certain percentage of interest is left alone for several years to compound.....it will gain great value over a lengthy period of time. Every year the interest is not only earned on the original principal amount but also on the interest paid out for the previous year(s). So let's say you invest $500 at 5% interest and leave it alone for 5 years, you won't just have $25 in interest earned at the end of the five year term. You will have much more than than because each year you will have earned "interest on your interest".

So the miracle of compounding is pretty awesome in the world of investing, especially if you have the fiscal discipline to leave your investment money alone before trying to withdraw any of it to spend.
Those who love the stock market and utilize dividend re-investment plans also use a similar concept of compounding in order to build up the value of their portfolios by simply "not touching" the dividends that their equities produce and allowing the plan to use the cash dividends to purchase even more stocks.

The scary part of compounding is that it can also seriously apply to instruments of DEBT. Therefore, if you have a debt owing of $500 dollars and you are paying 12% in interest yearly to the creditor....and you allow that debt to remain unpaid for five years, then after the FIVE years of compounding you won't just owe the company the original $500 plus a simple 12% interest payment....but you'll ALSO owe the creditor
"interest on the interest". That's why and how consumer debt gets way out of control so quickly. Many folks forget that DEBT also compounds when it is not quickly paid off in full. A small debt of only a couple thousand dollars can quickly balloon into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt obligations if the debt is never paid off in full.

Remember that interest rates REALLY MATTER. One credit card might charge you 12% yearly in interest. Another credit card might charge you 28% in yearly interest. That is a HUGE difference and it will make a HUGE difference in the amount of money you are paying in interest to your creditor.

Today I just wanted to mention that when you are trying to get a healthy perspective on your financial situation you may want to dumb it down to this simple question..."
"Is my debt increasing FASTER than my investments?"
Is my debt costing me a higher interest rate than my the rate at which my investments are growing? It is a simple but very powerful tool to use to get us all to think about our finances in new and empowering ways.


For example, a simple equity portfolio might earn an average of 5% compounded annually. But what is your consumer debt costing you to carry it? 28% on a credit card is not uncommon for many department store credit cards. Therefore, if your investments are only GROWING at 5% and the consumer debt that you are carrying is ballooning in size at 28%.....something is not good. Ideally, we all want our investments to grow FASTER than our consumer debt. Then we will all stay ahead of the game and have something to retire on in the long run.

Think about it.

Peaceful productivity,
Carla

DISCLAIMER: Note the above blog post is not intended as professional financial advice and the owner/publisher of this blog does not accept any liability for the ideas discussed in this post. Professional financial advice should be obtained from a licensed professional.

Canadian and American Finance Authors

I don't know about you...but I latched onto that catch phrase "Readers are Leaders" and so it has become a habit to inhale books just as often as I can.

Therefore, in case your reading list, particularly in the realm of finance and investing, has become a little stale, permit me to share with you some of the finance authors that I have dabbled with in reading their books or speeches over the past decade. If any of them have also piqued your curiosity and provided meaty motivation, please go for it and share your feisty opinions in the comments section.
 Peacefully productive,

Carla.

Derek Foster "Aka, the Lazy Investor" has published several investing books written for the common folk. 
    to see his titles, go to his website www.stopworking.ca

The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

Robert Kiyosaki ----a large number of books....too many to list...check out his websites by googling him....or start with his breakout book  entitled "Rich Dad Poor Dad".

Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki wrote a book together called 
"Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men One Message"

Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich"

Tony Robbins new book "Money, Master the Game"

Tim Ferriss---lifestyle hacker/author of the breakout book "The Four Hour Work Week"

Gail Vaz Oxlade--personal/family finance coach from TV seminars (Canada centric eh)
all major book sellers will carry her books.

David Bach--check out his website --www.Finishrich.com