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Attacking Adversity

Bookish Weapon Number Twenty-Three

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So far on this site, I have not looked at a novel and I said I was going to see if, at least sometimes I can tie the hiking post to the book post. Plus, this one is a lot of fun. The novel is called “Undisclosed,” by Steven Alten. Is this book a weapon? Well, if imagination is power, then maybe it is.

Although this is a novel, I get the distinct impression that Alten believes all of it. It is a tail about UFOs, zero energy, and evil people.

The Big Secret

There has to be a big secret government or private UFO research facility for all this to work. After all, we all know about Area 51 and all the little green folks living there. So this book doesn’t disappoint with its “Subterranean Complex” located in the midwest. This place has everything, fast transportation within the facility using hoverboards, different “levels” of security, laboratories, and of course the UFOs.

Smaller Secrets

One thing I didn’t expect but was happy to read about was that along with alien help they were able to figure to how to regrow body parts as lizards do. Now that may be a smaller secret, but I think it is even better. The thing is this group is not sharing this capability with the outer world. Anti-aging has come a long way, but this would certainly be the icing on the cake.

Another smaller secret was the ability to “drive” a UFO just by using our mind. I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust my mind that well. Still, the idea sounds like fun.

Then a bad one. A cream that you can rub on someone’s arm and then 24 hours later they self combust. Nasty!

Zero Energy

Now, this is what the bad guys are trying to keep the world from discovering, so I guess it is really the biggest secret. No more carbon emissions, no more waiting at the gas pumps. It solves all kinds of problems. No more poverty, hunger or disease.

Well, I certainly hope some of these problems get solved through new technology no matter where it comes from.

Bookish Weapon Number Twenty-One

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Is everything in life “Figureoutable?” Is that even a word? Well, Marie Forleo in her bilk by that name says so. The exact title is “Everything is Figureoutable.” One of the clubs that Brendon Burchard clubs you with time after time is the importance of believing that you can “figure it out,” whatever it is. If you believe that then there isn’t much that will stop you.

Everything is Figureoutable

Yes, I know I just said that, but Marie tells us that we need to repeat it over and over again until it becomes a part of who we are as people.

What it really comes down to says Marie, is that our beliefs tend to stick so make “everything is figureoutble” a belief! As Marie says, “The most powerful words in the universe are the words lousy to yourself.” Tony Robbins would add that if these words are said with emotion they are even more powerful.

Excuses

I like her take on excuses. “If it’s important enough, I’ll make the time. If not, I’ll make an excuse.”

One excuse that Marie discusses is “I don’t have the money.” Well, I don’t! She is having none of it. First, she says you might not need the money, because there are lots of free resources out there. For instance, you can get a world-class education online and she gives you that information as well as a much longer list of resources for raising money. Then she points out that if you really do need more money and can’t get it elsewhere, get another job. I liked the one.

Fear, Dreams, Goals

This book discusses all of these topics in detail. She discusses fear as any self-respecting “self-help” author does, and how we shouldn’t let it stop us. Use it as fuel!

Goals – choose one and write it down. There is much more to this, but that is the basic idea.

Dreams are those things that you desire and desire is, after all etymologically “of God.” You are special. The world needs what you bring to the table. Consider what Fred Rogers says, “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never dream of.” Marie says, “uncovering, developing, and sharing your gifts—-that’s the whole reason you’re here on earth. I believe that is the whole reason any of us are here. To create and contribute to one another.” Hey, that is why I write about these ideas from books.

Bookish Weapon Number Twenty

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From now on I am going to see if I can tie my hiking post in with the book I am discussing. So this time I picked, “Claim Your Power, by Mastin Kip. It is a powerful book. There is no doubt about that. I got a lot out of it. Do I agree with everything in the book? No.

It is, as the subtitle says, “A 40 day journey to dissolve the hidden blocks that keep you stuck and finally thrive in your life’s unique purpose.” Here are some of the best ideas.

Finding Your Purpose

This was one of the best parts of the book. Kipp has you pay attention to your heart and then he says to remember when you were a child and ask the following question. “What is the earliest, happiest memory I can remember? Then accept the first memory that comes to mind. Then write it down and ask yourself the following: “Who was in the memory? What did I believe about life in that moment?” Then think a bit about that. Then ask what the next happiest memory followed by the same questions just mentioned. Then you repeat the entire process again and again and again. With the last one he has you list a most recent happy memory with the same followup questions.

Next you write down each of the five memories again. Then you go through a process of finding the emotions behind each memory. Then he drills down to your two “primary emotions.” You need to get the book!

Finally he has you fill in the blank for this statement: “I was born to_____myself and my Higher Power, and feel the ______that results while inspiring others to feel the same.”

How about that! Pretty powerful I think. I have done similar exercises where you go back to your childhood and I think they are very good at getting to who you are at your core.

This book is full of exercises to help you.

Your Soul’s Mission

Another section in the book takes you through the process of discovering your mission. It is very good. It s about how your purpose driven goals align with your Soul’s mission and discovering your special gift. He says it is what comes easy to you and I ask, what if nothing come easy to me? But that is another story. I liked some of the questions such as, “How can I turn my goals into a mission greater than myself?

If you, like me, say that nothing comes easy to you, one of the things you might consider which is not discussed in this book is a “talent stack.” It is a stack of skills that you might not find easy but you are pretty good at. If you want to know more about this stack check out the creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams. That is how he became successful.

Bookish Weapon Number Nineteen

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This book, “Boundless,” by Ben Greenfield will not be available until January 2020 so no, I have not read it yet. However, it is a way to help promote his book for him and provide me the platform to tell you about some of the things I have learned from listening to his podcasts for several years now. This will be a bit longer than my typical post.

Of course, I recommend you read his book and even his older book called, “Beyond Training.” And don’t forget the podcasts! Yes, I know some of you don’t listen to podcasts or read books, but just things that summarize all of that. So let me jump around a bit and see if I can give you a little bit of everything. But remember, this is really an overview and based on my experience and opinion so please research this on your own. It does give you a starting point.

Anti-aging – The Number One Supplement

It surprises me somewhat that younger people have so much interest in not getting old. I would think that you’re so busy you don’t start to think about that until you are, well, older. Yet, this is a hot topic.

Under this subject there are a whole lot of things to discuss. First, supplements. The most popular and well researched supplement for anti-aging is an NAD precursor called Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride and sold by two main companies, Elysium and Chromadex. Elysium sells a product called Basis and Chromadex sells one called Tru-Niagen. I will let you decide which is best. I do take one of them now and have taken the other in the past. Where did I hear about these two products? On the Ben Greenfield podcast!

Wait, I went too fast. You may be asking what, pray tell, is NAD? NAD stands for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide. As we age NAD levels deteriorate so the idea behind this supplement which is basically Vitamin B-3, is to increase NAD levels in the body. Research has shown that it indeed does just that. So why is that important? Because NAD energizes your cells so you have more energy. You can climb mountains when you’re 74!

There is another product that is supposed to increase NAD levels, but has no research behind it that I know about and that is Nicotinamide Mononucleotide or NMN. David Sinclair takes it.

The Others

Other Ant-Aging supplements recommended by Sandy Kaufman in the Kaufman Protocol (one of Ben’s guests) include Resveratol, Pterostilbene, Astaxanthin and Curcumin for those over 45 years old. There a slightly different recommendations for other categories of people.

Sleep

This is my favorite subject. So I want to pass on what I have learned from Ben’s guests and Ben’s recommendations. Then tell you my experience.

First, getting to sleep can be difficult for some people. Ben recommends Dr.Parsley’s Sleep Remedy, CBD oil and Quiksilver Melatonin. He also recommends a product called Circadia. Think it is expensive? Well NuCalm is almost $5000. He recommends it too, but Circadia is less than a thousand.

Let me throw my two cents in as well. I have had great results with CBD oil and Dr Parsley’s product, but now I am using a product called Mag R&R which helps me with tight muscles and prevents night cramps from long mountain hikes. It contains melatonin, 5-HTP, Rhodiola, Ashwagandha, Gaza, ad Oasis Flower.

Dr. Steven Gundry in his recent book on anti-aging recommends that you do not eat anything for at least four hours before you go to bed. He claims that in order for your brain to be “cleansed” by something called Glymph, your body can’t be focusing on digestion.

Another recommendation from Ben is a grounding mat. It is supposed to eliminate pain while you are on it. Get it from Ultimate Longevity. Why? Listen to the podcast that features the owner for the answer to that.

Blood Tests

When you get your annual physical your doctor orders the standard blood tests. Pretty basic, but what do you really need to order? Here is Ben’s 11 Best Biomarkers:

RBC Magnesium
Estrodiol
High-Sensitivity- C-Reactive Protein
Tryilyceride to HDL Ratio
Full Lipid Panel
Omega Three Fatty Acids
IGF-1
Insulin
Complete Blood Count with Differential
Iron

Toss that at your doctor next time you see him or her. If you want a lengthy explanation for each one visit Ben’s website and search for 11 Best Biomarkers.

Recovery

Hopefully, some of you the read these posts are hikers or engage in some kind of regular exercise. If so, then you are gong to have times when you tweaked or injured something. Maybe it is just being extremely sore which I guarantee if you go hiking with me.

So it is with that in mind that I am introducing you to something called BP 157. Yes, I heard about first on the Ben Greenfield podcast. You can now take it orally, but before this the only way it worked was by injection. There never was an oral BPC 157 that worked. However, Greenfield had the owner of Dr. Seeds dot com on his show and they discussed their oral product. Ben tried it and said it worked, but that because it is oral it took three weeks before you felt any difference to an injury for instance.

What exactly is this stuff? BP 157 is a peptide and it works with your blood to help heal injuries faster. What I didn’t know was that it also dramatically reduces soreness after a workout or training session. I used it for two months and discovered, to my delight that Ben was right. The stuff is amazing and there are no side effects. Dr Seeds sells the only (so far) oral product that works. He calls it Body Protective Complex (clever, right?). If you decide to try it know that the black bottle is the higher dose. That is what I used.

Other Peptides

Peptides are a huge topic. BPC 157 is only the beginning. There are peptides for energy, better sleep, etc. You can dive deep. However, as far as I know all these other peptides require an injection.

For example, there is DSIP or Delta Sleep Inducing Peptide. If you try this let me know how it works as I have not as yet. I tend to stay away from injections.

Surface Scratching

This post has only scratched the surface of what is in Greenfield’s books and podcasts. I hope you will start listening, because it could have a huge impact on your health.

Now, at least you have a place to start. It is a fast changing world of bio-hacks and everything to make you better so you can go hiking of course.

Bookish Weapon Number Eighteen

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We are all going to die or as John Ortberg puts it, “Old Man Wrinkle is coming for everybody.” Ortberg has a unique way of reminding us of that fact and adding a twist or two in his book, “When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box.” That is one of the best titles for a book I have seen and contains a bookish weapon we can all use daily.

The title is a reminder that while we play this game, winning and losing at times, when it is all over all the pieces and the board go back in the box. It could be that the “box” is a coffin.”

Reality

“The reality of this world is that I was born into Someone Else’s kingdom. My life came to me as a gift I did not choose; it is suspended from a slender thread that I did not weave and cannot on my own sustain.”

Here is a meditation Ortberg quotes:

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Then he says Jesus added one more to this: “I am a ceaseless being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”

He also adds this much needed quote from Bernie Siegle:

“I’ve done the research and I hate to tell you, but everybody dies – lovers, joggers, vegetarians and non-smokers. I’m telling you this so that some of you who jog at 5:00 AM and eat vegetables will occasionally sleep late and have an ice cream cone.”

Meaning

A vacuum cleaner is built to clean. A knife to cut. Ortberg says, “We are built for meaning the way Porsches are built for speed.” He goes on to discuss how all of us have what Martin Seligman calls “signature strengths.” And of course goes on to encourage us to use our signature strengths in the service of something larger than ourselves.

You are most likely familiar with the book “Mans Search for Meaning” where Victor Frankl points out that we can put up with anything if we have a big enough why. We can find meaning in even the worst circumstances.

Bookish Weapon Number Seventeen

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Gary Keller’s book, “The One Thing,” reminds me a lot of Stephen Covey’s book, “First Things First,” but it has its own twist and adds a lot. The idea is keeping your focus on one thing. That gets extraordinary results.

I liked the domino analogy. If you have a line of dominos, then keep hitting the first domino until it falls. The rest is easy.

What Holds Us Back

There are too many distractions and things other than the “me thing” that keep us from focusing. Also there are “untruths” that we base our decisions on. As you have heard, if you hear a lie long enough and frequently enough you believe it.

Keller says there are six lies between you and success. 1) Everything matters equally, 2) Multitasking, 3) A disciplined life, 4) Willpower Is Always on Will-Call, 5) A balanced life, and 6) Big is bad. Then he takes each one apart.

Discipline

This one reached out and slapped me in the face. I pride myself the I am disciplined in some areas of my life, but Keller says, “Success is actually a short race – a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and tale over.” Yes, habit! The gym is a habit. Hiking is a habit.

He goes on to say, “In fact, you can become successful with less discipline than you think, for one simple reason: success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right.” He says that “When you do the right thing, it can liberate you from having to monitor everything.”

So strong, powerful habits are more important than discipline, but you still need the discipline to get the ball rolling.

A Balanced Life

Let’s take one more of these six lies. Isn’t it good to stay balanced? Don’t be a workaholic! Don’t be an “exercise nut.” Don’t just “go hiking” ALL THE TIME. Keller says the balanced life is a lie.

He says instead of seeking balance, we should be seeking, “purpose, meaning, significance – these are what make a successful life. Seek them and you will most certainly live your life out of balance, crisscrossing an invisible middle line as you purpose your priorities.” Yes!

Consider this. If you are messing around with everything it all gets less attention or as he says, “shortchanged,” and “magic happens at the extremes.” It is the extra long climb that makes a difference.

I like what he says about time in this regard. “When you gamble with time, you may be placing a bet you can’t cover….toying with time will lead you down a rabbit hole with no way out. Believing this lie does its harm by convincing you to do things you shouldn’t and stop doing things you should.” Then, “To achieve an extraordinary result you must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands. This requires getting extremely out of balance in relation to all other work issues, with only infrequent counterbalancing to address them.” Good advice!