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These are the keys to being successful without having it be stressful from my 11 years of experience as a small business owner. Please feel free to use these tips to help you find more success with your work.

1. Patience – Don’t give up just because you can’t see past the dark clouds on the horizon. Having the strength to see things through and make sure you do a good job is more important than immediate results.

2. Ambition – Always be ready to tackle a big challenge and find creative ways to do so. Don’t be afraid of success or failure, simply have a vision and do your best to make it happen.

3. Plan – Don’t go to work without a plan. Always have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish before you step foot in to the office. Use your time wisely and carefully. This makes for more free time and less wasted time.

4. Breaks – Working for 10-12 hours straight is not good for anyone. You must take breaks and find positive ways to relieve stress. Don’t worry about productivity during your breaks, instead focus on relaxation for that time period.

5. Care – Care about the quality of your work. Perform in a manner that you can be proud of. This builds confidence and lends to your good reputation, which creates positive word of mouth.

6. Communication – Always express yourself clearly. Listen to the people around you. Make sure that everyone you work with or for understands what you are doing and why you are doing it.

7. Help – Don’t be afraid to ask for it! Sometimes you may find yourself stuck and need a quick nudge in the right direction. Family, friends and colleagues can be there when you need that extra support.

8. Fun – The most important part of all. You can’t be successful without having a little fun with your work. Make your workplace an enjoyable environment. Do what you enjoy and make it your profitable niche. When you work doing something you enjoy it’s hardly like working at all most of the time.

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Coronary disease is the leading killer in America. It is a terrifying, debilitating and painful disease. New data suggests that not only is it reversible, but entirely preventable. Caldwell Esselstyn, MD presented this informative lecture about this subject, illustrating exactly the steps necessary to stop it.

If you or anyone in your family have ever suffered from this awful affliction there is hope. It doesn’t involve expensive treatments or harmful drugs, instead it’s simply a change in your diet and lifestyle.

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Genetically modified foods are becoming more and more pervasive in our farms, grocery stores and restaurants. Everyone has a different reaction to these genetically modified foods (both emotionally and physically). My research has indicated that these foods are less nutritious and present several dangers to their consumers based on the manipulation that they have undergone. Jeffrey Smith is an expert in the field and has generously made this informative lecture publicly available.

Information is power and informed people can change the world for the better. Demand labeling, if not outright bans, of genetically modified products, not just for your safety, but for the safety of our food, environment and the future.

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The freedom of individuals to pursue healthy eating habits, obtain natural supplements and seek alternatives to expensive and often ineffective modern medicine is being curtailed by nefarious regulations and deceptive trade practices. This documentary, “We Become Silent” is the best summary of the current situation I’ve discovered to date.

It is time to stand up and show the collective strength of our citizenry. We deserve the freedom to be healthy and enjoy access to natural foods, supplements and more.

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Many people would be interested to learn which companies and pollutants are effecting their community.  Scorecard.org offers just that service.  You can search by the city, zip code or otherwise and receive detailed reports of the air and water quality as well as other very useful information.

Use this valuable information to educate your community, fight pollution and make better informed decisions.  Remember that these issues effect us all and the closer we are to industries, highways or living within a city, the more we are negatively impacted.

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While much of the environmental debate has focused on CO2 and climate change, the more important aspect to understand is the tangible effects of particulate air pollution, especially from coal-fired power plants. This documentary explores this subject matter in great depth, illustrating the health effects and consequences of air pollution.

It is easy to not put much thought in to where our electricity comes from, the way heavy industry operates, vehicular transportation and how they effect the world around us, but it is time to wake up to the reality of what’s really going on and what we are sacrificing.

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The Future of Food is an excellent documentary about the monopolization and manipulation of modern food to suit the profiteering megacorporations who now dominate global food distribution. It goes in to great detail about the disenfranchised family farmers, genetic manipulation of crops and much more. I recommend watching it with an open mind.

Remember that you have more power as a consumer than you may realize. The dynamic will shift back in to our favor if the majority of people choose to abstain from and demand labeling of genetically modified food.

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Recently it has been determined that some plastics used to store food and beverages may contaminate said products.

Let’s start with the industry web site on BPA:

“Bisphenol A (BPA) is a key building block of polycarbonate plastic.”

Source: http://www.bisphenol-a.org/human/polyplastics.html

Fair enough.  Is it harmful to me?

According to NIH we should be careful with it, especially around pregnant woman and infants (at the very least):

“The possibility that BPA may affect human development cannot be dismissed,” said John Bucher, associate director of the toxicology group, in a statement in Bloomberg. “We see developmental changes occurring in some animal studies at BPA exposure levels similar to those experienced by humans.”

Source: http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/bisphenol.pdf

Sunoco seems to agree with NIH, as they have restricted sales of BPA:

“Sunoco, a producer of gasoline and chemicals, is now refusing to sell the chemical to companies for use in food and water containers for children younger than 3, saying it can’t be certain of the compound’s safety. Sunoco plans to require its customers to guarantee that the chemical will not be used in children’s food products.”

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=7070048

Do we really have to worry about BPA leaching in to our food and water that’s stored in polycarbonate plastic?

“We found that drinking cold liquids from polycarbonate bottles for just one week increased urinary BPA levels by more than two-thirds. If you heat those bottles, as is the case with baby bottles, we would expect the levels to be considerably higher. This would be of concern since infants may be particularly susceptible to BPA’s endocrine-disrupting potential,” said Karin B. Michels, associate professor of epidemiology at HSPH and Harvard Medical School and senior author of the study.

Source: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2009-releases/bpa-chemical-plastics-leach-polycarbonate-drinking-bottles-humans.html

Why aren’t we banning BPA as other developed countries have?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041803036.html

There has been a stir in Washington, but we need more action to get things going:

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/41215752.html

Consider contacting your representative and encouraging them to take action against BPA in food and beverage products.

In addition, refusal to buy these products and asking store owners to stock products stored in glass or safer plastics (such as LDPE and HDPE)  will help to encourage moving away from BPA.

Update: Check out the history of BPA.  Very interesting information for those who are curious where this chemical came from.

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