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Mindconnection eNL, 2011-01-16

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In this issue:
Brainpower | Finances | Security | Health/Fitness | Factoid | Product Highlight | Thought for the Day

1. Brainpower tip

Word choices matter. This is why, for example, the USA federal govt calls every insane program by a name that invokes the opposite of what it actually does. We have "Daylight Savings Time" for a program that costs us an hour of daylight every morning. Millions of unemployed Americans got to become unemployed because of an overhead-increasing, job-destroying "stimulus package." A tax hike actually gets called a "tax break." And on and on it goes.

Here's an example that isn't government-speak. How often have you heard people talk about "losing weight?" This is a poor word choice that sets them on the path to defeat. If, instead, they talked about "reducing my portion size" then they would have an actionable and measurable goal they can implement. By reducing their portion size, they would lose the fat that they were wanting to lose.

Then there are all the euphemisms that people use in absurd attempts to disguise what they are doing. Gutless corporate "leaders" talk about "a market adjustment" instead of a layoff. At the same time, job applicants try to gild the lily with meaningless buzzwords instead of actually saying something in their resume. They also use aggrandizements that don't hold up and that nearly guarantee they won't be hired, instead of accurately describing their role. If you "led a team" that did this and you "pioneered" that, why did you leave your last employer over "personal differences?"

Poor word choices are often deliberate, as in the layoff and job search scenarios. This means that good word choices can also be deliberate. Honesty and accuracy aren't liabilities; they are assets. Especially when the truth is going to come out anyhow.

Poor word choices may be accidental. This can be due to laziness in selection, or to lack of vocabulary. One solution to both of these problems is to regularly read substantive works. You can find a wide range of nonfiction titles at your local library. You can find book reviews to help you locate a good read, just by going to www.mindconnection.com and clicking the Book Reviews link.

One problem with poor word choices is they often result from habit. Therein lies a great opportunity. The more you discipline yourself to use the appropriate word, the easier and more natural doing so becomes.

If you make a continual effort to build and maintain your word choice brainpower, you will reap many benefits. Here are two:

  1. When you have the habit of using the appropriate words yourself, you gain a keenness for spotting poor word choices in what you hear and in what you read. That helps you avoid being deceived.
  2. When you articulate precisely, that helps keep you from being misunderstood--or at least from saying something other than what you meant.

2. Finance tip

What is the job title of the person who archives Presidential speeches?

A lie brarian.

That's not a "partisan" statement. We've had a single party running federal "elections" since the 1880s. Yes, it has two wings spewing different rhetoric, but their actions are the same. It's one party. That's the reality.

This fraud depends on a steady stream of lies that, for some inexplicable reason, people tend to believe. These lies are costing you, and they are costing you hugely.

Under the past few Presidential misadministrations, the actors pretending to run the Executive Branch have done the opposite of what they promised to do in their campaign speeches. They have, however, done exactly as their track records predicted they would do. And exactly as their employers have instructed them to do.

Your knowing this is probably of no practical value in terms of installing a legitimate federal government that does something other than rob us blind. The advent of such a thing is unlikely in the near future. The reason it's important to know this is so that you plan based on reality rather than on rhetoric. Here are some points of reality:

  1. Taxes. Taxes = spending. For this to not be true, the money to pay for the spending would have to grow on trees. In fact, there has been an effort to do exactly that. And this brings us to the next great lie.
     
  2. Inflation. Another term for this is "currency debasement." The mudstream media keeps parroting the propaganda of the Frauderal Reserve, under the idiotic idea that pumping out billions of dollars from thin air doesn't debase the currency but that currency debasement simply happens. Note: The definition of counterfeiting fits this exact behavior. It's fraud, plain and simple. Adding even more brazenness to this fraud, the Frauderal Reserve claims to be "fighting inflation." Yeah, the way an arsonist "fights fires."
     
  3. Unemployment. When you read the federal govt's wildly wrong statistics on unemployment, you get a picture that is far rosier than reality. The mudstream media keeps talking about "9% unemployment" or some other number that isn't even close. In the fourth quarter of 2010, 53% of Americans aged 18 to 24 could not find a job. Of the 47% who could, most of those jobs didn't pay enough to live on (thus, the many "return to the nest" 20-somethings). Of men aged 25-50, more than 25% could not find work. Again, same paltry pay situation for many. So, it's pretty rough out there. Not hopeless, but rough. Much rougher than the liars would have you believe.
     
  4. GDP. Talk about a big lie. If you look at components of the GDP, you will never again trust any economic numbers coming out of Washington, DC.
     
  5. The USA federal deficit. The "federal deficit" is a fake, irrelevant, meaningless number. The Republican wing of The Party talks about "balancing the budget," which is ridiculous when you read the next lie we'll talk about. Instead of balancing the budget, we need to run multi-trillion dollar surpluses each year, and we need to start counting those "off budget" items as money spent so the word "budget" means something inside the Beltway.
     
  6. The USA federal debt. When the liars talk about the $13 trillion (that's 13 followed by 12 zeroes) debt, they are talking about only a portion of the debt. Because the govt hides the numbers, it takes some real sleuthing to determine just how deep in the hole we really are. That sleuthing has been done, and credible sources put the actual debt at around $200 trillion.

    That puts the official numbers off by a factor of about 15:1. Imagine if you lied on your federal income tax by a factor of 15; unless your name is Geithner or Rangel, you'd go to jail. But when the federal govt and its lapdog mudstream media lie about how much financial debt the govt has run up for you, it's somehow OK?
Now that we have a grasp on reality, what what should we do with it? That depends on what reality is telling you. It's important not to take this out of context. The context is this thievery has been going on since The Party took control in the late 1880s. People talk about "recession" and "economic recovery" without regard to what's really been going on. They panic when the stealing results in economic burps, but then rejoice when the burp has passed but the underlying problem remains.

I do not think this house of cards will come crashing down. There are just too many toothpicks and glue holding things together. What we have instead is the steady robbing of ordinary people. I doubt the criminals are going to let the whole system of debt-based slavery collapse. However, individuals are at risk.

What to do now:

  • Manage your cash flow. Pay down your smallest debt, as rapidly as possible, so you have more "free cash" in case something unexpected arises. Rinse, repeat.
     
  • Get rid of "stuff." Take one room at a time, and collect anything you probably are not going to use. Donate it to charity and take the tax deduction. Do this once a month, and you will be lighter and more nimble.
     
  • Get rid of paper. Digitize (scan) your records that are currently in paper form. The less paper you have around, the better off you are. This may not seem obvious at the moment, but the more you think about it the more it makes sense.
     
  • Fill technology gaps. In some cases, you will save money (and time) by having the right technology/gadgets on hand. Buy those items that help you be more productive or informed (e.g., an e-book reader). Don't buy things just to have them; buy for a purpose.
     
  • Add to your skill set. Think of what additional skills can help you advance in your career or start a new one. Being acquiring these skills.
     
  • Be enthusiastic about your job. It doesn't matter if your boss is an idiot. Make that idiot happy, so you have less chance of losing your job. Show initiative and enthusiasm; these are the traits employers value the most.
     
  • Play nice. Today more than ever, you need a social network. This does not mean wasting your time with online "friends" but it means building real relationships with real people. Volunteer in your trade or professional organization. Above all else, treat everyone with respect and consideration. If you're angry, don't send correspondence until you've cooled down enough to word things in a way that is inoffensive and clear.
     
  • Speak out against waste. Know who is on your City Council and County Board. Write to them about holding expenses down to those expenditures that benefit the taxpayers.
     
  • Practice health care. Eat green, not grain. Eliminate the following toxins from your diet: sodas, fruit juices, sweet corn, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, refined flour products. Engage in rigorous exercise at least four times a week. Go to bed early, rather than letting an alarm clock interrupt your sleep. That's a start on preventing the huge medical costs that can ruin you. The more you make your health a priority, the less you will need to spend on medical care.

3. Security tip

I highly recommend this book by Wayne LaPierre (yes, THAT Wayne LaPierre): SAFE: How to Protect Yourself, Your Family, and Your Home.

4. Health tip/Fitness tips

Many people think that "eating healthy" and enjoying your food are two mutually exclusive choices. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, healthy eating is far more pleasurable than the typical eating pattern.

Another misconception is that you must starve yourself to be lean. This actually will make you fatter in the long run (and it's likely to make you hard to live with in the short run--just don't go there).

What you want is to be lean, not skinny. You want those muscles that give your body its attractive curves, and you don't want to accumulate the brown fat that is essentially a disease factory. You must feed your muscles without feeding the brown fat that collects on bellies and thighs (and necks and other places where it ends up looking gross).

Feeding your muscles without feeding the brown fat is actually is easy to do. You don't need to count calories. You don't need to count carbs. You don't need to count fat grams. But you can count on looking better.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

Shortly after turning 50.

 

At www.supplecity.com, you'll find plenty of informative, authoritative articles on maintaining a lean, strong physique. It has nothing to do with long workouts or impossible to maintain diets. In fact:

  • The best workouts are short and intense.
  • A good diet contains far more flavors and satisfaction than the typical American diet.

 

5. Factoid

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": ; tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

Members of "CONgrous" seem to exemplify all of these words: tremendous liars, horrendous cheaters, stupendous spenders, and hazardous legislators.



6. Product Highlight

Living Lean Profiles

This is the time of year when many people are giving up on their New Year's Resolution to "lose weight." They give up because they are trying to lose weight rather than fat and their methods are self-defeating. With a lack of progress, continuing the regimen seems pointless.

But what if your program is based on sound nutrition and still the fat isn't coming off? Or it is, but you feel tired and drained?

Living Lean Profile for Women #LPW Living Lean Profile for Men #LPM

That's where the Living Lean Profiles come in. You'll be able to look at the key factors in your own body to see what's going on and how to get back on track with both fat loss and feeling good. We have the Living Lean Profile for men and for women. Click the appropriate image above to find out more.

Not sure if your program is based on sound nutrition or not? Start with a Living Lean Profile, to see where you are. Then you can adjust from there to make up for whatever deficiencies your current fat loss program has caused. Once you enjoy feeling good and being lean, you can periodically use the Living Lean Profile to ensure you're doing the right things to stay that way.

This eNL is supported by sales from www.mindconnection.com. Please shop there, as appropriate.



7. Thought for the Day

When someone tries to justify a crazy idea by saying, "Think outside the box," think about why the box was there in the first place.

Please forward this eNL to others.

Authorship

The views expressed in this e-newsletter are generally not shared by criminals, zombies, or brainwashed individuals.

Except where noted, this e-newsletter is entirely the work of Mark Lamendola. Anything presented as fact can be independently verified. Often, sources are given; but where not given, they are readily available to anyone who makes the effort.

Mark provides information from either research or his own areas of established expertise. Sometimes, what appears to be a personal opinion is the only possibility when applying sound logic--reason it out before judging! (That said, some personal opinions do appear on occasion).

The purpose of this publication is to inform and empower its readers (and save you money!).

Personal note from Mark: I value each and every one of you, and I hope that shows in the diligent effort I put into writing this e-newsletter. Thank you for being a faithful reader.

Wishing you the best,
Mark Lamendola
Mindconnection, LLC

Authorship

The views expressed in this e-newsletter are generally not shared by criminals, zombies, or brainwashed individuals.

Except where noted, this e-newsletter is entirely the work of Mark Lamendola. Anything presented as fact can be independently verified. Often, sources are given; but where not given, they are readily available to anyone who makes the effort.

Mark provides information from either research or his own areas of established expertise. Sometimes, what appears to be a personal opinion is the only possibility when applying sound logic--reason it out before judging! (That said, some personal opinions do appear on occasion).

The purpose of this publication is to inform and empower its readers (and save you money!).

Personal note from Mark: I value each and every one of you, and I hope that shows in the diligent effort I put into writing this e-newsletter. Thank you for being a faithful reader.

To subscribe, change your e-mail address, offer your own tidbit, tell us how much you love this eNL, ask how to put us in your will <grin>, or to (gasp) unsubscribe, write to comments @ mindconnection.com (paste that into your e-mail client, and remove the spaces).

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