My Thoughts

I’m an idiot and I bet you are too.

I’m not trying to be mean, I’m being real.  How dumb are we?

A huge mirror broke in the living room of the beach house my family was staying at a few weeks ago.  Shards of glass were everywhere.  And, worried about our kids, my wife and I quickly began picking up the sharp pieces—with our bare hands.

Both of us said, “We probably should wait for the glass cleanup specialist toarrive at the house.  But, both of us continued to risk our digits while we sequestered the youngn’s (I always wanted to say that, but never found it proper till I blogged about my own stupidity) in the back room.

So, carefully we stacked the large razor-sharp daggers of glass into boxes and trash cans.  We seemingly got good at after just a bit of practice.  But, then, my wife unknowingly backed into a box, and when she turned around, a long sword-like piece of glass stabbed her in the shin.

I saw the entire accident.  I saw the shiny tip rising out of the corner—like a bored meat-hook waiting to puncture its prey.  I saw my wife hop out the front door in pain.  I followed.  And, I even thought, “Watch out Todd, that’s awfully dangerous and it needs to be moved immediately.”  But, “Naw.”

Of course, my wife said, “grab me a towel”.  I didn’t hesitate.  Quickly I turned back toward the kitchen.

Yea, you guessed it.  Slice.  That damn thing got me too—a big chunk of snarly leg hair with it.

How dumb am I?

And, isn’t this a lesson in life somehow?

Isn’t the point of life to keep learning?  Yet, somehow our own programing pulls us into places where we think we “get it.”  We think, at certain points of life, “I’ve come to a secure level of understanding.” And, although the world has many sharp objects, obstacles, and challenges, for some reason, the human race tends to believe that because they’ve experienced enough of life, that they can stop learning.

C’mon, why change our behavior because we’ve learned something new, right?

Sure, maybe we do hold onto the information we pick up along the way.  Maybe we do practice “self-speak” and tell ourselves, “we should change our behavior because I’ve learned that another behavior is much more effective than the one I’m about to do.”  Yet, we don’t change.  Why?

Ironically the evolved human is the one who realizes we will continue to evolve.  Sadly, I must not have evolved yet—because right about now I’m sharing intelligence scores with orange road cones, waiting along tight construction zones to be whacked by a semi truck.

I can imagine the conversations between road cones now, “Hey guys, we should probably move because standing here is dangerous.  But, then again, Naw!”

I’m still irriatated by the statin medications being prescribed to 8 year-old children as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of future heart disease.

www.thecureforheartdisease.net 

I think the title should suffice for content on this blog.  And, I hope you realize my sincerity– it’s not a joke.  Of course,  the problem is, no matter how hard I try, I can’t be an Egg-head—it just doesn’t fit Todd Nordstrom.

Is there a point to my realizing my limitations? I can’t be an egg-head, an NFL line backer, and numerous other things that require innate talents.  There is a point—keep becoming who you are, because that’s all you got.

Become—aggressively, consistently, and without regret.

You know what’s interesting?  The people who change the world are interesting.  I’m not talking about after they invent the next mega-breakthrough product.  I’m not talking about after they spatter their brilliance into the air—where it eventually becomes an aura of change.  Interesting people were always interesting—before, during, and after their great accomplishments.

So, what makes a person interesting?

I was stuck in a painfully boring conversation the other day—almost feeling like I had been stapled to a cork-board of a linguistics classroom on how to speak in monotone.  As the droid in front of me spoke, two things crossed my mind.  1) Do you work above a rotating door, spending your day saying “Please move forward.” And, 2) I don’t find too many people boring (many are irritating, yet still entertaining) so what’s wrong with you?  Or, what’s wrong with me for finding you absolutely mind-numbing?

Well, as much as I’d love to take ownership for this person’s khaki personality, the truth of the matter is this—boring people don’t care about anything.  They aren’t passionate about anything. They don’t know where they’re going in life and they seemingly don’t want direction. Walking in circles inside a rotating door might actually be a good option for them.  As long as they can follow rules they’ll keep moving in circles and never get in any one else’s way.

So, does that all it take to be interesting—passion?

Well, yea.  I talked to an onion farmer years ago, that was so excited about onions that it blew my mind.   I know plenty of people who can spend their days despising opposing political parties, getting angry about their favorite sports team’s primary rival, or even feeling disdain for cats.  Hey, if these are the top-of-mind passion points in someone’s psyche, at least it’s interesting.

But, then, back to the onion farmer types—the people who love things.  These are the people who really have the power to influence change.  These are the people who, in a single conversation, can be contagiously passionate.  I’ve met people like this—the one’s who change you instantly–Stedman Graham, Dr. Stephen Covey, Martha Finney, Robert Van Arlen, Marcus Buckingham, Ann Rhoades, and the list continues.  Of course, these are people who have accomplished great things.  But, like I said, I’ll never forget that onion farmer.  I’ll also never forget the convenience store employee in an Oklahoma truck-stop at 4 a.m. who swore they had the best coffee in the state (”It’ll knock your socks off,” she said.) My socks never left my feet.  The coffee was actually really bad.  But, her enthusiasm still made me keep drinking to see if somewhere in that cup, I could get just excited.

People are interesting…at least the one’s who have a passion, a past-time, or a level of enthusiasm (good or bad) toward anything.  These are the people who change the world—-the one’s who can’t and won’t bite their tongue about any random topic.

Go Google any random name right now…see just how interesting anyone can be.

Oh…and don’t you love that cheesy title of this blog…makes me sound like a pompous fireside host on PBS.   Those are the guys who have monopolized the world’s remaining supply of maroon velvet.  Yes, it’s irritating.  But, that’s what makes them interesting.

I’m tired of all the mush talk. I keep hearing the clamor of motivational posters in my head, “Soar to New Success”.

C’mon.

Here’s the deal, all this inspiration isn’t bad…but let’s face it, success ends the moment you stop succeeding. In fact, think about it. If a person reaches a certain level of success, and then that success drops by even a slight margin, everyone considers them a failure…so, they need to keep succeeding.

There is no magic rainbow to cross over where everything you’ve done is, well, done.

Right about now, you’re thinking that I’m furrowing my brows at the realm of possibility…but, truth is, I’m not. I’m more optimistic than ever about the potential we all have to create a rumble in the world around us–a clamor that leads to something better than we had yesterday.

What the hell am I talking about?

A marriage isn’t successful only because it lasts 50 years. An entrepreneur isn’t successful only because a business flourished beyond the wildest imagination. An athlete isn’t successful because they win the race. And, for those of you looking to drop a few pounds or get into shape, a diet or lifestyle change isn’t effective simply because you squiggled into your skinny jeans.

The fact of the matter is; success is in the present. Someday we’ll all look back at life and realize that success isn’t as much in the outcome as it was in the process–loving it, feeling energized, empowered, driven and enjoying every single second of the search.

How much fun would easter be if all the eggs weren’t hidden and out of reach. How much fun would halloween be if your neighbors just brought candy to your house? How much fun would any sporting event be if the other teams never showed up to play? And what about cross-word puzzles, mazes, and the tootsie roll inside the tootsie pop?

Everything is a little more enjoyable when you step back and understand that the process is the reward…and if it’s not, you better change your process.

“Soaring to New Levels of Success” isn’t so grandiose unless you start from the ground. The Wright Brothers received applause for defying gravity…not for gliding to a safe landing and living to talk about it.

Enjoy the process. Enjoy the challenge.  Make change.  Right now, I’m gonna make myself a snack…not that you care or it has any relevance…an egg maybe.

How come we stop so quickly and give up when someone tells us “No.”

When I was I kid I drove my parents crazy with persistence…”Dad, I want a new bike.”  Or, “Mom, I really will do anything if I can spend the night at a friend’s house.”

Oddly, when we’re adults, we seem to lose the persistence…that thing that makes us want something so badly that we stop begging and worry more about being polite.

My three-year-old is crafty in a sneaky (and scary fro when she gets older) way.

We were on vacation not too long ago, breaking all the “standard” rules of home-life…letting the kids eat junk food and stay up late.

My daughter had an Oreo.  She asked for another.  My wife caved and gave each one of the kids a second Oreo.  And, she told them with the second, “you can have it, but as soon as you’re done eating it, it’s time to brush your teeth and go to bed.”  So, off they ran with an Oreo and a napkin.

Minutes later, my three year old appeared on the stairwell.  “Can I have another Oreo?”

“No,” my wife and I said in harmony.  “Brush your teeth and get into bed.”

“Okay,” she replied and scampered off.

A few minutes more passed.

“Mommy and Daddy,” she said.  “I need to throw my napkin away…in the kitchen.”

At first, both my wife and I almost agreed…but, then realized that A) we could not see the kitchen, B) there are at least two trash cans up-stairs where she could dispose of the napkin, C) the Oreos were on the kitchen counter and my daughter knew it, and D) we have a sneaky daughter, with a master plan to swipe her next cookie.

I went up to the bedroom to tuck-in both girls.

“You’re pretty sneaky,” I said.  “Asking if you can toss your trash in the kitchen right next to the bag of cookies.”

“It didn’t work,” she replied.  “But, when Grandma stays with us, I wait till she falls asleep on the coach and then sneak crackers and she never even knows it,” she giggled.

She paused. “I’m going to sneak some Oreos two…maybe when Grandma comes to stay with us.”

Okay, so her loose lips probably sunk that ship. But, it did make me realize just how persistent we all can be. She was planning far in advance to get her next cookie.

What do you want?  And, what do you want enough that even when you fail, you continue devising new plans of attack?

Okay, so I’m a health nut.  And, as much as I love plucking keys about changing the world around us, our world starts with us.  Seriously, how can we make an impact if we don’t take care of our own personl preservation first?

So, when the news hit that some pediatricians are now saying they’ll start prescribing statin medications to 8-year-olds to ward off future heart disease, I got a little bothered.  Please, why can’t doctors start writing prescriptions for healthy foods?  Why not start prescribing green vegetables three times a day?  Why not start writing prescriptions for things we shouldn’t put into our mouths–stop eating donuts and french fries?

Of course, I called my co-author the morning I heard the news…

“Doctor Lundell, what do you think about 8-year-old kids on statin meds?”

“I think it’s like putting lipstick on chickens,” he said.  “It’s ugly.”

I won’t go into the details here on this blog…if you want more information about statins, and the relationship (or lack there of) of cholesterol to the real cause of heart disease, go to our site www.thecureforheartdisease.net

People, selling something (like prescriptions) doesn’t change the world…changing the world around us (like the bad habits that got us into our current predicaments) changes the world.

Information and the wise use of that information creates the biggest impact.

I tell you all to click through to a lot of things…here’s one I beg of you…

www.healthyhumansfoundation.org