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Some years ago, Jeff Olson published a book called, “The Slight Edge”. This book had a huge impact on me, as I followed his point that we are always —always — moving along a trajectory, either in a positive, or in a negative direction. There is no standing still. The Slight Edge for Dan Jansen in the ’94 Olympics speed skating was a win by 29 one hundredths of a SECOND. That is 0.29 second. Less than a third of a SECOND,\\ As Jeff Olson said, that’s a very Slight Edge! Whether you are talking in your life, in your work, or play, the difference in accomplishing, the difference in winning and losing, the difference in positive or negative trajectory is a very SLIGHT EDGE. Would you like $1 million dollars right now, or a penny a day, doubled each day for one month? One penny, doubled every day for a month adds up to $10,737,418…and 24 cents. Increase your efforts each day - in your family and friend relationships, in work, in play, by just 3/10 of 1%, adding 3/10 of 1% each day, and by the end of 5 years, you will have moved along your Slight Edge 1600%! Just in a year you’d have improved 100%! Your nutrition? Your weight? Your health? Your family? Loving others? Imagine - after 1 week…1 month…1 year later… You’ll be living a different life. Get on and stay on the Slight Edge. Happy 2026! Love,
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“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.” “We need a little Christmas, Right this very minute, We need a little Christmas……now.” This year, as Christmastime lightens your step And fills your heart, Carry the miracle of celebration of The birth of baby Jesus With you throughout the season. And you could watch, "Miracle on 34th Street” And Jerry Herman’s “Mame” With the family. Merry Christmas! Love, There is an interesting book entitled, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. By John Gray Mr. Gray explains to us that Because of the different ways men and women are ‘wired’, Communication goes off-rail easily. “Men rarely say, ‘I’m sorry’ because On ‘Mars’, it means you have done Something wrong, and you are apologizing.” Women say ‘I'm sorry’ as a way to say, ‘‘I care about what you are feeling.’” Women want their man to say “I'm sorry”, to let their woman know He cares about what they feel. And when he does not say it, The argument begins! Confusing, to say the least, For both. Read more in this classic book - That helps immensely with The differences in us. Love, In elementary school, I looked longingly at the kids’ who had the 64 crayon boxes. Oh how I wanted all those colors of crayons! If crayons were emotions, it has been said, Women have at least.. ...that many in their box of emotions. And men, have the smallest box Of crayons-emotions, The box of eight. And that men only use basically two of those: Anger, And Happy. This basic truism may help us in our relationships With our beloved other. Something to ponder today. Love, I learned from Tony Robbins, Years ago, About how things we’ve anchored to ...can affect our emotions. Like, someone touches your shoulder while you are talking, The same way someone touched your shoulder to comfort you after a loss, years ago. But you did not notice that then Or now. But, you do notice you feel sad All of a sudden. Or, you notice you are prickly The rest of the morning. What was the anchor? IT DOESN”T MATTER. Trust that something Took you there and now It is your choice to change your emotion. Meditate and pray for a moment. A couple of deep breaths With long exhalations. And a decision to feel grateful - and happy. And go about your day, HAPPY and GRATEFUL. NO LONGER SAD, or MAD, or..… Love, Did you know that you are here on this earth... To reach specific people, To love specific people, To change lives? Begin today looking around for those people. Love them! Be kind to them. And bask in the wonderful feelings it leaves you with! “At this very moment, there are people only you can reach… And differences only you can make." - Mike Dooley Nobody else who can help, will be in their orbit... At the right time, today. Nobody else will notice them At the right time, today. Nobody else will know to smile At the right moment, today. Nobody else will know what to say, Today... ...be their angel. Today... ...smile and say good-day. You could think about where you’d like to be And begin working toward that. And you know what a great first step is? - To be grateful for another day to move yourself... ...toward what you want your life to be like. “You can't go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ― C.S. Lewis Love to you today, As you begin anew, On a new day. This week’s word is MAKARIOS MAKARIOS Greek for “blessed” - to be fully satisfied and untouched by the world circumstances. This week, I will focus thoughts every moment I remember to do so, And I will work on remembering to do so, FREQUENTLY, On MAKARIOS: For what am I grateful? What blesses me? Family Friends Ability to walk, to see, to hear, to move To LOVE. Have a great MAKARIOS autumn week! One of the things we often learn the hard way is that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Discouragement is a cousin of overwhelm. Overwhelm leads to helplessness. Helplessness leads to hopelessness. Somewhere in the midst of all that is discouragement And that’s when we’re on the wrong road. Just saw a fellow say to get out of discouragement or worry, NAME it - say what you are feeling and why. BREATHE it - 4 seconds in and 8 seconds out. The longer out breath triggers your vagus nerve. Calms you. Do it a few times. Til you feel it. MOVE it. Move your body - take a walk, or sweep the walk, do some yoga, or dance or…… If your focus still comes back to discouragement, Do your 3 steps again. And, through it all think of what you are grateful for In your life. Love, |
Dr Chris BakerAmerica's most-trusted teacher of orthodontic continuing education, Dr. Chris Baker has practiced and taught for more than 30 years, and is a current or former faculty member of three U.S. dental schools. She is a pediatric dentist, author, blogger, dental practice consultant, and mentor. Dr. Chris is also Past President and Senior Instructor of the American Orthodontic Society. She is based in Texas, USA, but lectures around the world. Categories
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