The Importance of Children

"The whole future of the race depends upon its attitude toward children. And a race which specializes in women for 'menial purposes' or which believes that the contest of the sexes in the spheres of business, action and politics is a worthier endeavor than the creation of tomorrow's generation, is a race which is dying. We have, in the woman who is an ambitious rival of the man in his own activities, a woman who is neglecting the most important mission she may have. A society which looks down upon this mission and in which women are taught anything but the management of a family, the care of men and the creation of the future generation, is a society which on its way out. The historian can peg the point where a society begins its sharpest decline at the instant when women begin to take part, on an equal footing with men, in political and business affairs, since this means that the men are decadent and the women are no longer women. This is not a sermon on the role or position of women. It is the statement of a bald and basic fact. When children become unimportant to a society, that society has forfeited its future." - L. Ron Hubbard, Science of Survival, c 1951, 2007 edition, pg. 136-137.

"When It Is

Dark Enough,

You Can See

The Stars"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Modern Science and Totalitarianism

"One might postulate two more realities. The first is that of the Supreme Being. No culture in the history of the world, save the thoroughly depraved and expiring ones, has failed to affirm the existence of a Supreme Being. It is an empirical observation that men without a strong and lasting faith in a Supreme Being are less capable, less ethical and less valuable to themselves and society. A government wishing to deprave its people to the point where they will accept the most perfidious and rotten acts, abolishes first the concept of God. And in the wake of that, destroys the family with Free Love, the intellectual with police-enforced idiocies, and so reduces a whole population to an estate somewhat below that of dogs. A man without an abiding faith is, by observation alone, more of a thing than a man. Modern science, producing weapons for the annihilation of men, women and children in wholesale lots, has solidly run itself aground on the reef of godlessness. Modern science has gone so far as to advocate the rise of Man from mud and clay alone, has denied to him even a semblance of a soul and so has not only solved none of the problems of the humanities, but has aided and abetted a godless, totalitarian government which seeks nothing less than the engulfment and enslavement of all men and the extinguishment of every spark of decency in the breast of every human being. These two tracks which have led away from the affirmation of the existence of a Supreme Being (modern science and totalitarianism) are both bringing Man into a machinelike state of being, where the ideal has become a lump of muscle, greasy with sweat, or a grimy mechanic serving a howling monster of steel. The arts, the humanities and the decencies are fallen away from until they are like tiny stars shining across a great, black void. The abandonment of the admission of a Supreme Being, as a reality intimate to the life of Man, makes prostitution the ideal conduct of a woman, perfidy and betrayal the highest ethic level attainable by a man, and obliteration by treachery, bomb and gun the highest goal attainable by a culture. Thus, there is no great argument about the reality of a Supreme Being, since one sees in the failure to countenance that reality, a slimy and loathsome trail downward into the most vicious depths." - L. Ron Hubbard in Science of Survival, 1951, 2007 edition, pg. 113-114.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." - Henry Ford

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing that you'll make one." - Elbert Hubbard

"You get what you focus on." - Loral Langemeier

It's Fun to Know: The Demand for Surgical Masks

When you tune into media coverage of the swine flu pandemic, you can't miss all the surgical masks being worn by pedestrians and health officials in Mexico and other affected countries.

But if the pandemic hits the U.S. in big numbers... demand for those masks could get out of hand. Turns out that the official U.S. government stockpile is only 119 million masks - that's about one for every three Americans. And the Department of Health and Human Services estimates we would need 30 billion if the pandemic goes "full-fledged," because they need to be replaced regularly to be effective.

The good news? Many health experts doubt that the masks do much to help stop the spread of disease - mostly because people tend to use them incorrectly or sporadically. What does work? Canceling large social gatherings, frequent hand washing, and covering your mouth when coughing.

(Source: Time)

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Word to the Wise: Diadem

A "diadem" (DYE-uh-dem) - from the Greek for "a band" - is a crown.

Example (as used by Milan Kundera in the Guardian): "The sky above is blue; the many clouds - sun-drenched, gilded, lively - have moved down, settled like a great diadem on the broad ring of the encircling mountains."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2686, 06-04-09], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite."

- Paul Gauguin

Why Multitasking Destroys Your Productivity

By Alex Mandossian

Most entrepreneurs I know are proud of their "multitasking" ability. But maybe they shouldn't be.

The term was originally applied to computers - to describe the way a CPU solves problems by scheduling tasks and switching back and forth from task to task until each one gets done. Well, that may be an efficient way for a computer to work, but it's anything but efficient when it comes to your productivity.

Dave Crenshaw wrote my favorite book on the topic, and I recommend it to anyone who still thinks and feels that multitasking is cool. On page 29 in The Myth of Multitasking, he writes:

"Around the end of the twentieth century, some wordsmith saw the connection between our increasingly hectic world and the world of the computer. A catchword was born.

Newspapers began peppering their articles with the word. Talk show hosts began using it with frequency. Magazines began publishing articles about how to multitask more effectively.

Multitasking quickly became as popular and accepted as the automobile and the hamburger."

Dave Crenshaw has a more accurate word to describe flipping back and forth between two (or more) activities. He calls it "switchtasking."

Multitasking or switchtasking reduces your efficiency (your ability to do the right things) and your effectiveness (your ability to do things right) because it forces you to keep changing your mental focus. During the switchover time (less than a second, in most cases), your concentration diminishes and the number of mistakes you make dramatically increases.

In fact, many states (including California) have outlawed multitasking on the highway by making it illegal to speak on a handheld mobile phone while driving a car.

"A mere half second of time lost to task switching can mean the difference between life and death for a driver using a cellphone, because during the time that the car is not totally under control, it can travel far enough to crash into obstacles the driver might have otherwise avoided," reported Dr. David Meyer from the University of Michigan.

Okay, so let me ask you a candid question. How many of the following common multitasking activities do you engage in?

• Writing e-mails while speaking on the telephone
• Checking voice mail while speaking to your spouse
• Reading the newspaper while listening to the news
• Watching TV while having a family conversation
• Tweeting while instant messaging while...
  

I'm guessing you've done "all of the above" at some point in your adult life. But my point isn't to nag you about multitasking. It is to make you conscious of how destructive it can be.

It's not only mentally stressful to splinter your attention (and make mistakes along the way), multitasking sets you up for failure... and the guilt of not completing everything you set out to do.

Stacking vs. Multitasking

Now if you do two things at once but can keep the majority of your attention on only ONE of those things, that's a whole different animal. I call this stacking. Dave Crenshaw calls it background tasking. (You can call it whatever you wish.)

Stacking helps you get more done, faster and better. It is a productive use of your time because only ONE of the tasks you are doing requires mental effort.

Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:

• Eating dinner while watching a video
• Jogging while listening to your iPod
• Driving while listening to the radio
• Writing an e-mail while printing out a document
• Munching on a snack while riding a bicycle
• Listening to the news while showering
• Reading a book while getting a haircut
  

Stacking doesn't necessarily guarantee that you'll become more effective (by doing the right things), but it can practically guarantee more efficiency (doing things right to get maximum results in minimum time).

Stacking & America's Middle Class

Henry Ford didn't invent the car, but he did figure out how to produce automobiles that were within the reach of the average American. And I believe he did this by preventing his workers from multitasking.

Prior to his introduction of the assembly line to the manufacturing process, cars were individually crafted by teams of skilled workmen. But instead of having one team work on one car, from start to finish, he created a stacking environment where the cars came to the workers - and each worker performed the same assembly task again and again.

The stacking power of the assembly line reduced the time it took to manufacture a car from 13 hours to less than six. That made it possible for Ford to offer the Model T for $825 when it made its debut in 1908. Four years later, the price dropped to $575. By 1914, Ford claimed a 48 percent share of the world's automobile market.

What to Do Now

You can stop the insanity of multitasking right now by listing two or three multitasking activities you commonly engage in at work or at home.

Then, the next time you catch yourself multitasking, stop. Take a moment to think about what you're doing, and quickly choose one of those tasks to focus on first. Complete that task before you switch to the other one.

I think you'll find that this automatically makes you more efficient, more effective - and feeling a lot better about yourself for getting multiple jobs done right.

[Ed. Note: Alex Mandossian knows a thing or two about success. He has generated over $233 million in sales for his clients. And in the past three years, he increased his own revenues from $1.5 million to $5 million.]

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A Summer-Ready Body in 10 Minutes a Day - No Gym Required!

By Yarixa Ferrao

Don't tell me you feel embarrassed to put on a bathing suit... and then tell me you don't have time for exercise. That's NOT a good excuse. You can do a high-intensity workout in less than 10 minutes. Better yet, you can do it at home or in your office, between meetings, while the laundry is drying, or after lunch. All it takes is a dynamic warm-up, 3 to 4 full-body exercises, and a couple of minutes of stretching afterward.

The Squat-to-Press is one quick and efficient exercise that will get your body ready to hit the beach in no time. It requires two dumbbells - 3, 5, or 10 pounds, depending on your fitness level. Focus on your core while you do it, keeping your abdominals tight.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your arms up toward your shoulders, palms facing toward each other. Lower your body into a squat position. Your knees should not bow out over your toes. Your chest should almost touch the top of your thighs, and your elbows should nearly touch your knees.

Now, pressing up through your heels, rise to a standing position. At the same time, reach your arms up straight above your head. Contract your glute muscles at the top of the movement. Then return to a squat position, lowering your arms to their original position. Repeat 10 times.

Alternate high-intensity, full-body exercises like the Squat-to-Press with sprints (1-10 sets of 50 to 100 yards) for the next 4 to 6 weeks, 3 to 6 times a week. If you're a beginner, start with 1-2 sets 3 days a week and gradually increase by adding either an extra set or an extra sprint each week for the next 4 to 6 weeks.

[Ed. Note: Yarixa Ferrao is the certified personal trainer and founder of "Get Fit in 6" who has been whipping some Early to Rise staffers into shape.]

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Word to the Wise: Querulous

Someone who's "querulous" (KWER-uh-lus) - from the Latin for "to complain" - is habitually apt to find fault.

Example (as used by Maureen Howard in The New York Times): "Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons [Frank and Malachy McCourt] - querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2687, 06-05-09], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"When the mind is stretched by a big idea

it will never return to its original shape."

- Thomas Carlysle

"Two percent of the population think;

three percent of the population think they think

and ninety-five percent of the population would rather die than think."

- Dr. Kenneth McFarland

"Believe and your belief will create the fact." - William James

"An educated person is not necessarily,

one who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge.

An educated person is one who has so developed the faculties of his mind

that he may acquire anything he wants,

or its equivalent without violating the rights of others."

- Napoleon Hill

"What lies before you

and what lies behind you

are tiny matters compared to what lies within you."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"CALMNESS of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.

It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control.

Its presence is an indication of ripened experience,

and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself

as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge

necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought,

and as he develops a right understanding,

and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things

by the action of cause and effect,

he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve,

and remains poised, steadfast, serene."

- James Allen (c. 1903)

The Truth About Swine Flu

By Lisa Forgione, MD

The recent outbreak of swine flu (officially called the H1N1 flu) is causing widespread panic and concern. But, as a physician, I feel there is no need for alarm. By all indications, it is no worse than the seasonal influenza A that usually strikes every winter. I did not see many cases of influenza A or B this winter in the Emergency Room, so perhaps "flu season" was just delayed this year.

People do not normally get swine flu. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that this sub-type of the disease is contagious, though, and is being spread through large airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

In most people, the symptoms - fever, cough, sore throat, and runny nose - are mild. People with other chronic medical conditions and the very young and very old are at risk for complications, such as severe respiratory problems and bacterial pneumonia. However, swine flu is easily treated with anti-viral medications, including Tamiflu and Relenza.

You can prevent swine flu by minimizing your exposure. This includes avoiding travel to places where the highest numbers of cases are being reported. If you need to be around someone who has (or possibly has) swine flu, wear a surgical mask and wash your hands well after your interaction with them. If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose and then wash your hands.

Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and high-quality protein helps by boosting your immune system, providing the nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that fight infection. And regular aerobic exercise increases the number of circulating white blood cells in your system, which helps stop any developing infection.

As I said, there's no need to panic. By taking a few simple precautions, you should be fine.

[Ed. Note: Lisa Forgione, MD, is an Emergency Medicine Physician practicing in Wadesboro, North Carolina. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Forgione participated in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and has received several Physicians Recognition Awards for teaching from the AMA and AAFP.]
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It's Fun to Know: Poachers Beware!

Government fish and wildlife officials estimate that for every animal taken by a licensed hunter another is illegally killed or captured for the pet trade. This includes protected species.
To step up enforcement of the law, the anti-poaching taskforces of several states have turned to technology. Robot moose, turkeys, deer, and bears - remote-controlled to move like the real thing - are used as decoys. Officials wait nearby to catch poachers in the act. With their eyewitness testimony, the conviction rate has been much higher.

(Source: National Geographic)
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Word to the Wise: Laconic

"Laconic" (luh-KON-ik) - from the Greek - means expressing a lot by using a few words.
Example (as used by Brenda Wineapple in a New York Times review of Woodsburner by John Pipkin): "'I once set fire to the woods' Henry David Thoreau laconically confided to his journal in 1850, six years after he torched approximately 300 acres of Concord forest."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2666, 05-12-09], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"If your heart has peace, nothing can disturb you."
- The Dalai Lama