News and ArticlesOctober 15, 2008 7:13 am

Rejuvenate Your Relationship Through The Power of Gratitude

You have the power to change your mood at this very moment—to increase your optimism, elevate your energy and enthusiasm, and increase your motivation toward reaching your personal goals. How is this possible?

By sowing the seeds of gratitude.

Research shows that when you increase feelings of gratitude, a domino effect occurs and you begin to experience other positive changes as well, such as increased overall happiness. If you’ve ever been told to “count your blessings,” you should have listened.

What is gratitude and why is it important to your relationship?

At some point in your relationship you will take your partner for granted. There’s really no way around this. Don’t panic—this doesn’t mean you love your partner any less or that your relationship is troubled. (After all, most of us take life for granted at one time or another, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love being alive!) Patterns develop in relationships that lead us to expect certain things from our partners. The joy and tenderness that was once stirred by a morning hug or warm greeting can get lost because of sheer repetition or busy lives that compete for attention.

Gratitude is the antidote to taking your partner for granted.

First and foremost, gratitude is a mindset.

Gratitude is not a one-time event but rather a mindset that requires cultivation. A gratitude mindset can refocus your attention, pointing out all the small, easily over-looked things your partner does. It reminds you that your wife didn’t have to phone “just to say hello” or that your husband didn’t have to cook dinner after a long, exhausting day. The gratitude mindset silences anti-appreciative thoughts like, “She’s supposed to do that…” or “He’s just doing what any father should do…” When you embrace gratitude and make it part of your inner dialogue, you’ll hear yourself saying, “She’s such a thoughtful person” or “Our children are lucky to have him as a father.”

Adopting the mindset of gratitude takes commitment. But, if you decide to become more consistently grateful for your partner or spouse, look what you’ll get in return: you’ll feel better about yourself and your relationship; you’ll feel more positive and optimistic about the future of your relationship or marriage; your partner will sense this optimism and positive outlook and therefore will feel appreciated, and will become infected by the spread of gratitude.

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News and ArticlesOctober 14, 2008 3:37 am

Drop That Horseshoe: TheFour Good Luck Tips

You can call it good luck, or cause and effect, or whatever you want. But you know that some people have more good things happen in their lives and more happy surprises. What you may not know is that there are things you can do to be more like them and so be luckier yourself. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Don’t Take Advice From Your Fears

Letting fear make decisions is a bad habit that is sure to get in the way of having more luck in your life. Acting from fear also sabotages your self-growth. Did you know that Johnny Carson had stage-fright every night before he went on the air? He stepped out there anyhow, and enjoyed doing the Tonight Show for decades. Fear is just a feeling. Move forward despite it.

Relaxed Goal Setting

Committing yourself to specific goals too soon can backfire. This is because a goal has to be seen in context of all our other goals and values. For example, when I used to write down specific financial targets, I accomplished them, but I made myself miserable doing so. Many people find that they are happier if they take a clear direction, and then let the goals formulate themselves in time. Setting goals and writing them down is a powerful way to make progress, but it’s up to you to decide when specific goals are appropriate.

Breathe Deep

Take several deep breaths through your nose from time to time. Close your eyes, pay attention to your breathing, and let the tension drain from your muscles while doing this. This is like a mini-meditation.

Mouth-breathing expands your chest, but if you breath through your nose you’ll notice how your abdomen extends. You see, nose-breathing causes the diaphragm to pull air to the bottom of your lungs. This delivers a good dose of oxygen into your bloodstream and brain. It also tends to relax you. Relaxed and thinking better - that’s a recipe for good luck.

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News and ArticlesOctober 8, 2008 4:23 am

Lucky Bamboo Care

Quick Tips: Lucky Bamboo Care

As millions of “lucky” consumers around the world have discovered, Lucky Bamboo makes the perfect house or office plant, needing little care but an inch of water and little direct sunlight to keep it happy and thriving…

What is Lucky Bamboo?

Known for centuries as Lucky Bamboo, the plant is not a bamboo at all (botanical name: Dracaena) but a resilient member of the lily family that grows in the dark, tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Africa.


How Much Care Does Lucky Bamboo Need?

Keep water fresh by changing it every week, and always keep water levels at approximately an inch from the base of the canes. Lucky Bamboo prefers plenty of indirect sunlight and room temperatures at 65-70°. Although opinions differ on feeding, your Lucky Bamboo is a living organism, so it makes sense to occasionally add a mild solution to the water such as African Violet fertilizer. Since growth can be controlled by feeding, small amounts of fertilizer will keep the plant at a manageable size.

Why Are the Leaves Turning Yellow?

Two of the most common factors are 1.) too much direct sunlight; and 2.) too salty or heavily-fluoridated tap water. To give your new Lucky Bamboo a thriving start be sure to keep it away from direct sunlight, and water only with filtered or natural spring water.

Why Is It Called “Lucky” Bamboo?

Along with its ease of growth, Lucky Bamboo has long been associated with the Eastern practice of Feng Shui - or the bringing of natural elements of water, fire, earth, wood and metal into balance within the environment. Lucky Bamboo is believed to be an ideal example of the thriving wood and water element, with the addition of a red ribbon sometimes tied around the stalks - which is believed to “fire” the positive flow of energy or chi in the room. The number of stalks also has meaning : three stalks for happiness; five stalks for wealth; six stalks for health. Four stalks, however, are always avoided - since the word “four” in Chinese sounds too similar to the Chinese word for “death”!


Can I Take Cuttings from Lucky Bamboo?

Yes. New stalks can be propagated from the original plant by using a sharp knife to cut through a stalk - just below the joint. Place the cutting in fresh, clean water. A fine mist spray to stalks is sometimes suggested to stimulate new bud growth.

How Do I Repot Bamboo?

Like any other houseplant, Lucky Bamboo can be transferred to a vase or pot 2 inches larger than the original, or planted permanently into a loose sand or soil mixture that provides lots of bottom drainage. To avoid root rot, be careful to let the top of the soil dry out between waterings.

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News and ArticlesOctober 7, 2008 12:17 pm

So, What Is Success Really

Many people have a contorted idea of what success is and isn’t. So what’s the answer?


Over the years, I have heard dozens of definitions of success or:


· what success is
· what success can be
· how to find success
· how to maintain success
· how to enjoy success
· how to feel successful when you aren’t
· how to share your success
· who is successful and who isn’t
· why success is important
· why we lose success
· and numerous similar concepts.


I would like to focus on what success isn’t, and what gets in our way as we search after it.


Please keep in mind that success is defined differently by everyone. Each of us puts our own personal twist on what we feel represents success in our lives. To one person success is money, to another it is good health. To many it is a pleasant lifestyle, and to others just getting through another day. During my life, I have been at the bottom of the barrel and I have been to the mountaintop. I have known the sting of failure and the thrill of achievement. But in all of these circumstances, the one concept that helped me maintain a sense of inner peace and calm was my definition of success - that became the watchword for my life during whatever was going on in my world.

Success isn’t:
· more money than you can spend.
· career accolades.
· a position of influence.
· a new car every year.
· a bigger house.
· financial security

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News and Articles 10:29 am

How Humor Helps Me To Cope

Professionals tell us that two human emotions cannot occupy the same space at the same time…you’re either sad…or you’re happy! My choice is to be happy…or, at least try to be happy!


I’ve been in the humor business for a long time, and I never get tired of putting a smile on somebody’s face, even if it’s just for a few seconds, etc. The sound of laughter is great! Humor started for me when I was eleven years old, and you can read about how it all started in another piece I wrote entitled, How I Got Started in Humor.


Laughter is the best medicine, and it has been humor that has helped me to cope through my darkest days…and, there have been many! Humor is therapeutic for me…and, I use it through thick and thin. Everytime I put a smile on somebody’s face, it makes my day…it gives me a lift. I know I’ve done something to make somebody happy, and that’s important to me.


So, how does humor help me to cope? Example: I was in the hospital once for about a week, and when I got there, I was in intensive care, with a bleeding stomach! One day, a nurse came into the room carrying a clip board and she was going to ask me several questions. She said there were about 15 questions she would ask me, so she began.


Everytime she would ask me a question, I would answer it with a silly or ridiculous answer in an attempt to make her laugh, and then I would follow the silly answer with a straight and serious answer! It was a little game I was playing with her, and she seemed to enjoy it. The nurse asked me questions that went something like this:


Nurse: "Mr. Aragon, do you smoke?"


Jerry: "Only when I’m on fire!"


Nurse: "Mr. Aragon, do you drink?"


Jerry: "Drink what? Orange juice…carrot juce…what? I don’t drink anymore…I don’t drink any less, either!" (Gotcha)


Nurse: "Mr. Aragon, are you allergic to anything?"

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News and ArticlesOctober 6, 2008 3:29 am

True Friendships Are Special Gifts That Last Lifetimes

This is sage advice for those who have been fortunate enough to find that one true friendship. Or perhaps you have maintained friendships from your days in elementary school. Whatever the case, friends are previous gifts we give to ourselves.


As children, friendships are vitally important, most notably as it relates to the socialization process. Meeting a new friend the first day of school is essential, especially if one is particularly shy. Perhaps another girl would sense the shyness and offer a hand in friendship. Forming friendships with others from different cultures enhances a child’s early experiences as well, and plants a seed that is healthy and which can be nurtured throughout life. But, preserving friendships are often difficult, even under the best of circumstances. Whether a friend moves away; or leaves school; or becomes ill, it is especially hard on a child. They are resilient, however, and somehow cope with the loss.


As the child becomes a teen, the word friendship takes on a different connotation. While some teens exhibit the closeness and bonding prevalent during their parents’ day; others are not so conducive to this type of friendship. Instead, they form gangs which they refer to as their family, and commit acts which were unheard of twenty or thirty years ago. It makes one wonder if this type of friendship is born out of a home where caring and nurturing is non-existent. Or has peer pressure to act and dress a certain way erased all that was taught in the early years of their childhood. Girls become vicious to each other; more so than boys, and it’s inconceivable that a meaningful true friendship exists in that environment.

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News and ArticlesOctober 2, 2008 4:47 am

How to Feel Better About Your Relationship

1. Have a solid friendship. - Ask yourself what kind of friend you are being to your mate. Whether it be talking about silly things or sharing a good joke together. Apply that same openness to your own relationship. If you want a good friend, be a good friend.

2. Meet each others’ needs. - The success of a relationship is a function of the extent to which it meets the needs of two people. Maybe she needs a soft place to fall that day or she needs a shoulder to cry on. The wife doesn’t always need to agree with the husband, but she should figure out his needs, whether it’s saying that she’s proud of him, or that he looks nice that day.

3. Set specific goals. - Wake up each morning and say, "What can I do today to advance the ball?" Even small things will accumulate over time and make a difference. Find a quiet moment each day and come up with a specific goal to improve your relationship, whether it’s calling your spouse during the day just to say hi, or telling your mate that you love him or her more often. Make a conscious effort.

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