"don't keep stuff in your head - it's a lousy filing cabinet - write it down and go to sleep with your head empty" - not Thomas's exact words but Chris Barrow's spin

why it's never too late to quit smoking

http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
WHY IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO QUIT SMOKING
WebPosted Mon Feb 14 19:01:24 2005

Washington---Quitting smoking, even after lung disease has been
diagnosed, can add years to a person's life, new research suggests.

The findings add to evidence on the health benefits of kicking the
nicotine habit, investigators in the U.S. and the University of
Manitoba said.

The study looked at heavy smokers with mild lung disease who did not
consider themselves ill.

After five years, the death rate was cut nearly in half among smokers who
successfully quit after following a targeted program.

All participants, aged 35 to 60, had chronic pulmonary obstructive
disease, which impairs breathing. The disease harms the air sacs and air
passages of the lungs.



Doctors admonish, help quitters Half the men and women were randomly
assigned to a quit-smoking program for 10 weeks. The other half were told
that smoking is harmful.

The quit-smoking program included a strong lecture from a doctor,
behaviour modification workshops and nicotine gum.

After five years, 22 per cent of those enrolled in the program managed to
quit long term, compared to five per cent who didn't receive any help.

After an average of 14.5 years, the death rate among the quit smoking
group was about 15 per cent lower than the control group.

"In our study, death from lung cancer was roughly 2.2 times more common
in current smokers than in sustained quitters," the researchers wrote in
Tuesday's Annals of Internal Medicine.

The reduction in death rate was more significant among those aged 35 to
45.

The surprising finding suggests younger people may have more to gain from
a simple test of lung function called spirometry, said study author John
Connett, a professor of biostatistics of the University of Minnesota
School of Public Health.



RELATED STORY: Anti-smoking advocate urges full ban (CBC Calgary) The
large size and randomized nature of the study lend credence to all of the
results, which "prove smoking causes an increased risk of death for
smokers," wrote Dr. Jonathan Samet of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health, in a journal editorial.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.

A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.
- Tom Landry

True, Good, or Useful

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC) Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom.

One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said,

"Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say.

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though, because There is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to Tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really"

Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee Beans

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen where she filled three pots with water. She placed carrots in the first, eggs in the second, and ground coffee beans in the third. She let them boil without saying a word. In about 20 minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. She pulled out the eggs and placed them in a second bowl. She ladled the coffee into a third bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied."

The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter did and noted they were soft. Next, she had her daughter take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she had her daughter sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile, its thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior. After sitting in the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean."

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot, that seems strong but with pain and adversity I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg, that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my outer shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee been? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

"The market price of a crash-test dummy is now $200,000.
How much is your body worth?"

- Danish Ahmed

Time

Time seems to be a big thing with all my clients right now, and I just remembered a very simple but very powerful concept.

Any time/to do is:

Urgent and Important - Do it
Urgent and Not Important - You're fighting fires. Stop doing this.
Important and Not Urgent - The things we keep bumping off our plates. Need to be done but are never done. You need to schedule time for this.
Not Urgent and Not Important - Don't waste your time.