Right Brainer. Left Brainer. No Brainer.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Brain Freezes, Memory Lapses and other mind related conditions…all seem to have at least some possible link to exercising and challenging the brain.

Whether this proves out to be relative or not, it could be good insurance. Logically, we are told by knowledgeable mentors (family-friends-physicians) that “if we don’t use it we could lose it.” It is possible that this connection has line extension from physical to mental.

I watched someone very dear to me waste away from Alzheimer’s very recently. What I observed was that even though she diligently worked the garden, ate healthy, had all the vital physical ratios, never even had a tooth cavity…in other words, no obvious physical exceptions that may have triggered this dread disease.

Through her life, she had very obvious creative talents in several areas that kept her challenged. On the other hand, she rarely dealt with logic and/or numbers. She did read the papers, but no cross-word puzzles and no writing.

In all, there were unchallenged areas that could lead one to conclude that “maybe if” all the dimensions of the brain had been highly challenged…?

My personal take away:

Read-Write-Create

Paint-Draw-Design

Add-Subtract-Multiply

Solve Problems-Communicate-Decide

In all, use the right, left, conscious and unconscious brain while you still have it.

As stated, when it comes to our mind/brain, probably one of the best things we can do is exercise it like any other muscle or organ. Don’t wait until you lose someone close to help you decide to take at least some initial action.

As always…you decide (while you are able).

　

　

　

　

　

　

Evidence That Demands a Verdict

This headline is a book title that is fitting in today's environment even though it was written over 40 years ago.

The author, Josh McDowell, has been instrumental in challenging the baseline of how to decide on critical life questions.

His testimony describes how he set out to refute and rebuke this core belief question, and to minimize it's consequences, but the tsunami of evidence changed his heart and life.

The steps he used to arrive at his decision are a mirror to the steps of the ZDT MODEL:

Step 1 - his ultimate destination

Step 2 - his total commitment to find the truth

Step 3 - his discovery and source of a singular path

Step 4 - his legacy road map for followers

One, he picked a topic that may apply to everyone with eternal consequences...what could be more enduring?

Two, he was committed, in his mission, to the point that he was willing to sacrifice his original core beliefs in order for the truth to prevail.

Three, considering the consequences, he knew that only the historical facts (not subjective feelings) would be sufficient to stand the scrutiny that would be leveled at him and his decision.

Four, once he described the only path to follow, he knew that his conclusions would create a major alteration to the activities (daily walk) of the subscribers or converts. Life changing.

Why re-visit this now?

This template could be played out a zillion times each day. We can have a core theory that we have believed from the beginning, only to find out that under hard scrutiny, it was a false premise.

Here we are 40 years later, and his premise and conclusions are still considered a classic. Run a search on Josh...check him out.

Daily App

Each day we see the current headlines, we are reminded that life on this earth is fragile and can change instantly, and the consequences and subject of eternity will take on a new meaning.

The point here is that eternity is a long, long time, and the decision to consider it is before a terminal event...after the fact is too late.

McDowell is one author on this subject. There are a zillion others. The striking deferential with him is that once he realized he was on the wrong side of this decision, he re-considered and then devoted his life to helping others come to a direction based on historical evidence.

Our days ahead could not be more uncertain.

As always...you decide (eternally).

Golf Lessons...Life Lessons

This weekend's golf tournament was both entertaining and instructional.

On one hand, there was the player who was leading while entering the final round, and it was his tourney to lose. A little further down the pack was the closest challenger who differentiated himself by an obvious trait and methodology.

What was the distinguishing factor?

The ability to make and commit to a decision.

The buzz on many sports channels leading up to the final round was the almost mockery of the leader's inability to “pull the trigger.” His approach and subsequent hesitation to commit to his swing was near comical. He was plagued with indecision. He had incessant starts and stops.

His ultimate challenger was just the opposite, even though he had to make up a few shots to gain the lead. You could immediately see the contrast. His approach and routine was more like a repeatable template.

His formula could be described using a familiar model (ZDT):

Step One: Assessed the situation and the shot needed

Step Two: Chose the club and committed to the shot

Step Three: Executed the swing and shot without hesitation

Step Four: Positioned the ball to get it in the hole with the fewest shots

And notably, this exercise was done in less than a minute. The major point was that the routine was repeatable, predictable and in this case, produced a winning result.

The leader became the loser, and the challenger became the winner. Chalk another decisioning result up to a repeatable model.

As always...you decide.

Zillion Dollar Thinking…The Unthinkable.

What is happening right now?

Legislative stalemates

Zillions of alarming headlines from zillions of writers

24/7 access, delivery and exposure to constantly threatening information

Add to that…We have record:

Federal and Personal Debt

Gas and Oil prices

Unemployment

Currency printing

Home sales, foreclosures and declining values

Welfare recipients

Gold and silver prices

Foreign instability and influence

Wars and rumors of wars

Uncertainties everywhere.

Historically, leaders and peoples in the past have had their own reasons (their version of above) to feel threatened, fearful and expecting the worst. But, in the critical last hour, they were saved for another day.

Since we have no crystal ball or visionary gifts, “we the people” do have the freedom and opportunity to think.

Collectively, I hope we will not waste our time or emotion in thinking the unthinkable.

Maybe this is the time to adopt Zillion Dollar Thinking.

As always…You decide.