Old Viking remedy, I imagine…

John

I lowered my cholesterol 88 points in one year by simply slurping down a tablespoon of Res-Q fish oil every day. No shit. Stuff comes from Norway. (My girlfriend is a personal trainer – got me started on it).

Going from 244 to 156… I guess you could say – has become a habit. My doctor freaked out and ordered another test… same results.

KK

It’s really true, that once something becomes habit, you become a slave to it. And that can help or hurt, depending on the habit.

1. Every night I will fill the tub and run the jets…
2. While I soak, write a “TO-DO” list
3. Actually DO the list the following day…

I’m thinking that it is easier to form a good habit if there is some likeable aspect to it…

Thanks John!

-leo

My challenge is to forge a habit of working on my copywriting skills every day. I’m going to quit dreaming and start getting down to the nitty gritty, down and dirty side.

Seriously, though, man, thanks for your blog. It’s the kick in the butt I need every now and then.

I already made a 30 day commitment based on the trials of Steve Pavlina (stevepavlina.com) a personal improvement writer who talked about shunning ny resolutions and committing to a 30 day ny “trial”, stating that it’s less daunting, whilst also giving you the option of dropping it if you don’t notice an obvious positive difference.

Steve is currently finishing his 30 day raw food trial. Its really tough on him, but seeing his photos on the site encouraged me to eat fruit for breakfast everyday since jan 2. I feel so much better and have lost 4 pounds without even trying. Just 1 apple, 1 banana and 1 orange for breakfast was all it took. it unconsciously lead to me eating better throughout the day, and if i did eat a dirty big chinese meal for dinner, i didn’t feel so guilty with the morning fruit behind me.

after this month i can fully see myself continuing with this breakfast. small change i know, but its given me the confidence in my self discipline to join you fellas and add another goal for this 21 days… study japanese every morning for 1 hour.

Good luck to us all, if you do stick with it, it’s worth it in more ways than the obvious initial change you’ve created.

Sam

Thanks John – you are really something . . .

Donna

Everyday, for at least an hour, I’ll work on one of my various web pages that I can’t figure out how to publish or design.

One hour a day, that’s it.
Matt

Now, here’s the part where I hate you (Not really)
You slap me and make me actually improve my damn self.

So many areas need improvement.
Which one do I pick for the next 21 days?

Smoked for 40 years and really starting to feel the effects. Pretty damn important.

Eat a lot better and start working out to shed some of the extra weight. Pretty important, too.

Stop being one of those posers. Someone who wants to write but doesn’t do near enough of it.

Here’s what I’m goiing to choose to do for the next 21 days to create a new habit.
I’m going to write for 3 consecutive 33 minute sessions daily at a fixed time.
33 minutes worked for Gene Schwartz (and I’m certainly no Gene Schwartz)

Thanks for bringing this subject up.
Larry Foster

John Carlton writes: Of course, you’re right. It was the Spartans. (Small matter the movie fudged — the Athenians were shown as cowardly in the flick, but from what I’ve read they actually took it to the Persian navy with as much fury and success as the Spartans did to the ground forces. Athenian warriors were just as nasty in combat as Spartans, but over the years they’ve gotten the rap of being weak. It’s nonsense, since the neighboring city-states were at war for generations, which forced both to pay attention to warfare strengths. Athens’ crime was to have art and culture, while the Spartans lived like pissed-off grouches. It was the first recorded feud between right-brain/leftie politics and left-brain/conservative politics. BTW: We got our ideas of democracy from Athens.)

Thanks for the fact-checking. It’s worthy of a whole lesson, you know. I’ve written an entire sales pitch before based on a fundamentally incorrect piece of info, and that’s embarrassing. It can also make the piece bomb. (Though, amazingly, many readers will just gloss right over even obvious inaccuracies and wander into fantasyland with you, never challenging your “facts”, if you write compellingly. Another sorry piece of human psych abused and exploited by unsavory marketers and politicians and opinion-makers.)

To get the golden reputation that will forge your career in bright lights, be obsessive about getting your facts straight. Never invest in ideas that are proven to be wrong, and never get stubborn about admitting you blew it.

Those who’ve followed my stuff for any length of time know that reality checks are a basic part of my tool kit. It’s tough to live with truth sometimes, but in the long run it’s the right choice.

John