Amp It Up!

In Time for New Year's: The Possibility of Drinking Without Hangover

2007-12-27T17:08:22Z

Here's a guy who says he figured out how to transfer the intoxicating effects of alcohol into water without all of those debilitating side effects using a spin field generator:

http://www.rialian.com/rnboyd/spinfield-effects.htm

Here's how to build your own spin field generator:

http://amasci.com/freenrg/tors/spin1.html

Happy New Year!

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Mustard Plants & You: Your Environment's Impact on Growth

2007-12-08T02:24:08Z

It's much more complex than you ever imagined. A recent study by Richard Lankau of the Illinois Natural History Survey in Champaign and Sharon Strauss at the University of California demonstrates that a mustard plant's environment has a dramatic impact on its evolutionary contribution. If aphids are the trouble, then smaller plants win out, since aphids choose the larger ones. If slugs are the problem, plants with higher levels of a defense chemicaI called sinigrin will do better than plants with lower levels. If the plant next door is another type of plant, though, Mother Nature throws her dice, and her choice about which plant will be a stronger evolutionary candidate takes into account an enormous array of possibilities that at present only Mother Nature can interpret.

I ran into an example recently of the environment's impact on growth. A business colleague knew that her assistant was not really performing to her expectations, yet every time she thought about letting her assistant go, a customer would call to tell her how fabulous her assistant was. Here she was thinking that her assistant wasn't meeting her job requirements very well, but her customers seemed to disagree with her. Who was right? She was filled with questions about what she should do. Who else could she get to do this job? It was hard to find trained people. If her customers were so happy with her assistant, shouldn't she hang on to her?

One day her assistant announced that she was interviewing for another job. My colleague experienced instantaneous and profound relief. Her contingency plan immediately surfaced. A woman she'd met in another context had seemed interested in the job, and so she began her pursuit of that person for the position.

But really. If my colleague had trusted her own instincts...do you think the problem would have been solved much earlier? If she had accurately measured the impact that an inadequate assistant had had on her business,do you think she might have moved sooner to correct it?

What are you tolerating in your environment? Are you tolerating it for the right reasons, or to avoid confrontation, short term difficulty, or fear? If you removed this stressor from your environment, how might your situation improve? What positive impact might you receive by doing so?

If you'd like to examine this sort of dilemma and find a possibility pathway out, visit my website at www.KimMarcille.com and sign up for my Possibility Tips newsletter. You'll be invited to participate in our next Possibility Workshop series.

Wishing you every possibility in this holiday season! --K.

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Designer Philippe Starck's Formula for Creativity

2007-11-21T18:30:53Z

Read this in October's Fast Company, loved it:

"Every morning, take royal jelly and omega-3 oil, eat oysters, and have a good sexual life. Don't care about anything, and never listen to anybody. Be free."

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10 Things I Love About The Future

2007-11-16T15:50:14Z

10. There's so much of it. Or at least, I think there is. Like most humans, I consider myself relatively immortal. The older I get, the more I become familiar with my own creaking life cycle, but I still can't see the end on the horizon...

9. It's unpredictable. I'm surprised by the number of the times I've said to myself, "I never imagined that my life would take this turn." It's encouraging to know I can't predict it all the time, no matter how good of a futurist I am.

8. It's generous. I know that I will be given so much in the years to come: love, new friends, beautiful days, engaging experiences, laughter...the universe has so much to give, and there's always more where that come from.

7. It's full of discovery. We've come to a time in our evolution when the universe seems like an onion that we're peeling apart layer by layer. I can't wait to see what the next layers will reveal to us.

6. It's mine. If I embrace my own power, I can live in the future any way I want. Every day I have the opportunity to accept that challenge.

5. It's a promise. As I sit here writing, some future is promised to me, no matter how small. I can make every moment of it count, if I stay awake and aware.

4. It will teach me. There is so much more to learn! Before me lie infinite chances to turn information into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom.

3. It's the playing field of my purpose. My legacy is yet to be written. I can choose in each future moment to be true to my purpose and to honor my passions, because no one else can make my contribution but me.

2. It's exciting! As the creator of my own experience, I look forward to all of the wonderful and as yet unknown possibilities that I will amplify into reality!

1. It's a loom. And on that loom, as my life's master weaver, it's my intention to weave a rich, warm and tasty tapestry of life, full of hope, cheer, love, comfort and passion from the fabric of time.

And I must get started right this second! The future waits for no woman!

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The Gutter Man

2007-10-30T18:05:26Z

A gutter installer named Rick came by my house to give me an estimate at 7:30 this morning. He was a pleasant man, and his business was just a few blocks from my house.

The first thing he asked me was, "How did you hear about us?"

(If I could get my all my business coaching clients to do that, I would be so happy!)

I told him that first I'd found him on Google, and then I saw him in the Yellow Pages. On Google there was just a simple listing, and I told him he would be doing his business a favor if he put up a website. That way, he could tell his story to the people who used the Internet to look for services. He agreed that he needed one, but he was just not an Internet person. I told him I could recommend a designer, and then all he would need is the copy and some pictures. He asked me for my card, and read my title.

"Chief Amplifier?" he said. "What's that?"

I said, "I help individuals and businesses discover new possibilities for themselves and amplify those possibilities into reality. For businesses owners, that means I do things like help develop a growth strategy, design new profit centers, open new sales channels, and ultimately, help the owner put together an exit strategy, so he or she can stop working and go on to something else."

He laughed, in an "I wish" sort of way. "I don't think I'm gonna stop working any time soon. I'm raising three kids. I just don't see it."

I smiled, and said, "It could happen. You just need a vision and a plan."

But I could tell he didn't believe me. And I wondered if Rick would ever get his mind out of gutters and set his sights on the stars.

To get free tips on accessing possibility and amplifying it into reality, visit www.KimMarcille.com, and sign up for my newsletter.

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QotD: Happy Voxiversary!

2007-10-25T23:21:29Z

Today is Vox's first anniversary since the official launch. What's the best experience you've had on Vox in the past year? Getting comments that I've helped someone, or had a positive impact on someone's frame of mind on a particular day. That has to be the best.

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Quote of the Day

2007-10-16T18:23:36Z

"Those who possess great skill are uniquely aware not only of what they do know but also of what they do not yet know. This awareness can lead to underconfidence."

Joyce Ehrlinger
Department of Psychology
Florida State University

I love this quote. According to Ehrlinger's research, it turns out that people with less skill are paradoxically more confident about their capabilities.

So when you're feeling less than confident about creating the life of your dreams, you can remind yourself that it's because you're greatly skilled and well-adjusted. And then go do the work anyway.

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How Are You Measuring Yourself?

2007-10-16T00:12:48Z

Okay, so today my mom called me again to ask about what to bring to dinner at our friend Candace's house. (Candace sprained her ankle.) Yesterday, she reported that Candace had told her on Sunday that she was making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Mom had planned to bring pasta with meat sauce. Was that too much pasta in a few days? Did I have any other ideas? But nothing with chicken that would have to be re-heated. And nothing that Tom would have to cook on the grill. And something the teenaged boys would eat. And...you get the idea.

I sent mom several recipes off the Internet that had no chicken in them and travel well, since she'll be driving down for dinner. A quick pop in the oven was all they needed. They were too Betty-Crockerish, she said. How about quiche?

My mom is a very smart woman. On Saturday, she delivered a talk to Lupus patients covering the latest possible medical information they could have on how to care for themselves. (My mother has Lupus herself.) And yet, despite her vast wisdom, she hung herself up for three days about what to bring for dinner at Candace's house. She was struggling because she didn't want to do the wrong thing. She didn't want to appear uncreative, or make people eat something they'd be bored with, or whatever.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Candace is going to be so thrilled with my mom's presence, she won't care what's for dinner. Her husband Tom will be so happy not to cook, he'll gladly eat whatever she brings. And the boys will wolf down whatever it is, and be gone from the table 5 minutes later. Yet in my mom's mind, the whole night will be a bust if she brings the wrong thing to eat. She doesn't want to disappoint The Tribe. (More on The Tribe later.)

Are your measurements of yourself balanced? Are you so concerned with what others think that you don't leave any breathing room for yourself? When you're panicked about a decision, think about it from the other side: what's REALLY important here? Is this the most important thing? Or am I missing the big picture?

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The SkyJump Video

2007-09-30T05:28:06Z

Okay, guys, here it is: the live video of jumping off the tallest building in New Zealand. The ride down is at about 85 mph. BIG fun. :)

Skyjump

This jump was a risk that I opted to take, and that my boyfriend Michael opted out of. Most everyone else has said they wouldn't dream of doing it. Why did I? Comfort zone expansion.

When we think of changing things in our lives or businesses, of going to the next level, and then actually do something which commits us, we often get that uncomfortable feeling inside. "Oh, NO! What have I done??" Kind of like the feeing I had when I leapt off that platform. Sometimes, that feeling alone will force us to turn back from our goals, and prevent us from living our dreams.

The key to breaking that cycle is to learn to tolerate that feeling, and eventually embrace it. Feeling uncomfortable is a good sign. It means you're pushing through the membrane of the universe you've already created into the universe you want to create. Being on that edge feels funny, but it won't kill you. By taking unrelated risks such as this jump and stepping out of your comfort zone, you can practice having that feeling and going forward anyway.

You might label this uncomfortable feeling as panic or nervousness. What if you called it a membrane tremor instead? "Oh! I just felt a membrane tremor!" you can say. If you're with someone when it happens, you can look at the person with a smile and say, "Did you feel it, too?"

I can feel your membrane tremors from here. And I can't wait to see the new universe you're creating.

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630 Feet Above New Zealand, and 300 Feet Below

2007-09-29T00:52:25Z

Our last adventure in New Zealand was spelunking! Which is caving. We abseiled (rappelled) 300 feet down into the Lost World caves of Waitomo. Here we are at the top of the abseil:

LostWorldAbseil

That's my fabulous boyfriend Michael on the right. As you can see, they pipe dry ice fog into the crevasse for effect.

Ha! Just kidding. That's naturally occurring mysterious mist. A portion of the roof of this cave, which is primarily limestone, collapsed thousands of years ago, leaving this opening. There are other openings to the cave system as well, much smaller. One is called the Window, and the other, the Chimney. These caves are below a sheep pasture. Probably only one sheep had to fall in to convince his buddies to stay away!

Here I am at the bottom:

Lost World 2

I can tell you that this sort of adventure would never occur in the United States. We had one guide for four people, Gavin. Gavin drove us to the site, taught us what to do, did our safety checks, even took the pictures. The four of us were completely in his hands. If any of us had been hurt, there was no witness to back Gavin up in saying that we had not followed the rules. There was no official representative at the back of the line, just Gavin at the front. To exit the caves, each of us had to climb a 100-foot ladder into the gloom. Gavin went first, leaving the rest of us in the bowels of the earth alone. Michael was trained to attach each climber to the safety line, Gavin asked us if we each trusted him, and then he left. (!!) Does that sound like a lawsuit waiting to happen?? To us Americans it did. But, as I was informed at some point during our stay, "We don't have those down here." Which made for much more exciting, authentic experiences.

If you haven't been out of the States, please go. You can live without lawyers out there....

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