The Gift of Patience

PATIENCE

Patience can be defined as the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. 

Christmas is one of those seasons where patience seems to be needed more than ever. Especially with all the chaos that goes on during its season: preparing the house for family and friends to visit, getting the house decorated, making meals, wondering what gifts to buy, keeping within a budget, the streets busy, the malls out of control, and a whole lot more. It's no wonder people go nuts and are such stress cases during this season.

Patience is one of the virtues all of us need to work on, especially myself. I think women are greater possessors of this gift more so than men. A quote I heard long ago says, "Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, mostly found in women, never found in man." Sad, I know for all us guys, but I must agree it's mostly true.


I like to think of patience as a state of being that involves a choice, learning how to master self-control over trials that come into ones daily life. Patience is the antidote to many problems faced in the world today; whether it be personal, marital, religious, spiritual, emotional, temporal, or social. All can be solved to some degree through patience.

We can all make the choice when things don't go quite like we planned and CHOOSE to react with PATIENCE. The choice is always ours. We need to say to ourselves:


"Today, and everyday as long as I am breathing I will begin to develop and live my life with patience. I will be slow to anger towards my spouse, family, and friends. I will not let the little things bother me. I will show patience: to the individual who cuts me off while driving, when dishes are left undone, when rooms not cleaned, when someone takes the last chocolate, when all the hot water is gone, and when someone is late. Patience is not acquired overnight, it is like building a muscle, it must be worked everyday. I will learn to master daily small trials, for if I can do this I will be able to conquer even the greatest of trials. And how will I do this? I will make the choice today because I have the power to choose. TODAY I will react to all my trials with patience. "


    Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.

                                                               - Brian Adams 

Nuskin page

Note: this blog is still under construction.

Nu Skin (Better than Botox)

The Spanish Conquistador and searcher for the "fountain of youth", Juan Ponce de Leon would be proud of Nu Skin. If he were alive today I'm sure you would be reading tabloids of him saying, "Alas! Finally, the fountain of youth has been discovered." Little did Ponce de Leon realize that he needed not search long and far, but that the direct fountain and source of youth was with him all along, contained within his GENES.   


Nu Skin, a 25 year old, $1.35 billion annual company has tapped into the Ultimate Sources of Aging. 


Nu Skin has over 130 different full-time phD level scientists and is collaborated with 100 plus different universities, such as Purdue and UCLA. They work around the clock to make sure they are up to date with the latest and greatest technological innovations in the nutrition and anti-aging realm. In fact, just this past year, Nu Skin added to their list scientists from Stanford University and the University of Wisconson-Madison(Lifegen). 


Nu Skin is taking the science of anti-aging by a storm and to a whole new level. With years of research and $2.7 billion dollars, the greatest discovery do date was made since Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helix. In April or 2003 the human genome project was finally complete informing us that we are made up of 20,000 - 25,000 genes. When news of its completion was out, Nu Skin made sure to put their scientists to work trying to discover which genes were responsible for aging. 


I'm pleased to announce that the search need not go on. Nu Skin, with its ageLOC patent pending technology is the first to discover the exact genes responsible for aging. With such technology, Nu Skin is able to detect the over 400 age related genes responsible for the aging appearance targeting specific age related super markers or arSuperMarkers.


These asSuperMarkers each target specific youth related genes called, Youth Gene Clusters. Nu Skin has the only science that can detect these clusters and make the needed changes or reset them to their original youthful patterns of activity.This is how the ageLOC technology works.

Change Your Skin 8 Ways in 7 Days

The wait is finally over. ageLOC is BETTER than BOTOX. Your skin will never look, feel, or be the same with Nu Skins new ageLOC Transformation system. The only system in the world that has the ability to RESET all your genes responsible for aging. Literally, change your skin 8 ways in 7 days. See chart below for details.

* 8 Ways in 7 Days chart still to come*

How does this technology actually work?

The figures shown are actual representations of what human Youth Gene Clusters wold look like using microarray technology and mammalian(human) tissue. As you can see in Figure 1 and Figure 2 the control group is a different color that the reset group. The control group in Figure 1 shows us what the Youth Genes of a middle-aged individual may look like. The reset group in Figure 1 would represent what a child or teenagers youth gene clusters would look like. 


By analyzing the Legend-Heatmap or light spectrum diagram below we learn; the more a color changes from yellow to red the gene is upregulated and as the color changes from yellow to blue a gene is downregulated. Using this knowledge we can begin to decipher the picture in Figure 2. Let's analyze the first few genes Collagen and Collagen degrating. In the control group Collagen's color is yellow and when it's reset is changes orange. Our knowledge of the legend tells us that this gene must have needed to be upregulated. However, the Collagen degrating gene turns from yellow in the control to blue in the reset group. This tells us that this gene had to be downregulated. This process of upregulating and downregulating will occur on all the Youth Gene Clusters.


In all its complexsity, ageLOC truly is the Rosetta stone to anti-aging.


Results after 12 weeks of using ageLOC Transformation kit.

If these are the results of just using the Transformation kit for 12 weeks, imagine what the results will look like after a few years of use? Staggering!


But it doesn't end here.

Wrinkle Iron (Galvanic Spa)

The ageLOC Transformation system will help make you look young, but if you want to even look younger you will use Nu Skin's new and improved patent pending and exclusive ageLOC Galvanic Spa System 2. 

If you are you sick and tiered of going to the day Spa, waisting precious time(hours) and money(ave. $143/visit) for a procedure that lasts only a day, 2 at most, those days are over. In as little as 5 minutes, a few times a week, you can give yourself an in-home spa treatment for as little as $8 per treatment with even better results than the day spa. 


Why do I say the results with Nu Skin's spa are even better than the day spa? In collaboration with Purdue University, Nu Skin has discovered an internal source of aging on the surface of our cells, an enzyme called age related NOX or arNOX. This enzyme is activated between the age of 20-30 and is most active in the mid 30-40 age group. The arNOX enzyme is a free radical or super oxide generator. These superoxides are responsible for protein degradation, causing wrinkling, dropping, saggy, unhealthy looking skin. 


This is one of the reasons why no matter how hard we try cover ourselves from the sun, pollution, environment, and other sources of aging we still continue to age and show signs of it in our face and skin. Well, Nu Skin has found out how to stop this enzyme from releasing its harmful free radicals.

The arNOX enzyme acts as a volcano. Each gyration in the chart to the right represents a squirt of free radicals being released into your skin. As you can see, once the arNOX inhibitor is added the gyrations immediately stop and arNOX activity flatlines. 


  




Nu Skin was not going to stop their. Third-party studies were performed by the University of Stanford, with the help of Doctor Zoe Draelos. Three millimeter whole biopsies were taken from test subjects ranging from ages 21 to 77 and arNOX activity was analyzed. Later, ages were assigned by analysis of the individuals skin structure, tone, quality, texture, pore size, and appearance. The results are as follows:

Have you been to a school reunion an noticed a friend who looks 10 maybe even 20 years older than you. The averages may be 7 years difference but extremes range from someone with really low levels of arNOX being 16 years younger than their chronological age compared to an individual with high levels of arNOX being 18 years older than their chronological age. The end result is an age different of 34 years. Crazy!

Take a look at this lady. Now she only did half of her face with the galvanic spa a few times per week for a month. Check out her smile line...or rather should I say, "what smile line? "

How about this Lady? What happened to her wrinkles? The color, quality, and texture of her skin is incredible.

This lady doesn't even appear to be the same individual. Look her pore size in the picture on the right compared to that on the left. Look how smooth and clean her skin looks now. This is only after a month and a half of using the spa 3 times per week. Botox can't do this for you. Face lifts can't do this for you. Nu Skin can and does. This is what the power of the galvanic spa can do for anybody. Results are guaranteed.






How does the Galvanic Spa Work?


                       Pre-Treatment                                               Treatment

- During the Pre-Treatment cycle, the galvanic instru-       - During the Treatment cycle, the Galvanic Instrument

ment and the Pre-Treamtemnt Gel are NEGATIVELY          and the Treatment Gel are POSITIVELY charged.
charged.  
- These negative charges repel each other, driving the       - These positive charges repel each other helping to 
Pre-Treatment gel and beneficial ingredients into the        deliver key beneficial ingredients into the skin, 
skin.                                                                                including the exclusive ageLOC ingredient blend.
- The Pre-Treatment Gel binds to impurities deep in          - The positively charged instrument attracts the
the dermis of the skin.                                                     remaining impurities from the Pre-Treatment cycle, 
                                                                                      drawing them out of the skin.

True Face Essence Ultra

The ageLOC Transformation kit will make you look YOUNG. The ageLOC Spa coupled with its gels will make you look even YOUNGER. But in order to look your YOUNGEST, you have use the whole system coupled with Nu Skin's True Face Essence Ultra (TFEU).

Also known as liquid gold, TFEU costs $100,000 per kilo to make.  TFEU is one of those products that women are willing to give up food for. It's that good! TFEU has a key ingredient in it called ETHOCYN. Ethocyn was discovered at UCLA and took approximately 19 years to develop and 20 million dollars and Nu Skin owns the rights to it. Now, ethocyn is responsible for elasticity(the snap-back effect) in your skin. Here's the studies:






The Company

Nu Skin Mission:




Nu Skin Vision:


The Company:

Becoming a Giver of Good Gifts

Tis the Christmas season. Clear your thoughts and ponder about what comes to your mind when you hear the word CHRISTMAS. What are you thinking about?

Perhaps friends and family, gifts, toys, candy, chocolates, milk and

cookies for Santa Clause, snow, rain, beaches and a nice sunny day,

maybe even all of the above.

What is one of the most important items that almost all families make sure they have in their homes during this marvelous season? A Christmas tree of course!

Lets talk about a Christmas tree. Its not just any ordinary tree nor is it treated as such. Where do YOU tend to put it? Is it not out in your front entry for all to see when they first enter your home, how about in your front window for all to see who pass by? Perhaps you might even have 2 or more Christmas trees spread throughout your house including one in the family room.

My point is that we tend to put our Christmas trees where they can be seen. We want it to be the central focal point in our homes. We may also spend countless hours and lots of money beautifully decorating this special tree with lights, family pictures, special ornaments and bows, and an angel or star on top. Once finished, an ordinary pine tree transforms into a beautiful masterpiece which I believe to be highly symbolic.

Christ's language is one of symbols and it is my belief that your Christmas tree is far more than meets the eye. If we analyze the word Christmas we get 2 words CHRIST and MAS. In Spanish MAS means 'more', thus Christmas can be defined as a season where there is "MORE CHRIST". To me a Christmas tree symbolizes the very individual whose name it bears, Christ, and would thus, take on a whole new meaning. Just think...

•    Is it not this very tree that we gather around Christmas Eve to read the Christmas Story(Christ's Birth)?
•    Is it not this very tree that is a bearer of gifts…GOOD gifts?
•    Is it not this very tree that lights up a room casting out darkness?
  
•    Is it not this tree that mends and heals the broken hearted, that gives one peace, joy, and happiness in times of despair? 
  

Of course it is all of these things! The list could go on and on.

Let us ask ourselves this question. Is Christ only a central focal point in

our homes and in our daily lives at Christmas time, similar to our

Christmas trees which we put up during its season to be enjoyed but a

short while, only to be taken down and forgotten until next season? Or is

Christ in our minds and heart DAILY?

I remember as a child, it seemed a miracle to wake up Christmas

morning seeing 2 to 3 times as many presents as there were the night

before. A Christmas tree is always a bearer of good gifts and so too is

Christ. He is the ultimate bearer of good gifts. However, we do not

always deserve the gifts we receive. Due to their unconditional love, our

parents like Christ, still give and we take despite our follies .

This brings us back to my original question, "How can we make sure that
we live Christ centered lives each and every day?" May I suggest that
we start by emulating the Saviour in being bearers of good gifts
ourselves. 


The Wise-men  came to Christ with the very best gifts they had, gifts fit
for a King: gold, frankincense, and mer. So what kind of gifts can you
give in your daily life that are not only fit for a king or a God, but for
your family, friends, and neighbors?


May I suggest a few. May we bring this Christmas season and everyday
to all around us the gifts of PATIENCE, GRATITUDE, and CHARITY.

First Book

The first book Dan ever gave me to read was "Lessons From Great Lives, Learning to be Rich in All Areas of Your Life!"  He actually co-authored it...go figure! Dan had given this book to his daughter Crystal, my wife, as a gift when it was first published. My initial thoughts were, "I can't wait to see what he wrote inside, I bet it's something quit profound for Crystal to have and cherish throughout life." To my surprise this is all I saw, written in Dan's very own handwriting the following:

                                                        









Translated:
To Crystal                          

enJoy the Journey OF
LiFe!

Saper vedere

Love
Dad
9/10/07

My first thought was, "Say What (translation please)?" My second was "That's it? A nice phrase with some latin words!""Come on Dan, this was your girl you were writing to not some stranger! Why so few words? and what's with the latin?" To make matter worse, I soon discovered that Dan writes this exact same message in everyone's book he signs.

As I calmed down and gathered myself together I began questioning, thinking deeper and wondering...WHY?  What sort of advice/message is Dan trying to portray behind these few words? There has to be a bigger picture, what's the meaning behind these words? As I thought more and more about it this is what i concluded:

Sometimes we may feel ripped off because of how much we don't receive (like I felt for Crystal). We tend to have this notion that more must mean better. Yet, I've come to learn that this isn't always true. Just like more money doesn't guarantee more happiness or a better life, neither do the expensive name brand clothes guarantee better relationships or popularity with peers.

It's not the size of the gift, but the preparation, content, and love that goes into the gift that truly matters. Dan said more in those 7 words than I could try to say this whole blog. Those 7 words are filled with knowledge and wisdom to keep you thinking every day of your life.

Let us start with the first 5 words, "Enjoy the Journey of Life."

Life seems to be full of surprises. We hear time and time again, "life is like a roller coaster, it's full of many ups and downs." It's true isn't it? Life is full of ups and down, however we all seem to want more ups or all ups, and very few if any downs. This is the very antithesis of a roller coasters where we want ALL downs and NO ups.

I'm guilty of wanting more ups in my life. Who isn't? Who wants to experience and go through the down (trials, troubles, afflictions, heartache, misery, death) life throws at you? One thing I have learned over the years and have come to accept is that their must be opposition in all things. Everything has its opposites. How would I ever experience or taste the GOOD if I didn't know the BAD? How would I know the JOYS life has to offer, without experiencing the PAINS? How could I delight in SIGHT/LIGHT, if there were no BLINDNESS/DARKNESS? WHY would I care about my HEALTH, if I never experienced SICKNESS? And  how could I experience SUCCESS if I had no FAILURES.

You see, part of life's journey is experiencing oppositions, both the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, none are exempt from it wrath. So if experiencing opposition is inevitable how should we react when life throws us curve balls here and there? We can start by saying...

I WILL make the best of my current circumstances! I WILL live each day of my life as if it were my last! I WILL hold nothing back! I WILL not let challenges effect my life for the worse rather, I WILL be a fighter, a conqueror over my trials and fears! I WILL have and maintain an attitude of gratitude! I WILL enjoy life's journey everyday whether it be good or bad! I WILL preserver, I will SUCCEED! WHY?
Because I CHOOSE TO!

In response to the question "how are you doing today?" Dan without fail replies with enthusiasm,"I'm havin' the GREATEST DAY of my LIFE!" How cool is that? Should we and could we not all respond in such a way? Of course we can!

The choice is ALWAYS yours! You may not be able to determine your family or environmental conditions, however YOU determine your own reactions, lifestyle, and future/destiny. Your LIFE, your SUCCESSES, your "greatest work", depends solely on you and nobody else!

....To be continued (upcoming blog: Saper Vedere!)

Who is Dan McCormick?

The road to riches for Dan McCormick was, and is, paved with PRINCIPLES and HABITS. 

Dan's journey began at the age of nineteen as a young man focused on building a secure financial future. Armed with only his personal convictions and an intense desire to improve his chances of success, Dan was determined to beat the odds.

Having grown up in a humble, single parent home and facing a world where a college degree was the ticket required for financial success, Dan McCormick took the road less traveled.

A self-made millionaire at the age of twenty-two, just three years after he took his first step into the direct sales industry, Dan had traveled farther and faster in life than most of his peers. People had become his focus, not for what he could take from them, but for what he could give to them.

Dan learned to LISTEN to the experts, to those who knew more than he did in his industry. He discovered that helping other people reach their financial and personal goals is what propelled him forward towards his own. With an unbridled enthusiasm, he has built a business that has generated over a billion dollars in worldwide sales.

Where does his drive come from? How does he stay motivated and focused on the road ahead? What maps does he use to navigate the seemingly endless dead ends and detours in life that can take a person off course? 

The answer lies within his MISSION in life: To INSPIRE individuals to align their lives with PURPOSE, RESPONSIBILITY, VISION, and PRINCIPLES of greatness. 

As Dan's son-in-law, I can promise you he not only teaches such a mission, but tries to live by his mission every day of his life. I firmly believe this has been and is the key to his success. Dan lives by EXAMPLE, he PRACTICES what he preaches.  Thus, it comes to no surprise that I and many others want to emulate him, be him, and BECOME like him; not only as a businessman and leader, but as a husband and father.    

As lucky as I am to have the privilege of being Dan's son-in-law, I've had the amazing opportunity of living under the same roof as him for the past year. It's been an amazing journey and life changing. I've received priceless ADVICE and COUNCEL from him as a father-in-law and as a partner in business. Most of this blog is going to be about LESSONS, PRINCIPLES, and HABITS Dan's taught me and others GREATS like him that I feel the rest of the world should be aware of too. 

"Great Work"

So why have I chosen the title of my blog, “Becoming Magnum Opus?”

I’m sure many of you are wondering what “Magnum Opus” exactly means. Magnum Opus is Latin for “great work”.  It is the greatest, most popular, or most renowned single work of an artist, composer, or writer; it’s “a masterpiece”. 

Masterpieces of today would consist of the Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde) by Leonardo da Vinci, Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”, or William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. However, as wonderful and inspiring as they may be, I personally believe that the greatest and most important MASTERPIECE’S one will ever create is “YOU!

We all aspire being better husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, friends, business owners/partners, leaders, writers, and in anything we do. Don’t fool yourselves; this takes time, patience, and practice. Just think about it. How much time and effort do you think went into producing and creating each of the masterpieces listed above? Do you think they just sat down and created what they did in a matter of minutes, hours, or days? Of course not! They researched, planned, practiced and developed their talents to do what they did and to become who they were. They exerted all their energy into the NOW of what they were doing until they achieved and obtained their own magnum opus. We too, must set aside time in the day to develop our personal lives so that we may obtain talents and BECOME who we want to be and what we were born to be. 

My wife, Crystal, is recently learning this. Just about everything comes naturally for her. However, she set a goal to learn how to play the piano. She would hear me and others play effortlessly and thought she could do the same in a matter of weeks or months. The frustration soon kicked in when days turned into weeks and weeks months and she still wasn’t playing the songs others and I could play. Hang in their Princess; it took me 7 years of lessons to be able to play how I do now! 

Just as it will take some time for Crystal to learn how to play the piano, so too, will it take days, weeks, months, and maybe even years to develop and engrave qualities, traits, characteristics, HABITS, and PRINCIPLES into your life. We seem to want things so fast that many of us aren’t willing to go through the peaks and valley’s to get us where we want to be. 

A painting consists of many ordinary and individual brush strokes, much of which are unrelated yet work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting. Each principle we develop, every book we read, and every life we touch is an individual brush stoke on your personal canvas of “YOU”.  No one stroke may seem relevant at the time or is very noticeable however, just as all the colors and markings of a painting lead to a beautiful masterpiece, so too, will our consistency in doing seemingly small things in our lives lead to significant and personal results in the future.

The hardest person to change, yet the easiest, is YOU. It’s easy to find faults in others and to know where they need improvement; nonetheless we must realize we all have them. You must discover your faults, your weaknesses, and then strive to make those weaknesses become your strengths. In time, you will learn to master any obstacle that comes in your path.

The best way to learn how to BECOME is to learn from those who have already BECOME. There are many greats from the past and present whose lives show us how to find answers through applying principles they’ve lived by and learned in their life’s journey. One of the GREATS who has BECOME, is my father-in-law and mentor, Dan McCormick.