Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb

"Alternative Cures" is a very complete medical book for the layman who's not trained in medicine (quacks like me will find this book excellent). I bought this book from Reader's Digest years ago.

It's a very think hard cover book that talks about almost every common and some uncommon medical conditions in simple layman language. There is no high-sounding medical jargon unless it's absolutely necessary.

A single good point about the book would be the way each medical condition is approached. The symptoms are described clearly. Then there are special boxes to highlight important points. How medically trained doctors would approach this condition is also discussed. And then there is mention of some alternative cures, usually the ones that have a proven record.

After reading up on each medical condition, you will feel that you have been adequately briefed and you know what your options are. Of course, it's still necessary to consult your doctors but before you do, you would already have some good basic information about your condition.

A word of caution though. Don't pre-empt your doctor as though you know a lot. No doctors will like this. If you do, you might get a curt response from him, suc as "Who's the doctor, you or me?" Be warned. THIS BOOK DOES NOT MAKE YOU A DOCTOR!

Certainly not. Not even a quack!

"My Favourite Wife" by Tony Parsons

I have shared so many stories of human interest from self-development books that most of you would probably think by now that I don't read novels. Well, I do and many novels too. I would like to share with you an interesting novel that reflects what's happening in China, Shanghai really, as the country seeks to develop quickly. Many westerners are attracted to Shanghai because they are unable to ends meet in their home countries and in China, they are respected as expatriates and conferred a lifestyle beyond their expectations in their home countries. They have a fat tax-free salary, quality accommodation, maids, car and driver paid for by their employers.

Against this backdrop the plot is spun when Bill and Becca Holden decided to join the "gold rush" to Shanghai, bringing along their little daughter Holly. Things started off innocently enough. Then a family tragedy forces Becca to return to London with their daughter. Bill remains and in his loneliness in a foreign land, working day and night, he befriends a neglected second wife that threatens to grow into something more serious. You can feel his struggles and his inability to find emotional footing for this dangerous development. You feel like you can see him falling into an abyss, helpless and yet not helping himself. His frustrations in failing to grapple with the situation puts all he has at risk, including his marriage.

When Becca finally returns, all of them are forced to learn something about the meaning of love and family bonds, going out of their previously defined parameters of love in a comfort zone.

This is a great read.

"My Favourite Wife" by Tony Parsons.

Story taken from "Love Stories of a Different Kind" Series 3 published by CAP

Segab's mother died when he was 11 years old. His father married another woman, Bizunesh. Segb did not like Bizunesh. But Bizunesh tried to be a good mother to him.

She made good breakfasts, dinners and suppers but he did not eat them. She bought him many good clothes but he did not look at them. She gave him new shoes but he threw them away. Whenever she spoke to him, he always ran away.

One day the poor woman said to Segab, "I always wanted to have a son, and now I have you, Segab. I love you very much, my dear boy!"

But Segab said angrily, "I am not your son, and you are not my mother. My mother is dead. I do not love you. I will never love you."

Bizunesh was very sad and cried all night. In the morning she decided to go to a wise old man. She told him about Segab who did not love her.

The old man said, "I can help you. But first you must bring me three hairs of a lion."

"But how can I do this? The lion will kill me," Bizunesh said.

"I cannot answer your question. I need three hairs of a lion. Try to get them."

So Bizunesh went out to try to get the hairs. She went far, far away from her house and came to a place where a lion lived. The lion was very big and roared angrily. He was hungry. Bizunesh was afraid of him and ran away quickly.

The next day she came back with some meat for the lion. She put the meat not far from him and ran away. The lion saw the meat and ate it all quickly.

The following day she again brought some meat for the lion and put it a little nearer. Again the lion ate it all up.

Everyday Bizunesh brought some meat for the liuon, and he soon understood that the woman was his friend. He was not angry and he did not roar anymore. He was happy to see her.

Finally one day Bizunesh came very near to the lion and gove him the meat from her hand. At the same time she tore three hairs from his back. The lion was not angry.

Bizunesh ran to the old man and showed him the hairs. "What must I do with them now?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered. "You know how to get near a lion, little by little, step by step. Do the same with Segab, and I am sure he will love you."

Story taken from "Love Stories of a Different Kind" Series 3, a booklet published as a CAP Guide by the Consumers' Association of Penang.

Another extract from "TOP Performers" by Zig Ziglar

Loyalty to the company is important, but the other side of the coin is that management and corporation owe that same loyalty to their people. A classic example is Ross Perot and EDS. First a little background. His story is one of those rags-to-riches American stories with which many are so familiar.

In 1958 a young American drove into Dallas, Texas in a 1950 Plymouth automobile. He had virtually all his possession in the backseat and his wife and baby in the front seat. He was a top producer with IBM in 1958, but later he came up with a better idea in the use of computers. The idea was so good that he decided to start his own company. I don't believe there are many people in the United States today who don't recognize the name of Ross Perot and EDS (Electronic Data Systems).

Now remember, Ross Perot is one man. With a limited amount of money of his own plus some from his family and friends, he started his own company. EDS has made a major contribution to the computerized age of which we are a part. And in 1985 EDS was purchased by General Motors for more than three billion dollars.

One interesting and encouraging side to this story is the fact that although EDS deals in computer services, it's a very "human" company. Its management feels that qualities such as loyalty to country and family, high business ethics, and a sense of fair play to one's fellow man are all more important than job skills in a "total man, total company" growth concept.

The purchase of EDS by General Motors made Ross Perot one of the wealthiest men in the world. However, the key for Top Performers is to understand why he was able to become so successful. The following incident will give you some real insight into the character of this very successful man.

When the American Embassy in Iran was overrun in 1979, two of Ross Perot's key executives were captured by the Iranians and put in prison. Ross Perot is known as a man of decisiveness and a man of action. He is even better known among his employees as a man of intense loyalty. He stands by his people and supports them and they, in return, are intensely loyal to him. The problem in this situation was what to do about these two men who were in an Iranian prison. The answer - as far as Ross Perot was concerned - was fairly simple. He had little confidence (because of the political ramifications) that his men would see the light of day for a long, long time. He even feared their lives were in jeopardy. He quickly called a conference of his key executives in the United States. They mapped out a daring plan for the rescue of their co-employees.

The details are so exciting and so involved that space does not permit their being told here. However, I encourage you to read "On the Wings of Eagles" by Ken Follet, and get his full and exciting account of the story. In a nutshell, Ross Perot was able to organize a campaign to get those men out. He created a false riot situation, hired his own loyal people, and they freed those two men from that Iranian prison. Is there any wonder his people are so loyal to him?

Obviously, most of us will never be called on to get involved in such a situation, but EVERY DAY WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE LOYAL AND TO STAND BY OUR PEOPLE.

Another extract from "TOP Performers" by Zig Ziglar.

Excerpt taken from Zig Ziglar's "Top Performance"

A glowworm does its fishing not in water, but in the air. It spins and lets down fine glutinous threads. When a gnat or other small insect, attracted by the light, collides with one of these strange fishing lines, is caught and held. The glowworm reels in the line and consumes the captive. If its hunger is satisfied, the glowworm puts out its light. Otherwise, it drops another line for another tidbit. The soft light that gives the glowworm its unearthly beauty is not produced by the "contented" glowworm. The scintillating lights come from the glowworms that are hungry and indeed earnest about their fishing.

Unique creatures though they are, these glowworms have qualities in common with human beings. With us, as with them, the full stomach too often brings about a state of complacency that dims desire for accomplishment.

The young man starting out in life is spurred on by powerful "bread and butter" incentives. To be sure of eating regularly, he must pass certain tests. He must be able to master the fundamentals of his business, and to adapt himself to the conditions that make for success in that business. Hungry with desire for life's necessities, he "fishes" in that business in dead earnest, and if he has the right qualities, his "glow" attracts success.

But, after he has met with a measure of success, he faces a different kind of test. Is he still impelled by a strong inner drive to fish hard for the really big stakes?

Many who pass the initial tests are stopped by this secondary test. They stall at the top of the first hill. They are so eager to enjoy the fruits of their success that they are unwilling to put forth the efforts to augment their education, acquire specialized training, or do whatever else may be necessary to reach still greater heights of service and personal advancement.

Excerpt taken from Zig Ziglar's "Top Performance".

Story quoted by Zig Ziglar in his book, "Top Performance - How to Develop Excellence in Yourself and Others."

A very wealthy Texan had a daughter of marriageable age, and he determined to give her a "coming out" party. This simply meant that he was going to invite all the eligible bachelors in the area over to his home so that he could have a good look at them - you sales folks would call that "group prospecting". His reason was obvious: he wanted the very best for his daughter.

When all the eligible men arrived from a hundred-mile radius of his two-hundred-thousand-acre ranch (with scores of producing fully oil wells and thousands of head of cattle), he called them all out by the Olympic-size swimming pool, which he had the amazing foresight of stocking with water moccasins, alligators, and other vicious beasts. He told the young men that the first one who jumped into the pool and swam the length would be given his choice of three things: one million dollars in cash, ten thousand acres of his best land, or the hand of his beautiful daughter in marriage. He even pointed out that his daughter was his only heir and that when he and his wife passed on, all of this big spread would belong to her and to the man who became her husband.

No sooner were the words spoken than there was a loud splash at one end of the pool, followed almost immediately by the emergence of a dripping wet young man from the other end of the pool. He had set a world's record that would never be approached, much less broken, in swimming the length of that pool.

As the crowd of young men and the girl's father rushed down to the other end of the pool to congratulate the young man, he stood there in eager anticipation. The host excitedly said, "Well, son, you've got your choice. Do you want the million in cash?" The young man responded, "No, sir!" Then the host asked, "Do you want the ten thousand acres of my best land?" The young man responded, "No, sir!" Finally the host said, "Then I guess you want the hand of my beautiful daughter in marriage!" To this the young man replied, "No, sir!"

Somewhat puzzled and a little frustrated, the host demanded, "Well, son, what do you want?" The young man responded, "What I want is to know the name of the dude that pushed me into the swimming pool!"

Story quoted by Zig Ziglar in his book, "Top Performance - How to Develop Excellence in Yourself and Others."

Happy Valentine Post

When he was 12, Herman Rosenblat and his family from Poland were sent to a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. Herman was forced to work shovelling bodies into a crematorium. All the while he did not know if he too, would soon be killed. One day Herman happened to notice a girl on the other side of the barbed wire fence. He then asked her "Can you give me something to eat?" And she took an apple out of her jacket and gave it to him.

Soon this became a routine and the girl gave Herman an apple everyday for seven months. Thir fondness for each other grew. Then one day he told her not to come back - he was being moved to another camp. "A tear came down her eyes," Herman says. "And as I turned around and went back, I started to cry too. I started to cry knowing that I might not see her ever again." Herman was shipped to Czechoslovakia and two hours before he was scheduled to die in the gas chambers, Russian troops liberated the camp and Herman was set free.

Fast forward to almost 15 years later, Herman was living and working in New York city. A friend set him up on a blind date with a woman named Roma Radzika. Herman says he was immediately drawn to her. When they began talking about their lives, Roma asked Herman where he was during World War II. "In a concentration camp," he said. Surprised, she enquired more and then unbelievingly both of then realized who the other was! "Well, what can I tell you? I proposed right there and then, Herman says. "I said, Look, I'll never let you go anymore... Now that we are free, we're going to be together forever."

Herman and Roma have now been married for almost 50 years. He says he's learned a valuable lesson from love. "Every morning when I get up, I say 'I love you, I love you, I love you.'" Herman says. When they appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show recently, Herman decided to honour his wife again - this time by getting down on bended knee. "Sweetheart, it was 64 years ago when I first saw you," he said to Roma. "My mother came to me and said to me, 'I am send you an angel.' And a couple of days later, you appeared at the other side of the fence in the concentration camp. Then in 1957, 14 years later, I had a blind date, and it was you. Now our 50th anniversary is coming up. With this ring, my dear, I pronounce my love for you forever. And as this ring has got no end, my love for you doesn't have an end.

"You have become the beautiful metaphor for what love can be," Oprah said at the end.