Never, Ever Smoke Again!!

Never, ever smoke again!

Would you inhale the smoke from the chimney of your favorite ski resort?

Most of the same carcinogenics, hazardous waste products and poisonous gases in cigarette smoke are the same as those emitted from that chimney.

80% of all patients with lung cancer either had or are currently smoking.

If you are found to have lung cancer, I will have to take out at least one of your lung lobes and sometimes the entire lung.

The photo here shows a lung with bullous emphysema, another disastrous result of smoking.

If you need lung surgery, the average recovery period is 6 weeks. That is a large part of your life.

Smoking is also a significant contributor to coronary artery disease, the cause of heart attacks.

These facts mean very little to people on a day to day basis, but when you have a heart attack or are told you have lung cancer, suddenly it will mean everything to you.

Suddenly, the face of your spouse or children will flash before your eyes. And you will wonder, “Why didn’t I just quit earlier? I knew I should quit, but I didn’t.

There are medications (Chantix), nicotine patches, support groups and therapies that can help you as you transition from polluting your lungs to healing them.

I know it is not easy to quit smoking. I do have compassion for you. If you and I don’t get you to quit, death will do it for you.

We Cannot Escape Death

Perhaps there really aren’t that many absolute truths in the world.

Gravity seems to be a “truth” or inescapable reality. But even now we have “anti-gravity” rooms where you can experience zero gravity. I’m sure there are other “truths” or “laws” that exist in which we are proving that they are not absolutes.

Death, on the other hand, is one truth that none of us can escape.

You may philosophize and spin it to make your self believe that somehow, “I am not going to die”.

You may say, “My soul will live on forever.”

You may have had a near-death experience and lived to tell about it.

All that means is that you haven’t died, yet.

I saw a patient yesterday who was 75 years old, with end-stage lung cancer. That means that nothing we have in Western medicine, or Eastern medicine, or Northern medicine, or Southern medicine is going to prevent the inevitable.

I was consulted to see if there was something I could do surgically for her.

There wasn’t.

There is nothing worse than being a surgeon and not being able to do something that would keep her alive.

“So basically,” she said, “You’re telling me that I’m lying in my death-bed?”

How do you answer that one?

As a doctor, I know that this is her deathbed.

As a human, even I want to somehow believe that no, there is some miracle that will happen that will allow her to keep on living.

So, I say something like, “Well, we can sit you up in a chair.” How uncouth and uncomfortable I feel.

Her husband said, “Oh, I just knew something bad was going to happen today!” breaking down, wailing.

“How long have you been married?” I asked.

“56 years”, he said. “I’ll take another 5.”

Yet again, I am reminded that you and I cannot escape the inevitable. I do not know why it has to be this way. I only know that it is this way. I do my best to leave the “why” to God.

I guess the best question to ask our selves is “How am I going to live while I am alive?”

Will I say my truth whenever possible?

Will I go for it, whatever “it” may be?

Will I feel fear yet take action anyways?

I also deepened my sense of compassion for others yesterday. I have the great fortune of dealing with life and death on a daily basis. I have judged others constantly for letting their fears stop them, for not going for it in their lives, and for acting like they were going to live forever because I know that they won’t.

But I realized yesterday that most of us have so much to manage, so many challenges, and more that we can handle that we forget that we are, too, going to die someday.

So cry about that fact. Feel your sadness about this reality. It is only then that you will then feel joy for the fact that YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, until you are not.

What WILL you do, while you are?

Vista Caballo: Horse + Man Experience

The Inspirational Heart Center is the world’s most diverse and multi-faceted heart institution.  Maybe you’re fortunate enough not to need heart surgery.  Maybe medicine is not what you need.  Maybe you’re looking for a reminder of where you come from.  Who are your ancestors and how did you come to be?  Maybe the answer you’re looking for will be found in your dear old friend, the horse.   www.vistacaballo.com 

Vista Caballo Horse+Man Experience

►

Lift Off!! 10 Minutes of Inspiration.

Need a boost? Here’s a little something from my heart to yours. http://speaktosellbootcamp.com/michael/

Michael’s Monthly Newsletter: June 2010

MJS MD June Newsletter This month:  Michael meets with Deepak Chopra, the daVinci robot, marketing with Bill Glazer and the HeartMate II.

Try quitting.

I’m usually a big promoter of “Going For It” in life. I’m the eternal optimist. The glass is always half-full and Never Give Up!

Recently, I have been making attempts at quantum leaps in pretty much every area of my life, and apparently, falling way short.

Just like you, I can become jaded and cynical, hopeless and full of despair. Why have these thoughts of wanting to make a real difference for others and not be able to fulfill on those thoughts? Total torture.

I have quit several times during my career. So, how did I end up back in that very same career? I thought I quit, already!

The beautiful thing about quitting is that God or the Universe reveals your true destiny to you by nudging you along in those moments of quitting. You’re gently reminded that you’ve been on the right path all along.

Maybe the act of quitting is exactly what you need to get you going, again.

So, try quitting.  See if it doesn’t bring some life and a breath of fresh air to your commitments in life.  You may be pleasantly surprised.

Maybe it’s not true.

I caught myself thinking that other people are only in it for the money and that they only want to give something so long as they’re going to get something.

I then asked myself, “Well, Michael, are you only in it for the money or are you giving so long as you’re going to get something in return?” While it’s true that I do things from time to time because I need or even want the money and it’s true that I sometimes do things because I’m going to get something, I believe that most of what I do in my life is because I am here to help others and serve others.

When I journal and I ask God for my purpose, the response I get is to “Love all people and serve them with all my heart.”  So what’s “The Truth”?  What am I really about?

Well, in my deepest and most peaceful moments, when I’m not afraid of what anyone thinks of me, I find that I am passionate about giving, loving and serving.

So, will the real me, please stand up.

Maybe it’s not true that any terrible thing I think about anyone else is true.  Maybe they really only want to give, love and serve.  I look forward to experiencing my day after letting go of all the crap that I think is true of everyone else, including myself.  I wonder what I’ll see.

In my quest to give to you, love you and serve you, I invite you to watch my first public speaking gig at http://www.bigmissionbigsales.com/michael.  It’s only 30 minutes long and my hope is that it somehow impacts you in a positive way.

How can I find a great coach?

I have been so very blessed to have received coaching from many brilliant people in my lifetime. A coach essentially helps you to see where your blind spots are so that you can be more effective in your life and make a difference for others.  People who roll their eyes at coaches, whether they are sports coaches or personal growth coaches, are usually people who are struggling in their lives. They spend their time reinventing the wheel, judging others or pointing their finger at everyone else for why their life is the way it is.  If YOU have coached me during my lifetime, thank you for what you have taught me.

I feel compelled to acknowledge and thank two of my most favorite coaches, Carri Scuba and Michael Nitti.  Both are masters at seeing the world as I see it, having that be ok, and offering other empowering perspectives from which I find new avenues for successful actions. There is nothing I can’t say to either one of them and they are unscathed by anything I may share with them.  They are un-shockable and believe me, I have tried.

Carri’s greatest gift is her ability to assist you in creating a clear vision and purpose for your life that is true to who you really are.  

Carri helped me to create my vision for The Inspirational Heart Center and gave me the courage to speak that vision powerfully in the face of the current state of health care.

Michael is a freakin’ wizard. Period.  He not only stands in your shoes and guides you down from the ledge, but he reminds you of how brilliant and beautiful you are.  Again, period.

Michael helped me to transition from being a dependent medical student to a successful, practicing heart surgeon who can stand on his own two feet.

Michael Jordan has a coach.  Tiger woods has a coach.  Obama has many coaches.  Anyone who is up to anything has a coach.  What are you up to in your life?

Time to hire a coach.

Michael Nitti, highly acclaimed author of The Trophy Effect www.thetrophyeffect.com

Carri Scuba, creative founder of Core Vision Concepts, Inc. www.corevisionconcepts.com

Blah, blah, blah…

Have you become spoiled?  Jaded or cynical?  Just don’t care anymore and don’t care that you don’t care?

Are the words around you having no impact on you?

People are trying so hard to get through to us.  Facebook is loaded with inspirational words, famous sayings and fund raisers.

I know you say that you love me but do you love me?

Who cares that children go missing all the time?  Who cares that we are at war with other nations, killing them before they can kill us?

The earth is round and it circles the sun.  That bit of info was revolutionary during it’s time.  Now, who cares?

We are so super-saturated with truly amazing science, technology and information that we no longer can distinguish how miraculous it all really is.

When was the last time you not only heard what someone was saying to you but actually took action on the advice they were giving you?

Go to the gym.  Go to your spiritual center.  Hang out with your kids.  Listen when someone expresses their love for you.  Believe it or not, they really do love you.

Meditate on the mantra, “Blah, blah, blah”.  You just might hear what you’ve been wanting to hear your entire life.  Maybe even the answer to your prayers.

Tithing. Time to get back to an ancient tradition.

On March 25th, at 1pm Pacific time, I will have the distinct honor and privilege of interviewing Edwene Gaines on a 4 part teleseminar series created by Helen Kim at www.yourmoneyrelationship.com/4laws.  My beautiful wife, Lisa, and I first heard Edwene speak at Agape in L.A. in 2004.  This adorable, seemingly harmless woman hit us right between the eyes.  It was obvious that if we were to really break free from the rat-race into financial abundance and freedom, we would have to take her advice and TITHE.

Tithe:  To give 10%.

We took on tithing for 6 months, to see if it really worked to turn our financial struggles around.  Within our first year, we went from a net worth of MINUS $100,000, to zero.  We then bought and sold two houses and got to tithe 10% of the large profit.

Last year, we gave away $75,000 to any person or place that inspired us, reminded us of the truth or reminded us of who we are.

Before I met Edwene, I struggled incessantly to “make a million dollars”.  After hearing her speak, I realized that I had to shift my mindset from making a million dollars to “GIVING a million dollars back” as a way of saying thank you for the blessed and abundant life I have.

Maybe fighting to make more money, holding tighter to what you’ve got, and refusing to give it away are not working.  Not for you, nor the world.

I invite you to be a part of this 4 part series.  This is one way for me to give back to that which has given me my incredible life.

If you are reading this, maybe it’s time to try a different perspective.

Maybe it’s time to give back to the place that’s giving you everything you’ve got.

www.yourmoneyrelationship.com/4laws