Brady Helps

If you're at all interested in coffee, things you can do from home, or follow trends on social media, you've probably checked out "Dalgona Coffee."The concept appears simple - whip coffee and sugar together into a froth and float over milk.  With only a few household ingredients, you can create something that most readers haven't yet experienced.  With only a few things around your house, you can innovate a new coffee drinking experience and share it with others.Using the things around you, you can be creative.  You can do something.Yes, I know this is only coffee.  But yes, I also know that for many of us, being able to do something new - right now especially - matters.  Our survival is based on our ability to innovate and create.Innovation is taking something and finding another way to use it.Creation is making the thing that’s in your mind.Even if it's coffee, sugar, and milk.

The residents of New Haven wanted to create an educational institution to train their own ministers - they didn't want to rely on Harvard. To do that, they created meetups.With donated books, tutors met in different homes to train the future ministers of their colonies. The modern-day "Meetup."  Jeremiah Dummer, the colony's agent to London, wanted to be part of the action. He donated over 1,000 books to the program. Keep in mind, this was a sizable library for the period - the year was 1701. Additionally, he got Elihu Yale to donate a few books and a piece of art. Elihu also sold some East Indian Company goods at a small price. The New Haven residents were so pleased with Dummer's work that they decided to create a permanent campus for the school. A school that many people you know about and see today attended - Anderson Cooper, George H.W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, and some others - just to name a few.I wonder if these people would have attended the school if it was named after its major donor, Mr. Dummer? Could you imagine Anderson Cooper attending, "Dummer College?Instead, it was named after an overrated philanthropist, who ended up giving a pittance for the privilege, Mr. Yale.  Names make a difference in so far that they affect our attitude towards the experience we're in.  Imagine our attitude if we were to attend "Dummer College?"  Even if we received the same quality education, we probably wouldn't find much to be proud of.  If you're creating something worth something, consider the experience your audience will have.  As for Mr. Dummer, you know what you did, and if you're reading, thank you!HT to John Steel Gordon of American Heritage for the inspriation. https://www.americanheritage.com/overrated-underrated-10#

"The advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson, used to set a test for aspiring copywriters. One of the questions was simple: 'Here are two identical 25-cent coins. Sell me the one on the right.' One successful candidate understood the idea of alchemy. 'I'll take the right-hand coin and dip it in Marilyn Monroe's bag. Then I'll sell you a genuine 25-cent coin as owned by Marilyn Monroe.'" - Rory Sutherland, "Alchemy." The story speaks for itself. Two things, similar in appearance and makeup, are not necessarily equal. In the same way, the solutions to your problems aren't always the most sensible path. What makes two musicians of equal skill better than the other? I'm going to say it's reputation and perception, especially if one of them has performed with a famous artist. Here's an example, I think about waiting in lines. No one likes to do that, and I hate it. The logical response from a store owner, "let's make check out as fast as possible." Right? This solves the problem of waiting in line. Well, what if we didn't focus on checkout, but instead focused on the process of getting what I need faster. Maybe there's an app that would inform the store I'm on my way. Then the app would notify me of the best routes to take in the store to get what I need? I might still end up waiting in line, but the entire time spent away from home might have been less. So was my problem waiting in line? Or was it being away from home? The way we look at problems can change the way we see the answer. 1+1 might, in fact, equal 3. And, as we saw with Marilyn, It's all in your perception.

What I loved most about the VCR was the pause button. When you paused a movie, the screen would become a bit blurry and distorted. And, you couldn't leave the video paused forever. Eventually, it would play. Welcome to Sunday, and here's a short thought about the state of "pause." The origin of "pause" comes from Greek, "pausis" and it means stopping or ceasing. Now, I think we use the word "pause" as a way to gently say "stop." but with a dash of uninspired hope. "Let's put a pause on that," is heard as "let's stop that for now, and maybe we'll pick it back up." I believe we need to rip off the "pause" button and instead opt for "stop." Because pausing doesn't create closure. And we need more closure. Just ask anybody that's ever been in an unhealthy relationship. Like the VCR, life gets blurry when we press "pause" because the tape is designed to move forward.

It's the weekend. What did you do last week that helped you achieve a long term goal? Better yet, what did you do last week that made life a little better for others? Your impacts don't have to be huge to be meaningful. Sometimes it's as simple as extending patience, offering a smile, a tip of the cap, or a genuinely asked, "how are you?" It's the weekend. What are you going to do next?

A few days ago, Christians around the world celebrated Easter. It's also the day that many Wisconsinites enjoyed baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and sugary treats. It's also the day I learned something about winning and losing!

I love my mom's cooking! Though she'll frequently talk about "overcooking the potatoes" or "I undercooked something," quite honestly, it's all in her head. She reads this blog, and I'd like her to know that I, publicly, think she's a great cook, and she doesn't over/undercook nuttin'!

Now that I've earned the prize of being called "#1 Son," I want to get into how my mom's dinner, a choice to make bread, and the next day taught me something about life.

Last year I lost 100 pounds. It took an entire year, but I did it. I'm planning to lose more this year. I didn't "go on something," I didn't "eat avocado toast" for days. I chose to solve the root cause of a problem I've had for decades - stress and insulin resistance.

To solve stress, I made changes in my life that improve stress. I found a therapist, improved relationships (most notably with myself), ate foods that supported by adrenal glands, and studied stoicism and mindfulness.

To solve for insulin resistance, I made changes that improve insulin sensitivity. I eat 7-10 cups of vegetables per day. I try to limit my sugar intake to nothing. I eat very low-carb/starch foods. I focus on consuming moderate amounts of healthy fats and proteins. Lastly, I only eat when I'm hungry, which is typically once per day. I'm not starved, I'm not wasting away, and I'm in excellent health!

Why am I telling you all of this?

Because it took a full year to do! It did not just happen overnight. It took a year to develop habits and rituals I use daily to maintain optimum health. A year to reverse a pre-diabetic diagnosis, get off blood pressure medication, and to effectively self-manage the beast known as "bipolar disorder!"

I played an infinite game of self-improvement. What was my aim? Optimum health. When would I achieve it? Can't tell. It's a pursuit, a lifestyle, a desire to be a better, and a different person for life.

Flash forward to April 12, 2020.

The sourdough bread I made, the pineapple-glazed baked ham, the scalloped potatoes, and the CHEESECAKE were on the table. The foul sirens of mythology were there in Delafield - singing to me.

I ate them all. And, I can't tell you how good that dopamine hit feels. That momentary feeling of pleasure. The hit of "feel good" that our primitive mind gives us when we've taken down a beast to eat! What a great experience.

Then I woke up, April 13, and felt what I realized was a byproduct of yesterday's binge. I'll spare the details. But instead, I'll ask myself this question, "Was it worth it?" Yes and no.

Yes, because my mom is a fantastic cook. I know it makes her happy to see her kids happy and enjoying themselves. I'll also mention, she went out of her way to ask me if I had any needs. I don't. I made a conscious choice to enjoy the food.

No, because I regretted it the next day.

The quick wins are and aren't always worth it. You could triumph over another individual in a debate, but did you sacrifice a long-term relationship in the process?

You might miss an opportunity now because you're holding out for the thing that makes you come alive. There are no rules.

There are only the decisions you take now.

Keep your destination at the front of your mind, and don't stress if you veer off the path. It's only a sidestep.

Pick your head back up.

Get your bearings.

Take a step.

It's not a helpful feeling because it doesn't help you get to where you want to go.

It's a feeling that asks you to reflect on the past and actions you should have taken.

Well, we're not in the past at the moment. We're in the present. Also, it does us no good to relive actions we could have, would have, or did do because right now, we get to decide what we can and will do.

If you want to do something worth something,

If you want to set out to change the world,

If you want to start feeling like yourself,

If you are ready to come alive,

Then abandon guilt.

Instead, learn.

You can't just buy an avocado. The soft avocados need to be eaten soon. The hard ones need more time. So do you buy 5 hard avocados all at once? Will you want to eat 5 ready-to-eat avocados around the same time? When you buy avocados, you must buy with intention. Do you need something for the moment or the future? You'd almost be better off buying a hard avocado each day of the week so that they are ready-to-eat in a sustainable manner. Like life, everything isn't always ready at the same time. You start your ideas, and they grow and fruit in their time. Plan your life like you plan to eat to avocados, and suddenly life isn't so overwhelming. Bon Appetite.

When we're in survival, like most of us are in now, it's easy to only focus on now.  The problem is that when you solely focus on the present, it's easy to lose track of where you are heading.  Use the present to make each step intentional.Look ahead down the trail.Then look where you are, find your footing, and take the step.You'll survive the mess we're in now while still heading towards the goal.  That's thriving.

I resisted buying an iPhone for the longest time. Or was it that I could not afford to buy an iPhone for the longest time? Quite honestly, it was the latter. iPhones are always expensive. Why? If I am to guess, I'm thinking it would be the sleek finishes, the fancy tech, the fact that they were Apple products. Or was I paying for the premium of holding an Apple product? Probably all of the above. Probably I subconsciously felt that I would be privileged to call an iPhone my own. Buying one was something to aspire to. When it first came out, that might have been the case for some. Now, I think it's a status symbol to have the newest iPhone on the market. What happened to the iPhone 5c? The cheap product. The one made from plastic. The one that didn't produce for Apple. The one that even Tim Cook avoids questions about. That one. The 5c was a flook! It never worked because it was anti-Apple - cheap. What makes Apple great is that it's not easily accessible. That's what it means to be part of the Apple tribe. If that's all the case, why make the 5c? Because it made economic sense. Apple could offer a low-cost product into the market that anyone could buy. "You can buy a cheap phone from anyone, so why not buy one from Apple - a brand you know and trust." Average doesn't work. When economists talk about being the low-cost provider, they're talking about making charts look nice. When conventionalists speak about the "traditional path," they're talking about the way it was done decades ago. The artisan doer, one that masters the art of doing something - coming alive, does not follow the traditional path. They don't want to be the low-cost provider. They want to do the things that matter for the people who care. Trust your gut. Defy convention. Come alive.