Overtime: Bill Maher
Reply
Author Archives: Edward Brownlee
Life is not a Popularity Contest
I don’t care whether or not people like me or dislike me. I’m not on earth to win a popularity contest. I’m here to be the best human being I possibly can be.
Champions Adapt
Billionaire investor and Berkshire-Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett once said, “Champions Adapt”.
This simple statement emphasizes the importance of adaptability and resilience in achieving current and future success.
According to Buffett, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and learn from experiences is what sets champions and those who achieve great success apart from the rest.
Most successful individuals and businesses are those that can quickly adjust to new conditions and challenges.
1. Embracing Change and Challenges
– Buffett often emphasizes the importance of being open to change. He believes that clinging to old habits and ways of thinking can hinder growth and progress. Champions, according to him, are those who can pivot and adapt to new circumstances and challenges.
2. Learning and Growing from Experience
– Adaptability involves learning from past experiences and using those lessons to navigate future challenges. Buffett encourages continuous learning and self-improvement, which allows individuals to respond effectively to changing environments.
3. Staying Flexible
– In investing, Buffett highlights the need for flexibility. Market conditions can be unpredictable, and successful investors must be able to adjust their strategies in response to new information and trends. This flexibility is a key characteristic of a champion.
4. Resilience
– Resilience is closely tied to adaptability. Buffett believes that being able to bounce back from setbacks and remain focused on long-term goals is essential for success. Champions are those who can endure difficulties and emerge stronger.
5. Innovation
– Buffett also acknowledges the role of innovation in staying competitive. Businesses that adapt by embracing new technologies and innovative practices are more likely to thrive in dynamic markets.
For example, under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire Hathaway has adapted to changing market conditions by diversifying its investments and acquiring companies in various industries.
Additionally, Buffett has adapted his investment strategies over the years, from focusing on value investing to recognizing the importance of growth stocks in certain situations.
Quotes from Warren Buffett
– “The best thing is to learn from other people’s mistakes. The second-best thing is to learn from your own mistakes.”
– “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
Buffett’s emphasis on adaptability underscores the idea that success is not just about having a fixed plan, but about being able to adjust and thrive in the face of change and in any circumstance.
Always Be Positive to Yourself
“You must always talk positive to yourself in your head.”
You will never speak to anyone more than you speak to yourself in your head. So, be kind and encouraging to yourself!
The words you tell yourself shape your thoughts, your mindset, and the life you live. Speak to yourself with the same kindness, compassion, and respect you’d give to someone you love.
Here are a few tips to help you develop a positive inner dialogue:
1. Recognize Negative Thoughts: Be mindful of when negative thoughts creep in. Awareness is the first step to change.
2. Challenge and Reframe: Ask yourself if these thoughts are realistic or helpful. Try to reframe them in a more positive light.
3. Practice Affirmations: Repeat positive affirmations daily. For example, “I am capable and resilient.”
4. Surround Yourself with Positivity: Spend time with people who uplift and support you. Their positive energy can be contagious.
5. Be Kind to Yourself: Treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion that you would offer a friend.
Remember, life is a journey, and it’s okay to have ups and downs along the way. And, being positive, happy, and grateful are choices.
Bite-Sized Motivational Quotes
“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Bite-sized quotes that pack a powerful punch:
- “Champions adapt!”
- “Dream big, start small.”
- “Pressure is a privilege.”
- ”Make it happen.”
- ”Happiness and anxiety are choices; choose happiness.”
- “One day or day one. You decide.”
- “Positive mind, positive vibes, positive life.”
- “Struggle makes you stronger.”
- “Be a warrior, not a worrier.”
- “Only talk positive to yourself in your head.”
- “A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it.”
- ”There is always a reason to be grateful.”
- ”Yesterday is history (past); tomorrow is a mystery (unknown); and today is a blessing and gift (be mindful/live in the present moment).”
Mellody Hobson on Investing
Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, is known for her **value investing** approach and **long-term perspective. Here are some key principles that guide her investment strategy:
1. **Value Investing**: Hobson focuses on investing in assets that are undervalued by the market. Ariel Investments looks for public companies trading at about a 40% discount to their private market value.
2. **Long-Term Perspective**: Hobson emphasizes the importance of patience and a long-term outlook. She believes in the power of time and compounding returns.
3. **Discipline**: Hobson advocates for a disciplined approach to investing, avoiding impulsive decisions based on short-term market fluctuations .
4. **Financial Literacy**: Hobson is a strong proponent of financial education and literacy, encouraging people to understand and take control of their financial futures.
5. **Diversification**: Ariel Investments diversifies its portfolio across small-cap and international stocks, seeking value across the entire stock market.
6. **Active Patience**: Hobson describes her approach as “active patience,” meaning staying invested and patient while actively managing the portfolio.
Hobson’s principles have helped her build a successful career and transform Ariel Investments into a firm with billions in assets under management. Do any of these principles resonate with you or align with your own investment philosophy?
Resilience is an Essential Trait
Ernest Hemingway once wrote:
“The hardest lesson I’ve had to learn as an adult is the relentless need to keep going, no matter how shattered I feel inside.”
This truth is both raw and universal.
Life doesn’t pause when our hearts are heavy, our minds are fractured, or our spirits feel like they’re unraveling. It keeps moving-unrelenting, unapologetic-demanding that we move with it.
There’s no time to stop, no pause for repair, no moment of stillness where we can gently piece ourselves back together. The world doesn’t wait, even when we need it to.
What makes this even harder is that no one really prepares us for it. As children, we grow up on a steady diet of stories filled with happy endings, tales of redemption and triumph where everything always falls into place. But adulthood strips away those comforting narratives. Instead, it reveals a harsh truth: survival isn’t glamorous or inspiring most of the time. It’s wearing a mask of strength when you’re falling apart inside. It’s showing up when all you want is to retreat. It’s choosing to move forward, step by painful step, when your heart begs for rest.
And yet, we endure. That’s the miracle of being human-we endure. Somewhere in the depths of our pain, we find reserves of strength we didn’t know we possessed. We learn to hold space for ourselves, to be the comfort we crave, to whisper words of hope when no one else does. Over time, we realize that resilience isn’t loud or grandiose; it’s a quiet defiance, a refusal to let life’s weight crush us entirely.
Yes, it’s messy. Yes, it’s exhausting. And yes, there are days when it feels almost impossible to take another step. But even then, we move forward. Each tiny step is proof of our resilience, a reminder that even in our darkest moments, we’re still fighting, still refusing to give up. That fight-that courage-is the quiet miracle of survival.
There is always a reason to be grateful!
“I may not have everything I want in life, but I am blessed enough to have all that I need. For this I am grateful.”
Though life may not always align with your deepest desires, you can find solace in recognizing the abundance already present in your world.
The gifts you have—shelter, nourishment, love, and peace—are enough to sustain you.
It’s in this quiet realization that gratitude blooms, a reminder that while you may dream of more, you are already rich in what truly matters. For this, you should give thanks.
Cutting Back on Sugar
Cutting back on sugar can have some dramatic and positive effects on your body. Here’s what can happen:
1. Improved Energy Levels: You’ll likely notice a more stable and sustained energy throughout the day without the highs and lows caused by sugar crashes.
2. Better Mood: Reduced sugar intake can help stabilize your mood and reduce feelings of irritability and anxiety.
3. Clearer Skin: Many people find that their skin starts to clear up when they cut back on sugar, as sugar can contribute to inflammation and breakouts.
4. Reduced Cravings: After the initial adjustment period, your cravings for sugary snacks will decrease as your body adjusts to a lower sugar diet.
5. Better Sleep: Cutting sugar can lead to improved sleep quality, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
6. Weight Loss: Reducing sugar and carbohydrate intake can help with weight loss, especially by reducing appetite and leading to more effective fat burning.
7. Improved Blood Sugar Levels: A low-sugar diet can help regulate blood sugar levels, which is particularly beneficial for people with diabetes or insulin resistance.
8. Heart Health: Some studies suggest that low-sugar/carb diets can improve heart health markers such as cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Making the change can be challenging at first, but the benefits are worth it! Have you started cutting back on sugar, or are y
Dark Chocolate Health Benefits
Dark chocolate containing 80 percent cacao or higher is packed with nutrients that can strengthen your body’s defense systems and positively affect your overall health. It is so outstanding, many consider it a superfood containing surprising health benefits.
Dark Chocolate is Heart Healthy
Epidemiologists have long-established a connection between consuming foods with flavanols—a potent antioxidant found in dark chocolate—and a lower incidence of death from cardiovascular disease.
Increases Good Gut Bacteria While Controlling the Bad
Researchers from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom studied specific bacteria affected by chocolate consumption by giving 22 healthy volunteers a beverage containing high-cocoa flavanols for four weeks. They found that this drink strikingly improved the ratio of good to harmful bacteria. There was an increase of beneficial Lactobacillus (by 17.5 times) and Bifidobacteria (by 3.6 times), and there was a decrease in harmful Clostridium histolyticum (by 2 times), a bacteria best known for causing gangrene.
Reduces Stress
For stressed-out individuals, eating dark chocolate can reduce biomarkers of anxiety and stress in the body. Researchers at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research designed a study that tested the effects of dark chocolate consumption on high-anxiety subjects. Participants received a medium-sized commercially available chocolate bar (Noir Intense, 74 percent dark) to eat every day. After two weeks, researchers found that levels of the stress markers cortisol and adrenaline had substantially decreased in their urine.
Dark Chocolate is Antiangiogenic
Scientists at the University of California at Davis have shownthat bioactives called procyanidins in cocoa have potent antiangiogenic effects through their ability to stop the signals activating blood vessel cells. Research my group has conducted on cocoa powder showed that not all chocolate is the same. When we studied the antiangiogenic effect of cocoa from two different powder suppliers, one of the samples had twice the potency of the other.
Stem Cell-Recruiting Food
With the help of over 750,000 stem cells, your body regenerates itself each and every day. Dark chocolate can mobilize your stem cells to carry out their job to the fullest. At the University of California, San Francisco, researchers found that participants who received a chocolate drink made with cocoa twice a day for thirty days had twice as many stem cells in their circulation as their control group.
Consumption of Dark Chocolate May Lower Diabetes Risk
As a sweet, chocolate is a confection containing saturated fat and processed sugar, two ingredients that are not healthy. But dark chocolate with high amounts of cocoa solids provides antioxidants, which mobilize stem cells, aid in blood sugar control, and reduce inflammation—all contributing to a reduced risk of diabetes.
Dark Chocolate Provides DNA Protection
DNA is your personal genetic blueprint that guides every aspect of your health. Yet, DNA is quite fragile and is the target of ferocious attacks throughout your life. Antioxidant compounds found in dark chocolate—like flavanols and other polyphenols—have been discovered to support DNA repair and strengthen your body’s regenerating abilities.
***
The health benefits of dark chocolate are both impressive and exciting. But you must choose wisely—not all commercially available chocolate is nutrient-dense.
Source: https://drwilliamli.com/7-pleasantly-surprising-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate/
Champions Adapt
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin
Champions adapt is a powerful concept that highlights the importance of flexibility and resilience in achieving success.
Champions thrive because they can adapt to the ever-changing landscape and turn challenges into opportunities.
1. Champions embrace change because they understand that change is inevitable and they are willing to adjust their strategies and approaches to stay ahead. They don’t cling to outdated methods but instead look for innovative solutions.
2. Successful individuals and teams view setbacks as opportunities for growth. They analyze what went wrong, learn from their mistakes, and make necessary adjustments to improve.
3. Adaptability is closely linked to resilience. Champions remain strong and determined, even in the face of adversity. They keep pushing forward and find ways to overcome obstacles.
4. Champions are committed to continuous self-improvement. They seek out new skills, knowledge, and experiences that can help them stay competitive and reach their goals.
5. Being adaptable means being able to pivot when needed. Champions can change their game plan on the fly, whether in sports, business, or personal endeavors, to achieve the best possible outcomes.
In essence, champions adapt is about individuals thriving and being successful regardless of the environment and circumstance.
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” — Albert Einstein