Source:  https://www.northwesternmutual.com/life-and-money/4-steps-to-building-a-solid-financial-foundation/

Presidents always have gatekeepers. In Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater as aides managed the limitations of the oldest president in American history.

Top advisers frequently acted as go-betweens, and public interactions became more scripted.

The administration denied Biden has declined and said advisers were working under his direction.

Interactions with senior Democratic lawmakers and some cabinet members—including Defense’s Lloyd Austin and Treasury’s Janet Yellen—were infrequent or grew less frequent. Some legislative leaders had a hard time getting the president’s ear at key moments.

“The Biden White House was more insulated than most. I spoke with Barack Obama on a number of occasions when he was president and I wasn’t even chairman of the committee,” said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, who sought to talk to Biden ahead of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan but couldn’t get him on the phone.

To adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, aides told visitors to keep meetings focused. Staff often repeated instructions to him, such as where to enter or exit a stage.

“They body him to such a high degree,” a person who witnessed it said, adding that the “hand holding” is unlike anything other recent presidents have had.

Press aides who compiled packages of news clips for Biden were told by senior staff to exclude negative stories about the president. The president wasn’t talking to his own pollsters as surveys showed him trailing in the 2024 race.

If the president was having an off day, meetings could be scrapped altogether. On one such occasion, in the spring of 2021, a national security official explained to another aide why a meeting needed to be rescheduled.

“He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” the former aide recalled the official saying.

Read more: https://trib.al/4GeEtNV

Fusion energy is produced by fusing two light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen like deuterium and tritium, to form a heavier nucleus. This process releases a tremendous amount of energy, similar to the reactions that power the sun and other stars. The key steps involved are:

1. Heating the Fuel: The hydrogen isotopes are heated to extremely high temperatures (millions of degrees Celsius) to form a plasma, a hot, charged state of matter.
2. Confining the Plasma: The plasma must be confined long enough for the nuclei to collide and fuse. This is typically done using powerful magnetic fields in devices like tokamaks or stellarators.
3. Energy Release: When the nuclei fuse, they release energy in the form of heat, which can be used to generate electricity.

Potential Benefits of Fusion Energy

1. Abundant Fuel Supply: The primary fuels for fusion, deuterium and tritium, are abundant and can be extracted from water and lithium.
2. Clean Energy: Fusion produces no greenhouse gases or long-lived radioactive waste, making it a much cleaner alternative to fossil fuels and traditional nuclear power.
3. Safety: Fusion reactions are inherently safe. Unlike fission reactors, fusion does not involve chain reactions, so there is no risk of a runaway reaction or meltdown.
4. High Energy Output: Fusion has the potential to produce significantly more energy than current energy sources, making it a powerful solution for meeting future energy demands.

Gratitude is more than saying “thank you” when someone gives you something, states Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.

Gratitude, in Kushner’s view, is a mindset and a way of looking at the world so that you recognize the things in your life as gifts you might just as easily not have been given. It encourages you to see the “givens” in your life – your looks, your talents, your family – as gifts, and even if you might have wished for a fancier or more expensive gift, it is selfish not to express appreciation for the gifts you have, states Kushner in an interview.

“When the psalmist, a man who has known the “valley of the shadow,” writes “my cup runneth over,” he is saying that he has learned to be grateful for what he has rather than lamenting what he may have lost or missed out on,” says Rabbi Kushner.

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight.
And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”~ Dr Maya Angelou

In that space of not having all the answers, you will discover something extraordinary: the freedom to let go and trust the process.

It is only when you are suspended in mid-air, without a clear destination, that you can summon the courage to spread your wings.

In that unfolding, you begin to soar—not because you know where you’ll land, but because you’ve found the strength to rise.

The beauty lies in the flight itself, in trusting that the winds, coupled with God’s goodness, grace and mercy, will guide you to where you need to be.

It is in that surrender to the unknown and living in faith that you truly begin to live, carried by faith in the journey rather than the certainty of the outcome.

“What you focus on grows, what you think about expands, and what you dwell upon determines your destiny.” – Robin Sharma

“What you focus on expands” suggests that the things you give your attention to—whether positive or negative—tend to grow in significance and impact in your life.

Your brain is wired to filter out distractions, allowing you to focus on what you deem important. This means that when you concentrate on specific thoughts, feelings, or experiences, you enhance their presence in your life.

Additionally, by focusing on certain aspects of your lives, you become more aware of them. This heightened awareness can lead to increased opportunities and experiences related to those focal points.

When you concentrate on positive aspects—such as gratitude, goals, or strengths—you often find more reasons to feel good and motivated. This can lead to improved mental health and greater success.

Conversely, if you dwell on negative thoughts or challenges, those feelings can amplify, leading to stress, anxiety, or a sense of helplessness.

“What you focus on expands” is not just a motivational saying; it’s a principle rooted in psychological research that highlights the importance of intentional focus in shaping your experiences and outcomes.

By consciously directing your attention towards positivity, growth, and gratitude, you create a more fulfilling and enriched life.

Each day, you should note things you appreciate in a gratitude journal; this shifts your focus to positivity and increases feelings of gratitude in your life.

Source:  https://ninaamir.com/prove-what-focus-on-expands/

Doing both aerobic and strength training exercises reduce risk of dying 41% to 47% compared with people who did no exercise. ~ Harvard Health

Doing both aerobic exercise and strength training exercise are extremely beneficial for individuals above the age of sixty, according to a study published in the November 2022 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Researchers found that weight lifting alone was linked to a 9% to 22% lower risk of dying.

Moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise appeared to lower risk by 24% to 34%.

But the greatest longevity gains were among people who did both types of exercise; their risk of dying during the follow-up period was 41% to 47% lower compared with people who did no exercise.

Studies attest that strength training, as well as aerobic exercise, can help you manage and sometimes prevent conditions as varied as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and osteoporosis.

One of the best ways to stay fit and healthy as you age is by doing strength and power training exercises. You may know that starting in our thirties, we all begin to lose muscle mass. This loss actually contributes to achy joints, increased risk of injury, and the “middle-age spread” we all dread. What’s more, the older we get, the faster muscle mass disappears. That means that eventually, simple tasks like getting out of a chair and climbing stairs can become more difficult.

Strength training can help you build muscle, make you strong, increase your endurance and make everyday activities easier. By combining strength and power training exercises you’ll not only get stronger, you’ll build speed and improve your reaction time. That’s critical as you age, because it can help prevent falls.

Source:  Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter, Adding weight lifting to workouts may boost longevity, Harvard Health Publishing, January 1, 2023.

and,

Strength and Power Training for All Ages, Harvard Health Publishing

“Success demands singleness of purpose.” – Vince Lombardi

“Starve your distractions, feed your focus.” – Focus Quote

Recently, there was a story circulating on social media in which Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were asked the question, “what would you say is the most important skill for success?”

Both men answered “focus”. Focus, in their opinion, is the most important requirement for success and great achievement.

With focus, you can do anything. And without focus, you can do nothing.  Focus is the key to success.

“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” – Paulo Coelho

Thus, it’s important to focus on the one or two things in your professional career or personal life that you can do right now that will have the greatest positive impact or return on you investment of time, talent and treasure.

Because, everything else you do has a lesser impact and return, or no impact or return, on your life.  Focus is the key to success.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Jack Canfield

Most people live distracted by technology, specifically their cell phones and social media.  They are addicted to distraction, the tiny screens in their hands, in which they’re hooked to social media.

To achieve great success and sustainable high performance, you must break free of addiction to distraction. Instead, you must focus on the most important and impactful things and activities in your life to achieve great success.

The ability to control your focus and attention is the most important key to success. Thus, you should focus on the one to three key things or variables that are most critical to the success of your business, relationships and life.

Learning and becoming skilled at meditation is very helpful practice to strengthen your focus muscle. Focus is simply choosing the right thought among the hundreds of competing and distracting thoughts.

“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” – Denis Waitley

Personal mission statements reflect the values, passions, goals and the impact individuals aim to have on the world.

Below are several personal mission statements:

• Oprah Winfrey: “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be”.
• Maya Angelou: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”.
• Elon Musk: “If something is important enough you should try, even if the probable outcome is failure”.
• Richard Branson: “To have fun in [my] journey through life and learn from [my] mistakes”2.
• Serena Williams: “To be the best version of myself on and off the court, inspiring others to pursue their goals with passion and perseverance”.
• Jane Goodall: “To foster a greater understanding and compassion for the natural world and inspire action to protect all living beings”.

Crafting a personal mission statement can provide you with clarity and direction in your life. Here are some steps to help you create one:

• Reflect on Your Values: Think about what is most important to you. What principles guide your decisions and actions?
• Identify Your Passions: Consider what activities or causes you are passionate about. What brings you joy and fulfillment?
• Define Your Goals: Outline your long-term goals. What do you want to achieve in your personal and professional life?
• Consider Your Strengths: Recognize your unique strengths and talents. How can you use them to make a positive impact?
• Think About Your Legacy: Reflect on how you want to be remembered. What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
• Draft Your Statement: Combine these elements into a concise statement that captures your purpose and aspirations.

Here’s a template to get you started:

“My mission is to [action/verb] [what you want to achieve] by [how you will achieve it], so that [the impact you want to have].”
For example:

“My mission is to inspire and empower others by sharing knowledge and fostering a supportive community, so that everyone can achieve their full potential.”

Here are five inspiring personal mission statements that you can adapt to your own goals and values:

• To live a life of significance by making a positive impact on others and striving for continuous growth.” This statement emphasizes the importance of contributing to the world while also focusing on personal development.
• To embrace challenges, learn from failures, and persevere in the pursuit of my dreams.” This statement highlights the importance of resilience and a growth mindset.
• To inspire and empower others to reach their full potential through acts of kindness, compassion, and understanding.” This statement focuses on helping others and making a difference in the world.
• To live a balanced life of purpose, passion, and joy, cherishing relationships and making the most of every moment.” This statement emphasizes the importance of work-life balance and personal fulfillment.
• To be a lifelong learner, always seeking knowledge and wisdom, and using my skills to create a better future for myself and others.” This statement highlights the importance of continuous learning and using one’s talents to make a positive impact.

The best personal mission statements are the ones that resonates with you personally and inspires you to take action. It should be concise, clear, and meaningful.