Reclaiming Our Health

Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the Source of True Healing

Book Summary

You may remember John Robbins from his previous book, Diet for a New America. If not, give yourself a real treat and read both books plus if you have some time try and read the venus factor diet reviews. John Robbins is a scion of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire who gave it all up to follow his own beliefs. He is the founder and guiding force of Earthsave.

 

Reclaiming Our Health was a real eye opener for me. I have realized for some time that MDs are good at dealing with emergency and trauma, but not so good at handling a lot of chronic conditions. This book explores the reasons for this phenomenon.


The author starts with issues of women's health, focusing on midwifery and its appalling persecution by the AMA and other medical groups, as well as the patriarchal attitudes women encounter in the areas of menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth, hysterectomies, menopause and other aspects of their physical and emotional well-being.


Moving right along, John Robbins deals with the medical monopoly jealously guarded by the AMA, and explores the alternatives offered by other types of health practitioners. He offers some appalling stories, as well as some inspiring ones, regarding the treatment of cancer.

 

In summing up, he shows the possibilities of partnership between MDs and the tao of badass other types of practitioners. He encourages us to take responsibility for our well-being and to help create a world in which people get the kind of care they need from a variety of sources.

© 1997 Mary Stanleigh

This book is available through Amazon.com. To find out more, click below:

Reclaiming our Health: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the Sources of true Health
John Robbins and Marianne Williamson

 

Refresh Your Business Plan

When is the last time you reviewed your business plan? Do you even HAVE a business plan? Many businesses sprout from someone's "good idea", by an entrepreneur who either didn't know about business plans, or simply didn't have the time to complete one.

While the idea of a business plan may seem overwhelming at first, many businesses end up hitting that wall when it's time to expand or they need financing. Anyone who wishes to attract funding quickly understands that without a business plan, commercial lenders won't even talk with you.

Yet business plans serve a much larger purpose, too. They allow the owner to really understand their business. Developing the plan requires a certain amount of research into the general industry as well as the business itself. Delving into the intricacies can give the business owner a new perspective on what's working and what needs to be improved in their own business. It also helps identify new or unexplored trends in the industry. New ideas and possibilities pop up when you are clear about what works.

There are several good software packages that can help you develop your business plan or you can simply start with a good business plan outline of categories and "fill-in-the-blanks". Either way you will be broadening your understanding of what's possible and probable in your business.

The approach we've taken in most of our "Writing a Business Plan" classes has been to divide the traditional plan into individual parts and focus on each section in turn. Even with the focus and group interaction, few participants were able to complete more than 60-75% of their plans by the end of the 7-10 sessions. Recently, however, I've come across a wonderful new book that takes a slightly different approach.

Using Jim Horan's "One Page Business Plan", I've been able to help one of my coaching clients complete her initial draft of a viable plan in three sessions. Jim Horan is a San Francisco Bay Area small business expert who has taken the complexity of business plans and demystified the process. My client had already done some work on vision and mission, and had a fairly clear idea about what she wanted to create, but she seemed stuck as she struggled to complete the formal business plan.

Jim's book offers several interactive exercises that are more interesting and enjoyable than straight research. The exercises are designed to get you thinking about key elements of your business, from vision and mission through strategies and plans. All the elements are still there, but with the One Page Business Plan(sm) they are simplified down to their essence.

Having the resulting business plan on a single page helps the business owner focus on the essentials of what will make the business work, rather than getting trapped in the verbage that makes up a more traditional plan. And it provides a document that can start the dialogue with bankers or venture capitalists.

My client's response to the One Page Business Plan? Now she's excited about her business again – she sees that it's doable, she has specific milestones to aim for, and best of all, a plan that will help her focus!

Whatever your approach, taking the time to develop your plan more fully will help you refocuse on your strengths and remember your vision. Whether you are starting a new business or expanding an existing one, a well thought-out business plan will add to your success.

_____For More Information_____
Contact the Career Life Institute to find out more about small business coaching, our Biz Plan In a Week Program and other upcoming classes.

©2000 Katie Darden, Career Life Institute

This book is available at Amazon.com. Click below to find out more:

The One Page Business Plan – Start with a Vision, Build a Company
– James T. Horan, Jr.

 

Simple Abundance

Book Summary

Well, one of the wonderful readers of the Business Connections networking group suggested to me a terrific book, and one that I probably would not have discovered on my own. The book is Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach, Warner Books, 1995, $18.95. It has an essay for each day of the year, so it's a good book to have in the bathroom, or any place that you settle down for a few minutes each day.

The author quotes freely from all sorts of people, starting with a quote and expanding on it. She has a lot of interesting things to say about the ways in which we live our lives. This is definitely a woman's book.

I discovered a quote the other day that has quite literally changed my life. It's one of those things we all know, and we've all heard it expressed dozens of different ways, such as "be here now," "this moment is all there is, " "the past is memories and the future doesn't exist, " but somehow this particular phrase really struck me. "Writer Annie Dillard believes, 'How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

Well, of course! But how many of us (especially me) go about our days as though our lives were going to arrive once we get through the drudgery? No—this is it!!

Anyway, for me just that one phrase is worth the price of admission, I'm going to make a pretty little sign and put it where I'll see it every morning. Who knows what gem you'll find in this book? Give it a try—you're bound to find something that suits your situation or inclination.

© 1997 Mary Stanleigh

This book is available through Amazon.com. To find out more, click below:

Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy Sarah Ban Breathnach