HOW TO MAKE LOVE LAST

By Terry Carter, RTT, CHYP

With Valentine’s Day now behind us, how many of you are still looking to change your FB Status to: In a Relationship instead of Single or It’s Complicated.
Here are a handful of tip for better relationships in your life. I am 32 years into my marriage with my loving spouse, and we’ve had all the same issues as everyone else. Open communication and a pre-nuptial agreement not to quit has made our lives much, much better.
Here’s hoping the advise below helps you as much as the good people in a particular FB Group that have liked my first post 131 times in 2 days.

1• Relationships come in all shapes, sizes, types. Find what works for you and focus on becoming the person who is worthy of that kind of world-class relationship. If it’s life-long love you’re after, then become a student of personalities, great relationships and learn to really love the world — and each moment you have in it.
2• Love yourself first. Then you can attract true love to you. And don’t sit still and never change. Life is about constantly improving. Always work on improvement to please yourself, your partner. If you are bossy, work on allowing others to lead. If you are shy, quiet, subservient, work on taking charge now and then. Read books, take classes. Watch YouTube.
3• Key item: Put down the phone, tablet, PC and pay attention to each other’s minds, responsibilities, needs, wants, desires. If you can do that before worrying about your own, you are moving toward a great relationship.
4• Despite age, clothing, etc., no one is perfect. Words mean very little unless they are followed up with actions. To see the character of any human, watch their actions.
5• We all make mistakes. Don’t expect perfection in your partner. But demand honesty, loyalty and trust. Love if you decided that’s a key factor for both of you.
6• Open communication is what creates and maintains healthy, long-term relationships. Be nice, not rude. And start open communication before you ever become a couple. Agree early on what the priorities are for each of you. Don’t wait until arguments and accusations fly.
7• Don’t compare yourself or your relationship to others. Also don’t listen to their comments about you. Hang around negative voices, and you will become one.
8• Long-term relationships are not power trips. They are about unconditional love, sacrifice, sharing, negotiating solutions and teamwork. Selfish people won’t last long- erm without changing. Narcissists, please take note. To win, you cannot be right all of the time.
9• Ideally you want two people working on loving themselves for who they are. They should be friends first for 3 months or more and have a good bit in common. Similar beliefs are nice, but not mandatory. And if they are looking for a similar relationship, these two hypothetical people are 10x more likely to remain together and stay happy than if only one partner has their self-love together.

I specialize in love, self-love and relationships. Book a free appointment at WorldWellnessToday.com and let’s talk about what is truly possible for you. It may be better than you think. UDTherapy@gmail.com 281.541.4983
WorldWellnessToday.com

TIME TO PROTECT THROUGH LOVE

(This is part of a continuing series of articles on sexual predators. If you are childless and squeamish, cover your eyes today.)

By Terry Carter, Editor

Experts suggest that girls between the ages of 12-15 years are most likely to be targeted by a sexual predator activity known as grooming.

Grooming is an initial step predators use to build trust with our neighbors’ children, perhaps our children or grandchildren to exploit online or in person. Grooming is not innocent behavior. It is manipulation with a sexual intent, and it can begin with children younger than age five.

Grooming is defined by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) as the act of building an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for the purpose of sexual abuse or exploitation.

Social media now accounts for about 70 percent of criminal charges against UK groomers, according to a Mashable article written by Laura Byager. NSPCC statistics from obtained police files indicate online grooming is growing at an alarming rate. Led by Instagram with 32 percent of known methods found, Facebook (14 percent) and Snapchat (14) account for more than 5,000 instances that has been uncovered in the UK since 2017.

Once trust or leverage is gained online, children are leveraged into sending photographs or videos. From there, predators often blackmail children because of shame over the first images/video shared.…

Read more in our upcoming book about empowering and protecting the next generation.

BLISS: A Year of Mega-Growth, Victory

By Terry Carter, Editor

One year ago, I was an hourly employee looking for a better way, a better life with some sideline business. 👀👮‍♂️ I was searching for more hope, health, love, wealth, happiness, contentment and the chance to empower thousands of others.👍😎☯️😃🏌️‍♂️
I was working on weekends and not seeing my wife, as well as missing family events, while not enjoying a get-by job that ignored 95 percent of my talents and potential.
Still I am thankful for that position today because I met winners there who still inspire me to reach higher. The sacrifices of many of my previous jobs confirmed that I am able to achieve more.
🤔🤗I studied my life, my existence and what was holding me back. While it is easy to blame the job, the boss or a negative person, the reality was I was holding myself back and expected failure. However that can be overcome; I know because I’ve done it.
My 2018 New Year’s goal was to do my best, to be more persistent and help more people than ever before. While our best varies from day-to-day and I have not reached a perfect state of excellence (not possible), I made major progress last year.
💥😎🌟🔥😎💥
Now for 2019. I was blessed to retire from Chevron in March to focus on my wife, children and being a fun grandpa. Suzie and I have traveled extensively. and I have expanded UDPhotos, our 20-year old photography business, and added a consulting business and World Wellness Today to give back to others. 😆🦸‍♂️🎅

🦖💥
😎Additionally my efforts are now combined with a team of leaders who are traveling together and bringing forth new possibilities. Our family is closer. My health has improved dramatically, and I took 18 trips in 52 weeks last year with 10 of those traveling beyond the Texas borders to great places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Muskegon (MI), Richmond (IN), Dayton (OH) and Cincinnati, Nashville, Memphis, Orlando and West Palm Beach (FL).
The idea to make substantial changes are based on faith, prayer, hope and love are biblically-inspired. And they took time to go from my mind to my heart.
With the enormous response from you our friends and partners, I hope to invest 2019 to generate the best images to help you tell your life story 30-50 years from now.
If you are looking to survive a battle or find a path to victory in this world, feel free to text, call or email me personally. I’m here for you, and I love each of you. I will help you as long as you help you and work hard.
Some may be surprised to hear about love here, and 24 hours is not enough time each day sometimes. But you will receive my support, teamwork and proven ideas that can work for anyone.
And let me tell you, you won’t believe the mountains we can scale working together as a team of go-getters in 2019. UNREAL is possible now! So smile and run fast🏃‍♀️, fly higher like an 🦅, shine so bright 🌞 and splash down like no other🐋.
This is the year to conquer your fears, pain, memories that hold you down and other obstacles — as I did. We are heading to the very top of the one-percent peak where love and joy radiate contentment and peace.
It will take work, but as a team, we can achieve anything you can image. Email me at UDPhotos@gmail.com or text me directly at 281.541.4983 if you are ready for a hand up in life.

Recognizing Predators In Our World

By Terry Carter, Editor

Even those who have been abused as children and learned how to cope in society often don’t know how to recognize the subtle signs of a sexual predator.
Today we will approach the subject and provide basic tips of what could raise your guard even among those you trust. This article is for parents and children to increase their awareness and safety. It is also the first of a series of articles on these overlooked topics.
Be aware that unlike many crimes, sexual predators are not restricted to a certain age range, socio-economic background, race, culture or profession.
Interviews and research data are overwhelming: Sexual predators look like our most trusted family and friends. They are among us whether we like it or not. It is better to be aware and cautious rather than become an eventual victim.
This is not a call for panic. It is a call for increased awareness because publicized cases are increasing, which may indicate that predatory behavior is expanding.
Learn the signs. Trust your gut. And report things to the proper authorities, including three levels of administration and the police, as well as Child Protective Services (CPS).
Predators, including pedophiles, blend into society as a concerned citizen offering help. They look good and sound good. They count on naîve, trust from those who know them well.
Life’s most fundamental relationship rule works here as you learn what to look for: Actions speak louder than words. It works in relationships, friendships, work environments and even if you have a predator living with you today.

Choose to learn and choose to not be a victim. There are millions of victims in the United States alone,

A person made this recent post to Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Phd.’s blog about the challenge safety-concerned people have in the battle to recognize and prevent predators: “‘I’m always struck by how, after some act of violence, fraud, or sexual abuse, everyone laments: ‘Someone must have known! Why didn’t they say anything?’ And yet, time after time, it seems those who are in a position to see are sidelined, discredited, or disbelieved.’”
Ramsland Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D., is a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University and the author of 60 books.
She continues with her interpretation. “My sense of it is this: People who can spot predators are ignored for reasons similar to those that blind many people to these offenders in the first place—distortion and denial. Predators count on it, especially in those rare times when someone is savvy enough to spot them and try to alert others.
“The fact is, we’re often just not prepared to accept that evil can get so close to us. As frustrating as it can be for those whose warnings fall on deaf ears, it’s normal to interpret the behavior of those we know in the most benign and ordinary frame.”

In an online article for PsychologyToday.com, Ramsland wrote “Three Signs of an Inconspicuous Predator In Your Midst.” It is partially based off her book called, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers. She suggests that sexual predators, con artists and others are similar in their predatory methods.Predators after our children do not look like uneducated monsters. Ramsland details community involvement and high educational backgrounds of numerous serial murderers like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer.Dahmer’s father made this statement after his son’s trial: “Lionel Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer’s father, wrote a book after watching his son’s 1992 trial for the murder of 17 men and realized that the manner in which he’d interpreted Jeffrey’s behavior had been naïve, influenced by his personal fears. “I allowed myself to believe Jeff,” Lionel mused, “…to accept all his answers regardless of how implausible they might seem….More than anything, I allowed myself to believe that there was a line in Jeff, a line he wouldn’t cross…My life became an exercise in avoidance and denial.””
Don’t allow personal feelings to cloud your judgement on issues. It happens to the best when our family, best friend or long-time preacher has done something that raises the hair on your neck. We often refuse to acknowledge the facts. That is a major advantage that predators count to stay active and addicted to harming others.

• Approximately 90 percent of all childhood sexual abuse occurs with someone the child knows and has a trusted relationship with. Only 10 percent are strangers.
• According to the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, 20 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. 84 percent of children sexually abused are victimized between the ages of 9-12.
• Fewer than 35 percent of these case are reported to authorities. Reasons for not reporting range from guilt/shame to fear, possible judgement and more. Predators also coerce children into silence with threats, promises and false statements, such as: “This is normal at your age” or “Your parents told me to do this.”

STEPS TO HELP
SafelyEverAfter.com has posted 10 Play-It-Safe Rules for adults and children to use daily. They are designed for children of all ages. Here is a summary:
1—I am the BOSS of my body.
2—I know my name, address, phone number and my parents’ names and cell phone numbers too.
3—Safe, Smart Grownups don’t ask kids for HELP. They ask other adults.
4—I never go ANYWHERE or take ANYTHING from someone I don’t know.
5—I must check first with my Safe, Smart Grownups for PERMISSION. If I don’t check first and receive permission, the answer is NO.
6—Everyone’s bathing suit areas are private.
7—I don’t have to be polite (or quiet) if someone makes me feel uncomfortable or scared. It is OK to say NO.
8—I don’t keep SECRETS, especially if they make me feel scared or uneasy. NO PARENT should tell a child to keep a SECRET.
9—If I ever get lost in a public place, I can FREEZE or YELL or go to a mom with other children and ask for help.
10—I will always pay attention to my Special Inner Voice, especially if I get an “UH-OH” feeling.

• More on this continuing series will be posted here on the Facebook.com page below: facebook.com/terry.carter.free

MASTER LESSON #18: Finding Your Passion

By Terry Carter, Editor

Our nation reached a crossroads and appears stuck in the mud that is littered with hatred, violence and fear. It is not the home of the free, land of the brave any longer.

Our nation has transitioned to the home of the

I just spent Friday with Dr. John C. Maxwell, Rachel Hollis, the CEO of Delta and gritty NFL veteran

Did Diet Cause My Diabetes?

A quick story for parents: When I was 11 years old, I was a good tennis player, a junior golfer with numerous tournament victories, and a solid catcher for my Little League team.

That spring I finished fifth grade as the top academic student and was pretty popular among my classmates. I helped and coached others, but I had a health problem brewing that would change my life forever.

In November 1975, my brother was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. I was given a grueling, 6-hour, glucose-tolerance test at that time and was cleared of the chronic disease. At the time, no expert advised us of a way to battle the disease and possibly prevent the disease. We dealt with the symptoms, and my brother started taking insulin shots daily, eating less (portion control primarily) and checking sugar content regularly.

Because we didn’t know better, I continued to eat my favorite foods although I was in good shape for an athlete. Hot dogs, applesauce, 3-5 Cokes, a bag of chips were my go-to snacks and meals before dinner. My mom, a registered nurse, made quality meals for us, but carbs were an unknown factor then. It was a daily battle to control sugars and find enough food to stay healthy.

YouTube videos, books nor doctors were stating recommending the low-carb options that do not raise blood sugars. It was trial-and-error for my brother. And eight months later in June 1976, I joined him as a Type 1 (insulin-dependent) Diabetic.

Now we were both taking shots and reacting to high and low blood sugars after-the-fact because testing sugar in urine is not as accurate as testing blood.

Thank God technology has made testing blood sugars as easy as a finger stick or now using the recently-introduced Freestyle Libre. It is a patch on your arm that checks blood sugars instantly for 10 days, showing spikes/trends to help control life.

Libra is one step toward conquering diabetes. Insulin developments have also improved dramatically. Other inventions will eventually cure diabetics just as other auto-immune illnesses will likely vanish in the next 2-5 generations.

As parents, our job is to fill our homes with food for our family. May I suggest that you focus on a tasty, fresh menu of organic vegetables, fruits and the leanest of meats (beef, fish). I leave chicken off because it is purposely filled with sodium/water before sale to the groceries for profit, and that sodium hurts and hardens our veins and arteries. Not good.

Also because plants, veggies and fruits no longer contain the same level of nutrition they once did due to soil depletion on farms, it is vital to supplement with an equally diverse assortment of natural products, including minerals, vitamins, carotenoids, phytochemicals and much more.

Supplements are life-saving keys for millions.

In Earl Mindell’s Supplement Bible, he states early in the book that we need to take more than the U.S. Government’s Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). “Today we know that vitamins and minerals do more than protect us from diseases: They play a key role in PREVENTING many diseases, including cancer, heart disease and even depression,” he wrote.

Growing up, I hated eating vegetables other than potatoes and carrots. Now I invite 10-20 additional veggies to my plate each week because they are good for me and will help me remain healthy. Last week I worked with my wife on a veggie-filled, anti-cancer salad. It was pretty good although I still cannot define the taste of Bok Choi.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

In 1976, the hospital doctors told me that if I eat well, monitor my sugars closely and exercise, I may live to be about 60 or 63. At 53 and stronger, more energetic than ever, I am determined to keep improving. I do blame my diet, which was exceedingly high in sugars, processed food and carbs, as a contributing factor to shutting down my pancreas, thereby bringing diabetes into my life. We had no idea then. In retrospect, however, poor dietary habits may have caused a life-long disease that has been my challenger each day.

May this story of my struggles and hard-earned knowledge inspire those of you with — and without — health issues to improve your chances in life of living to an old age and enjoying your years. Learn now to fight for your rights to live a healthy life and to heal through nutrition, supplements and nutraceuticals.

That is far better than struggling to breathe and stuck in a bed waiting for your death to relieve your agony. Rich or poor, with or without insurance, we can all eat healthier. Growing tomatoes was fun for my mom, and even the poorest among us can manage that addition to the diet.

In recent years, I have given up all carbonated beverages, especially sodas, and gone to water, tea and occasionally milk (no dairy issues here). Chips are a small part of my diet, and so are processed junk food with no nutritional value like Ding Dongs. They are only necessary when blood sugar fall rapidly below normal.

As you shop with a well-prepared list, may I suggest you ask yourself one life-sustaining question regarding each item you place in your basket: Will this item improve my life with nutrients or does it just taste good? I say flood your grocery basket with nutrient-rich foods and all-natural supplements sourced from fruits and veggies you may be missing. Then you may find more energy, fewer colds and a chance to avoid what has changed my life forever — a chronic disease afflicting every moment of your existence.

MY JOHN MAXWELL WEEKEND

By Terry Carter, Editor

Dr. John C. Maxwell has a worldwide reputation for helping millions as a personal development author and speaker.

What you don’t hear is that he is a bit of a comedian and a magician too.

I enjoyed perhaps the most personal and eye-opening moment in my 34 years of pursuing excellence when the man who prefers to be called John joined some close friends for dinner on Friday night in Los Angeles. It was a rare opportunity to meet and experience the gifts that have inspired John to write nearly 100 books — some he makes fun of now — and offer friendly observations that moved the needle for everyone I spoke with this weekend.

John connects with people almost instantly in any environment as a father or grandfather figure. At 71, he tells jokes on many in the audience, but primarily on himself. I offered him a personal question on Friday and received the most extraordinary answer that night. Then I saw John again teaching a group of leaders on Saturday, and he reinforced and elaborated on his previous answer.

As he says, he is just John, however, his gift of sharing the right wisdom at the right time in a loving, kind way melts through barriers we all carry. Everyone he speaks with feels loved and understood. John’s authenticity and integrity make him the number one, personal development speaker today. Kings, government officials and more invite John to improve their reality.

Now I have attended and even worked backstage at many conferences and seminars to gain wisdom, insight and perspective. I have always learned and am occasionally impressed with great speakers.

But my time with John was deepest personal experience I’ve had in many years. We spoke personally. He answered my most profound questions. John and I had numerous photos taken together; one or two may be on the John C. Maxwell website. He knew me from Friday’s dinner, so I assisted him twice on Saturday in a general session.

As we parted ways Saturday night, I felt uplifted and supported because we became friends. And while John may have only 2.5 million friends on Facebook or Twitter, a special bond was formed that you don’t dismiss.

I am happy to say that our meeting included an offer John made — and I accepted — to be mentored personally by the man know for being a worldwide authority on success, leadership and change. I cannot explain what that will do in the future as I am willing to share his best information with my closest associates.

End result: Here’s to knowing the future, envisioned in detail and vivid colors in my mind and now scaled beyond 10x by John C. Maxwell. I will responds promptly by altering the world around me as I know it today.

It’s called Major League Mojo. A tidal wave of momentum, if you prefer.

WHY CANCER IS KICKING YOUR BUTT

By Terry Carter

Cancer patients literally fight for a healthy life — and in nearly half of overall cases, for life itself — by turning to medical professionals. And those doctors and researchers have valid treatments for the more than 1.7 million new cancer patients expected to be diagnosed this year (2018).

According to information published on the American Cancer Society page in July 2018, about 42 percent of new cancer cases could potentially be avoided. Data suggests that of approximately 729,000 cases expected this year, 19 percent could be caused by smoking and 18 percent by a combination of excess body weight, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise and poor nutrition.

What causes cancer is undetermined despite a tremendous amount of research. Mounting evidence, however, is beginning to suggest a winning method to prevent and fight cancer.

For a good number of cancer patients, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, dietary changes and/or surgery are common. Several of those options are nearly as bad as the cancer itself, according to some patients. Others I know have opted to stop radiation and chemo sessions and just let cancer run its course.

We all know people who have lost their lives to cancer or are battling their personal battle, hoping to beat the odds. And for those with severe forms attacking the pancreas, lung, esophagus, brain and stomach cancer, survival rates today are smaller than 15 percent with pancreatic cancer hardly making progress from the survival rate of the early 1970s.

Cancer patients are literally fighting for their lives, and a diagnosis means all focus has to go to this battle. It is also a costly battle that can take years or weeks. Approximately half of all cancer diagnosed patients survive, according to a variety of studies that measure survival for different lengths of time.

Survivors are a brave lot, and they often know they have escaped the grip of death. I know dozens of cancer survivors, and I applaud them for never quitting, for fighting harder than they thought possible and for pushing their medical staff for better solutions.

Many questions remain about cancer and why this wicked prognosis can hit the apparently healthy, as well as the those who invite cancer into their lives with cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol, zero or low-sunscreen protection when they go outside, obesity/inactive lifestyle and other linked factors.

The question is: How do you avoid or prevent cancer from consuming your best years? Doctors, researchers and nutritionists continue to accumulate evidence that eating certain diets can make a difference in the battle against cancer. Of course not everyone agrees with this the possibility that the body can care for itself when given the proper health.

Key factors in the healthiest cancer-conscious diets benefit from the following:

• Diets rich in antioxidants, which battle free radicals in your body. Free radicals are one of cancer’s best allies, and your worst enemy. Among the many antioxidants today include vitamins A, C, E and minerals like Selenium are early members of this health-based club.

• Plant-based diets, often focused on super fooddsare popular among those battling heart disease and strokes, and those fruit and vegetable helpings are also powerful in delivering the antioxidants the body craves to help you reach optimal health. Ten servings a day of each food group is an ambitious goal for vegans and vegetarians adamant about maximizing their health.

• Supplementation is essential for even the healthiest diets today, according to many nutrition advocates and nutritionists. Because today’s soil is depleted of minerals, the benefits of one cup of spinach harvested and eaten in 1970 requires more than 10 cups of spinach today, experts say.

° A postscript to this list for carnivores and omnivores — yes, that is a large majority of Americans and the world population — beware. “A cancer-conscious consumer should be wary of processed meats, such as hot dogs, ham and bacon, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified as a carcinogen (cancer causing),” according to a 2018 quote in Newsweek’s special edition Nature’s Remedies, Heal Your Body.

Recently a local physician told me that most doctors did not receive much training in nutrition, except in medical school. An article in Newsweek’s special edition called Nature’s Remedies, Heal Your Body, entitled “Eating For Cancer” seemed to confirm that statement.

The article mentioned that 600,000 Americans lost their lives to cancer in 2016. It also included this quote from Dr. Keith Block, co-founder of the Block Center Integrative Cancer Treatment, who wrote in the newsletter Nutrition Digest: “While perhaps a third of all cancers are related to dietary factors, only a few people in contemporary American medicine realize that a well-structured, nutritional regimen may be useful in the treatment of cancer, as well as essential in cancer prevention.”

Another article, “Supplements for Treating and Preventing Cancer” in the July/August 2018 edition of Well Being Journal, stated positive research of several items from a book called Outside The Box Cancer Therapies. The article by Dr.s Mark Stengler and Paul Anderson noted a synergistic effect of supplements like Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC), Astragalus, Cannabinoids like CBB oil and Resveratrol among others with conventional therapies to reduce treatment “side effects, improving immunity, improving quality of life and improving outcomes.”

Super Foods like the proclaimed King of Fruits, the Alaskan Wild Blueberry, which is more potent and resilient than standard blueberries, lead the health parade. Science continues to identify more antioxidants and Super Foods to keep the body healthy. It is amazing what the body can accomplish with a bit more nutrition. As a Type I Diabetic, I can attest to that.

An overall supplement pack I began taking recently has delivered in ways I never imagined: Significantly more energy, better control of my blood sugars, better endurance and strength at the gym, faster and thicker hair/nail growth, reduced medicine dosages, improved immune system and improved vision.

I have read more than 1,000 testimonies about improvements on health from patients with at least 80 different illnesses, including Lupus, Fibro Myalgia, diabetes, cancer, ADD/ADHS, depression and heart health issues. These personal testimonials prompted additional research on my part for this initial article to bring to light the benefits of natural health and nutrition.

Cancer does not run in my family. However I care deeply for millions who face the disease for first time each year. Evidence is suggesting there are alternative methods to help patients who want a second opinion. Contact World Wellness Today for more details.

THE WIDOWMAKER: HEART ATTACKS ARE ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE

By Terry Carter and Steve Rogers

More than 600,000 Americans die annually due to heart attacks. For more than 30 percent of them, their fatal cardiac arrest was their first event, according to a hard-hitting Netflix documentary airing now.

Does heart disease run in your family or a friend’s family? If so, find “The Widowmaker” on Netflix and learn what some physicians may not be sharing with you about prevention and a coronary artery scan for calcium. Additionally consider that heart attacks and strokes are completely preventable if you take the right steps, cardiologists say.

Some solutions, however, are not included in the documentary. I will explain later.

The 600,000 number exceeds the number of annual deaths from all cancers combined. Millions of lives have been lost while heart disease testing and treatments have improved. According to the documentary, about one-third of heart attack patients are asymptomatic. In other words, they had no signs of heart disease before the fatal episode.

In some cases, the asymptomatic heart attacks happen to lean, athletic people who eat healthy, exercise 5-7 days a week and appear in great shape. They had zero indicators of an unhealthy heart, doctors and patients on the documentary stated. More women die of heart attack than men, and five times as women die of heart attack than breast cancer.

“The Widowmaker” is essentially a documentary about the battle between finding heart disease before cardiac arrest starts or treating it with a stent or by-pass surgery after that initial heart attack. That strategy, if my math is correct, allows for nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. to die annually because they don’t live long enough to undergo potentially life-saving by-pass or stent surgery.

If, as the documentary portrays, insurance companies cover a $30,000 stent operation, but do not cover a $200 coronary artery scan, that is bad news for prevention.

But Texans have an advantage over much of the nation in that a 2009 bill called the Texas Heart Attack Prevention Bill was signed into state law by Texas Governor Rick Perry. The law requires insurance companies to pay for CT scans and ultrasound tests that can detect heart disease, particularly plaque and calcium deposits that clogs blood vessels like the coronary arteries. Age ranges and health conditions exist, so check this out before you march in and demand full re-imbursement.

Other states have not introduced such a measure, which is still debated between legislators, medical professionals and insurance companies. Texas apparently stands as the first exception to the logic that treating a heart attack may be better than preventing it. But it is a battle that has cost thousands of lives since the test was created.

While I will not be a physician, I know common sense when I see it. Prevention is better. The CT scan and the ultrasound of the heart are very helpful in current analysis, even when a stress test and EKG have failed to find an heart issue. Watch “The Widowmaker” carefully.

In the name of prevention, it is also important to eat the right foods, not just any healthy diet. I have run across supplements that help diabetics like myself, and diabetics are more likely to have heart disease. Additionally I have researched and uncovered with the assistance of forward-thinking medical professionals, diets and supplementation options that should become a daily part of the every man and woman’s diet with no exceptions.

Again, I ask you: Do you have heart disease in your family? Or do you have a friend, neighbor or co-worker who has mentioned a heart attack or stroke in their family? That covers a majority of families in America, by the way.

If so, take unreasonable action today and stop sitting on your butt waiting for your first — and possibly last — cardiac arrest event. Email me at retiredbrucelee@gmail.com for simple details that may help enormously that your medical professional either doesn’t know or may not share. I have total respect for physicians, and I have learned they are brilliant in many areas. But nutrition and prevention are not high on that list.

Get the tests mentioned above today. If you live in Texas, the tests must be covered by your insurance. Even out-of-pocket cost on one test is around $200.

Then email me for a plan that can keep you out of the hospital.

WINNING THE GAME OF LIFE, Part 2: Say Hello To IT

By Terry Carter, Editor

I have lived with IT for five decades. But until last night, the formal introduction had never occurred.

This disabling, limiting, evil entity has thrived in the bowels of your version of the Matrix — and mine — while avoiding the spotlight. . If my life were a TV program on Netflix, I believe CSI, Sherlock Holmes and M6 (including 007) would be hard pressed to ID this culprit. IT is a sneaking mastermind.

I would venture that I may never have met my enemy without this formal introduction. And I was lucky to have two introductions on Thursday — one formal and one to confirm the ghost I thought I saw in the mirror. Deja vu, Neo.

My life has been about understanding and helping others while trying to reason the hows and whys of life. Currently I am working on a project to improve the health, lives and futures of 50,000 people in the next five years.

This blog is no academic dissertation on hypothetical elements. Last night I met my personal saboteur, my own limiter face-to-face, and my IT is a constant foe. IT is alive and using all of your intellect to trip you and I. It is unique to each of us, and I can best describe it as the lowest, base voice that you hear every time you wish to achieve or step out of your comfort zone. Coast, lay low and worry only about yourself, and IT backs off to celebrate its victory over your free will.

IT is a Negative Nellie, a Naysayer, the Mr. evil Hyde to the kind, talented Dr. Jekyll and the supremely evil James Moriarty to the genius detective Sherlock Holmes. Yes, the Sherlock Holmes series I watched briefly last night confirmed that Moriarty represents the selfish, primal voice in all of us.

Last night I listened intently to dozens of high achievers, including close friends, define their IT, their predictable mode that drags them down, makes them less than they could be, limits their growth. IT occurs entirely inside your skull, but the effects are felt through our bodies, businesses and lives.

Then I heard this sarcastic bombshell: IT has thoughts, and you think you are thinking those thoughts.

An initial thought: Perhaps there is a common theme between self-help books, science-fiction films, and governments taking over our brains.

Now that you know we all have an IT shooting down our best efforts and biggest dreams with a pair of six-shooters with unlimited ammunition, how do you work through that?

Stay tuned as this multi-part series, much like our lives, is a hilly work in progress with valleys and mountains to traverse.