It has been four months since I last wrote a blog post. As a WordPress trainer, that is certainly nothing for me to be proud of. Yet something happened this morning that makes it imperative that I post something this last day of 2011.

Allow me to provide some background for this post. One evening earlier this week, while peacefully reading the newspaper, I received a phone call. I answered the phone with, “Hello?” Silence. “Hello?” Finally I heard a click, and a live human voice came on the line. Yet another political pollster, I thought to myself. The man mumbled something about having breakfast with Mitt Romney. Having received similar phone soliciations for events in Manchester or Nashua, and being unwilling to drive an hour, I immediately replied with “I’m not interested.” Then I realized the man on the other end of the phone mentioned The Old Salt in Hampton, which is a mere seven miles away. So I changed my tune and replied that I would be in attendance.

I mused about all the questions I would ask Mitt. What will you do your first month in office? Where do you really stand on gay marriage? In the days that followed, I was getting more and more excited about the prospect of experiencing New Hampshire primary politics first-hand.

I moved to the Granite State twelve years ago. At first the political phone calls annoyed me. Then I realized that it was a great privilege to be a part of the New Hampshire political process, and I started treating the phone callers with more civility. Over the years I have participated in various polls and questionnaires, and I take them with increasing seriousness. Having been born in Washington, D.C., and having lived there for a large chunk of my young adulthood, I am painfully aware of being a resident of one part of America that has absolutely no voting representation in Congress. (As a side note, this is a situation that must be addressed once and for all. It is totally unacceptable.) Since moving to New Hampshire I have relished my political influence as never before.

With great anticipation, I drove this morning to The Old Salt, a restaurant that I know and love. I got there ten minutes early … and I could not believe how full the parking lot already was. It felt as if I was parking in the next county, as I walked from where I left my car. I got to the restaurant, and the main entrance had a sign advising me to use a side entrance. There were protesters along the route providing some predictable comic relief. I got to the prescribed entrance, and the place was packed. There were three people registering newcomers, and I explained that I had received a phone call. They found my name and waved me in … into the crammed restaurant.

Now mind you, The Old Salt is a large restaurant with several large separate rooms. They were packed to the gills. This was not what I was expecting. No, I wasn’t expecting a private audience with Mitt, either, but it became painfully clear that I was not going to be bending his ear at all.

So much for breakfast with Mitt at The Old Salt. I maneuvered my way to the coffee urns. Empty. Nary a drop. And the people that were actually fortunate enough to be seated at the tables had bagels or Danish or something, but nothing that I would classify as “breakfast.”

I found an underpopulated place to stand next to a loudspeaker—a loudspeaker that had an annoying habit of cutting off and them coming back on again, alternating from popular hits to country music that seemed oddly out of place in New Hampshire. Several speakers spoke first, and then Mitt Romney got the mike.

Having recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal about the specific steps Newt Gingrich would take to turn around our economy, I was eager to hear what Mitt had to propose. Instead, what I got was a lot of pablum about his parents, how they met, how they are great Americans, how he is a great American, how he is a great family man, how the Obama administration has been an abject failure, and yet how Obama is a good man, just not a good president.

In other words, I got nothing.

Zilch.

Nada.

Is this really what it means to be a New Hampshire independent voter? Is this really what the presidential primary process is all about? There were rooms full of adoring sycophants … and me. I joined in the applause where it was warranted, and I abstained where it was nothing more than hype.

Mitt, if I may be so bold, allow me to give you some words of advice. I recognize that, at a 44% approval rating, you are likely to be New Hampshire’s choice come January 10. And I promise you that if you are elected president next November, you will be my president. None of this I didn’t vote for you nonsense. But you would do well to heed the following.

First of all, provide some substance! My breath was taken away by how desperately vapid your words were. You said nothing. And it took you twenty minutes to do so. I am sure you are a wonderful family man. I am equally sure that my gay and lesbian friends in committed relationships are equally wonderful family men and women. It pains me every time I hear you disparage your GLBT constituents. And being the former governor of the first state to legalize gay marriage, you really should know better.

And what about the economy? What I read about Gingrich was much more specific about what he would do. And Ron Paul definitely gets my attention with his focus on limiting the size and scope of federal government. To his credit, I have never heard Mr. Paul utter a single antigay sentiment, although I suspect that he is not a fan, to put it mildly. Thank you, Ron, for your silence.

And curse you, Mitt, for your blathering on about “family values,” disregarding that GLBT people have families, too.

So why am I making such a big deal about “The Gay Issue”? Frankly, it’s because I lean much more Republican than Democrat, and I’d love to see the Republican party actually win in 2012. Your antigay snipes may (sadly) help you win the Republican nomination; they will just as surely lead to your losing the general election.

Ask any young person today. They know. They have friends who are gay. And they know that they are not demons. Instead, many of them are already living in committed relationships with their loved ones. These are the “families” that you are disparaging every time you mention anything antigay. If you want to win the younger vote, I advise you to cease and desist! Personally, I’d love to convince you that GLBT people are just as concerned about the direction this country is heading as anyone. At the very least, simply shut up!

Finally, whoever organized this “Breakfast with Mitt” at The Old Salt, shame on you! I felt that I was a “registered” participant, and yet I did not get a seat at the table, as it were. The place was crawling with people, certainly not the setting I was hoping for. So much for participating in the New Hampshire primary privilege.

Hurricane Irene has thwarted my blogging plans. Actually, I can’t really blame this entirely on Irene. The USANA Convention was simply much more intense than I had anticipated when I made plans to blog about each day’s activities the following morning. Look for Parts 3 and 4 the next two days.

Meanwhile, this is a short note to wish everyone a safe and dry experience of Hurricane Irene—which I hear has now, thankfully, been downgraded to a tropical storm for northern New England where I live. My flights home today were canceled, so I’ll be holed up here in Salt Lake City for longer than expected.

Thank God for good friends who are watching over my house—including “battening down the hatches” in advance of the storm. I’ll have lots of “unbattening” to do when I return home. Mark and Ramona, you’re the best! I owe you big-time.

So now to rest a bit before continuing my blog series about the Convention. Thank you for your patience. I have no doubt you’ll find much of interest in my blog posts to come.

Yesterday I blogged about “Bridesmaids.” Today I discuss “Thor,” which I saw the same day. The two have similar messages about self-esteem, self-acceptance, and self-worth (more later).

But first, the differences. It was actually quite fun watching a chick flick and an action fantasy the same afternoon. “Thor” is visually stimulating, especially in 3-D, which I highly recommend. (Most of today’s 3-D offerings are better in 2-D, but, like “Avatar,” “Thor” is definitely worth paying extra for.) The scenes in Asgard are phenomenally beautiful.

I would have loved the movie simply for the foregoing, but the added message of Thor’s self-awakening makes it even more worth watching. How Thor moves from his father’s curse of “You are unworthy!” to becoming worthy once more to wield his hammer is a lesson we can all benefit from.

The purpose of a life well lived is service. The higher one’s position, the greater one’s service, and Thor is next in line to the throne of Asgard. He starts out arrogant, though … as, sadly, do so many of us.

So, for a visually stimulating movie with a message worth hearing, I wholeheartedly recommend “Thor.” And do splurge for 3-D! Enjoy my favorite trailer below (watch it in full-screen mode if you have a fast connection—press Esc when you are done), and see more on the movie’s own website, thor.marvel.com.

I treated myself to two movies today: “Bridesmaids” and “Thor.” Somehow, counterbalancing a chick flick with an action fantasy seemed appropriate. Oddly enough, they have more in common than you might think. Watch for my post about “Thor” tomorrow.

“Bridesmaids” got a great review in The Wall Street Journal, whose movie reviews I started paying attention to back in 1995 when they gave a rave review to the movie “Clueless,” which I had hitherto (thitherto?) disregarded as fluff. I took their advice, watched the movie, and wholeheartedly agreed with their findings. I’ve learned that their reviews are worth paying attention to.

And so I wanted to see “Bridesmaids” while it was still in the theater. When I got to my seat, I realized right away that I was one of only a handful of guys in the place, and the only one there on his own. Undaunted, I allowed myself to laugh out loud on numerous occasions. The movie’s R rating is definitely well deserved, and yet even the raunchy humor works to its advantage.

So what was it about “Bridesmaids” that inspired me to blog about it? As my regular readers are aware, I am a huge fan of the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking. This movie’s message of self-acceptance came through loud and clear.

Annie, the main character, played wonderfully by Kristen Wiig, has a serious problem with self-sabotage. Needless to say, she greets the news of her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) engagement with regret over her own dismal track record with men.

The comedy revolves around Annie’s self-destruction. Everything she touches turns to disaster, to the point that Lillian revokes her maid-of-honor duties. She is kicked out of her apartment and moves back home with her mother. Megan, the “black sheep” über-anti-model of the bunch, played hilariously by Melissa McCarthy (I loved her in “October Road”), pays Annie a visit to wrestle some sense into her. When Annie finally starts fighting back and actually slaps her, Megan responds with these pearls of wisdom:

I do not associate with people who blame the world for their problems. You’re your problem, Annie. You’re also your solution.

(Lately I’ve been bringing a notepad and pen with me to the movies so I can jot down lines like this. I may or may not have the quote exact, but I know I got the gist of it.)

Yes, we are entirely responsible for our own happiness.

Towards the end of the movie, Wilson Phillips performs their hit song “Hold On.” The lyrics really speak to this same concept of our being both the cause and the solution to our own problems. I’ll end this post with a YouTube video for you to watch. Listen for the following two phrases that stand out for me:

No one can change your life except for you
Don’t ever let anyone step all over you

You’ve got no one to blame for your unhappiness
You got yourself into your own mess

Enjoy!

Portsmouth Pro Musica’s auction starts in a little over two hours. We’ll be at the Strawbery Banke Visitors Center from 4:00 to 7:00. Complete information can be found on the home page of the PPM website.

Ellie Bradshaw and I are pooling our talents in one of the auction items: custom Web and business card design services valued at $1600. Check out the poster at right for details.

I hope you can join us for the fun and festivities. And when you’re done, walk on over to historic St. John’s Church for our second-to-last Compline Choir service. Arrive before 7:00 so you don’t miss a thing. For more information, see my earlier post.

I’m in my second week of Jonathan Arnold’s Biggest Loser program, and things are going well. Last Wednesday I weighed in at 1.4 pounds below my starting weight the week before. My goal is to shed ten pounds in ten weeks, so I’m right on track.

Meanwhile, I placed an order for a USANA® RESET™ kit, and it arrived last Thursday. The photo at right shows what comes in the kit. Its purpose is to jumpstart your metabolism with a high-fiber, low-glycemic diet of nutritious shakes and snack bars. It also contains USANA’s award-winning HealthPak™ nutritional supplements to ensure that you get optimal doses of the nutrients and antioxidants that the body craves. This is important all the time, but especially when on a restricted diet.

The RESET kit contains enough for five days. The photo at left shows a one-day supply: three Nutrimeal™ shakes, two Nutrition Bars, and the HealthPak’s AM and PM pouches of nutritional supplements. The shakes come in three delicious flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry. And the two different Nutrition Bars are Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Raisin.

I’ve done the RESET twice before, and I have yet to feel famished while on it. Quite to the contrary, the shakes and bars are delicious and convenient. You’re also encouraged to add one fruit and one vegetable each day, and can add more as needed. USANA even lists recommended sources of low-glycemic fruits and vegetables.

A DVD with all sorts of useful information rounds out the kit, along with a brochure and a refrigerator magnet (not pictured). The DVD goes into detail about insulin resistance, the reason why most diets don’t work, and how a low-glycemic diet (like USANA’s shakes and snack bars) can help you break free from carbohydrate cravings. A moderate exercise regimen is also recommended, although strenuous exercise should be avoided during the five days of the RESET.

So what do you do after the five days are over? You’ll want to continue with one or two meal-replacement shakes each day as you reintroduce low-glycemic meals into your diet. The good news is that the five days of the RESET should eliminate carbohydrate cravings, so you don’t even want foods that are bad for you. I chose to do this during the Biggest Loser program, because I knew I would already be documenting my food choices throughout.

The RESET kit retails for under $120 USD, and you can order it directly from my website. Simply go to carl.usana.com, click on Products and then Diet & Energy. However, I can show you a way to get your RESET Kit for under $100 USD. Call or email me first if you are interested.

Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping track of my own progress these five days right here in my blog. Wish me luck!

How many of you have made and already broken some of your New Year’s resolutions? We all have good intentions, but life has a tendency to get in the way. Regardless, I encourage you to continue plugging away at whatever changes you have vowed to make. You had good reasons when you made those resolutions. Think on them from time to time.

One thing that can help is to have an accountability partner. I have several. I am also using this forum as a worldwide accountability partner for me.

With that, here are my four New Year’s resolutions, which I hope you’ll all encourage me to keep:

1. Get back in shape and shed unwanted pounds. As an independent associate with USANA Health Sciences, I am not the best example of our weight-loss and health-maintenance product lines. Although I am healthier now than I was twenty years ago, I am carrying more weight than is advisable. My goal is to become a walking billboard for USANA.
2. Write more, preferably something every day. Whether posting to my blogs; corresponding with friends, family, and business associates; or making progress on my book, I intend to write more … and more regularly. It is especially critical that I get back on the ball with my book, Demystifying Prosperity™, as I know it is sure to open lots of doors for me.
3. Keep a tidy home and office. Those of you who know the shape my house is currently in can sympathize with the enormity of this particular resolution. It’s amazing how much clutter accumulates over the years. Fortunately, I have already started the process of reducing the inflow of clutter. Now it’s a question of sorting through what I already have—recycling, selling, donating, and tossing, as appropriate. My goal is to have a home that is always ready to welcome surprise visitors … like my friend Gerard from Washington state who stopped by two weeks ago while visiting his parents in Maine for the holidays.
4. Follow up, follow up, follow up. If “The fortune is in the follow-up,” then that could explain why I have not yet made my fortune. I purchased Sage ACT! 2011 last year, and, sad to say, it is still in the box. Once I install it, set it up, and start using it, I know it will help keep me “honest” with the various business connections I’ve made and will continue to make.

These four changes are sure to have a huge impact on my well-being and on my bottom line.

And I took the first step for resolution # 1 just this afternoon: I attended my first session at Integrated Fitness of Dover for their ten-week “Biggest Loser” program. I’ll be exercising six days out of seven, watching what I eat, and feeding my cells the optimal mix of nutrients with USANA.

I also ordered a USANA RESET Kit. It will arrive in a week or two and will jumpstart my weight loss. It is a very effective way to eliminate those pesky carbohydrate cravings. Then following up with a more sensible diet is much easier.

It’s a new year, and I have a renewed resolve to follow through with my four resolutions. I’ll keep you posted.

I am normally a very optimistic and positive person, but I am thrilled to bid farewell to 2010. Aren’t you, too? In my own case, the financial challenge of a reduced workload has been my major preoccupation.

Fortunately, this dry spell appears to be coming to an end, as I have four—count ’em, four—job opportunities on the horizon. I am considering all possibilities, from contract assignments to full-time employment. As I explained in my post of September 22, 2009 (yes, this has been a long dry spell!), I miss the “water-cooler camaraderie” of a team environment. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve loved working on my own, lo these many years. But more and more I find myself working on projects that involve collaborating with others whose technical expertise complements my own.

My job search has warmed up, as have short-term contract assignments. It is for these reasons that my blogging habits have suffered. I introduced a Sales Training for Novices thread in October that I have yet to finish. I will; please be patient. In tomorrow’s post I’ll explain what my New Year’s resolutions are.

Meanwhile I am soaking the blackeye peas for my hoppin’ john recipe, which I’ll be making tomorrow morning for good luck. Here is the recipe, in case you want to give it a try, yourselves.

Happy new year, everyone! Welcome 2011!

It has been over a month since my last post. This would be nothing out of the ordinary, except that my last post was my thirty-first consecutive post. I used the 31 days of August and the 31 chapters of the book of Proverbs in the Bible as an excuse to get into the habit of daily blogging.

So much for habit.

Last week I went to my favorite Chinese-Japanese restaurant, and my fortune cookie contained the following message, grammatical errors intact:

No one is standing in your way anymore, time to moving forward.

It is indeed time to move forward once more—long past the time, for that matter.

My August discipline was a wonderful exercise, but I will admit that it drained me. There were many days when evening rolled around and I realized that I hadn’t yet blogged for that day. Despite having tasks that remained to be done, I kept my promise to you and kept my blog a priority. Consequently, I ended August with a backlog of duties to accomplish, and I spent much of September just catching up.

Since then I have implemented a number of systems, and I am much better prepared to keep current on my various projects, one of which is to keep this blog fresh and interesting for my readers.

I have much to share with you in the coming weeks and months. Thank you for staying tuned to this site. Please share your comments below.

To all my fellow Americans, happy Independence Day!

Much has been written and blogged this day, and I have enjoyed reading what my fellow authors have had to say. No one has been more eloquent than Peggy Noonan in her excellent editorial in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. It is titled “A Cold Man’s Warm Words” with a subtitle of “Jefferson’s tender lament didn’t make it into the Declaration.” And what exactly was Jefferson’s “tender lament”?

The Declaration of Independence went through numerous edits. Jefferson was a prolific writer. The committee that was the Continental Congress expunged much of what he wrote to come up with what we now recognize as the Declaration of Independence. Yet, per Peggy Noonan’s article, the editors went one step too far in eliminating this tender phrase:

We might have been a free and great people together.

Fortunately for all involved, the United States and Great Britain have had an unusually close bond for the lion’s share of the 234 years that have elapsed since that fateful hot-and-humid summer day in Philadelphia, especially in recent decades.

So just what do we mean by independence? For that matter, what about dependence and interdependence?

I have had the privilege of enjoying season tickets to Portsmouth’s exceptional local gem, the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, for nearly a decade. Just yesterday I saw “Rent.” If you are anywhere near Portsmouth, N.H., run, don’t walk, to the SRT box office to get your tickets to “Rent.” It is a phenomenal performance.

Knowing that “Rent” was coming up, I noticed that the movie was playing on cable, so I recorded it and watched it the two nights before Saturday’s matinée performance at SRT. The music is loud and engaging. In the movie, however, the music often overwhelmed the lyrics, making them hard to hear. Fortunately, Seacoast Rep’s production was much more decipherable (although they would have been even better at 5 or 10 decibels lower … just a suggestion).

And what was the message? Well, for those who know “Rent,” part of the message is self-serving and narcissistic in the Bohemians’ desire to live lives of irresponsibility. And yet, as I ponder the play’s message this Independence Day, isn’t that part of what comes with declaring one’s independence from the powers that be?

True freedom comes with the recognition of shared responsibility—interdependence. A quote often attributed to Margaret Thatcher is, “Socialism is the best form of government until you run out of other people’s money.” This would seem to be the quintessence of irresponsibility, expecting others to pick up one’s own tab. With freedom comes responsibility, there are no two ways about it.

So, this Independence Day, vow to play your part in your own success. No one cares more about your success than you.

And do go see “Rent” at Seacoast Repertory Theatre. It is perhaps the best production I have seen there yet. Well done, Seacoast Rep! I love you!