The World's Greatest Water Filter

The World's Greatest Water Filter (I'm convinced) was designed and installed in each and every duck! We bought three ducklings this spring, and unlike our chickens, they will drink any water-- no matter what it looks like.

Chickens are a bit pickier, and who can blame them?  I prefer clean drinking water myself, but DUCKS... they swim in it, bathe in it, and then take a slurp.  At first, I was worried it may harm them (showing my ignorance of ducks when we brought them home), but that's certainly not the case.

We are about to purchase a water filter for our home.  I came in a couple of days ago and commented to my wife that the ducks must come equipped with a Royal Berkey!  In case you don't know about the Royal Berkey, it is a water filtering system that sits on your counter-top and filters H2O much better than the filters in our refrigerator or filter pitcher.  In fact, the Berkey will make ditch water drinkable!  You can read more about it HERE.

How & Why I Stopped Taking Zyrtec

Like most people, I struggle with seasonal allergies.  The typical culprits like pollen, ragweed, and leaf mold set me off.  You've probably experienced the symptoms: runny nose, sinus pressure, headache, clogged throat.

So, years ago I started taking OTC antihistamines to deal with the effects. I tried two or three before I landed on Zyrtec because it seemed to pack the most punch. Just half a dose before bed, and I was knocked out.

But after awhile, I started noticing some negative effects. First, a half dose was not providing the same relief that it once had; however, taking a full dosage rendered me extremely drowsy. Plus, around twelve hours after taking even a half dosage, I would find myself very irritable.  I began to wonder if the irritability was worth the sinus relief.  The straw that broke the camel's back for me was when my wife started reading about the drug's damaging effect on the liver.  She challenged me to stop taking it.

Common sense tells us that if we are accustomed to taking something regularly and we stop, we should replace it with something else.  So what did I start taking instead of Zyrtec? Glad you asked! I started taking a multivitamin and a grape-fruit seed extract tablet, plus one teaspoon of local honey at least three times per week. It has been six months or more since I have taken Zyrtec, and my sinus issues are better than ever. Plus, I don't struggle with afternoon irritability, and my wife's not worried about my liver.  Do you know of any alternatives to the regular use of antihistamines?

It's Time to Clear the Clutter From Your Inbox!

Admit it! You and I both have too much junk in the Inbox.  There are lists I subscribed to looking for a $2 coupon, and now I get ads three times each week.  I find myself not even opening the email. It's as if the email does not exist, yet it's clutter that I have to deal with each day.

You're probably thinking: I agree, but I don't have time to go through and unsubscribe to all of those.

Guess what?

You don't have to spend that much time on it.

Start with a simple plan to attack the clutter.

Determine that you will unsubscribe from one list every other day.  Within two weeks, you will have removed 7 annoying email generators. You'll begin to have room to breath in your inbox, and your stress level will drop. Within a month, you'll be close to being finished with the chore.

Give it a try!  Start small and be consistent. Get rid of the virtual clutter!

After that, apply the same approach to your closet or garage.
That's what I need to do!

A Search Tip for Craigslist

Do you search for bargains on Craigslist?


The key to success on Craigslist is about timing.

Since it's not an auction, the rule of first come- first served applies. If you aren't able to monitor the postings often, your chances of finding the item for which you are searching shrink.  Therefore, consistency and patience are crucial, and there's not short-cutting that process.



Here's one tip I try from time to time.  Being a recovering high school English teacher, I can confidently say that at least half of the general public struggles with spelling. Sometimes when I am searching for an item, especially if it has a proper name, I will purposely misspell the name a few different ways in the search box.  If someone misspelled the item, chances are people are not going to find it by searching for it.  It may be yours for the taking.

Give it a try and let me know how it works.

The Good and the Bad of Knowing Yourself Too Well

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to critique or coach someone other than ourselves? Perhaps the adage Familiarity breeds contempt best describes this challenge.  While most people would say that knowing ourselves too well becomes a weakness (which I agree), I would add that it can also be a strength if we can slip on a pair of objective lens from time to time.
Let me explain.

There's a reason the plumber's spigot has a drip and the mechanic's car has a clink in it.  When we see the same things everyday, they become part of our landscape.  We become blind to what others see easily. This is why a REALTOR will give a seller a to-do list to the surprised homeowner before the home is ready to show. The homeowner thought it was ready to list. This is why a career consultant has to ask us fifty questions before we articulate our skills.

So this is a huge challenge because we learn to settle for less than the best. Whether we're dealing with housework, lawn maintenance, exercise, personal growth, or healthy diet planning, we struggle with seeing our blind spots.

The flip side of this is the good news.

Many of us have trouble identifying our strengths, skills, and abilities.  The term Tacit Knowledge refers to the skills and competencies that we perform without even realizing we are doing them.  We have mastered them to the point of being rote. Quite often we see this when a veteran teacher, mechanic, engineer or physician attempts to explain a process to someone who is brand new to the skill. At that point, the person with experience either grows extremely frustrated or realizes the steps in the process that she or he has learned so well that they had otherwise become invisible.

So here's the challenge: We have to learn to take a step away from ourselves and our surroundings long enough to objectively assess ourselves. What areas do we need to improve? What areas need attention? (That's the weakness.) What skills have I taken for granted?  What can I do that others struggle with? (That's the strength.)

If you're struggling with objectively assessing yourself, ask someone your trust and respect to help.

Do you have other tips for personal development?

An Important Business Lesson I learned from Disney’s Frozen

I recently joined Platform University, which is a tremendous entrepreneurial resource provided by Michael Hyatt and his daughter Megan Hyatt Miller. 

One of the many lessons I have already learned is the importance of having a photo in which you are facing the camera directly on the About page of your website. 

Why is this important?

Great question! It may seem ridiculous to some people and nit-picky to others,

but there is a subtle issue of trust involved in the position of your eyes in the photo.  Your About page is an opportunity for your audience to meet you—often for the first time. Think about meeting someone in person: do you make eye contact with them?  I certainly hope so.  We all associate trust with direct eye contact, and websites are no different.

As I shared this principle with my wife, my daughter overheard me and chimed in, “that’s just like Hans in Frozen, Dad. In all the pictures I’ve seen of him, he’s never looking at the camera.” 

Hmm. Subtle does not mean unimportant.

As Coach John Wooden was fond of saying, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”  

Starting a Podcast is Like...

Earlier this month, I launched a podcast called Twelve Minute Muse and what I've learned is that starting a Podcast is like learning a foreign language by immersion. My friend Devin inspired me to pursue starting one, and he rightly warned me about the steep learning curve.  Devin started his podcast-- Connected Homeschooling about five months before I started mine, so he already knew about technical issues and necessary steps. It was great to have him as a resource to help with terminology and directional tips.

One of the tips Devin shared was to check out Pat Flynn's videos on Youtube.  Pat's series was very helpful with the basic steps, from getting started all the way to publishing and tagging.

The 48 Days Group for Podcasting and New Media was another great resource for information and encouragement.

Over the last three weeks, I've learned not only new terms, but have also managed to build and connect pages, links and plug-ins that I had previously feared out of my ignorance.  I'm not saying that the process is easy, but with so much support and information readily available, starting a podcast is very possible for anyone.  The most important element is to have a vision and passion for your show.  Once that's in place, step bravely into the realm of cyber-broadcasting!

Let me know if I can assist you with your project!