"You Become What You Most Repeatedly Do" -Scott Sonnon

Saw this on Scott Sonnon's Facebook Page yesterday and found it to be a wonderful addition to my blog.

You become what you most repeatedly do, whether you prefer it or not. Some read this and see problems. Others read this and see possibilities. The former believe in fate, the latter - in the forge.

Not the discovery [that] we can become whatever we do that shocked me most, but the awareness of we CHOOSE to perceive that as obstacle or opportunity, which transformed me... And this compels me to share that news with as many as I can reach.

What you are now, you can sacrifice for who you wish to become. Instead of deciding to "live a little" and suffer the consequences, choose to "live a lot" and enjoy them.

It's the last line that brings it home, wouldn't you agree?

Stopping the War on Drugs!

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Happy New Year! Now Don't Go And Do Something Stupid Like...

Tell all your friends your gonna quit smoking this year only to wind up smoking again 3 weeks later.  If you New Years Resolution is to quit smoking this year...

then I made this video just for you.  Not only the habitual smoker, but the habitual quitter...  Happy New Year!!!

The other fellow’s mistakes are a weak alibi for your own.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” 

It’s easy when you are part of a group to “go along to get along,” but when you are able to maintain your own highest standards of integrity — regardless of what others may do — you are destined for greatness. When you have developed a carefully thought-out code of personal conduct, you will never have to ask anyone else what the appropriate course of action should be. You will intuitively know.

So this little tid-bit of a morsel popped into my in-box from The Napoleon Hill Foundation and I immediately recognized it as a token of wisdom for those of you still caught in the net of how to kick the habit.  

Especially when all your friends still smoke and have very little interest in you taking the steps necessary to prolong your life.  So stand up and stand out.  If you need help with wrapping your head around the idea of never smoking again, get a copy of my book and in there you will find the secret to understanding exactly how to think in order to finally stop once and for all!

How To Stop Cigarette Cravings

How To Stop Cigarette Cravings

In this most recent Hub, David Bradley, author of How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone, examines three powerful and effective techniques to handle cigarette craving anytime and anywhere.

Give it a look over and feel free to comment on the Hub itself.  Always appreciate the feedback!

I AGREE with Philip Morris Int'l CEO: Tobacco not hard to quit!

"Tobacco's not hard to quit!"  This fantastic relief of information came straight from the gullet of Philip Morris International CEO, Louis Camilleri. 

And...

I AGREE!

(keep reading, it'll be worth it)

Here's the whole quote for the record:

"We take our responsibility very seriously, and I don't think we get enough recognition for the efforts we make to ensure that there is effective worldwide regulation of a product that is harmful and that is addictive. Nevertheless, whilst it is addictive, it is not that hard to quit. ... There are more previous smokers in America today than current smokers."


Now the initial instinct is to use some vulgar words and references to connect his I.Q. with specific parts of his anatomy.  But, clearly a man who got paid over 32 million in 2008, speaks 4 languages and runs a company as big as Phillip Morris International is not a dumb ass.  So, why would he say a terrible thing like that?

Because he's absolutely, 100% correct.  It is not hard to quit smoking.

WHAT?!?!?!!  What an irresponsible thing to say!  How can you say that?  Don't you know there's people out there that have conquered heroin but still can't quit smoking?  What is wrong with you?

I'll tell you what's "wrong" with me and it's all semantics.

There is one very easy way to quit smoking that is not that hard at all.  Let's look at that easy method of quitting right now...

Death.  

This is the simplest method of smoking cessation.  What's especially nice about this method is that there are several options on how to die available to you.  Lung Cancer, Emphysema, Heart Disease, Esophageal Cancer, and the list goes on and on.

If you do not wish to quit smoking using the death method, regardless of how effective it is, there are several additional methods available to you and they are not nearly as effective as death but put forth a good effort.

The reality though and get ready for it because it's a harsh reality to say the least.

DEATH IS THE ONLY REAL METHOD TO QUIT SMOKING!

If you smoke, you're a smoker.  Period.  And you will be a smoker for the rest of your life.  Quitting is not an option because our good buddy, Mr. Camilleri has made it so by altering, spiking, and manipulating the great plant that this country was built on in such a way that for folks like you and I, it's impossible to quit...  unless you die.

Hopeless, yet?

Far from it.  And also the principle key point behind my book, How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone.

You have a wonderful opportunity as a smoker, to embrace who you are fully and be that unique expression of infinity.  Shout it out to the whole world, "I'm a smoker damn it and I'm proud of it!"

Once you're clear with your identity and acknowledge who you really are you can then actually do the impossible.  

 

Which in this case is to....

Not quit necessarily, but...?

That's right!  

STOP SMOKING.  Don't quit?  What's the difference?  

You can't, you won't, it's not going to happen.  

Remember, people are knocking off heroin before they can quit cigarettes.  Mr. Camilleri has done what is necessary to protect the interest of his company and the shareholders by making a product that despite warning labels, huge taxation and blatant, clear cut evidence that this crap will kill you slowly but surely, you still go out and purchase and use anyway.

How do you quit that?  You don't.  Besides, look at all the good stuff it does and goes well with.  You can't quit.  Once a smoker, always a smoker.  

But you can stop!  You stop every time you put one out!  Then you choose to start back up again.  Time and time again.  And for what reason?  

Outside of having a death wish, is there a good reason to light up again?  I mean, like a really good reason?  A lady told me she's not quitting because she's afraid of getting fat.    She's concerned about what quitting will do for her metabolism.  I told her about another weight loss drug on the market that will shed pounds like a chainsaw to a tree...  chemotherapy is a phenomenal way to loos those unwanted pounds!

Get the point?

Look, nobody wants to quit smoking.  So, I say, rather tongue in cheek, don't!  Just stop.  Don't quit.  Either way, the next question is usually a resounding, "HOW?"  

That's where I come in.  You make a $15.89 investment in your health and the rest of your life and I will guide you on a path that for those who chose to walk it, stop smoking and stay stopped with a 100% success rate.

All this for a crummy sales pitch?  Sorry folks.  Look, I stopped in 2002.  Haven't wavered since.  Wobbled a few times, but have not had a cigarette since 2002.  What was my secret?  There wasn't one.  It's decide to stop.  Commit to it and ride it out.  I still think of myself as a smoker because I...  well, read the book, damnit!  

Bottom line, Big Tobacco doesn't have to have a hold on you.  You choose that.  Their job is to make it easy for you to choose that and even want to choose that.  They're very good at that.  Now all you have to do is show them otherwise...

Smoke Your Mind and Napoleon Hill Wisdom

In my book, How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone, I talk about one of the motivating factors for me to stop smoking. It came when I realized I was out of control. There comes a time after about 6 and half hours or so without a cigarette when you realize that if you don't have a cigarette and like right now, someone very well might get hurt. Granted I am slightly exaggerating but the nic-fit is real.

It soon began to bother me to be under Big-Tobacco's spell so powerfully. I got started smoking as a way to separate myself from others, to flaunt and solidify my identity. Or at least so I thought. The reality was in no time instead of being the individual I wanted to be I was just like everyone else... hooked. Smoking lost it's romance for me and it was time to kick the habit.

I thought of this moment in my life in late 2001 when I realized smoking wasn't all it's cracked up to be... or rather, it's more like crack than you think. I thought of this moment when I saw this quote from Napoleon Hill

"Control your own mind, and you may never be controlled by the mind of another.

The mind is the most powerful weapon known to man. It simply cannot be controlled or contained by an outside force, however formidable that force may at first appear. Throughout history, tyrants have tried to control those who opposed them, but eventually these rulers discovered the power of the imagination was far greater than the threat of the sword. As Victor Hugo said, "An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come."

Big Tobacco, like any good drug dealer has control of your mind and directs your thoughts towards one more cigarette. It is with this mind, such a powerful weapon indeed, that you will conquer your addiction to nicotine and cigarettes.

Your mind is the best tool for meeting the challenge to stop smoking. You can use a patch, chew the gum, tinker with water vapor cigarettes, and any other nicotine delivery device you can think of, but sooner or later it will boil down to you making a conscious decision with your mind to not light up.


I used my mind to stop smoking and you can to.  In fact, you will have to.  My mission now it to get my book into the hands of 5000 smokers who want to be non smokers.  


So if you found this blog and you're still smoking, or you think you've quit but feel yourself wavering and loosing control, consider this, I, like you, struggled through the process and found a way to not only stop, but stay stopped.  Perhaps destiny or God brought you here and perhaps you should give this book a read.  I will leave it up to you of course, but deciding to finally stop once and for all could very well be the best decision you've ever made...  next to deciding to get a copy of my book!

Another Gem From Napoleon Hill

Your Job Will Never Be Any Bigger 

Than Your Imagination Makes It
 
Daniel Burnham, the turn-of-the-century architect and civic planner whose plan for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair had an enormous influence on contemporary civic design, was quoted as saying, "Make no little plans." He knew that to achieve great things we must have grand ideas. If you can imagine it, you can create it. And if you can create in your imagination the job that you would like to have, it is possible to create it in the real world.

OK people, what does this have to do with not sucking on coffin nails?

Is Smoking a Habit or an Addiction?

Cut that out!

Is smoking cigarettes just a habit or is it truly an addiction?  When you want to stop smoking, why is it so often referred to as "kicking the habit?"  People tell you, "you gotta kick the habit!"  When you google "kick the habit" the results are all about smoking.

The Cliff Clavin in me is always curious about where phrases like this come from!  Answers.com says that the phrase Kick The Habit originated in the late 19th Century as a reference to withdrawals from opiate addiction.  Back in the day you could get Opium, think predecessor to Heroin, and Laudanum, (think liquid opium) legally and easily from the local Chinatown or corner drugstore.  Ah, the good ol' 1800's!  So, for those of you not privy to withdrawal from Opium and Laudanum, myself included, thank God, when you're in the throws of withdrawal, your nervous system is all whacked out and you may have involuntary spasms and seizures which could result in you kicking.  Now the word habit is something else entirely.  Originally habit was used to refer to appearance or dress.  Like a nun, she wears a habit.  Now somewhere in the 1880's the word evolved from something you have "on" in the physical world to something emotionally driven.  Like sipping laudanum or drinking whiskey.  Victorian etiquette never likes to call a spade a spade.  Plus, "addiction" as we know it today really wasn't used until the early 1900's so when you were addicted to something, people would say you have the "habit."  Interesting, no?  Especially when many people believe it is easier to get off the opiates than then cigarettes.

So on to the inspiration behind this blog.  From the Napoleon Hill Thought for the day:  

"Human faults are like garden weeds. They grow without cultivation and soon take over the place if they are not thinned out."

"Habits are formed so slowly that most of us don't realize what is happening until the habits are too strongly entrenched to be broken. Seldom can one pattern of behavior be eliminated without replacing it with another. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum and will always find something to fill a void. The best way to thin out the "weeds," or faults in your character, is to identify those traits with which you are dissatisfied and replace them with their positive counterparts. If you have a tendency to lose your temper, for example, find a replacement for your anger. Neutralize it with a positive expression or affirmation, such as, "No one can make me angry unless I let them. I will not let anyone else control my emotions." 

What's your habit?

This goes for puffing on small cylindrical objects as well.  While starting out as an occasional activity, smoking very often leads to a habitual behavior and before you know a physical addiction begins to develop.  No, duh!  Right?  So enough of the obvious and on to the more subtle, finer points...

In How to Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone, I make a very specific distinction between quitting and stopping.  One is comprehensible to the addict and the other is not.  So with that in mind, what do you think is easier to deal with?  A habit or an addiction?  Psychologically, I'm going to go with habit.  What do you need to do to break a habit?  Well habits have a 30-40 day incubation time.  They also have a trigger.  Something that sets them off.  More often then not, the trigger lies deep in the subconscious.  Your luxury as a human being is the ability to recognize when the trigger is acting up by ways of a craving.  Breaking the habit means riding out the craving.  It does not mean you have to go to therapy to sort out why you've got this bad habit.  Obviously, knowing your history will help in the process and add motivation, but the simple action of decision is the most powerful tool in your arsenal to not smoke.  When you go to the addiction side, it reverts back to a physical need for something.  Not a want.  Wants you can manage.  Needs must be met.  Semantics?  Yes, but words are incredibly powerful.  Try this...  don't think of a pink elephant.  See?  Look what I made you do!  

Let me sum this up by quoting Wayne Dyer.  "Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change."  

So now you want to stop smoking.  Are you addicted or do you just have a bad habit.  If you try to quit, you will soon find that you're addicted.  If you just stop, you will find yourself shedding a very bad habit.

For more on semantics, humor and direction, pick up a copy of How To Stop Smoking Without Killing Anyone.  Available now on Amazon.com or if you'd like to take a look at the Forward and Chapter 1: Stop Trying to Quit, you can do so over on www.stopdontquit.com.

Have a question or comment?  Leave it below!  As always this is your blog too, I welcome the discourse.