Books

Causes, prevention and treatment of hair loss

Mush Books, Health , , , ,

I’ve been reading about hair loss, and I came across this very comprehensive ebook: Solving Hair Loss. It has very useful information on the reasons for hair loss and what you can do about it; different hair loss conditions; prevention and lots of practical advice. Here’s a section on Nutrition for Healthier Hair:

  1. Avoid junk food. Steer clear of sugary, fatty foods, which fill you up with calories that have no nutritional value to your body. These empty calories contain nothing your body needs for building and maintaining healthy skin and hair.
  2. Eat high-quality proteins. Since hair is made of keratin protein, a diet deficient in protein will show up in hair thinning and loss. Increase your intake of protein-rich foods such as fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts, grains, beans and seeds.
  3. Get amino acids. There are eight essential amino acids included in “complete proteins” which are necessary on a daily basis. Come complete proteins include fish, poultry, yogurt, cheese, soybeans and eggs.
  4. Consume essential fatty acids. These nutrients are essential to healthy hair and the cellular function necessary for hair growth, but they are not produced within the human body. The daily use of seeds and nuts and the oil from them, such as flax seed oil, on salads and in any dishes that do not require heating will bring the essential omega-6 fatty acids to your diet. Omega-3, the other important fatty acids, are contained in oily fish and walnuts.
  5. Avoid caffeine and carbonated drinks. These empty-calorie drinks actually leach important vitamins and minerals from your body, and also take the place of healthier choices such as water, green tea and fresh fruit juices.
  6. Drink your water. The human body needs about 64 ounces of water (eight 8-ounce glasses) to maintain healthy body systems, including hair growth. After urinating the first time upon waking up, your urine should be colorless and odorless for the rest of the day. If it is a concentrated yellow or has a strong odor, increase your water intake further.
  7. Don’t crash diet. A diet very low in calories (fewer than 600 per day) deprives hair, as well as the rest of your body, of the necessary nutrients for health and growth and will result in breakage and dull hair.

Download the free ebook here, and find more info at Hairloss.com. And please share your own tips through comments. [See Mush’s Page on Facebook]

Free ebook: Focus – a simplicity manifesto in the age of distraction

Mush Books, Happiness, Motivation, Productivity, Relationships , ,

I just finished reading this wonderful book by Leo Babauta. It’s an important reminder of the importance of focus in this age of distraction, and how to achieve it. The book is available for free and is ‘un-copyrighted’ by the author so you can share it with as many people as you want. Just click on the image to download the PDF version.

It’s an essential guide for everyone who needs to focus, and covers lots of useful stuff like:

  • the importance of finding focus
  • the beauty of disconnection
  • how not to live in your inbox
  • creating an uncluttered environment
  • strategies for prioritizing
  • systems for getting amazing things done
  • single-tasking and productivity

Download it now.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Mush Books, Happiness, Life, Motivation , , ,

Watching lots of seagulls recently, I was reminded of this inspiring book I had read a few times during the late 80’s. I just read it again and realized why it’s called a classic. It’s a short and simple story of a seagull called Jonathan Livingston Seagull, but the message is powerful and inspiring. Instead of a review, here are a few excerpts from the book:

…Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest flight – how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.

…Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.

…’How you manage to love a mob of birds that has just tried to kill you?’ ‘Oh, you don’t love that! You don’t love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That’s what I mean by love.’

I recommend this book very highly, regardless of your age, interests or profession. Please share what your favorite books are.

[Photo taken at the Rotorua Lake, NZ. More beautiful photos of NZ here.]

International Literacy Day 2010

Mush Books, Contribution ,

Today, 8th September was the International Literacy Day 2010.

Worldwide, there are more than 770 million illiterate adults, two-thirds of whom are women. In addition, there are over 100 million children not currently enrolled in primary school and millions of others not currently enrolled in secondary school. Education is a lifelong gift that empowers people to ultimately improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only an education can provide, we can break the cycle of illiteracy, one child at a time.

The Literacy Site and Room to Read, are two of the organizations that provide books to children in some of the poorest regions of the world, including Tibet, India, Vietnam, and Laos. Check out their websites to see how you can help.

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Book Recommendation: Three Cups of Tea

Mush Books, Contribution, Motivation , , , ,

A very inspiring book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. There are hundred of beautiful reviews of this book on the Internet. The following represent my views most closely:

“Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.” (Tom Brokaw)

“Three Cups of Tea is beautifully written. It is also a critically important book at this time in history. The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan are both failing their students on a massive scale. The work Mortenson is doing, providing the poorest students with a balanced education, is making them much more difficult for the extremist madrassas to recruit.” (Ahmed Rashid, best-selling author of Taliban: Militant Islam)

“Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers’ hearts.” (Publishers Weekly)

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The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

Mush Books , , , ,

The Other Hand is a captivating and inspiring story of a 16-year old Nigerian refugee, who calls herself Little Bee, and her relationship with a British woman. It’s a novel based on facts about refugees, asylum seekers and the immigration detention centers in the UK.

Instead of summarizing the story, the back cover of the book reads: “We don’t want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it… once you have read it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.”

Buy softcover book from Amazon.

Have you read any inspiring book lately? Please tell us through comments.

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No time to read? Try audio books!

Mush Books, Productivity , , , ,

In an earlier post I wrote about the pros and cons of audiobooks. The article was quite popular and did a few rounds around cyberspace. Check it out if you had missed it.

Since writing that post, I have become a big fan of audiobooks. I often listen to them while driving (alone), taking long walks and during sleepless nights on long flights. Besides the seven advantages I listed in the earlier post, I also find it easier to preview an audio version before buying a hardcopy.

Audible has become my favorite place to download audiobooks. There are different subscription plans that offer up to 30% savings and let you download a book of your choice every month. There are thousands of books in various categories, both fiction and non-fiction. If you have a computer with iTune and an MP3 player, try it once. ‘No time to read’ is no more an excuse!

PS. Just downloaded Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk for the overnight flight to Dubai – in case none of my fellow passengers wants to tell me her life story 🙂 Off to a bookshop now to buy a real book, just in case the battery on my iPhone runs out 🙂

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Linchpin: Be Indispensable, by Seth Godin

Mush Books, Motivation , ,

This was my first experience with an audiobook that I mentioned in my post about pros and cons of audiobooks. Whether you prefer the audiobook or printed version, I recommend it to anyone who reads my blog (is interested in enhancing life). In the words of the author:

“I didn’t set out to get you to quit your job or to persuade you to become an entrepreneur or merely to change the entire world. All I wanted to do in this book was sell you on being the artist you already are. To make a difference. To stand for something. To get the respect and security you deserve. If I’ve succeeded, then you know that you have a gift to give, something you can do to change the world (or your part of it) for the better. I hope you’ll do that, because we need you.”

And I think he has done a great job of it. A linchpin is someone that is remarkable. They bring the emotional labor to their work. They pour themselves into what they do because they know it is the right thing to do, and they become better people for living and working this way. This also makes them very scarce, and that scarcity makes them valuable – indispensable. I love what Seth says about art:

“Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another. … I think it’s art when a great customer service person uses a conversation to convert an angry person into a raving fan. …Nobody cares how hard you worked. It’s not an effort contest, it’s an art contest. As customers, we care about ourselves, about how we feel, about whether a product or service or play or interaction changed us for the better.”

Seth also explains the lizard brain and resistance – part of the answer to my questions in the post about Contradictions. You can read more reviews here.

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7 Pros and 7 Cons of Audiobooks

Mush Books, Productivity , ,

I just finished my first audiobook. And it was an experience worth sharing:

I had been reading reviews and blog posts and tweets about Seth Godin’s newest book, Linchpin. Went to a couple of bookshops on my way to work/home; it wasn’t available. So I went to Amazon.com to order one. I was at Amazon after a long time, and was surprised to see the options available: Kindle (ebook download), hardcover, paperback, audio CD and audio download. Audio download looked like the fastest option so I checked it out. It took me to Audible.com – an Amazon company, where an audio download was being offered for just USD7.49 with a new membership! I signed up, paid the money, downloaded the book, and started listening to it right away! The benefits:

  1. It’s fast. I was listening to the book after just a few clicks in few minutes.
  2. It’s cheap. Book versions were USD13-25.
  3. It’s convenient. I copied the file to my iPhone to listen during my commute to and from work.
  4. It’s safe. A copy each on my computer, iPhone and backup is likely to last (damage-free) as long as I wish.
  5. It takes no space. So less clutter. No worries about whether to keep, sell off, recycle or give-away.
  6. It’s environment-friendly. No paper, ink, chemicals.
  7. It’s comfortable. For someone who spends a lot of time in front of computers or books, this is a good break for the eyes. You can listen while standing, walking or lying down.

And the disadvantages:

  1. You need technology – computer, Internet access, applications like iTunes, and power supply
  2. You need a handheld device to maximize the use of audiobooks – iPhone, iPod or any other MP3 player Continue reading →

How to Cultivate Confidence – Tim Sanders

Mush Books, Motivation, Productivity ,

Confidence is rocket fuel for your business life. Confident people have a come-this-way charisma that generates a following.  When you possess total confidence you are willing to take risks. When you have it, you propel yourself and your team forward into the future.

Problem: Most people don’t cultivate confidence – it just lands on them due to favorable conditions.  I call this spot confidence.  Good times make for confident people.  Bad times crush them, along with their daring point of view. The secret to unbreakable confidence is a lifestyle of emotional/mental diet and exercise.

  1. Feed Your Mind Good Stuff. Stop reading negative information, listening to negative people or watching cable network news. You are loading up with fear. Replace that information with studies about the future or an improved you. You’ll soon emerge as a solution provider instead of a Chicken Little.
  2. Exercise Your Gratitude Muscle. Gratefulness is a muscle, not a feeling. You need to work it out daily.  Every morning, give thanks to two people that helped you yesterday and one person that will assist you today. This will focus your mind on what you have, and you’ll soon realize you are not alone.

By Tim Sanders, author of Love Is The Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends.

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