april 21st honors book report

Carlson, Richard. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and its all small stuff. Simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life. New York, New York. Hyperion. 1997

Reason: I originally picked up this book because I thought the book had a very good title that probably addressed what the book was about. And golly-I was right! This is a self help book that helps you deal with stress management, behavior modification, peace of mind, and inter-personal reflection. It is basically a book that shows you how to keep yourself from going completely insane. This novel doesn’t have a particular setting or date; it is applicable to any time period or whatever walk of life you are in.

Plot: this book doesn’t necessarily have a plot as much as it has advice for how you should live your life. I will just be discussing some of the ones that I found most interesting.
The first of which would be “Let Others Have Glory” this is a very useful thing to do and I never really thought about it before reading this book. This section advises you to listen more efficiently and let go of the “oh that happened to me once” or “My story is more interesting” aspects of life. This will create a sense of calmness and allows other to have some of the spotlight. Because when you immediately dive in and bring the conversation back to you, you can subtly minimize the joy that that person has in sharing the store. That creates distance between you and the person. It’s a lose, lose situation. You gain confidence by letting other people have the spotlight and more accomplishment is supposedly felt.
The second piece of advice that I found interesting would be “Imagine that everyone is Enlightened except you”. This strategy gives you a change to practice something that you probably believe is completely unacceptable. However, this proves to be the most helpful when it comes to self improvement. Your job is trying to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you. This lets go of a lot of the frustration that you feel for other people. Say your waiting in line at a grocery store and the cashier is taking a long time. I think you should put yourself in their shoes- at a job you probably don’t like. You can think about how you need to get out of there and go on with your life or you can learn a lesson in patience. All you need to do is change your perception from “why are they doing this?” to “what are they teaching me”.
The third and last pierce of advice that I took with me from the book would be “Spend a Moment Everyday Thinking of Someone to Thank”. I found this one extremely interesting and a very good way to look at the world. This strategy only takes a few seconds to complete everyday and is a very important habit to develop. As you think of people to be grateful for you can think of anyone-that person that you let you cut in line because on only had on item, or that person that saved your grandmothers life. The point is to gear your attention to gratitude versus resentment. I really agree with this and plan to start utilizing it.

Character: there is not really a character in this book- the author is just writing about his experiences and what he has learned from them. Richard Carlson is a very interesting individual with the ability to maintaining his stress levels and modify his behavior I believe these traits to be extremely admirable.

Evaluation: I loved this book and I really suggest it to everyone who believes in bettering themselves. I found a lot of helpful tools and advice in order to advance my life ever further. I guess the main point of this book would be to just not sweat the small stuff, and that a lot of the things that you feel are important aren’t going to be important a year from now

This book infinitely compared to real life and the problems regular people face every single day. It addresses everything that I deal with (being a teenager) to probably things that a person that I a century old would face. This book is for anyone from any walk of life.

Author: Richard Carlson is a physician, author, and a motivational speaker. This is his most famous book and his claim to fame.

Current Event 18Apr08

Daniel Goldbloom on The Government's $500K Marijuana Deficit: uhh...what?
According to newly available Health Canada statistics, 462 licensees owe the government more that half a million dollars for weed. And using collection agencies, the government has recovered a measly $2,000. This is a case of governmental mismanagement, plain and simple. A lot of conservatives talk about what the government can learn from (or outsource to) the private sector. But in this case, the government should take its cues from the criminal sector, which seems to be doing a much better job of supplying Canadians -- both sick and healthy -- with marijuana.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/04/15/daniel-goldbloom-on-the-government-s-500k-marijuana-deficit-uhh-what.aspx

epitome - a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class
revere - to regard with respect tinged with awe

He was a very revered business man.
vertigo - The sensation of dizziness

When you experience vertigo I usually end up throwing up.
punitive - inflicting punishment
slander - defamation

I slandered a girl in 9th grade for making a flyer about her. I got suspended.
squander - to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly
panache - a grand or flamboyant manner
forlorn - lonely and sad
quell - put an end to

He quelled the arguement by cutting off the guys tongue.
concision - concise quality
libel - to misrepresent damagingly
defamation - slander or libel
misdirection - Incorrect instructions or directions

He had complete misdirection and actually went to Europe instead of Japan.

Drugs Body Makes Cannabis Decision

This current event is basically just about how marijuna in the UK is going to remain a class C drug. There is growing concern about the impact of cannabis on mental health, particularly of younger people who use the stronger 'skunk' form of the drug. However, Gordon Brown inferred at his monthly news conference that he strongly supported reclassifying cannabis as a Class B drug. Gordon Brown inferred at his monthly news conference that he strongly supported reclassifying cannabis as a Class B drug.