Family meals 'boost child fruit and vegetable intake'

 

Children learn eating habits from family meals, say researchers

Eating meals as a family improves children's eating habits - even if it only happens once or twice a week, UK researchers suggest.

It is recommended children eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day - about 400g.

The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health study found those who always ate together achieved this - but those who only did sometimes came close.

Watching parents and siblings fat teaches good`gz_ vs sa]fl Parental example
This study looked at just under 2,400 children at 52 primary schools in south London.

Parents and fieldworkers compiled food diaries at school and at home, ticking off all the foods and drinks a child had in one 24-hour period.
 

“Eating at a table with the family instead of in front of the TV helps reduce chances of mindless eating” - Azmina Govindj British Dietetic Association

Parents were also asked questions about their attitudes to fruit and vegetables, such as "On average, how many nights a week does your family eat at a table?" and "Do you cut up fruit and vegetables for your child to eat?"

The study found 656 families said they always ate meals together at a table, 768 sometimes did, while 92 families never did so.

Children in the "always" group ate five portions of fruit and vegetables, compared with 4.6 in the "sometimes" group and 3.3 in the "never".

That equates to the always group eating 125g more fruit and veg, and the sometimes group eating 95g more a day than the never group.

Seeing parents eat fruit and vegetables - and cutting up portions for children both boosted their intake.
'Future habits'
The researchers say that, while this study gives a picture of eating habits on one day, it was able to investigate the diets of a large, diverse population.

Meaghan Christian, who conducted the study as part of her PhD, said: "Modern life often prevents the whole family from sitting round the dinner table, but this research shows that even just Sunday lunch round the table can help improve the diets of our families."

She added: "We spend a lot of time looking at interventions at school. But this is showing how important parents are in terms of fruit and vegetable consumption."

And Prof Janet Cade, of the University of Leeds' school of food science and nutrition, who supervised the study, said: "Watching the way their parents or siblings eat and the different types of food they eat is pivotal in creating children's own food habits and preferences."

She added: "Since dietary habits are established in childhood, the importance of promoting the family meal needs to be more prominent in public health campaigns."

Azmina Govindji, of the British Dietetic Association, said: "Eating habits developed in childhood die hard, and eating at a table with the family instead of in front of the TV helps reduce chances of mindless eating, which can increase the likelihood of obesity.

"This study reinforces the view that children learn more from what we do than what we say, so it's the role modelling that helps shape their future habits."

Ms Govindji, a practising dietitian, added: "If children are eating better in childhood, they are more likely to make healthier choices in adult life - and since food directly impacts risks of conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, eating together as a family seems like a small price to pay."

Early death 'more likely in solo artists'

 

Amy Winehouse died aged 27 - Michael Jackson, Elvis and Whitney Houston all died prematurely

Successful solo artists are twice as likely to die early compared to those in bands, the journal BMJ Open reports.

The study looked at the careers of 1,400 European and North American rock and pop stars who were famous between 1956 and 2006.

The chances of a European solo artist dying young was one in 10 - and twice as likely for those in North America.

Experts suggest that peer support from band mates may be protective.

The cut-off point of the study was 20 February 2012 - at which point 137 performers had died prematurely.

These included solo artists like Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, rapper 2Pac, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston.

And band members like Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Sid Vicious from the punk group Sex Pistols and Stuart Cable from Stereophonics.

"Band members can stop an individual spiralling into self-destruction ” - Honey Langcaster-James Celebrity psychologist

The stars' achievements were determined from international polls and top 40 chart successes, while details of their personal lives and childhoods were drawn from a range of music and official websites, published biographies and anthologies.

The average age of death was 39 years for European stars, with those from North America being six years older on average.

Solo performers were about twice as likely to die prematurely compared to those in a band, irrespective of whether they were European or Northern American.

And while the chances of a European solo artist dying young was one in 10 - it was double that for American solo artists at one in five. The authors speculate this may be due to longer tours in North America plus variations in access to health care and exposure to drugs.

Honey Langcaster-James, a psychologist who specialises in celebrity behaviour, believes the support of a band may be protective.
'All in the same boat'
She said: "Solo artists in general approach life in a solitary manner - deliberately choosing to go it alone.

"They can find themselves in a situation where everyone around them are paid employees - the PR guru, their manger - all interested in them from a financial point of view and not in their personal needs - it's hard for the artist to know who to trust.

"They travel a lot, are away from friends and family for long periods of time and only seen for their public image, not their real self - which can make them feel inferior, isolated and invalidated.

"Even for the general population, psychology research has found that people with support have increased lifespan - and those in a band may benefit even more from this - they are all in the same boat.

"It is easier to know who to trust - other members can stop an individual spiralling into self-destruction and pull them back into the group - both because of concern for the band mate, but also because they are all in it together."
Difficult childhoods
The study also found that while gender and the age at which fame was reached did not influence life expectancy, ethnicity did - with those from non-white backgrounds more likely to die early.

And those that died of drug and alcohol problems were more likely to have had difficult or abusive childhood than those dying of other causes.

The authors of the study suggest that a music career may be attractive to those escaping an unhappy childhood, but it may also provide the wealth and access to feed a predisposition to unhealthy and risky behaviour.

In the paper they write: "Pop/rock stars are among the most common role models for children, and surveys suggest that growing numbers aspire to pop stardom.

"A proliferation of TV talent shows and new opportunities created by the internet can make this dream appear more achievable than ever.

"It is important they [children] recognise that substance use and risk taking may be rooted in childhood adversity rather than seeing them as symbols of success."

By Anna-Marie Lever Health reporter, BBC News

Richard Branson's Five top tips to starting a successful business

Five top tips to starting a successful business

 

 

 

As LinkedIn is a business that started in a living room, much like Virgin began in a basement, I thought my first blog on the site should be about how to simply start a successful business. Here are five top tips I’ve picked up over the years.

1. Listen more than you talk

We have two ears and one mouth, using them in proportion is not a bad idea! To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice. This can mean following online comments as closely as board meeting notes, or asking the frontline staff for their opinions as often as the CEOs. Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them.

2. Keep it simple

You have to do something radically different to stand out in business. But nobody ever said different has to be complex. There are thousands of simple business solutions to problems out there, just waiting to be solved by the next big thing in business. Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for the worse.

3. Take pride in your work

Last week I enjoyed my favourite night of the year, the Virgin Stars of the Year Awards, where we celebrated some of those people who have gone the extra mile for us around the Virgin world. With so many different companies, nationalities and personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities they all have in common. One was pride in their work, and in the company they represent. Remember your staff are your biggest brand advocates, and focusing on helping them take pride will shine through in how they treat your customers.

4. Have fun, success will follow

If you aren’t having fun, you are doing it wrong. If you feel like getting up in the morning to work on your business is a chore, then it's time to try something else. If you are having a good time, there is a far greater chance a positive, innovative atmosphere will be nurtured and your business will fluorish. A smile and a joke can go a long way, so be quick to see the lighter side of life.

5. Rip it up and start again

If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture isn’t a success, welcome to the club! Every successful businessperson has experienced a few failures along the way – the important thing is how you learn from them. Don’t allow yourself to get disheartened by a setback or two, instead dust yourself off and work out what went wrong. Then you can find the positives, analyse where you can improve, rip it up and start again.

Childhood Adversity, Including Hunger, May Protect Cognition

Early-life adversity, including going hungry, may protect cognitive function as individuals age, new research shows.

Investigators found that people who experienced hunger as children and were thinner than average during childhood had a slower rate of cognitive decline over roughly 16 years.
"These results were unexpected because other studies have shown that people who experience adversity as children are more likely to have problems such as heart disease, mental illness, and even lower cognitive functioning than people whose childhoods are free of adversity," Lisa L. Barnes, PhD, from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
The study was published December 11 in Neurology.
Survival Effect?
The investigators analyzed the relationship between several measures of childhood adversity and the rate of cognitive decline in more than 6100 adults participating in the population-based Chicago Health and Aging Project. Their average age was 75 years and 62% were African American.
At baseline, participants provided information about their health as children, their family's financial situation, and their home learning environment, and they were given 4 standard tests of cognitive function. Their cognitive function was retested at roughly 3-year intervals for up to 16 years.
There was no relationship between any of the childhood adversity factors and cognitive decline among white participants.
However, the 5.8% of African American participants who said they went without enough food to eat sometimes, often or always were more likely to have a slower rate of cognitive decline, or decline that was reduced by about one third, than their counterparts who said they rarely or never went without enough food to eat.
The 8.4% of African American participants who reported that they were much thinner at age 12 than other kids their age also were more likely to have a slower rate of cognitive decline, also by one third, than those who said they were about the same size as or heavier than other kids their age.
These relationships were not mediated by years of education and persisted after adjustment for cardiovascular factors, the researchers note.
They admit that the biological basis underlying the apparent brain-protective effect of these childhood adversities in older African Americans is unknown.
However, there is evidence that caloric restriction delays the onset of various age-related physiologic changes and increases the lifespan, particularly in animal models. In addition, some studies in humans have suggested a role for caloric restriction in improved cardiovascular and glucoregulatory health and attenuation of oxidative stress.
"Mechanisms linking caloric restriction with improved health are not understood, but reduced inflammation and enhanced energy metabolism have been proposed, and would be consistent with a protective effect on cognitive decline," Dr. Barnes and colleagues write.
The investigators believe the findings could be due to a selective survival effect.
"Older adults with early adversity may represent the hardiest and most resilient; those with the most extreme adversity may have died before reaching old age," they explain.
Practical Value Questionable
Reached for comment, neurologist Judy Willis, MD, from Santa Barbara, California, who was not involved in the study, told Medscape Medical News: "This is a well conducted study with refreshing honest self-reflection by the authors."
"The information is interesting," she said, "but the well stated statements of the authors regarding the population studied and how times have changed leaves the practical value lower than ideal."
"Also, the rough conclusions about possible critical periods where low caloric intake might have a protective effect on subsequent cognitive decline are, again as noted by the authors, very hypothetical and primarily investigated in animal research," Dr. Willis said.
The study was funded by grants from the National Institute on Aging; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The authors and Dr. Willis have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Neurology. 2012;79:2321-2327

Most Advanced Thought-Controlled Robotic Arm Unveiled

 

A woman with quadriplegia feeds herself chocolate using mind-controlled robot arm.

Using a sophisticated brain-computer interface, a woman paralyzed from the neck down learned to control a robotic prosthetic arm with her thoughts and perform several activities of daily living.

With training, she rapidly learned to use the robotic arm to reach and grasp items and made significant gains in upper limb function. She learned to do maneuvers "with coordination, skill and speed almost similar to that of an able-bodied person," according to the research team.
"This is a spectacular leap toward greater function and independence for people who are unable to move their own arms," senior investigator Andrew B. Schwartz, PhD, professor, Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
"This technology, which interprets brain signals to guide a robot arm, has enormous potential that we are continuing to explore. Our study has shown us that it is technically feasible to restore ability," he added.
The achievement is detailed in a paper published online December 16 in the Lancet.
Robust 7-D Movement Mastered
The participant was a 52-year-old woman with chronic tetraplegia due to spinocerebellar degeneration. By using stereotactic image guidance with structural and functional MRI, 2 microelectrodes were implanted in her left motor cortex, which allowed researchers to pinpoint and record neuronal activity when the woman was asked to imagine using her hand and arm.
The electrode points pick up signals from individual neurons, and computer algorithms are used to identify the firing patterns associated with particular observed or imagined movements, such as raising or lowering the arm, or turning the wrist, the researchers explained in a Webcast. Two cables run from connectors on the participant's head to the recording apparatus and another cable from the computer to the prosthetic arm mounted on a stand next to the woman.
The woman participated in brain-computer interface training for 13 weeks. On the second day of training, the woman was able to move the robotic arm freely in the 3-dimensional workspace. After 13 weeks, she could routinely perform "robust" 7-dimensional movements, the researchers report.
On average, her success rate on target-based reaching tasks was 91.6%. Over time, she developed fluid and rapid control over skillful prosthetic arm movements. She could accurately reach for objects, adjust the opening of the prosthetic hand to grasp items of various shapes and sizes, and move them to any desired location in the workspace.
The woman also achieved "clinically significant gains on standard tests of upper limb function," the researchers say. No adverse events occurred.
Radically Different Approach
In a statement, Dr. Schwartz notes that one of the biggest challenges in developing mind-controlled prosthetics is how to translate brain signals that indicate limb movement into computer signals that can reliably and accurately control a robotic prosthesis.
"Most mind-controlled prosthetics have achieved this by an algorithm which involves working through a complex 'library' of computer-brain connections," he explained. His team pursued a radically different approach. They used a model-based computer algorithm that closely mimics the way that an unimpaired brain controls limb movement. "The result is a prosthetic hand which can be moved far more accurately and naturalistically than previous efforts," Dr. Schwartz said.
The authors of a linked comment note that the control of the robotic arm movements that the woman was able to achieve with training was "highly intuitive, and probably responsible for the unprecedented performance of the developed brain-machine interfaces."
"This bioinspired brain-machine interface is a remarkable technological and biomedical achievement," add Grégoire Courtine, PhD, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland, and coauthors.
"(Although many obstacles remain, neural prosthetic systems are rapidly approaching clinical fruition. Through concerted efforts, combining several strategies, translational neuroprosthetics might soon revolutionary treatment models for sensorimotor paralysis," they say.
Dr. Schwartz and colleagues say next steps in improving this type of thought-controlled prosthetic include incorporating sensory elements — so that the patient might, for instance, be able to tell the difference between hot and cold, or smooth and coarse, surfaces — and also to incorporate wireless technology, removing the need for connecting wires between the patient's head and their prosthesis.
Funding for the project was provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, and UPMC Rehabilitation Institute. Two of the investigators have a patent application pending in the United States that covers some of the methods used in this study. The authors and the comment authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Lancet. Published online December 16, 2012

'You’ll never succeed unless you take risks. Big ones':Six Lessons You Can Live By

1. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and move out of their way.

If you feel like you know everything, you’re wrong. I know what I don’t know and then I find partners who can teach me. A perfect example is my partnership with Patrick Whitesell, my co-CEO at WME. While we take on different roles at the company and focus on different things, we share the same goals and at the end of the day, we’re working toward the same end. That’s been the key to our success.

2. The only constant in business is change. Get comfortable with it.

When I started in the business, there were four broadcast networks and 19 cable networks. Now there are five broadcast networks, 117 cable networks, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, HBOGo, iTunes, Amazon Prime, VOD – the list goes on and on. Next year there will be more distribution platforms, and in ten years the landscape will have shifted another 180 degrees. The business is changing quickly, and the only way to succeed is to change with it. I always tell my colleagues, there is no such thing as a traditional talent agent anymore. It’s about pushing beyond that 10% commission and finding opportunity where it didn’t exist before.

3. Fail often, fail quickly.

Nobody fucks up like I do, but you’ll never succeed unless you take risks. Big ones. In 2009, we took Endeavor, a company that was doing incredibly well, and merged it with the oldest talent agency in the world. From a cultural and organizational standpoint, it was a big risk. People had their doubts. But we had a vision and a lot of help from very smart people (see #1.) Three years later, our business is stronger, our bench is deeper and smarter, and our deal-making is more innovative. It’s a better company – period. You have to lead by example if you want to promote a culture where risk-taking is rewarded.

4. Your schedule makes you dumber.

Force yourself outside of your daily schedule. Be curious and take time to learn about worlds outside of the one you live in. Watch the news, read the paper, educate yourself. Don’t be afraid to call people you don’t know, start a conversation, and ask for things you need. At the very least, you’ll be more interesting. At the most, you’ll take your business in new and bigger directions.

5. You only get one shot – make it count.

I learned this the painful way. After being hit by a car and lying face-down in the middle of Wilshire Boulevard, I was confronted with a whole lot more than my mortality. Take advantage of each day that’s given to you and do something to move the needle on your business, even if it’s just an inch. You’ve heard it before, but life is not a dress rehearsal. Don’t waste your time (or mine.)

6. Good ideas rule all.

In the end, it’s all about creative ideas and content – it’s the lifeblood of our business. I’m fortunate enough to work with the writers, directors, musicians and actors who are defining culture with their voices. It’s why I come to work in the morning. In 100 years, when the world looks different, and we communicate in new ways, and we have more devices and platforms and distribution methods, I believe great artistry will still matter most.

Ari Emanuel

Co-CEO at William Morris Endeavor

Hypertension a 'Triple Curse' for African Americans

Some researchers call hypertension a "triple curse" for African Americans, especially those aged 45 to 65 years.

It's well known that the prevalence of hypertension is much higher among blacks than whites. And recent research showed that African Americans are more likely than whites to be aware of having hypertension and to be treated for it, but less likely to have it controlled.
Now, a new study has found that a 10–mm Hg increase in blood pressure is associated with a 3 times greater increase in stroke risk among blacks compared with whites.
"African Americans are more likely to be hypertensive, and once they're hypertensive, they're less likely to have their blood pressure controlled; and once it's not controlled, it's 3 times worse" in terms of stroke risk, said lead author George Howard, DrPH, professor, biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Together, this amounts to what he referred to as a "triple curse."
"I'm not saying that it's not important for white people to get their blood pressure under control; it is," said Dr. Howard. "I'm saying that it is much more important for blacks."
The study was published online December 10 in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Longitudinal Study
The analysis used data from 27,748 participants in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Disparities (REGARDS) study, a population-based longitudinal cohort study of black and white people aged 45 years and older who were recruited between 2003 and 2007 and followed to 2011.
Researchers assessed stroke risks factors through phone interviews and physical examinations, which included collection of blood pressure levels. They stratified participants by age (45 to 65 years, 65 to 74 years, and 75 years and older) and classified participants as normotensive (systolic blood pressure [SBP] less than 120 mm Hg), prehypertensive (120 to 139 mm Hg), or stage 1 hypertensive (140 to 159 mm Hg).
Because only 1.6% of whites aged 45 to 64 years had stage 2 hypertension stage (SBP 160 mm Hg or greater), this category was omitted from the analyses.
Except for smoking, older participants and those with higher blood pressure generally had more risk factors. Across age and SBP levels, black participants were more likely to be using antihypertensive medications and to have a higher prevalence of diabetes and left ventricular hypertrophy, but less likely to have atrial fibrillation and heart disease.
The investigators found that more blacks than whites had hypertension (71% versus 51%). "That's a huge difference," Dr. Howard stressed.
During 4.5 years of follow-up, 715 incident strokes occurred. Overall, there was a 14% increased risk for stroke associated with a 10–mm Hg higher SBP (hazard ratio [HR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 - 1.21).
However, there was evidence of racial differences in this association ( P for interaction = .02) with an 8% increase in whites (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.00 - 1.16) and a 24% increase in blacks (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.14 - 1.35).
Adjustment for risk factors reduced the estimated effect of SBP differences, but the same pattern of racial differences persisted ( P for interaction = .049).
Striking Disparity
The racial disparity in stroke risk was particularly striking in persons aged 45 to 64 years. Here, the black-to-white HR was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.48 - 1.57) for normotensive participants, 1.38 (95% CI, 0.94 - 2.02) for those with prehypertension, and 2.38 (95% CI, 1.19 - 4.72) for those with stage 1 hypertension.
A similar pattern of increasing disparity in stroke was seen for those aged 65 to 74 years, but the differences were not as dramatic. The smaller black-to-white HRs at older ages is perhaps not surprising because the overall magnitude of black-white racial disparities in the age strata is substantially smaller, said the authors.
(Research shows that the risk for death from stroke among blacks younger than 65 years is 2 to 3 times higher than that among whites of the same age, but the racial disparity decreases with age and is completely absent by age 85 years.)
Dr. Howard said he would love to see a study that included both blacks and whites aged 40 to 60 years who were randomly assigned to "ordinary" blood pressure control (in which physicians try to reduce blood pressure to 120 to 140 mm Hg) or to aggressive blood pressure therapy (in which they seek a decrease to 120 mm Hg).
Such a trial might help determine whether the benefits of aggressive therapy are worth the risks of having patients take several medications. In some cases, adequate blood pressure control requires 5 or 6 medications, all of which might have adverse effects, said Dr. Howard.
"The question is, is the benefit from aggressive blood pressure therapy more than offset by the number of medications that it would take to be that aggressive, and would that eliminate the huge racial disparity in stroke risk?"
In this study, much of the excess stroke risk in those aged 45 to 64 years was among patients with stage 1 hypertension. Reducing blood pressure among middle-aged African Americans to below 120 mm Hg may be a "lofty" goal, but the theoretical economic and public health implications are "staggering," said the authors. They speculated that the "ballpark" cost savings could be $3.3 billion a year.
Dr. Howard stressed that controlling blood pressure among African Americans is the responsibility of physicians as well as patients. As it stands, blacks appear to seek treatment for hypertension but fail to get it adequately controlled.
"I don't think the blame can be laid on either the physician's doorstep or on the patient's doorstep." Dr. Howard lays much of the blame on a food system that "pumps out" salt.
Invited to comment on this study, Salvador Cruz-Flores, MD, professor and acting chair, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, said he found it "very compelling".
The study results suggest that there could be a "biological determinant" at play that makes African Americans more susceptible to the effects of high blood pressure, said Dr. Cruz-Flores.
He pointed out, however, that the findings were based on a single measure of blood pressure taken at the beginning of the study. "We don't know what type of blood pressure control these people had over the years they were followed," said Dr. Cruz-Flores. "The authors are making an assumption, which is probably correct, that blood pressure was sustained at that level for the period of time the subjects were followed, but we don't know whether that's true or not."
Another limitation of the study, he said, is that although the authors adjusted for a number of different stroke risk factors, there may be others that weren't accounted for that could potentially explain the difference in risks between blacks and whites.
He also offered a "word of caution" about expecting stroke risk among young African Americans to equal that of whites if their blood pressure was lowered to below 120 mm Hg. That assumption "should be taken with a grain of salt," he said, given that effect sizes in clinical trials are usually lower than those seen in observational studies.
The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The authors and Dr. Cruz-Flores have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Medscape Medical News 

Dec 13, 2012

Zambia FA seeks Fifa recognition for 107-goal Chitalu

 

The Football Association of Zambia (Faz) says it will approach Fifa about getting recognition for striker Godfrey Chitalu's feat of scoring 107 goals in 1972.

The move comes after Lionel Messi broke German Gerd Mueller's record of 85 goals scored in a calendar year, the Argentine now has 88 to his name in 2012.

Faz spokesman Eric Mwanza told BBC Sport it has the records to prove Chitalu should be acknowledged for his goals.

"We want to make it very clear that it is not a question of authenticating, or trying to verify or see if he actually scored the goals - that is not in question," he insisted.

"What is in question now is why has he not been recognised, and that is what we are looking at now.

"We are sending communication to the Secretary General of Fifa, Mr Jerome Valcke, to look again into the matter of Godfrey Chitalu."

However Fifa has told BBC Sport that the only statistics it maintains relate to the competitions it runs, for example the various age group World Cups.

Therefore football's world governing body says it is not possible to ratify or authenticate any record linked to club football, including the goals scored by Messi and Mueller.

After his playing career Chitalu went on to be a coach eventually leading the Zambian national team.

He died along with 29 other people, of which 18 were Zambian internationals, in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon as the team travelled to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier.

Mwanza also added that 1972 was not the first time that Chitalu had been so prolific.

"In the season preceding 1972 he'd scored about 89 goals," he explained.

"In 1972 he scored 107 goals - that includes the league, African club championship matches, national team matches, and international friendly games."

The president of Faz, Kalusha Bwalya, says he clearly remembers Chitalu's prolific season.

"There's no doubt, my father was in the FA and I've seen a lot of games in my time," he stressed.

"Kabwe Warriors, for whom Godfrey Chitalu played, is a legendary team in our country.

"Their front line had Godfrey Chitalu scoring all the goals - and even for the national team, this man did a lot.

"So I think it would be important for people to recognise his feats."

Bwalya, played under Chitalu when he coached the national team in 1993, says he does not want the talk of Chitalu to detract from Messi's goals in 2012.

"I think it's phenomenal to do what Messi has done," he said.

"Some of us have seen players like Pele, Platini, Maradona and Van Basten, as a former footballer, in the modern-day it is so difficult to score even 20 goals - so don't take anything away from Messi.

"He is out of this world."

One unofficial Zambian football website claims that Chitalu in fact scored 116 goals in 1972 but has discounted the first nine he scored in the African Cup of Champion Clubs.

He reportedly scored the goals over two legs against Majantja of Lesotho in the first round of the tournament but the site does not count the goals for unknown reasons.
BBCsports

Why Mentors Are So Important For Managers And How To Get Them

 

Every  manager needs a mentor…
 

When you become a manager, the reason that you’ve been able to achieve this position is because you know everything that you’ll ever have to know, right? You’ll never make a mistake again and every decision that you’ll make will be the right decision. Correct? I’m betting that you are probably shaking your head right about now and that’s a good thing. You’re always going to need some help.

Why Mentors Are Important

Perhaps we need to start this discussion by making sure that we all share the same understanding of just exactly what a mentor is. Simply put, a mentor is somebody who knows more than you and who is willing to help guide you towards making the right decisions.
We often think of a mentor as being an older person; however, that does not have to be the case. It is entirely possible that a mentor could be our age or even younger than us. What is important is the amount of experience that they have had. We want them to be able to draw on this experience when we need their help in making important decisions and determining what our next steps should be.
You need to keep in mind that a mentor is not paid for their services – that would be a consultant. Rather, a mentor volunteers their time and talents. More often than not, a mentor has been very successful with their career and they have now reached a stage where they would like to start to give back. Helping you is one way that they can go about doing this.

How You Can Go About Finding A Mentor

Hopefully we can all agree that a mentor is a good thing to have. However, how you can go about finding a mentor is another thing altogether. Once you’ve identified someone who has the experience that you need and whom you would like to be a mentor to you, you’ve got to find a way to get them to agree to do it.
This can actually be much trickier than it seems. The reason is because when you ask someone to act as your mentor what runs through their mind is the amount of time that acting as your mentor is going to require and time is the one thing that none of us seem to have enough of.
The secret for you is to simply start to treat them as a mentor without formally asking them to be your mentor. You can do this by adding on to the end of a conversation that you are having with them the phrase “… I’ve got a quick question for you. Can you provide me with any suggestions on how I can…”
Generally you’ll get an idea from the person that you ask this to. The most important thing is to be sure to follow up with them and say “Thank you very much for your advice. I followed it and it worked out very well.” What happens is that your pseudo-mentor feels very good about having given you good advice and so the next time that you ask them for advice they will be more than happy to give it to you.

What All Of This Means For You

Even the best managers need to find mentors in order to help them get better. It doesn’t matter who you find, what does matter is that they have the experience to be able to help you to make better decisions.
It’s not always easy to get someone to commit to being your mentor. A way to get around people’s unwillingness to agree to devote that much time to mentoring you is to not ask them. Just ask for their advice and then provide them with feedback on how it turned out.
They’ll be pleased that you listened to them and they’ll be willing to provide you with more guidance in the future. We all need to have a mentor, take the time to go out and get yourself one!

Adapted from Dr. Jim AndersonBlue Elephant Consulting – 

Why Mentors Are So Important For Managers And How To Get Them

 

Every  manager needs a mentor…
 

When you become a manager, the reason that you’ve been able to achieve this position is because you know everything that you’ll ever have to know, right? You’ll never make a mistake again and every decision that you’ll make will be the right decision. Correct? I’m betting that you are probably shaking your head right about now and that’s a good thing. You’re always going to need some help.

Why Mentors Are Important

Perhaps we need to start this discussion by making sure that we all share the same understanding of just exactly what a mentor is. Simply put, a mentor is somebody who knows more than you and who is willing to help guide you towards making the right decisions.
We often think of a mentor as being an older person; however, that does not have to be the case. It is entirely possible that a mentor could be our age or even younger than us. What is important is the amount of experience that they have had. We want them to be able to draw on this experience when we need their help in making important decisions and determining what our next steps should be.
You need to keep in mind that a mentor is not paid for their services – that would be a consultant. Rather, a mentor volunteers their time and talents. More often than not, a mentor has been very successful with their career and they have now reached a stage where they would like to start to give back. Helping you is one way that they can go about doing this.

How You Can Go About Finding A Mentor

Hopefully we can all agree that a mentor is a good thing to have. However, how you can go about finding a mentor is another thing altogether. Once you’ve identified someone who has the experience that you need and whom you would like to be a mentor to you, you’ve got to find a way to get them to agree to do it.
This can actually be much trickier than it seems. The reason is because when you ask someone to act as your mentor what runs through their mind is the amount of time that acting as your mentor is going to require and time is the one thing that none of us seem to have enough of.
The secret for you is to simply start to treat them as a mentor without formally asking them to be your mentor. You can do this by adding on to the end of a conversation that you are having with them the phrase “… I’ve got a quick question for you. Can you provide me with any suggestions on how I can…”
Generally you’ll get an idea from the person that you ask this to. The most important thing is to be sure to follow up with them and say “Thank you very much for your advice. I followed it and it worked out very well.” What happens is that your pseudo-mentor feels very good about having given you good advice and so the next time that you ask them for advice they will be more than happy to give it to you.

What All Of This Means For You

Even the best managers need to find mentors in order to help them get better. It doesn’t matter who you find, what does matter is that they have the experience to be able to help you to make better decisions.
It’s not always easy to get someone to commit to being your mentor. A way to get around people’s unwillingness to agree to devote that much time to mentoring you is to not ask them. Just ask for their advice and then provide them with feedback on how it turned out.
They’ll be pleased that you listened to them and they’ll be willing to provide you with more guidance in the future. We all need to have a mentor, take the time to go out and get yourself one!

Adapted from Dr. Jim AndersonBlue Elephant Consulting – 

Why Mentors Are So Important For Managers And How To Get Them

 

Every  manager needs a mentor…
 

When you become a manager, the reason that you’ve been able to achieve this position is because you know everything that you’ll ever have to know, right? You’ll never make a mistake again and every decision that you’ll make will be the right decision. Correct? I’m betting that you are probably shaking your head right about now and that’s a good thing. You’re always going to need some help.

Why Mentors Are Important

Perhaps we need to start this discussion by making sure that we all share the same understanding of just exactly what a mentor is. Simply put, a mentor is somebody who knows more than you and who is willing to help guide you towards making the right decisions.
We often think of a mentor as being an older person; however, that does not have to be the case. It is entirely possible that a mentor could be our age or even younger than us. What is important is the amount of experience that they have had. We want them to be able to draw on this experience when we need their help in making important decisions and determining what our next steps should be.
You need to keep in mind that a mentor is not paid for their services – that would be a consultant. Rather, a mentor volunteers their time and talents. More often than not, a mentor has been very successful with their career and they have now reached a stage where they would like to start to give back. Helping you is one way that they can go about doing this.

How You Can Go About Finding A Mentor

Hopefully we can all agree that a mentor is a good thing to have. However, how you can go about finding a mentor is another thing altogether. Once you’ve identified someone who has the experience that you need and whom you would like to be a mentor to you, you’ve got to find a way to get them to agree to do it.
This can actually be much trickier than it seems. The reason is because when you ask someone to act as your mentor what runs through their mind is the amount of time that acting as your mentor is going to require and time is the one thing that none of us seem to have enough of.
The secret for you is to simply start to treat them as a mentor without formally asking them to be your mentor. You can do this by adding on to the end of a conversation that you are having with them the phrase “… I’ve got a quick question for you. Can you provide me with any suggestions on how I can…”
Generally you’ll get an idea from the person that you ask this to. The most important thing is to be sure to follow up with them and say “Thank you very much for your advice. I followed it and it worked out very well.” What happens is that your pseudo-mentor feels very good about having given you good advice and so the next time that you ask them for advice they will be more than happy to give it to you.

What All Of This Means For You

Even the best managers need to find mentors in order to help them get better. It doesn’t matter who you find, what does matter is that they have the experience to be able to help you to make better decisions.
It’s not always easy to get someone to commit to being your mentor. A way to get around people’s unwillingness to agree to devote that much time to mentoring you is to not ask them. Just ask for their advice and then provide them with feedback on how it turned out.
They’ll be pleased that you listened to them and they’ll be willing to provide you with more guidance in the future. We all need to have a mentor, take the time to go out and get yourself one!

Adapted from Dr. Jim AndersonBlue Elephant Consulting – 

Why Mentors Are So Important For Managers And How To Get Them

 

Every  manager needs a mentor…
 

When you become a manager, the reason that you’ve been able to achieve this position is because you know everything that you’ll ever have to know, right? You’ll never make a mistake again and every decision that you’ll make will be the right decision. Correct? I’m betting that you are probably shaking your head right about now and that’s a good thing. You’re always going to need some help.

Why Mentors Are Important

Perhaps we need to start this discussion by making sure that we all share the same understanding of just exactly what a mentor is. Simply put, a mentor is somebody who knows more than you and who is willing to help guide you towards making the right decisions.
We often think of a mentor as being an older person; however, that does not have to be the case. It is entirely possible that a mentor could be our age or even younger than us. What is important is the amount of experience that they have had. We want them to be able to draw on this experience when we need their help in making important decisions and determining what our next steps should be.
You need to keep in mind that a mentor is not paid for their services – that would be a consultant. Rather, a mentor volunteers their time and talents. More often than not, a mentor has been very successful with their career and they have now reached a stage where they would like to start to give back. Helping you is one way that they can go about doing this.

How You Can Go About Finding A Mentor

Hopefully we can all agree that a mentor is a good thing to have. However, how you can go about finding a mentor is another thing altogether. Once you’ve identified someone who has the experience that you need and whom you would like to be a mentor to you, you’ve got to find a way to get them to agree to do it.
This can actually be much trickier than it seems. The reason is because when you ask someone to act as your mentor what runs through their mind is the amount of time that acting as your mentor is going to require and time is the one thing that none of us seem to have enough of.
The secret for you is to simply start to treat them as a mentor without formally asking them to be your mentor. You can do this by adding on to the end of a conversation that you are having with them the phrase “… I’ve got a quick question for you. Can you provide me with any suggestions on how I can…”
Generally you’ll get an idea from the person that you ask this to. The most important thing is to be sure to follow up with them and say “Thank you very much for your advice. I followed it and it worked out very well.” What happens is that your pseudo-mentor feels very good about having given you good advice and so the next time that you ask them for advice they will be more than happy to give it to you.

What All Of This Means For You

Even the best managers need to find mentors in order to help them get better. It doesn’t matter who you find, what does matter is that they have the experience to be able to help you to make better decisions.
It’s not always easy to get someone to commit to being your mentor. A way to get around people’s unwillingness to agree to devote that much time to mentoring you is to not ask them. Just ask for their advice and then provide them with feedback on how it turned out.
They’ll be pleased that you listened to them and they’ll be willing to provide you with more guidance in the future. We all need to have a mentor, take the time to go out and get yourself one!

Adapted from Dr. Jim AndersonBlue Elephant Consulting – 

How Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter

 

As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We suddenly can't remember where we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old acquaintance's name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain fades, we euphemistically refer to these occurrences as "senior moments."
While seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a detrimental impact on our professional, social, and personal well-being.
It happens to most of us, but is it inevitable?
Neuroscientists are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done. It turns that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental workouts can significantly improve our basic cognitive functions. Thinking is essentially a process of making neural connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to excel in making the neural connections that drive intelligence is inherited. However, because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and fluctuate according to mental effort.
Now, a new San Francisco Web-based company has taken it a step further and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental sharpness. Called Lumosity, it was designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford University.
Lumosity, is far more than an online place to exercise your mental skills. That's because they have integrated these exercises into a Web-based program that allows you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills. The program keeps track of your progress and provides detailed feedback on your performance and improvement. Most importantly, it constantly modifies and enhances the games you play to build on the strengths you are developing--much like an effective exercise routine requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use.
Does it work?
Apparently it does. In randomized, controlled clinical trials, Lumosity was shown to significantly improve basic cognitive functions. One study showed students improved their scores on math tests by 34 percent after using Lumosity for six weeks, significantly greater gains than those made by other students in the same class, who were not training with the Lumosity program.
The company says its users have reported clearer and quicker thinking, improved memory for names, numbers, directions, increased alertness and awareness, elevated mood, and better concentration at work or while driving.
While many of the games at Lumosity are free, a modest subscription fee is required to use the full program over the long term.
However, Lumosity is currently offering a free trial of their program to new users so that you can see how well it works before you decide to subscribe. The trial is completely free (no credit card required) and the company believes the results will speak for themselves
Click here to try for yourself.

BITE OF THE APPLE:Steve Ballmer's Nightmare Is Coming True

 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gives his presentation at the launch of Microsoft Windows 8, in New York, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.
Almost one year ago today, we laid out the nightmare scenario for Microsoft (MSFT) that could lead to its business collapsing. After laying it all out, we concluded, "Fortunately for Microsoft, none of this is going to happen."

We were wrong.

A lot changed in the last year. Microsoft's nightmare scenario is actually starting to take hold. We're revisiting our slideshow from last year to see how things have played out.

Each number that follows has one piece of the nightmare scenario for Microsoft and an explanation of where Microsoft stands in comparison to that hypothetical situation.

1. The iPad eats the consumer PC market.

This is happening right now. In the third quarter of 2012, PC sales were down 8 percent on a year-over-year basis worldwide. In the U.S., sales were down 14 percent. A big chunk of the decline can be attributed to the rise of the iPad. Apple sold 14 million iPads last quarter, which is more than the top PC maker, Lenovo, which shipped 13.7 million PCs. Throw in Apple's 4.9 million Macs, and it's the top computer maker by a mile.

As the personal computer market goes ...

2. Employees gradually switch away from using Windows PCs for work.

This trend has not played out that dramatically in 2012. However, British bank Barclays bought 8,500 iPads at employees' insistence this year.

And a recent survey showed that the iPhone has overtaken RIM as the smartphone of choice for enterprises. As more people get comfortable with Apple's mobile products at work, Microsoft will have to worry about them converting their Windows-based computers to Macs at work, too.

Microsoft has a plan to combat this but ...

3. Windows 8 fails to stop the iPad.

Gulp. It's still early, but every most data points say Windows 8 is not going to make a dent in the iPad.

-- NPD says Windows tablet sales were "nonexistent" between 10/21 and 11/17.
-- It also says Windows sales were down 21 percent over that period on a year-over-year basis.
-- Piper analyst Gene Munster was in a Microsoft store for two hours on Black Friday and saw zero Surface sales.
-- Microsoft reportedly cut its Surface order in half.
-- Ballmer said Surface sales were "modest."

Meanwhile, we can't think of any analyst who has cut his or her iPad estimate for the quarter based on Surface sales. In Microsoft's defense, it says it sold 40 million licenses, which it says is out pacing Windows 7. There's a chance analysts are wrong.

4. Loyal developers start to leave the Microsoft platform.

We're not sure if this happening or not. So far, the early signs are actually positive for Microsoft. It has over 20,000 apps in its Windows app store. Windows 8 is only a month old. At the same time, Microsoft doesn't have a Facebook app for the Surface, and one of the biggest complaints from reviewers was the lack of good apps for Windows 8.

Windows Phone has over 100,000 apps, but iOS has 700,000 apps, with 275,000 made specifically for the iPad.

5. Windows Phone gets no traction despite the Nokia deal and RIM's collapse.

This has happened. Despite everything Microsoft has tried in mobile for the last two years, consumers aren't buying it. The latest data from IDC says Microsoft has 2 percent of the global mobile market share. And the latest phone from Nokia is thick and heavy compared to phones from Apple and Samsung. We don't expect it to be a blockbuster.

Suddenly, all the dominoes are in place for a lot of bad things to start happening. ...

6. Office loses relevance.

Microsoft's Office has been a juggernaut. In fiscal 2012, the Microsoft business division did ~$24 billion in sales.

Last year, we cautioned, "Office runs only on Microsoft platforms and the Mac. As employees start to do more and more work from non-Windows smartphones and iPads, companies may start to question why they're still buying Office for every employee and upgrading it every two or three releases."

The death of Office, has not happened, though. Despite Google's attempt to create Docs, companies aren't giving up on Excel.

7. Microsoft's other business applications start to erode.

If Windows continues to fade, and if Office starts to fade, then corporations have less reason to adopt Microsoft technologies on the back end like Exchange Server for email, SharePoint Server for collaboration, Lync for videoconferencing and real-time communication, and Dynamics for CRM and accounting.

Exchange, SharePoint, and Dynamics all bring in more than $1 billion per year, and Lync is Microsoft's fastest growing business application. Plus, they pull through a lot of other Microsoft products. ...

8. The platform business collapses.

For the last decade, Microsoft's fastest growing business segment has been Server & Tools, which did $7.4 billion in sales last year.

A lot of these sales come because Microsoft business apps — Exchange, SharePoint, and Dynamics — require these products. But as companies stop buying these apps, they will have less reason to buy the Microsoft platform products that run them, and the System Center ($1 billion+) products used to manage them.

9. The Xbox was never going to make up the slack, and Microsoft can no longer afford to keep investing in it.

In a year of relative gloom, Microsoft's Xbox has become a big bright spot for the company. Kinect is great technology, people are still buying the console, and it's been a great entry point for Microsoft to take over the living room. But, for a company like Microsoft, Xbox isn't enough. Microsoft had $21 billion in operating income last year. The Entertainment and Devices division, which is home to the Xbox had $364 million in operating income. So, as nice as Xbox is, it's not going to be enough to boost Microsoft if the rest of the business collapses.

10. Microsoft suffers a huge quarterly loss. Ballmer retires to play golf.

Let's not kid ourselves — it's going to take a sudden, unexpected disaster at Microsoft to get Ballmer out of the company.

In 2012, Microsoft had its first ever quarterly loss as a public company because it had to write down the $6.2 billion acquisition of aQuantive. Investors mostly shrugged. If Microsoft posted a real loss people would freak out. But that's going to be nearly impossible in the near term.

In the long term ...

Is this just a bad dream?

Last year, we concluded by saying, "Fortunately for Microsoft, none of this is going to happen. Windows 8 will reassert the dominance of the Windows PC. Office and other business products will remain corporate necessities, and developers will never be able to ignore Microsoft. Windows Phone will become a viable third mobile platform, the Xbox will continue to dominate the living room, and new products will surprise the pundits who thought Microsoft couldn't innovate. Even Bing will finally make a profit someday."

This year, it's a lot harder to say much of that. Windows 8 doesn't seem to be reasserting the dominance of the PC. Windows Phone is not a viable third platform. Bing is still burning money. The Microsoft nightmare scenario is actually becoming a reality.

Man dies of heart attack after dancing to 'Gangnam Style'

 

• 

A U.K. man collapsed and died from a heart attack at his office Christmas party - after dancing to Gangnam Style.
Eamonn Kilbride, 46, had been doing the energetic horse-riding style moves to Korean pop sensation Psy's hit song with his co-workers - but seconds later suddenly dropped to the floor.
The tragedy occurred at an office party for the Thwaites brewery, in Blackburn, Lancashire, where Kilbride worked as an IT manager.
His wife Julie was with him, celebrating her birthday, at the Whitehall Country Club in Darwen, Lancashire, when he began to complain of chest pains. She desperately tried to revive him with CPR.
Paramedics who were on the scene five minutes later also tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead as he arrived at Royal Blackburn Hospital shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The family, who live in Burnley, said the coroner told them that he had suffered from acute heart failure.
Julie paid tribute to a "loving husband" who she had been married to for 23 years. “I want people to know how he would help anybody whether it was a life-long friend, or someone he had just met," she said.
“We were having a fantastic time at the Christmas party and Eamonn had just finished dancing to Gangnam Style," Julie said of the incident. "He was up on stage and entertaining everybody.
“He said he had a bit of a pain and just collapsed."
Julie continued: “Eamonn was such an intelligent man, he inspired our children and made sure they had a good education. He loved me dearly and would tell people all the time. I know he thought the world of us.”
An initial investigation was launched into Kilbride’s death by police, but officers quickly established no suspicious circumstances

 The Sun

DANCE WITH CARE AT YOUR XMAS PARTY:Experts Warn As British Dad Dies After Dancing 'Gangnam Style'

In this Sept. 25, 2012 photo, South Korean rapper PSY, who sings the popular "Gangnam Style" song, performs during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

There are certain things that middle-aged men should probably steer clear of: buying a flashy sports car, dating a barely-legal hottie, succumbing to the allure of hair-in-a-can.
However, this week, after the death of a British dad, experts now warn that dancing "Gangnam Style" may be yet another middle age no-no.
As the Sun notes, 46-year-old Eamonn Kilbride was performing the energetic dance -- made wildly famous by Korean pop star Psy -- at his office Christmas party over the weekend when he suddenly collapsed and died.
It is believed that the father of three suffered from a heart attack.
“We were having a fantastic time at the Christmas party and Eamonn had just finished dancing to Gangnam Style. He was up on stage and entertaining everybody. He said he had a bit of a pain and just collapsed," his wife, Julie, said, according to the Telegraph.
In the wake of Kilbride's death, Professor Bernard Keavney, a consultant cardiologist at Newcastle University, has warned men to be "measured at Christmas parties and...[to not] stray outside your comfort zone."
“The chance that you’ll come to grief is very small. But as with any form of untypical exercise…be somewhat measured. Let the lady dance around you,” he told the Telegraph. "I certainly wouldn't say that people need to avoid Gangnam Style over the holidays. [But] if you're unused to taking vigorous physical exercise, you shouldn't throw yourself into violent exertion without due preparation."

This isn't the first time that a man has died from dancing. According to a 2007 Associated Press report, 48-year-old Robert Stitt died during a dance-off in a parking lot.
Over the last few months, a great number of public figures, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, boxer Manny Pacquiao and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, have all jumped on the "Gangnam Style" bandwagon. The viral pop sensation, which has racked up more than 900 million views on YouTube, took the world by storm after its release earlier this year.
While the trigger of Kilbride's death may be considered bizarre by some, cardiovascular disease is not a light-hearted matter. According to 2009 statistics on the website of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Moreover, in 2010, more than 27 million "uninstitutionalized adults" had reportedly been diagnosed with heart disease.
YahooNews.

Nadal eyes clay season for return to top form

 

MADRID (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal is aiming to be back to his best after injury in time for the claycourt season and the run-up to Roland Garros, the Spaniard said on Monday.

The 26-year-old former world number one has slipped down to fourth in the ATP rankings and has not played since his shock second-round exit at Wimbledon in June.
The Spaniard was diagnosed with a partial tear of the patella tendon and inflammation of the left knee, only returning to hitting balls on a practice court two weeks ago.
"My recovery is going well and the doctors are pleased," Nadal told Spanish radio.
"I have to look at my career with a five-year view. I considered having surgery, but the doctors have always preferred not to take risks with my treatment."
The 11-times grand slam singles champion was pragmatic about his return to competition.
"I would like to return in January," he said. "I don't expect to return and win the Australian Open, I have to be realistic. The results will not worry me in the first tournaments back.
"I have to take into account my form after so long out. It wouldn't bother me if I slipped down to 15th in the world as long as inside I knew was able to continue.
"I want to be 100 percent in time for Monte Carlo and the run-up to Roland Garros."
Nadal won a record seventh French Open title in May.
           

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently

 World's richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the "jealous" middle class to task for "drinking, or smoking and socializing" rather than working to earn their own fortune.

What if she has a point?

Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think," spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.

It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.

"[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have," he said. "And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money."

1. Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.

"The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest," Siebold writes.

That's why there's a certain shame that comes along with "getting rich" in lower-income communities.

"The world class knows that while having money doesn't guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable."

2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.

"The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don't try to pretend to save the world," Siebold told Business Insider.

The problem is that middle class people see that as a negative––and it's keeping them poor, he writes.

"If you're not taking care of you, you're not in a position to help anyone else. You can't give what you don't have."

3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

"While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems," Siebold writes.

"The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God, government, their boss or their spouse. It's the average person's level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away."

4. Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge.

"Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge," he writes.

"Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master's degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness...The wealthy aren't interested in the means, only the end."

5. Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.

"Self-made millionaires get rich because they're willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams, goals and ideas into an unknown future," Siebold writes.

"People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression."

6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," he writes.

"The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities."

7. Average people earn money doing things they don't love. Rich people follow their passion.

"To the average person, it looks like the rich are working all the time," Siebold says. "But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it."

On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don't enjoy "because they need the money and they've been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort."

8. Average people set low expectations so they're never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge.

"Psychologists and other mental health experts often advise people to set low expectations for their life to ensure they are not disappointed," Siebold writes.

"No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations."

9. Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.

"That's why people like Donald Trump go from millionaire to nine billion dollars in debt and come back richer than ever," he writes.

"While the masses are fixated on the doing and the immediate results of their actions, the great ones are learning and growing from every experience, whether it's a success or a failure, knowing their true reward is becoming a human success machine that eventually produces outstanding results."

10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money.

Linear thought might tell people to make money in order to earn more, but Siebold says the rich aren't afraid to fund their future from other people's pockets.

"Rich people know not being solvent enough to personally afford something is not relevant. The real question is, 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing?'" he writes.

 

11. Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they're driven by emotion and greed.

Investing successfully in the stock market isn't just about a fancy math formula.

"The rich know that the primary emotions that drive financial markets are fear and greed, and they factor this into all trades and trends they observe," Siebold writes.

"This knowledge of human nature and its overlapping impact on trading give them strategic advantage in building greater wealth through leverage."

12. Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.

"Here's how to live below your means and tap into the secret wealthy people have used for centuries: Get rich so you can afford to," he writes.

"The rich live below their means, not because they're so savvy, but because they make so much money that they can afford to live like royalty while still having a king's ransom socked away for the future."

13. Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.

Rich parents teach their kids from an early age about the world of "haves" and "have-nots," Siebold says. Even he admits many people have argued that he's supporting the idea of elitism.

He disagrees.

"[People] say parents are teaching their kids to look down on the masses because they're poor. This isn't true," he writes. "What they're teaching their kids is to see the world through the eyes of objective reality––the way society really is."

If children understand wealth early on, they'll be more likely to strive for it later in life.

14. Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth.

The reason wealthy people earn more wealth is that they're not afraid to admit that money can solve most problems, Siebold says.

"[The middle class] sees money as a never-ending necessary evil that must be endured as part of life. The world class sees money as the great liberator, and with enough of it, they are able to purchase financial peace of mind."

15. Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.

While the rich don't put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education, they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over, Siebold says.

"Walk into a wealthy person's home and one of the first things you'll see is an extensive library of books they've used to educate themselves on how to become more successful," he writes.

"The middle class reads novels, tabloids and entertainment magazines."

16. Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people.

The negative money mentality poisoning the middle class is what keeps the rich hanging out with the rich, he says.

"[Rich people] can't afford the messages of doom and gloom," he writes. "This is often misinterpreted by the masses as snobbery.

Labeling the world class as snobs is another way the middle class finds to feel better bout themselves and their chosen path of mediocrity."

17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.

Siebold theorizes that the wealthy focus on what they'll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.

"The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities," he writes.

"Even in the midst of a cash flow crisis, the rich reject the nickle and dime thinking of the masses. They are the masters of focusing their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money."

18. Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks.

"Leverage is the watchword of the rich," Siebold writes.

"Every investor loses money on occasion, but the world class knows no matter what happens, they will aways be able to earn more."

19. Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.

For the most part, it takes guts to take the risks necessary to make it as a millionaire––a challenge most middle class thinkers aren't comfortable living with.

"Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class mindset," Siebold writes.

World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn't easy and the need for comfort can be devastating. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty."

20. Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.

While the middle class squabbles over the virtues of Obamacare and their company's health plan, the super wealthy are enrolled in a super elite "boutique medical care" association, Siebold says.

"They pay a substantial yearly membership fee that guarantees them 24-hour access to a private physician who only serves a small group of members," he writes.

"Some wealthy neighborhoods have implemented this strategy and even require the physician to live in the neighborhood."

21. Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.

The idea the wealth must come at the expense of family time is nothing but a "cop-out", Siebold says.

"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance."

From Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think