Yesterday I was hit hard by the sobering news of a school friend who died. I only went top school with him for two months, but we formed a close friendship very quickly – one of a precious handful of people in my life that simply jumped into my life without needing to try.

It was effortless.

We weren’t overly similar, our humour was different but we just gelled. We had that instant rapport that is so rare. He was a health nut at school, the best bowler (cricket) I’ve ever seen in an amateur and had a vitality and love of life that I shared. We just clicked.

Adam is dead now. He’s dead because, somehow, he thought smoking occassionally fit within his idea of ‘all things in moderation’ – i.e. being healthy. He exercised, ate healthily, drank plenty of water and even sent me details of new-fangled antioxidant research (he was, like me, an enthusiastic amateur biologist)

The world is a poorer place for Adam’s loss and so I thought I would explain some things to those who somehow think smoking occassionally is ‘safe’…

Of course my thoughts go out to his family and friends – but words of support would be an empty gesture to a great guy.

…No. My hope is that perhaps, just perhaps, my words below might encourage another great person, one I have never met before and may never meet in the future, from extinguishing their last cigarette instead of extinguishing themselves.

why stop smoking?

Smoking looks UGLY.

Smoking is killing you.

Smoking is drying out your skin so you age quicker.

Why smoking is going to kill you

Firstly – it’s not the nicotine! The radioactivity in every cigarette is killing you MUCH more efficiently!

I laugh inwardly at people who are scared of x-rays when they smoke a packet of cigarettes every day.

They are receiving the equivalent radiation of 200 or more x-rays per year, yet because they unconsciously support their own ignorance of the dangers of smoking while x-rays are upfront about the radiation, X-Rays seem unsafe to them!

…What?? This is like being scared of going outside because you are aware of the risk of lightning striking you while being ignorantly delighted to use an electric hair dryer when you are still wet from the shower!

Seriously? Duh!

But let’s ignore the radiation for a moment and talk about what happens when you STOP smoking…

(Extracted from www.whyquit.com and edited by moi in bold)

20 minutes	Your blood pressure, pulse rate, and the temperature of your hands and feet will all return to normal. Your hands stop shaking like a crazy person!
8 hours	Remaining nicotine in your bloodstream will have fallen to 6.25% of normal peak daily levels, a 93.75% reduction.
12 hours	Your blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal. (You’re not sucking on the same gas that comes out of a car’s exhaust. You know – the way some people KILL themselves? Yeah, that.)
24 hours	Anxieties peak in intensity and within two weeks should return to near pre-cessation levels. (right now you are pissed off because the poison you’ve been taking had a built-in addictive chemical so you are going to be as narky as a township of premenstrual hammer throwers. Safety Tip:  remove sharp objects if you live with someone  )
48 hours	Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal (Wow! You DO have fingertips, who would have thought, eh?) . Cessation anger and irritability peaks. (You are still narky – it will pass)
72 hours	Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free and over 90% of all nicotine metabolites (the chemicals it breaks down into) will now have passed from your body via your urine.Symptoms of chemical withdrawal have peaked in intensity, including restlessness. The number of cue induced crave episodes experienced during any quitting day will peak for the “average” ex-user. (You will want a cigarette NOW! Resist – your body is winning the war!) Lung bronchial tubes leading to air sacs (alveoli) are beginning to relax in recovering smokers. Breathing is becoming easier and the lungs functional abilities are starting to increase. (Isn’t it amazing to smell the air you breathe? Well maybe not the sweaty guy next to you at the gym, but hey! Life is full of challenges  )
5 – 8 days	The “average” ex-smoker will encounter an “average” of three cue induced crave episodes per day. Although we may not be “average” and although serious cessation time distortion can make minutes feel like hours, it is unlikely that any single episode will last longer than 3 minutes. Keep a clock handy and time them. (what he said)
10 days	10 days – The “average ex-user is down to encountering less than two crave episodes per day, each less than 3 minutes. (I personally found this had stopped by day 7)
10 days to 2 weeks	Recovery has likely progressed to the point where your addiction is no longer doing the talking. Blood circulation in our gums and teeth are now similar to that of a non-user. (Ever chipped a tooth at a club and wondered the next morning how it happened? It wasn’t a bar fight or the alcohol deadening your senses, you probably took a BITE out of a glass  )
2 to 4 weeks	Cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of these symptoms get seen and evaluated by your physician. (See a doctor if you still have cravings – but chances are you had a cigarette to take the edge off, so take this into account before giving up on giving up…)
21 days	Brain acetylcholine receptor counts up-regulated in response to nicotine’s presence have now down-regulated and receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers.
2 weeks to 3 months	Your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve. (Stairs aren’t scary anymore – why not try running up some, just to be a dare devil? )
3 weeks to 3 months	Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared.
1 to 9 months	Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia have regrown in your lungs thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean, and reduce infections. Your body’s overall energy has increased. (I found this after 2 weeks but it gets better and better)
1 year	Your excess risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke has dropped to less than half that of a smoker.
5 to 15 years	Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker.
10 years	Your risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer is between 30% and 50% of that for a continuing smoker (2005 study). Risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day).  Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study), while risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus has also declined. Your risk of developing diabetes is now similar to that of a never-smoker (2012 study).
13 years	Your risk of smoking induced tooth loss has declined to that of a never-smoker (2006 study).
15 years	Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked.
20 years	Female excess risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, has now reduced to that of a never-smoker (2008 study). Risk of pancreatic cancer reduced to that of a never-smoker (2011 study).

Other resources:

• http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf
• http://whyquit.com/whyquit/a_benefits_time_table.html
• http://www.joelspitzer.com/smoke_in_the_lung.htm
• http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/NB04020.htm
• (On radiation intake levels not specific to smoking) http://www.ansto.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/45314/Ionising_Rad_broch_lr.pdf
• (On radiation from cigarettes) http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/09/27/ntr.ntr145.abstract

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[facebook_ilike] Because I’m always hunting down the best deals, easiest technology for beginners to use and my inbox is full of “”which phone/computer/internet plan/printer is right for me, Trent?” I have both an Android Smartphone and an iPhone AND a basic mobile for testing phone and mobile Internet coverage in certain areas (I’m a very hands-on guy – no lab tests here!)

The one thing I have to say is if you are in Sydney, Vodafone is hard to beat!

Optus has had too many connection issues in all of my tests, so until someone else knocks them off their throne, Vodafone is my pick for small business phone access with internet for Facebook and email use that just works.

Here is some news about what they have been doing with their network; which explains why I’ve been seeing such dramatic improvements in coverage and Internet speeds compared to Optus and Telstra.

Vodafone have been upgrading its existing network and adding new sites to bring customers better call quality, improved coverage and faster data speeds, as well as building a new 850MHz network to improve performance for compatible smartphones and mobile broadband devices. This is obviously great for mobile phone and broadband users.

In addition to this, there is also a lot of work being done behind the scenes to improve the activation rate of placed orders, which reduces the time to getting your phone up and running ( saw this in person at the local store when I activated my iPhone earlier this year).

[source - Vodafone Australia, cut down and edited for the important bits by yours truly]

[facebook_ilike]First of all, sorry to all my subscribers! I have been very quiet this last year because, in between working on the new book with Shannon, I have been working on a book that I was almost bullied into writing – but in a nice way of course.

Helping people starting a business – the SIMPLE way – has been something I’ve done unconsciously for 15 years.

… and during that time I’ve had business people say ‘You should write a book about how you solve problems’ I’d always smiled politely, assuming that they were gushing becuase I’d helped them overcome business challenges they hadn’t been able to before, etc.

I mean, come on! How could li’l ol’ me be an expert on solving problems that hasn’t already been published by some Ecoomics whiz?

It wasn’t until two friends suggested I write a book that I realised I couldn’t dismiss the idea without giving it a shot.
If it were just friends and family saying ‘write it’? I might never have written this book.
If it were only customers telling me ‘write a book’ amidst their excitement of getting their busines started or becoming profitable again? I also might never have  decided to take this journey…

…And what a journey it has been!

I started with the idea to find common solutions that stand the test of time in both business and personal situations. A list of fix-it guides to problems we often feel are too big to handle ourselves and work out WHY we think we are unable to do it alone. A bit like Spotless for general problem solving hehe
(Spotless was written by Shannon and Jennifer and you can buy it by clicking here or at your local ABC bookshop… right next to the book I wrote with Shannon hint hint)

Writing Stainless with Shannon was probably only possible due to problem solving – we started writing the book when I was still in Adelaide, I flew over for some of the writing, but found that a system of talking and writing in a fluid way was the best way for both of us and I think it shows in the book.
The new book with Shannon involves more specific solutions, so it was more research based and not as quick to write (I can’t say more at this stage, but watch this space for more news)

BUT the upside of this is that when it was Shannon’s turn to work on the manuscript after I’d passed it back to her, I was able to work on my solo work.

My book contains some simple truths that have held true in the last 15 years of coaching, consulting, project managing for SMEs, charities and start-up businesses… but my “Eureka moment” (that point of amazing serendipity writers get when they have ‘penned’ a great narrative or a chapter that has truly leapt off the page) was when I realised that I had been using a single guideline, unconsciously, each and every time I was problem-solving those challenges that both customers and friends had been putting in front of me…

The guideline was more concise than one of my favourite adages;
Keep It Simple, Stupid!

It was more universal than identifying the reason many people were having problems in a relationship;
Contempt prior to investigation impedes all growth

And it was far more elegant in its simplicity than the barrier we put before ourselves;
Can’t see the wood for the trees…

This guideline is also my working title for the book.

Start at the End

• Congratulations Amelia & Tim (& Granny Bronwyn!)
  Amelia had a little girl last night! Giana Mary, 3.31 kg / 7lb 8.5 oz. #

• Congratulations Amelia & Tim (& Granny Bronwyn!)
  Amelia had a little girl last night! Giana Mary, 3.31 kg / 7lb 8.5 oz. #

Trent Hayes and Shannon Lush May 2010 at Orange City Library

We are at it again!

Stay tuned for a new book tour dates for Christmas.

Thank you to everyone who asked us to return, Shannon and myself are looking forward to seeing you again.

For anyone who wants us to attend a function, we are especially interested in supporting ecological causes and events, so please use the contact form below or contact our wonderful agent, Elizabeth Troyeur for urgnet details of our availability on (02) 9387 1917

Thank you again for all your support, without you wonderful readers and your stories we wouldn’t have books to write!

[dekoboko]

If you want to know how to make money on the internet, don’t click on another one of those pages promising money-back guarantees!

They are SCAMS! Don’t click on them and if you already have leave the site straight away! Don’t give them your email address!
(Click here for a list of special offer sites I’ve had complaints about)

I receive so many emails each week about which of these are real and “Do these Gurus really make millions on the internet, Trent?” is the most common question.

The answer is, YES! They are making money, but they are doing so in a way similar to Pyramid scams that are illegal in the real world.

How do they SCAM you out of your money?

Imagine 4 people get together, hire someone to recycle some information from around the internet, make it into a document and then sell it as “The latest way to make money on the internet!” then sell this valuable information for $30.

But wait! There is MORE! As soon as you try and either complete the purchase or (heaven forbid) leave the site, you are told of an exclusive offer worth THOUSANDS for only $300.

Oh you thought it had stopped? Oh no! As soon as you have signed up for THAT offer (or again make the silly attempt to leave their website) you are told of a consolation prize that is free (BUT you will pay each month when you forget to cancel your subscription)

So the answer is YES, you can make money like this – but whether you will sleep at night depends on whether you have the morals of a thief or not 

Not sure who to vote for?

Maybe this will help.