A Season to Celebrate...

Whether you celebrate Chanukah, Christmas, Festivus, Kwanzaa, or Winter Solstice...

I wish you and your families a season of happiness, joy, good health, and lots of love...

...and may the days, months and years ahead, bring you great prosperity, safety and a hope that the future will fill your life with awe-inspiring wonderment... 

Thank you so much for your continue support of OptiFuse where we have so much gratitude and love to those we call friends...

The War on Tradition...

Sometimes the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.
                                     ~Nicolas Sparks

Recently, our house has been abuzz with activities concerning the upcoming holidays.

Lights have been strung under the eaves of the house, through the bushes and shrubs, and up the bare trunks of the palm trees in front of our home.

A Christmas tree has been purchased from a local lot and set up in a prominent place in the house; adorned with lights, ornaments, and an angel at the top. Many different sizes and shapes of gift are situated just below the largest of the tree branches.

Home-made red and green Christmas stockings, each personalized with our family members’ names intricately knitted, are hung along the mantle of our fake fireplace (a gas fireplace is fake in my opinion).

An evergreen wreath is attached to our front door, holiday cards are decoratively displayed, and Christmas candles are lit each evening.

Although we no longer are parents of young children, my wife and I still enjoy sitting together to watch Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and It’s a Wonderful Life.

I have watched these shows no less than 50 times, but they still rekindle fond memories of my entire family sitting around an old 19" black and white television on chilly December nights (the only time of the year that one could watch these shows) passing around a bowl of freshly popped corn with the crackle of a warm fire and the smell of fresh pine lingering in the air.

Later, I had the opportunities to share these same experiences with my own children... although through the "magic" of videotape... we could now watch these same shows on a hot day in July if we so wanted...

Such are the long-standing traditions of the holiday season at our home...

Traditions are a way to hold on to the past... to wax nostalgically of previous times shared with friends, family and loved ones... to apply special meaning to events or family practices.

They help to pass along beliefs and/or behaviors to members of family, organization, or a society.

Many traditions are typically centered about certain holidays and observances, such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Fourth of July, and St. Patrick’s Day.

Other traditions concern rituals and ceremonies to mark life events, such as birthdays, weddings, and funerals. Blowing out candles on a cake... tossing a bouquet... reciting Psalms 23...

Different religions have their own traditions as do the multitude of geographical regions and sovereign states throughout the world.

Families have their own traditions that they have passed from generation to generation...

My children now make many of the same dishes that their great-grandmother prepared for her table on Thanksgiving... and perhaps one day... they will pass it along to their children.

While some traditions are a great way to pass a legacy to our children, there are some legacies that have simply outgrown their usefulness or have now become symbols of an era when intolerance, ignorance, and hatred toward others prevailed.

Such traditions may include such items as flying the confederate flag, fraternity hazing, and/or using racial epithets to name sports teams...

Although there are still those who will defend these practices as "tradition", there is no place in a modern society for these outdated and potentially dangerous behaviors and customs.

I often find the oxymoronic phrase, "a new tradition" amusing.

The phrase is commonly found among Madison Avenue marketers seeking to start some new trend or fad that they can monetize.

Something is either new... or it is traditional... but it can’t be both at the same time...

If tradition is a way to preserve the past... then exploration and innovation are the paths to discover new futures.

New ideas, methodologies, and processes are causing us to change the way we live, play and work.

The lines that once defined everything we do are now blurring, while on their way to complete elimination...

No longer can we hold the reasonable expectation that things will be the same tomorrow as they are today.

The war has been declared between the traditionalists and the innovators.

Traditionalists are comforted by, and have great reverence for, the ways of the past... they understood how things used to work, what the rules were and where they stood...

They typically fear change because it brings uncertainty and rewrites the rules of order.  

People are creatures of habit. Change causes distress.

Change forces people to relearn much of what they already know.

Innovators are focused on the technology driving us into the future. They aren’t satisfied with the status quo and seek to disrupt it at every opportunity.

They believe that all change is good... and that traditionalists are hanging onto antiquated ideas and customs well beyond their usefulness.

Change causes the world to re-write the rules of play... re-evaluating everything that we know and love. It transforms our thoughts, ideas and standard operating procedures...

Technology has been the catalyst for much of the change we are experiencing today.

In the same way that certain traditions are being eliminated, not all innovation is beneficial to society...

Technology is changing so rapidly, on so many different fronts, that most of us are unable to keep up.

By the time the world learns to effectively use one technology, it is soon replaced with another... which is quickly replaced with still another...

This is the very reason that so many of us are clinging to the tools and ideas that seemingly work for us... with the rationale, "if it isn’t broke... then don’t fix it".

The war between tradition and technology will be fought until the end of time...

It is comforting knowing that certain traditions are so well-entrenched that their likely demise will supersede my lifetime...

Technology might change the way things are done... or how we communicate...

...but in the end... the world is made up of people who share many of the same hopes... dreams... and fears...

We all want a safe and secure world, living in abundance rather than scarcity, sharing ideas of love rather than hate, and creating a tradition of peace...

Thank you for your support of OptiFuse where we attempt to marry new innovation with the tradition of personalized service...

Keeping the Streak Alive...

Crash Davis: I never told him to stay out of your bed.

Annie Savoy: Yes you did. 

Crash Davis: I told him that a player on a streak has to respect the streak... because it doesn’t happen very often... and Annie you know that...

          Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon
          Bull Durham - 1988

At one time my brother Joe and I had a friendly competition going...

Which one of us could complete the most "Free Cell" games without coming to an impasse and thus losing the game?

For those of us who are old enough to remember, Free Cell was one of the free games that was included in the original Microsoft Windows software along with solitaire, minesweeper, hearts and later 3D pinball.

Each day, Joe and I would call each other and announce our current win streak.

When we found ourselves on a long winning streak, it meant that we no longer played the game in a casual manner. Instead we would carefully plan each move and perhaps multitude of moves beyond the next move as well...

Extra time and attention was made as to not break the streak.

However, once the streak was broken, then was a matter of simply playing haphazardly without any real motivation to perform better.

Some streaks, good or bad, are simply a matter of luck predetermined on the laws of probability such as flipping a coin or rolling dice.

About 20 years ago, my friends and I were driving from San Diego to Lake Powell in Utah to begin a 10-day vacation rafting down the Colorado River. The half-way point was Las Vegas so my friends and I decided to stop for lunch at one of the casinos downtown offering one of those $1.99 prime rib deals (20 years ago they were still offering deals like that to bring in gamblers).

As we were on our way to the restaurant, I passed a roulette table and quickly noticed that the display showing past rolls, indicated that "black" had come up 14 times in a row...

I thought to myself... there is no way that it will come up "black" again, so I swiftly removed $20 from my pocket and played "red".

Sure enough... when the wheel stopped... the ball was embedded on a black number...

"This is crazy", I thought to myself, "the odds of being black fifteen times in a row was nearly 32,000 to 1... and the odds of it coming up black again are 64,000 to 1"

So I plunked down $40 this time... only to watch it come up black yet once again.

$80 was played the next time... $160 the next... $320 the next... black... black... then green 00...

I had but $400 left in my pocket, but I was sure that the next roll would get me close to even... the odds of it being black once again was now over a million to one...

Black

I couldn’t believe that I had lost a thousand dollars on a few spins of the roulette wheel.

As it turns out... I would have lost a considerable amount of more money had I decided to keep playing as a red number didn’t occur for another seven spins of the wheel... 27 spins with the ball landing on a red number... 137 million to one (actually a bit less when you consider the 0 and 00 numbers).

This was a streak for the ages... I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time...

I had taken statistics in college... but I suppose I didn’t learn my lesson... this time my tuition payment to "the school of statistical probability’ cost me just over $1000... and it’s a lesson I’ve never forgotten since.

Streaks can be an unlikely source of motivation.

A local basketball team is currently riding a streak of winning the game when they are ahead of the other team with 5 minute left on the game clock. The statistic is somewhat obscure with no official record of this stat being kept by the NCAA... but the team knows... and so do the fans...

As of last night’s game, the team’s 5-minute winning streak is now at 152 games... that’s a span of over 5 years!

The team plays hard all game... however if the team is ahead at the 5 minute point... then they find just a little more effort to seal the deal and win the game.

Every streak, like records, are there to be broken... so one day this streak will undoubtedly end.

Although some streaks have ended... they may never be matched or broken.

64 years ago, during the summer of 1941, Joe DiMaggio got a hit in 56 straight games. That record still endures with the closest person since being Pete Rose in 1978, hitting safely in 44 games.

It is said that Joe DiMaggio’s streak is a record that will never be broken attested to by the fact that even in the "steroid era" of baseball when so many other records fell by the wayside... this record was never in jeopardy of falling.

The wonderful thing about streaks is that once the streak is over... another streak can begin immediately.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to go door-to-door, accompanying my daughter and a few other young girls, in the attempt to sell Girl Scout cookies door-to-door in our neighborhood..

My daughter and her friends were relatively shy (at the time at least), so approaching a strange house in order to persuade the homeowner to purchase relatively expensive cookies took them far outside her own comfort zone.

After a few wins and losses, the other parents and I decided to make the kids’ selling effort a game instead of a chore.

We quickly agreed that a prize would be given to the girl selling the most boxes of cookies, the girl who sold cookies to the most customers, and the girl who had the longest streak of consecutive sales.

After a short while, the girls quickly realized that the key to winning all of the prizes was winning the "streak prize"... the gauntlet had been dropped and it was "on"!

After a few "wins"... the girls became masters at closing the deal... absolutely refusing to take no for an answer as it would interrupt their streak...

I actually felt sorry for the homeowners who had to deal with the endless pleading (and in one case crying) on their doorstep...

Soon there were only two results from ringing a doorbell... either the resident was not home (fortunately for them)... or a sale was made... no excuses were accepted... the girls were on a streak after all...

As many of us reflect on the year that has just past, we should wonder what could have been had we the discipline to start and stay on a streak...

Even if we broke the streak... the benchmark has now been set... so we begin a new streak... intent on exceeding the former one and creating a new mark to build upon...

On our last diet, we lost 11 pounds... this time I want to lose 12...

I went 6 days without smoking... this time I’ll make 7 days... then 8... then 9... one day at a time...

Being on a streak continues to give us the added motivation to keep going.

A streak can’t go on forever... and all record streaks can be broken...

Now is the perfect time to start your new streak... whatever it happens to be...

Thank you for your support of OptiFuse as we are completing our 5th consecutive year of larger growth...

One Bad Apple...

"Getting good players is easy... getting them to play together as a team is the hard part"

                                        ~ Casey Stengel

I watched in amazement as the quarterback just fumbled the ball for his fifth turnover of the game.

The typical football team suits up about 55 players for each game.    

Every single player on the team spends countless amount of time and energy preparing themselves, mentally and physically, for the games.  

The coaches spend time teaching and developing players into better players, creating game plans, and evaluating the needs of the team and recruiting the best talent available to fill those needs. 

 

The staff and trainers work diligently to provide the proper equipment and resources that will provide the players and coaches with the tools to effectively do their jobs.

Each and every player, coach and support staff person has one goal, to place the team in a position for success on the field.

Yet one single player didn’t do his job... and that one player cost the team a victory today.

Now you might think that I was writing about the quarterback... but I’m not.

You see, it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault... the turnovers were solely on the shoulders of  the right tackle.

The right tackle, on those plays where the interceptions occurred, missed his blocking assignment.

This caused the quarterback to be flushed out of the pocket on multiple occasions, trying to complete a pass while running away from defenders, resulting in two interceptions... for a pass to be deflected at the line of scrimmage for yet another interception... and several hard sacks that ultimately resulted in two lost fumbles.

Each and every player on the team, save one, was doing his very best to contribute to his team’s success, but all of their hard work was being undermined by one player who wasn’t performing... not because he lacked the talent of skills... but because he wasn’t giving the team his maximum effort.

It wasn’t always this way... the player who was no longer giving the team his maximum effort was once an exemplary teammate... working overtime to prepare himself for game day, mentoring younger players, and providing capable leadership to make sure the team listened to the coaches and stayed focused on the things that mattered.

As a reward for his loyalty and work ethic, he was offered a substantial guaranteed contract by the team. Things were good for the player and the team... that is until he discovered that there were other players on the team that made more money than him...

The reason for the disparity was due primarily to the differences in positions. In general, the team’s quarterback and other "skill players" earn more money than an offensive lineman.

Still this didn’t sit too well with the player, who believed that he was the most important person on the team and should be paid accordingly.

The player soon began showing up late to practice and leaving early. He no longer worked as hard as he once did and often just went through the motions.

More importantly, he began to publically question the team’s coaches and team leadership in the press and in the locker room.

His negativity began poisoning other players’ minds and attitude. 

Whereas before, when the players were happy to work together as a team focused on a single goal, now factions and cliques were forming, each with varying agendas.

The team’s management would like to now part ways with the lineman, however there is the not so small issue of the large guaranteed contract that they would have to eat... and then there is the player’s union to contend with...

This is the case of one dissident player holding an entire organization hostage...

Now many of us might laugh at the absurdity of this situation... we would simply respond by releasing (firing) the disgruntled player... this would be a simple case of "addition by subtraction".
 
Here’s the interesting thing... I think that we can all think of at least one employee in our own organization that was a great team member at one time... but now has become a prima donna, lazy, resentful, a bully, or are simply biding their time until  retirement or another job comes along.

These people are cancers to any organization, especially if management turns a blind eye to the situation.

I know this only too well... because in fact, I was a horrible employee before I ended up leaving and starting my own company some 25 years ago.

My attitude toward the company and especially its management was downright treasonous. Yet I was allowed to continue unrestrained due to my performance.

I was warned on several occasions by my direct supervisors that I could have a bad attitude or bad performance... but that I couldn’t have both...

Not only was I treating my superiors with disdain, I was also acting to influence others to openly question management’s ability to effectively lead... acting out like a little kid not getting his own way...

Not only was management upset with my antics, but my peers were none-too-happy with the situation as well. Why did the company’s leadership allow the situation to fester for so long?

They tried to rationalize my behavior to other employees by telling them that if they had my numbers that they could say what they wanted as well... but since they didn’t they best be quiet and tow the company’s line. Needless to say, this didn’t quite foster a great team attitude among the troops.

In reality... the company should have just bitten the bullet and fired me for insubordination and a piss-poor attitude.  No amount of sales was worth the grief and dissension it was causing throughout the organization.

Jump forward several years... and now I am sitting on the other side of the table and trying to lead an exceptional team. 

I’d like to say that I manage OptiFuse with an iron fist with a "my way or the highway" leadership style... but truth is, I like when employees openly question my decisions...

Just because we said it, doesn’t make it right... being able to defend a position through strenuous debate ensures that we have made the right decision.

The line between disagreement and a poor attitude is a fine one. 

The key differentiator is the intent.  Is the dissenter attempting to make our organization better or are they trying to stir the pot to enrich themselves or feed their ego?

At OptiFuse, there is plenty of room for open (and sometimes heated) discussion. I want people to be passionate about their ideas and contributions...

Those employees whose only desire is to disrupt the process without making constructive contributions are soon asked to find employment elsewhere.

As this year comes to an end, attentions are often given to strategic planning for the upcoming year. 

Are you going to be a contributor or a detractor to the overall success of your organization?

If your answer to that question is, "I want to contribute to the success of my company but management never listens to me"...

Then my response is simply, "You’re at the wrong company and you need to find yourself a new position right away".

More than likely though, the leadership at your company will appreciate your ideas knowing that you’re only trying to help make the team and the company better.

...but in the end... you can’t control the situation... you can only control your attitude and effort...

...making sure that you’re not the rotten apple spoiling the bunch.

Thank you for your support of OptiFuse where we believe that in order to change your situation you need to change yourself first...

A Helping Hand...

Sometimes I don’t know exactly how a person gets signed up to receive my weekly blog...

Such is the case of Ken Manchen... our guest blogger today...

Somehow Ken started receiving the blog... and a friendship was started...

Ken is doing some incredible one-on-one work with a young man trying hard to make a better life for himself...

It’s a journey that is not unusual for many of us... but gives us cause to be grateful for all those who have helped us along our life’s path...

Happy Thanksgiving,

Jim

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

"You can’t have a perfect day without doing something for someone who’ll never be able to repay you."

                                   ~John Wooden

From those who have much, much is expected.

Meet Amar.  He is 12 years.  He lives with his single mom and eight siblings.  Together they live in a small apartment in a high crime area of Chicago known as Cabrini Green.

I tutor him on Thursday nights in an after-school program for inner city kids.

Each Thursday, a school bus brings him and other kids to a church where they are fed a hot dinner. 

After dinner the students meet with a tutor for an hour or more.

This past Thursday, I got a call informing me Amar might not make it that night as his one-month old sister died unexpectedly.

I immediately thought back to last year, when Amar’s 16-year old brother was shot and killed by a local gang member, although he never much talked about it with me.

Last Christmas, my wife and I had the opportunity to take Amar and her own student to Dave and Buster’s for lunch and games.  

We drove that morning, over to Amar’s apartment, to pick the kids up.  Before leaving, Amar’s mother asked if we could take her to the local Target store.  

It seemed like a strange request as the store was just down the block and only a short walk on a relatively warm day.

When she saw the puzzled looks on our faces, she explained that the police had arrested and were prosecuting the gang member that killed her son.

She said she regularly visited the police to ensure they were bringing the arrested gang member to justice. Needless to say that the local gang wasn’t happy with her involvement.
 
Even a short walk a block away meant that she was vulnerable to a gang retaliation attack by those same gang members that had killed her son so it was best that she had a ride.

My wife and I were there just to treat two young men to lunch as a reward for studying hard and not missing a tutoring session... but now we found ourselves in the middle of a situation that was outside of our comfortable environment.  Would we now become gang targets too?

We took Amar’s mother to the store... not because we felt obliged... but because it was the right thing to do.

When we returned to Amar’s home, it was after dark.  As we drove up to his building, we saw a Chicago police cruiser parked at the curb. 

Thankfully, it was just a routine check and not something more sinister.  The police were just there to create a higher visibility in the neighborhood and deter gang activity.

We dropped the kids off and headed back to our comfortable suburban home, never so grateful for what we normally take for granted.

I have been a long term reader of Jim’s Friday blogs.

Last year when reading a column I discovered that Jim and I shared a common heritage. We are descendants of Romanian immigrant grandparents who first arrived in the Midwest and then gravitated to California.

I was moved by his story of his grandmother and how she long suffered from arthritis so I decided to contribute to his Arthritis Foundation charity bike ride down the coast of California. 

Later, I was informed that I had the great fortune to win the grand prize (Southwest Airlines Rewards miles) that year... although it was never about winning a prize but rather to support Jim, his grandmother and the Arthritis Foundation).

As we coordinated the transfer of the miles, Jim and I went from being strangers, to being acquaintances, to becoming friends.

This year I once again contributed to Jim’s charity bike ride and he in turn contributed to my charity running of the 2015 Chicago marathon.

My charity was the Chicago after-school tutoring organization I volunteer with (Citylights). It seems Jim and I both share a belief in the need to give back to our communities.

Is it really that important to give back to our communities? 

Does raising money for research or giving of your time really help to make a difference, or do we do it simply to make ourselves feel better and perhaps a little less guilty knowing that we have so much?

It is my sincere hope that offering up time and money truly makes a difference but I really don’t know for certain.

Does it make us feel good knowing that we have given back to those a little less fortunate?  Typically, when we give back we enrich ourselves in ways we never expected. I know that is true for me.

Let’s return to Amar.

I have been his tutor for 2 years now.  He is a kid with eight siblings and no father figure in his life. Understandably, it took a long time for him to learn to trust me.  I sense he has been let down by adults before.

During our first year together, I quickly realized that Amar, as well as the others in the program, didn’t need a tutor as much as they needed a trusted friend.  A friend who showed up each and every week... without excuse.  Someone who didn’t judge them, who cared about them, and someone they knew that they could rely on.  

This trust relationship is something most of us take for granted.

So what are Amar’s chances of escaping his current situation?

To start with, he is smart and has the opportunity to make a better life for himself but he faces many obstacles most of us don’t.

His inner city school is poorly rated. He will have to compete against kids from better schools if he ever hopes to get into college. The high level of crime, drug use, and unemployment in his neighborhood will all pose hurdles that he will need to overcome.

Will he eventually join a gang or suffer the wrath of a gang?  Will he even want to go to college and if he is accepted to a college, how will he pay for it?

If he isn’t strong enough and supported enough, will he eventually become angry at the unequal opportunities that currently exist between haves and have-nots?

We never know for sure what the outcome will be... but I do know this... without our help, the people who are struggling to escape will be trapped in an endless cycle of poverty and destitution.  

At the very least, our contributions of resources can help to lower the odds and offer a helping hand to those who desire to improve their lives.

We don’t need to travel to far-off lands and remote locations to find people who need our help.  There are people in our own community who struggle each and every day to live a full and productive life... people who are looking for a hand-up rather than a hand-out... people who sometimes just need a trusting friend.

I truly believe that companies and individuals that give back to their communities create stronger, healthier places for their employees and associates.

I sense most of us reading these Friday columns have been fortunate in life.  

Many of us had loving parents, lived in a safe home, were well-fed, enjoyed a quality education, and had ample opportunities for a successful career.

There is no doubt that our own success is due to our hard work and sacrifices, but at the same time, we need to remember that most of us had a support system that isn’t always available to everyone...

Now is the time to consider giving back...

...to those who need a little help...

...to those a little less fortunate...

...to those who simply need a friend that they can trust...  

 

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Ken Manchen

The Joy of Laughter...

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can; all of them make me laugh...  

                                      ~ W.H. Auden

In last week’s blog, I wrote about spending time in Las Vegas and watching a certain gambler go full-tilt...

This week I wanted to share another Las Vegas story, this one with a slightly different perspective.

To set the stage properly for those who didn’t get a chance to read last week’s blog, I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago to attend the big automotive exhibitions, SEMA and AAPEX.

Each day, I found myself doing "booth duty" while each night was spent dining at fine restaurants with clients and vendors. 

Just after the close of the show on Thursday, my brother Jason and I met up with our friends John, Rob, and Kevin plus their friend Todd at a local pub to have a drink before dinner.

The six of us were fairly tired from the long week that had preceded us but we had planned this outing for months and a much anticipated dinner was awaiting us at one of the finest restaurants in Las Vegas.

As we took a moment to relax with a stiff drink after a long day, we began to slowly power down our invisible shields, those innate mechanisms that control our bodies and minds when participating in an environment where we spend the entire day trying to beg strangers to view our wares.

The six people sitting at the table at the end of the day weren’t vendors or customers as much as we were friends as we shared stories of the week and caught up on each other’s lives during the six months since we had all seen each other last.

After drinks, it was time to head to dinner, meeting yet another group of friends growing our dinner party to 12.

While at dinner, we continued to enjoy each other’s company while sharing stories of adventures and misfortunes among ourselves.

After a scrumptious meal, vintage wine, and a decadent dessert, it was time to head off to our respective hotels.

As our "gang of six" strolled down the strip, it was suggested that we stop at a local watering hole for a nightcap staving off any possibility of arriving at our hotel with time to further our work day.

After a quick search, we found ourselves on a private patio at the Wynn resort overlooking a lagoon featuring a different water and light show every 30 minutes. 

We ordered drinks and continued telling each other stories, jokes, and random observations.  We laughed, and laughed some more. 

Our contagious laughter soon attracted the attention of others on the patio who began to join in on our fun.  The energy of the group continued to grow as our group grew. After a short while, the wait staff was joining in the frivolity surrounding the table.

After four water and light shows the hour approached midnight and the outdoor patio was growing too cold to continue (at least for the California boys).

As Jason and I walked back to our hotel, I mentioned that my face and torso hurt from all of the laughter experienced that evening and he agreed.

The events of that evening just reminded me of the power of laughter to heal and rejuvenate the body and soul.

Several studies have shown that a good dose of laughter promotes good health in several different ways:

• Laughter stimulates the brain to release "pleasure" chemicals - such as endorphins, giving a person a sense of well-being and reducing muscle tension.
   
• Laughter reduces blood pressure by reducing the stress hormones in our bodies. This in turn opens the body’s blood vessels and capillaries allowing for better blood flow in the body.
   
• Laughter causes the respiratory system to process higher levels of O2 (oxygen molecules) in the blood providing more energy to the body.
   
• Laughter promotes higher T-cell counts in the body’s immune system allowing the body to fight off germs and diseases including cancerous cells

The result of laughter is lower stress, better blood flow, increased levels of oxygen in the blood, a stronger immune system and a better overall feeling of well-being...

As I discovered myself, an evening of laughter also helps to improve our abdominal muscles as our stomachs expand and contract. Adding a big dose of laughter to our daily routine just might help us on our way to creating that six-pack without needlessly going to the gym to perform crunches.

Laughter makes us feel good about ourselves and the world around us. It gives us a feeling of euphoria and allows us to maintain a positive outlook and experience a sense of joy and gratitude. 

It helps us to love our neighbors, pay it forward, help others in need, and give back more than we take.

Beyond the health benefits that laughter brings, there are also the social benefits of being happy.

People want to be around others who are positive and happy, not around those who are constantly complaining about this or that (although I am still mystified as to why anyone actually listens to talk radio or the nightly news, where complaining is the norm).

Laughter is often contagious.

I remember vividly, walking into a room and seeing my parents laughing hysterically at something they were watching on TV. Instinctively, I began laughing alongside them, not even knowing what I was laughing about.

And once the laughter begins, everything after that seems funny and humorous to a point where it becomes inane and stupid. Ask any stand-up comic if they want to be the first or the last comic of the evening and their response is unanimous (being last of course).

The reason for this is that laughter makes us forget... we forget about being stuck in traffic... or the customer that cancelled their order... or the phone call we got telling us our child was just suspended from school.

Laughter puts us in the moment and allows us the ability to find humor in the absurdity we sometimes call life.

Sometimes I wonder if the world wouldn’t be a better place if we spent as much time learning to laugh rather than trying to segregate ourselves from one another.

Laughter is truly what’s right in the world.

As we move into the holiday season, we should all try to find some humor to share as our gift to each of us...

Thank you very much for your support of OptiFuse where we believe that life is truly a laughing matter.