Perhaps you’ve heard about the 8-minute song designed to lower heart rate, blood pressure, and reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

We came across it doing research for a new NYU course I will be adding this coming school year about reducing stress and anxiety in music and the performing arts.

Music, of course, is a potent friend of dealing with anxiety.

Many of you are interested in the things being done to deal with anxiety – here’s one that is proven to reduce it by 65% in 8 minutes Weightless recorded by a British group called Marconi Union.

Stress reduction is a whole-person endeavor, but this quick fix is powerful enough to pass along.

Listen here.  And let me know what you think.

I know a Mayo Clinic doctor who physically leans forward to be sure they are concentrating on their patients comments.

And another person who repeats back what they are hearing and asks, “did I get that right?”

The reason we can’t remember names is because we don’t bear down and hear them so we can repeat them twice and remember them forever.

Even in a distracted world, focusing on the present is not only possible but even more popular with those around you – they feel less important until someone can say, “did I get that right?”

As Steve Jobs said, “Focus and simplicity – once you get there you can move mountains”.

That may be a great motto for Outback Steakhouse but it falls short when someone is so distracted that they run a red light.

I experience almost one (and some days three) people per day barreling through stop lights almost as if they are just suggestions and not rules.  Perhaps you are seeing the same thing.

We adhere to rules for safety and order.

We break them to expand our creativity.

If you’re good at breaking rules, you must also be good at adhering to them – the lesson of the moment on this turbulent time.

This is a tough time – post pandemic, more disruptions, new normal and people who have forgotten some basic rules of civility.

You could drill into that negativity or choose to live the life you want to life, acting the way you’d like to be treated.

There is always hope because the world changes one person at a time.

Condition yourself to respond to disappointments as encouragement.

Missed goals as just a first chance not your last.

Bad things seen as challenges that bring good outcomes if you don’t stop now.

You can’t find one successful person who hasn’t had to condition themselves to believe that adversity is a test of will for how badly you want something.

I’m proud of you – Four powerful words.

When you hear it, it reverberates like an echo.

When you are the one saying it, it feels just as good to see a face light up.

Even better …

I’m proud of you (then succinctly say why)

Discover the power we all have within us to move people in a positive way by finding something to be proud of.

When I was training to be a Dale Carnegie instructor, I was recognized for winning an award when my mentor was present in the audience.

I accepted the award in front of the room and almost without another thought, I called this person up to be recognized for all the time and caring he had put into my training – then I handed him the prize.

Never in my life have I missed possessing the physical gift because even though he is gone, I feel joy every time I think of how surprised and proud he was to take custody of my award.

The gift that keeps on giving and never stops is the one in which you elevate those in your life for the recognition they deserve whether it’s one-on-one or in front of an audience.

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

No matter how good the intentions, people find it difficult if not impossible to bring about positive change.

As Mayo Clinic physician Dr. Amit Sood puts it, the one sure way to make yourself miserable is to try to change someone else.

Better to change yourself.

Set the bar higher for your difficult relationships – define what you’re now expecting and let them choose to meet it.

We’re powerless over others but in control of what the rules of engagement will be.

Most people now spend over 5 hours a day on average with their phones, screens and social media.

That means a lot real life, in the moment experience is being outsourced to a digital device.

These devices are so addictive because we’re used to making sure we don’t miss anything, hoping for something pleasant or good and just trying to stay connected.

Martin Cooper, the man who invented the world’s first mobile phone is now 92.  His advice is put down your devices and “get a life”.

Even a slight reduction in screen time each day produces tangible benefits.