101 WAYS...

37. FINISH WHAT YOU START

A world-class runner can usually finish the New York City marathon in a little over two hours. It took Diane DiMarco almost nine hours--well past nightfall--but she did finish the race. In her early 20s, Diane had lost her left leg to cancer. Always athletic, she had continued to be as active as she could with the aid of a prosthetic limb.

Doubled over and haggard, she seemed literally to drag herself across the finish line. It was another half hour before she had recovered enough to talk to the reporter sent from her native Ohio to cover the story. After asking a few brief questions, the reporter moved on to what he supposed was the heart of the story he had been sent to report.

"What statement do you think you've made for physically challenged people here today?' he asked, readying his pen for the stock reply.

"None," she said.

"But, surely," the reporter said, a bit thrown, "people can find inspiration in---"

He was interrupted by Diane's laugh.

"Look," she said, "I don't mean to be rude. I don't want to spoil your story. But the thing is..."--she paused and collected her thoughts--"...I ran because I decided to run. I didn't do it to prove anything--not even to myself. You decide to run. You start running. An hour goes by. Two hours. Three hours. You may be hurting, but you're already three hours into the race. So, you keep going. Four, five, then six hours. Now you're really in deep. If you stop now, you've just wasted six hours. It gets to the point where you've got to finish to justify starting the thing in the first place, you know? If you quit once you've crossed the finish line, you've run a marathon. If you quit before that, you haven't done anything but run. Faucets run, noses run, panty hose run. But I--I finished a marathon. That's all."

36. REALLY CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

Carve a jack-o-lantern, decorate the house and yard, dress up in a great costume, bob for apples, and distribute jumbo candy bars to your trick-or-treaters.

35. BE GENEROUS

The word "generous" in its archaic usage actually meant "highborn." To be generous, then, was to behave in the manner of the nobility--in other words, to be "classy." It still means that. Give generously of your time, your love, your patience, your good humor, and your money.

34. READ AT LEAST ONE BOOK A MONTH

You cannot open a book without learning something.

--Ancient Chinese Proverb

33. INDULGE YOURSELF OCCASIONALLY

INTERVIEWER: But chocolate is terrible for your teeth!

MEL BROOKS: Are teeth so good for chocolate? Let's be fair.

Be fair. Indulge yourself from time to time--and enjoy it.

32. BE AN INFORMED CONSUMER

How? Let us count the ways:

~ Read that label.
~ Don't take the salesperson's word for it.
~ Ask your friends for their experiences with particular brands or products.
~ Comparison-shop.
~ Research--pick up a copy of Consumer Reports.
~ Ask questions--of your accountant, banker, physician, pharmacist, grocer, etc.

31. EAT A HEALTHY, BALANCED DIET

Forget about thos four basic food groups they taught us in the days of record players and the Soviet Union. Nutritionists now recommend we select our diets from the following groups:



As a rule of thumb, use foods at the top of the pyramid--fats, oils, and sweets--sparingly. Include 2-3 servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese and 2-3 servings from the meat, poultry, fish group in your daily diet. Eat 3-5 servings from the vegetable group and 2-4 servings from the fruit group. From the bottom of the pryamid--the bread, cereal, rice group--select 6-11 servings. Mmmm, pasta!

For more great tips on healthy eating, see VIP's The Last Diet You Will Ever Need.

30. BE PUNCTUAL

Set your watch 15 minutes ahead if you have to, but resolve to meet appointments and deadlines on time. When you're late, you are in effect saying to the person you have kept waiting: "Your time is less valuable than mine." Sometimes, despite our best efforts, fate delays us. In this case, apologize profusely and pick up the tab.

29. DON'T GIVE UP

When Abraham Lincoln lost his bid for the Senate in 1858, he commented, "I feel like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh." It was the last election Lincoln would lose, but it certainly was not his first loss.
At the age of 23, after failing in business, Lincoln ran for the Illinois state legislature and lost. After another failed business attemp, he was left with a debt that took him almost 20 years to repay. In 1834, Lincoln won his first political victory in a second bid for the state legislature. Two years later, he suffered what we today would call a nervous breakdown and was incapacitated for six months. He was defeated in his bid to become speaker of the state legislature in 1838, and lost again in 1843 when he ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress. He ran again three years later and won, but when he tried for reelection in 1848, he lost his seat. Lincoln made his first try for U.S. Senate in 1854-- and lost. His second attempt, in 1858, also failed. In spite of these relentless disappointments, Lincoln persisted in his efforts to serve his country.
In 1860, he was elected president, and then again in 1864. His victory in these elections ensured the survival of the United States.

28. FACE YOUR FEARS

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

--Eleanor Roosevelt

27. TAKE A CLASS

Ever wanted to do any of the following:

~ build a table?
~ write a short story?
~ learn to paint, draw, sculpt, or scuba dive?
~ repair your own car?
~ upholster furniture?
~ master a computer graphics program?
~ speak Swahili?

You can. Check out your local continuing-education programs and sign up for a class. If you're not driven by one particular subject or goal, just thumbing through the catalog is bound to spark your interest in something. And a continuing-education course is a great way to upgrade skills you may already have.

26. MAKE A GREAT SALAD.

To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomat--the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one's vinegar.
--Oscar Wilde

Here's a simple recipe for a terrific salad, and a zippy dressing that's quick to fix and low in fat.

Sweet-and-Sour Dressing
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/4 cup low-sodium, nonfat chicken broth
1 tablespoon canola oil
dash pepper
dash Tabasco

Tossed Mandarin Orange Salad
2 cups Belgian endive
2 cups romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 cup arugula, torn
1/2 cup Bermuda onion, sliced into rounds
1 (11-ounce) can unsweetened mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 cup parsley

Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Toss the greens and onion in a large salad bowl. Pour on the dressing, mix well, top with orange sections, and sprinkle with parsley. Makes 6 servings. 85 calories: 2.6 grams fat.

25. NEVER LET A DAY GO BY WITHOUT TELLING YOUR PARENTS, CHILDREN, OR PARTNER "I LOVE YOU".

24. BE PRODUCTIVE

Once upon a time, there was an ant who had (for the purposes of this story) befriended a grasshopper. The ant was an industrious soul--working from sunup to sundown, along with his thousands of kin, hauling seeds and crumbs into the anthill. The grasshopper took a dim view of such labor. All thw while that his little friend toiled, the grasshopper fiddled away on a grasshopper-sized fiddle.

"You know," the ant told him one day during his coffe break, "your fiddle playing's nice--I mean that--but winter's coming, and you should be storing away some food. Plan for your future!"

The grasshopper just smiled and kept on playing his fiddle.

Still the ant slaved away, packing the anthill with tiny morsels to eat during the long, hard winter to come. Still the grasshopper fiddled and fiddled. Occasionally, he bummed a crumb off his friend, the ant.

"I don't mean to be a pest," the ant said to his friend, "but you really should be thinking about this winter thing. You'll be hingry. It will be cold. Ice. Snow. The whole nine yards!"

But the grasshopper-- either out of indifference or the desire to bug his friend--only smiled and continued sawing away on his fiddle. He was pretty good at it.

Summer turned into autumn, and as the last leaf was falling off the trees, and a chill wind began to blow, the ant made one final appeal to the grasshopper.

"Lookit, there's still time," he urged. "There are still a few crumbs and morsels out there. Put in a little work now, and maybe--just maybe--you can scrape by through the winter. Now put down that fiddle already and do something!"

The grasshopper's smile faded. "Put down my fiddle?" he said. "Man, I'm going to Vegas. I got 12 weeks booked at Caesar's Palace, opening for Wayne Newton. I've been practicing all summer. Put down my fiddle? Man, I thought you knew."

And with that, the grasshopper packed up his fiddle and flew to family-friendly Vegas and great acclaim and prosperity. But at least the ant could say, "I knew that guy when he was bummin' crumbs."

Moral: There are many different ways of being productive.

23. BE POLITE

Pardon me! I meant to say, Please be polite! First and foremost, politeness--old fashioned good manners--is an expression of respect. Now, we all know politeness is in scarce supply these days. But as is true of neglecting other social ills--say, for instance, littering--it just won't do to ignore or give in to the problem. Remember how our parents used to teach us that "please" was the "magic word"? Politeness can have an almost magical effect on some people. Being polite to a surly individual can often change his demeanor. And if it doesn't? So what. You've taken the high road. Enjoy the view!

22. LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY.

1) Who was president of the United States when women received the right to vote?

a. William McKinley
b. Theodore Roosevelt
c. Woodrow Wilson
d. Herbert Hoover

2) True or False: The popular M&M candy derives its name from Emma Nims, the candy's creator.

3) How many pecks are in a bushel?

4) Who was Archibald Leach?

If you missed the answers to any of these, you've just learned something new. If you got all of them right, there's still plenty left for you to learn. Make a habit of learning something new--anything--every day. Buy an almanac, an atlas, an encyclopedia. Scan the newspaper, and look up words you don't know in the dictionary. Little facts can put you in touch with a larger world outside!

Answers: 1) c. 2) False--it was named for the confectioners Mars & Murrie. 3) Four. 4) The Englishman who became Cary Grant.

21. EVALUATE YOUR EATING HABITS.

Committing to a healthier lifestyle will require you to change many old habits, including those related to food. You might want to keep a written record for at least a week, noting down details about when, what, why, and where you eat. For instance, ask yourself:

~Did I eat because I was depressed?
~Did I eat out of boredom?
~Do others tempt me with food or force foods on me that I know are not healthy?
~What types of food do I overeat?
~Which foods do I neglect?
~Do I binge?

Study your current and former habits closely. Discuss these issues with the other members of your household. As you attempt to alter your eating habits, you'll need their support and encouragement in staying the course.

20. DO YOUR TAXES EARLY.

Give yourself a great Valentine's Day gift--have your taxes filed by February 14.

19. CULTIVATE YOUR CREATIVE SIDE.

We all have one, though too often the creativity we demonstrated as children (in piano lessons, ballet, or art class) falls by the wayside as we get older. Rusty as they may be, the fundamental skills and desire are probably still there. Try:

~picking up that musical instrument
~taking a dance class
~writing a poem or short story
~trying out for a community theater production
~throwing some pottery
~helping your kids build a puppet theater
~making an epic with that video camera
~getting the old band back together

18. AIM HIGH.

Go on, shoot for the stars! You'll hit higher than you ever thought possible. Or, as someone of a more poetic turn, once put it:

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp
Or what's a heaven for?
----Robert Browning