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Discovering the Palace By Bob Cox With autumn now upon us, I was planning to write an inspiring biography about the man we celebrate on the second Monday of October every year, Christopher Columbus. I believed that the inspiring tales of his expedition would encourage all of our readers to go for it. And then I made a terrible discovery and felt unsure of what to write. I planned to share how Columbus needed the skill-set of two essential attributes to pull off what he did: “Salesmanship” and “sailsmanship” and he possessed both qualities in great abundance. The “salesman” needed funding to find what he believed was a shorter route to Asia by crossing the Atlantic and after several objections, got it from Queen Isabella of Spain. To reach Asia, which was actually The New World (San Salvador Island in the Bahamas), the “sailsman” had to have a thorough understanding of the ocean currents and trade winds to reach shore safely. As I continued my research, I discovered the horrific dark side of our famous explorer. Columbus ruled the na-
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tives and his own men with ruthless and barbaric practices. During his seven-year reign as Governor of all the new lands claimed for Spain, he and his men subjected natives and colonists to a plethora of crimes against humanity, including rape, torture and mutilation. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand learned about his sadistic methods of rule and responded by removing Columbus from power. A 48-page report was discovered in 2006 and contains testimonies from 23 people, including both enemies and supporters of Columbus, about his mistreatment of colonial subjects. I shared this dilemma with my wife Diana on the morning of our deadline. Should I only focus on the positive qualities and accomplishments of Columbus in our magazine, since our goal is to motivate and inspire others to be the best possible version of themselves? Should I briefly mention the evil methods he practiced in a simple paragraph so that I wasn’t Continued on page 8
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By Bob Cox Q: Why were you skeptical of chiropractors? When Christina Holm-Bittner was inA: I was really, really skeptical because I’m a volved in a car accident two days before nurse. Thanksgiving last year, she knew she was in trouble. Her doctor ordered x-rays but they Q: What else has Dr. Blakely done specifididn’t find anything wrong. Unfortunately, cally to help you? Christina’s neck and back continued hurting A: Her adjustments have really helped. When for several months. I first came in, she measured my legs and said She was at church one day and was that one leg was shorter than the other and sharing her experience with a lady friend that we needed to get my spine in alignment. who recommended that she see Dr. Beth I was really skeptical and thought that was bogus, Blakely. Christina told her she was extremebut her adjustment worked! I can really feel the ly skeptical of chiropractors and that she Christina Holm-Bittner difference after each adjustment. I also mentioned couldn’t afford it, but her friend recommended that she that my vitamin D level was low, despite following my docgo see her at least one time for a thorough consultation tor’s recommendations for the previous three years. She sugand evaluation. gested that I increase my dosage eight times and I thought Fortunately, Christina took her friend’s advice and she’s “What?”, but I did and it worked! My daughter had the getting her life back. I had the opportunity to speak to same problem, so I told her what Dr. Blakely recommended, Christina the other day about her experience working with so she’s helped my daughter too! The last time I went to the Dr. Blakely. doctor, my vitamin D level was normal. Q: What symptoms did you have after your car accident? A: I had pain in my neck and lower back and was getting by on pain medication. When I first met Dr. Blakely, I had a real positive feeling and was impressed by her. She helped me understand her whole treatment process. She began by recommending that I see a pain consult doctor and ask for an MRI, which my regular doctor did not do. The pain consult doctor gave me two epidural injections and the pain in my knee that I had for years completely disappeared! They told me that my knee pain originated in my back and probably got worse because of the accident.
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Q: How much better do you feel after seeing Dr. Blakely? A: Since I started seeing her last February, my neck does not bother me at all and it’s 100% better! My back is still not right, but I’m at least 60%-70% better. We do a lot of lifting and a lot of hard physical work in health care, so I really need my health. That’s why I decided to continue to see her two times a month. Dr. Blakely has made a big difference in my life! Editor’s notes: Dr. Beth Blakely is a chiropractor that specializes in holistic health care practices. She can be reached at (916) 944-1444.
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Discovering the Palace Continued from page 4
advocating him a person we should all aspire to be more like? Or should I scrap the whole article and write a followup on last month’s column titled “The 10/90 Rule”? Diana voted for the last option, so if you’re in her camp and you think this article is too dark and controversial, feel free to join her by saying “Bob, I told you so”! With the deadline fast approaching, I was losing the luxury of time, so I needed to find a place where I could come up with a quick and compelling solution. Enter the palace. The palace is a place I like to call my mind. It is a sacred place for me to entertain thoughts that appear like uninvited visitors. These visitors are actually an endless stream of random thoughts, some more urgent than others, and they all have one thing in common: They all want to be heard immediately. The thoughts that have a problem or negative message to share always seem to be the loudest and most obnoxious. They’re also the one’s that keep coming back like zombies or angry customers in the TV show “Hardcore Pawn”. Unfortunately, no matter how big a bouncer I get, they just keep coming back! If I try to ignore the negative thoughts by only entertaining the positive visitors, it never works. The “Negative Nellie’s” revisit the palace and they are louder, angrier and more relentless than ever. So, under these extreme situations, I eventually have to listen to them, but I try to invite them back at a time when I’m feeling rested and balanced. Otherwise, whenever I cave in and listen to them on the spot and I’m not at the top of my game, I only make their problem, which then becomes my problem, much worse. So, I’ve taken that original article titled, “The Sailsman” and changed it to “Discovering the Palace”. I believe that after this careful examination, you’ll understand why. And if you do, please explain it back to me because I’m starting to get confused! Oops, that was just another “Negative Nellie”. Okay, I’m back. If you want to live with greater peace, joy and harmony, a good first step is to practice the 10/90 Rule. Spend no more than 10% of your time addressing a problem and no less than 90% of your time solving it with positive action. If you do this, you’ll be off to a great start.
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Next, if you’re anything like me and you can have a day full of positive encounters and just one negative one and then obsess about the negative one, I feel your pain. If this is you, don’t try to fool yourself into believing that if you only ignore the negative visitor, it will go away, because we both know that it won’t! Instead, invite that negative thought back into your palace, but only when you are ready to listen to it. Otherwise, you will likely take a bad situation and make it much worse if you attempt to resolve it when you’re not at your best. If you find yourself facing a formidable problem and you’re in a position of power over one or more human beings, by all means, do not follow the blood-stained footsteps of our famous explorer by ruling with fear, cruelty and intimidation. Whether you’re ancestors are from the New World or the Old World, every human being wants and deserves to be respected. We must begin the process by having respect for ourselves and then having respect for and from others. Take an enlightened step forward into this New World by entering your palace and then choosing to act with kindness, compassion and respect for all living creatures. This will create a better and healthier environment for us all to live in. Bob Cox is the founder and publisher of Go For It Magazine. He can be reached by phone at (916) 266-3115. His email address is coxrobert@comcast.net. Go For It Magazine is owned and operated in Rancho Cordova, CA. Copyright © 2015.
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Cell Phones for Soldiers By Alika Salazar Two years ago, we decided to invite an organization into each of our three stores called Cell Phones for Soldiers. People can come to us and donate their old cell phones. Cell Phones for Soldiers, a nonprofit organization, sells those phones for money and buys airtime cards for the soldiers to call home. We met the person (Robbie Bergquist) who started it all last week during a convention in Las Vegas. He was just 12 years old and his sister Brittany 13 when they began eleven years ago. They wanted to pay a soldier’s bill that was $800, so they started saving all their money and their organization grew bigger as more and more people heard about what they were doing. People all over started helping them, giving them cell phones. Today, it’s nationwide and they’ve helped a lot of people. Since its inception in 2004, Cell Phones for Soldiers has worked to provide free communication services to activeduty military members and veterans, providing servicemen and women with an estimated 3 million prepaid calling cards, equating to more than 213 million minutes of FREE talk time!
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Cell Phones for Soldiers fuel’s its mission through generous monetary contributions and the recycling of donated mobile phones. Newer or gently-used mobile phones from all service providers are accepted. Each $5 contribution or donated device valued at $5 will provide troops with 2.5 hours of FREE talk time. The organization has prevented more than 11.6 million cell phones from ending up in landfills. We are an official drop off point for Cell Phones for Service, so if you have an old cell phone just lying around the house collecting dust or making crank calls (just kidding), we encourage you to bring it in to any one of our three stores. When you do, be sure to remove all your personal information from your old phone before you bring it in to protect your identity. Your contribution could save you money as it is tax deductible. Our soldiers and our landfills will greatly appreciate your generosity and compassion. Editor’s notes: Alika Salazar is the owner of iParts Phone Repairs. He can be reached at (916) 936-9316.
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Car Tech Talk Fall & Winter Preventative Maintenance Tips By Dave Trux With autumn upon us and winter just around the corner, now is the time to bring your vehicle in to your trusted mechanic to check over all the basics before you embark on your next great adventure. The last thing you need is to get stranded on a desolate mountain road, where the weather can change faster than an Indy 500 pit crew changes tires. A good place to start is your windshield. Wiper blades will often become warn and brittle from months of exposure during the long and sunny days of summer. For that reason, we stock wiper blades all year long for all the cars we service. Be sure to have all your fluids, belts and hoses examined as well. Along with the standard coolant flush, we urge you to have your brake fluid flushed every other year. Most manufacturers
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recommend brake fluid flushes every two years. Why? Because, in technical terms, brake fluid is hydroscopic and it’s water loving. As brake fluid takes on water, it’s effeciency decreases exponentially, which is why a flush is strongly recommended. Last but not least, make sure your mechanic checks your battery, tests the air pressure while also rotating your tires before you take your next road trip. Batteries will lose cranking power in extreme cold weather and the pressure in your tires will also drop under those conditions. Wherever the road takes you, we at Valley Motorwerks wish you a safe trip and a happy holiday season. Editor’s notes: Dave Trux is the owner of Valley Motorwerks in Rancho Cordova, CA. Their address is 11403 White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova, CA, their phone number is (916) 636-9526 and their website is www.vmwerks.com.
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Hall of Fame (& Hall of Horrors!) The Rancho Cordova Athletic Association will inaugurate a new sports tradition with the first ever inductions into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Rancho Cordova City Hall. This is expected to be a sell-out event so get your tickets now! From the nationally recognized 1975 Cordova High School Football Lancers to Major League Baseball, the inaugural class of inductees reads like a “Who’s Who” of Rancho Cordova sports heroes, including athletes, coaches and “Heart of a Champion” supporters who have been central to building a remarkable sports legend. Come help celebrate our local legends of sports! And remember that the walking undead, the criminally insane and the creepily unsettling denizens of the Heartstoppers Haunted House are returning to the old Mine Shaft in Rancho Cordova from Oct. 2 through Halloween. If you live to be scared to death, you won’t want to miss this!! Visit BobsPocket.com for links to these and other events in the area! * Visit BobsPocket.com for Bob’s bio, past blogs, and to learn more about events & organizations.
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