It is really interesting to look back and realize I've been writing for Boulder City Magazine for over 4 years now. There was an opening for the column writer, and the Appleby family very kindly asked me if I would send in a sample article. From then on, somehow, I guess some people still read my articles, and so I continue to write.

But, what the real interesting part is to look at WHY I was asked to write here. It all stemmed from an article that my Aunt Pati wrote when I was eleven years old about a conversation we had. Recently, I realized how  "out-of-touch" I was from those thoughts dealing with one key word: perception.

The incredible author of success writings, Napoleon Hill, emphasizes the fact that we are where we are in life because of our thoughts. Thoughts create words, which create actions, which create results and habits, which create character, all of which affect "destiny," or our lives as a whole.

However, I often struggled to see the true science behind that idea, even though it made sense. Recently, I listened to an audiobook titled "The Biology of Belief," by Bruce Lipton, where he talks about our life affected by the science of our biology.

The basis of his argument is the fact the cell is NOT controlled by our genetics to the fullest extent, but rather by the cell membranes IMP receptors and effectors. Basically, the ways that the cells operate is actually based on the signals that they receive from their environment…that means they're BEHAVIORS are based on their PERCEPTION! Maybe it's the quirky geek in me, but I was so extremely excited to learn this concept.

Relating back to us, we are a personification of our individual cells. Therefore, OUR behaviors are created because of perceptions! Interestingly enough, he makes another argument that 95%-99% of our life is actually operated by the sub-conscious. The NEAT part is we have the ability to reprogram our sub-conscious by CHANGING OUR PERCEPTIONS.

So something doesn't go the way you want, so what? Look at the "positive" - sounds cheesy and easier than it sounds, but it is real. Live for now, change perspective, be happy. A real blessing of life.